WhateverI used to live in NH and left cause deer hunting was too easy. The real challenge lays in the midwest with the smart, cagey whitetails.
Guns don't do it for me anymore and certainly not the party hunting, making drives, shootem' up style of hunting. Even when I wasgun hunter I did late season muzzleloader and hunted by myself in a treestand. We, as hunters, need to stick together though and never publically bash another hunting method as long as it is legal.
There are many traditional bowhunters that think that compound bows are for wimps and that it is not bowhunting unless it is traditional. They may be right; these compounds are awefully easy ,but I love them. I have traditional archery equipment and have harvested deer with them. There comes a day when some of us like to move on to greater challenges. For me, gun hunting deer brings no satisfaction. If you like it, go for it. There is no wrong or right if it is legal; just what brings you satisfaction.

Just referring back to the whole forum and most of the conversations about"driving" and gun hunting in general.

Ok, I know from experience, if SBGobblers (Jeff)might recall, we all speak our mind on certain types of hunting. Many of us don't like the way others hunt, but if that's how someone hunts, that's how theyhunt.Jeffcalled me out on a post I made when I stated "how is baiting hunting?" and all that nonsense. Yes I don't agree with it, but I've never done it to understand why others might have the reason too.It's kind of similar to "driving". I've done it numerous times, usually the last day of firearms season usually to try and put some more meat in the freezer but with minimal success, even thoughI don'tlike it.

I doboth gun and bow hunt, but bow huntingTO ME, is more fulfilling. Ok, well it hasn't been fulfilling yet bc I haven't killed a deer with a bow. Butthe last five years I've only shot 3 times, all at P&Y deer, missing all 3 wanting to throw myself out of the stand. But I consider my self a successful hunter with both a bow and a gun. I'm19 y/o and haveprobably passed up 70 deer in the last five years with my bow, most within 25 yards. Yea I know it's rediculous cause I should just get my first bow kill out of the way, but that's how I am. I'm looking to kill I nice buck with my bow, and get my freezer deer with a gun.

What I'm getting at is many hunters might not agree with the way I hunt or others for that matter, but that's justthe way it is. If youpurchase a license, tag, etc. and go out pursuing an extrodinary animal, like the whitetail, then your a hunter.Whether it's with a bow, a gun, driving, stalking, what ever, everyone is a hunter. This season I've learnedwe're all in thesame family"hunting tree" even though we're all on different limbs.Yea corny but that's how I lookat it now.

HCH...Too easy?? I have seen the pics of some of your (and your wife's) deer, dandy's for sure (gets my jealous bone wound up). You know how many P&Y bucks have been recorded in NH in the last 5 years? Very few (edited after research).

Iowa's seasonal bow kill every year exceeds the total number of live deer in NH's herd. NH is 70% (estimate)forested, the hunter succes rate here is below 20%, if you consider it too easy I tip my hat to you.

I think what I meant to say, and what I typed came out differently...let me try again. Any joe-blow can hunt in the midwest and have a reasonably good chance (at some point)of taking a buck that would be a buck of a lifetime here...you really have to work your tail off here to score on a 120" buck. They are so rare that this state does not keep track of rack score for trophy bucks, we go by the dressed weight of the deer. If I offended anyone (it looks like I may have), I am sorry...I am not an egotist.

Where I live one has to choose between aarchery, muzzleloader, or rifle tag. If, for instance,an archery tag is chosen then that eliminates the hunter from being able to hunt the other two seasons. If one chooses an archery tag that pretty much eliminates worrying about gun hunters.

WhateverI used to live in NH and left cause deer hunting was too easy. The real challenge lays in the midwest with the smart, cagey whitetails.[/quote]

you meant CAGED whitetails right HCH??

just jokin.....i had to lol

I love bowhunting the most!! But I also gun hunt and really enjoy that too. I have harvested more and better bucks with my bow. I gun hunt pretty much the same areas that I bow hunt. Most of my gun kills are 50 yards or less. I have to use scent control and plan a strategy. I hunt clear cuts an thick timber. I look forward to gun season just for a change of pace. I got a NICE 8 point with my gun this year. 1st gun buck in a while. I felt the same adrenaline rush, shaking and it was VERY rewarding!! Gun or bow in hand, when I decide to take a shot, that is when the nerves and excitment kick in.

Let's stick together as hunters!!!

Hunt with a compoundbow, a recurve, a crossbow,a shotgun, a rifle, a pistol, a blackpowder. Hunt using treestands, groundblinds, stalking, driving, food plots, feeders, bait piles, beagles, walkers, hounds........or any combination you want as long as it's legal where you hunt, knock yourself out.Be happy for what you kill and try not to be jealous of anothers success (what I mean by that is it is normal to wish it was you that had killed something or had some different luckbut don't try to tear someone else down to justify or rationalize to yourselfwhy they killed something and you didn't). Hunting is about circumstance and fate any given second your entire season could change. The original post on this thread was to vent about neighboring hunters success and the posters unfilled tags. Just because you spend hours and hours hunting doesn't make you any more deserving of a filled tag than the next guy who might not be fortunate enough to get out that much. You should be thankfulfor all the time you got to get out filled tag or not (many hunters don't have that luxury).

I hunt, it's what I do. I surround myself with others with the same mentality. I started bowhunting 17 years ago not because I was in love with bowhunting but because I wanted an extra 6 weeks to hunt every season. I startedblackpowder hunting because of all of the deer I was seeing during bow season just out of range. I shotgun/rifle hunt because it is fun and that is what I grew up doing from a very young age. Some people don't have the time andpatience to bowhunt or blackpowder, I know because I have several buddies like that. I still love hunting with them during gun season and I am still very happy for them when they are successful. I don't feel like"Oh that should be me because I hunt and scout harder."Ultimately I hunt to kill deer and instead of wondering why the neighbors killed something I would be wondering other things like...
Where did they kill the deer?
Where was the deer coming from/heading to?
What was the weather/wind like that day?
What time did they kill the deer?
How could I use the pressure on the neighbors land to my advantage?
What kind of deer movement have they been seeing?

Pick their brain and you might be surprised about how much info you can get. That info coupled with all of your scouting and sightings should have you sitting pretty for the next season (bow and gun) or later this season.
Lots of people are quick to "vent" about theirpoor success, I know because I do it too sometimes, but realistically the"poor, poor, pitiful me" approach never got me anywhere but the "What can I do different/better attitude?" has done wonders.

Well that is definitely enough babbling from me. Good luck to all in the rest of your seasons.

nevermind

What about crossbows. lol. Could help it. Just remembering your post that went on for ever about why crossbows should be banned.

krojemann

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Rack Buck


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Posts: 222
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That is right. Archery season ended last night. I spent many many hours on stand. Reasons for me to think it was a good year is because I seen a lot of deer. Only out twice without deer sightings. I seen 12 different bucks. Seen some nice bucks and passed on some young ones. I also shot a coyote.

Now reasons for me to think it was a bad year is because I missed two deer. In the past 9 years of bowhunting, I've only missed one buck (which I misjudged the distance and shot over his back, but I got him rifle hunting), now this year I miss two in one year. Both of them where nice bucks. And I didn't fill my tag.

Towards the end of summer archery league, I started to develop a bit of target panic. I didn't think much of it, I just took a little break from shooting between league and the hunting season. When that is the reason I missed the two bucks. One at 15 yards and one at 30. I don't know why, but I flinched right before I pulled the trigger. This has been killing me more than the reasons above. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR CURING TARGET PANIC?

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I stand corrected.... you failed twice.[8D][8D][8D][8D] You have to admit... now that there is funny. (P.S.... most of us have failed a time or two)