Bowhunter2001

I started hunting deer with a shotgun in IL. and a rifle in MO. In 1991 I started hunting with a bow. I killed my first buck that year with my bow and it was awesome! The same season, I killed a nice 8 point with my shotgun. It gave me NO satisfaction of accomplishment. I haven't hunted with a gun for years. I would rather kill "nothing" than kill something with a gun anymore. I was a gun dealer in my spare time for 18 years and have guns that can drive tacks. I hunt for the thrill of accomplishment. I see these tv shows where these guys shoot deer at 100 to 200 yards and I just think to myself, try and get it to 15 yards and shoot it with a bow.When someone shows me a picture of a deer they kill with a gun, it just doesn't impress me.If someone shows me a picture of a doe they killed with their bow, I am impressedand really let them know that they did a great job!
Do most of you gun hunt, also? Does it do more for you to kill one with a bow than a gun? I just think it is agreat accomplishment with a bow, and a chip shot with a gun.
What are your thoughts?

brucelanthier

I am impressed with anyone's picturesthat hunts legally whether it is a gun, bow, crossbow, spear, knife, etc.

Bowhunter2001

I guess I shouldsay, not as impressed with a gun kill as to a bow kill, not just unimpressed.

StealthHtr22

I hunt with both, have been for 7 years now. An every year when the last day of bow comes, I become a little depressed. One because I've failed to bag a deer with a bow...had too many chances, just either missed or passed them up. I just enjoy the thrill of being closer to the animal and not hearing gunshots in the background. I usually look at gun season a little different, more to fill the freezer. Don't get me wrong, gun hunting is still hunting, it just makes it a little easier. Either way I just love being in the woods and trying to pattern the deer to get them as close as I can without them knowing I'm there, thats why I love the hunt. Seeing them in their natural surroundings.

Rob/PA Bowyer

I doubt I ever carry a gun for whitetails again. Honestly, the only thing I may ever take with a gun again is turkeys and I'm working the bow in there too every chance I get.

Perhaps varmits...maybe, doubtful but maybe.

When I see a buck taken with a bow, yes I am much more impressed than one taken with a gun....it means more to me...to be honest, taking one with a gun no longer impresses me. I'll say the polite congrats but I'm not impressed, the animal impresses me yes, the shooter...no.

GR8atta2d

While I certainly enjoy the bow more than anything. It's a solitary pursuit. When I pick up the rifle it's a family affair. We go to deer camp ride ATV's (before the opener) play cards, have a few adult beverages and have a great time.

I also just picked up an inline to make the rifle season more challenging.

If it's hunting I enjoy it. whether it's hunting a bunny with shotgun, squirrels with the .22 or Crows with Dad and a bunch of decoys on days when it's -5 degrees.

millerhunter13

I am new to hunting but i have hunted deer with a gun and i plan on hunting this year with a bow, now to me hunting is hunting yes, hunting i with a gun is easier, but i like to hunt with shotguns for gun season,the only "rifle" i have is my muzzle loader, so even when i gun hunting i am still at about 50 yards max for shots, plus in most parts of ohio and florida (the states i hunt in) are almost always dense so you really cant use a rifle, plus it is illeagle to hunt with a rifle in ohio. but there are somethings that make bow hunting better or easier then in gun season like one thing isyou dont here guns shots so deer are less spooked which makes the deer easier to find because they arent wiery of anyones presence.

Bowhunter2001

I do still use a gun for doves, ducks and geese. Don't think I could hit any of these with a Flu Flu.

louddrummer69

I think alot of thiscomesfrom the fact that hunting is more of a sport than a neccesity for food.I think if more people depended ondeer meat to feed their family more, people would have a different view of rifle hunting. Almost all my friends and family this time of year are trying to make as much jerky or smoking roasts every weekend to try to get rid of the deer they harvested last year. I personallywould much rather bowhunt than rifle hunt. I think the skill and patience involved is overwhelmingly more impressive than using a rifle. Don't get me wrong though, I think there is aquite abit of skill involved shooting a deer that is out 200 yards. I for one, have never shot a deer over 50 yards. Not b/c I'm afraid to reach out and take a shot but b/c I don't hunt in an areathat will present a shot that far. To each your own I guess.

YooperMike

Exactly the same reason I gun hunt back home in the U.P. If I could somehow combine bow with that tradition, it would be amazing. Gun season just has a special meaning because of the traditions that go along with it. There is really no threat to me ever killing a bigger deer in the UP with the gun taht I will in IL with the bow, so I guess impressing people isn't at risk either!