bowhunting vs gunhunting
 

I have seen alot of post on how much better bow hunting is then gun hunting.

I love bow hunting but i love gun hunting aswell .

It seems that us and yes i said us think we are high then rifle hunters or even just muzzleloader hunting.

To me it is just as possiable to get close to a deer with a gun as you can with a bow . Yes you must be with in a few yards with a bow, and a rifle hunt can go as far out as a few hundrad yards.

But lets look at it like this .

You go hunting saterday morning . A nice size doe comes in 25 yards out stands around eating infront of you. And you take her . great deer you should be proud .
Now the next day is rifle season aanother doe same size comes in 25 yards out and you take her . Another great deer you should be proud. Now if it is me i am as proud with the gun kill as i was the bow kill

i have hunted for four years but missed last year out of the four i have shotgun hunted rifle hunted and bow hunted. I have not yet taken my first deer. so some of you might say i need to shut up till i do .

But i have never felt anyless with nature or the deer gun hunting then bow hunting .

This is my first year bow hunting since i was 14. And it is my fav and best year .Not just because i am using a bow but becaus i am back home in indiana and on privit land for the first time.

I think there is alot of anti bow hunting coming from hunters, Because we think we are ahigh class hunter Just because we shot a arrow at25 yards does not make us any better then the gun hunter doing it at 25 yards or 250 yards .
As long as it is legel i am hopen to it . I hope to tak emy first deer this year and i am glad i willdo it with my reflex bow not because it isharder or closer but because, when i remeber being a 14 year old kid walking through the woods and fresh cut corn field that i start hunting on . I hadmy first bow a bear .And when i get that first bow kill it will all come down to that . Day afterxmas that was my first hunt ever. 14 huntingby my self with my bow and new camo i gotfor xmas. I have been mostly self taught except for the info fromyour guys and a few friend .

good luck to all hunters be them bow hunters or gun hunters stay safe and havefun and try and not kill bambi . lol

RE: bowhunting vs gunhunting
 

All good points, but no matter how you look at it, bowhunting IS more difficult than rifle hunting. Shoot, just shooting a bow ACCURATELY is more difficult than shooting a rifle accurately. Please read that I did NOT say shooting a rifle accurately is easy. So do I consider bowhunters BETTER than rifle hunters? Nope. But I'll take bowhunting anyday.

To me, and this is just me.....Sitting in a tree whacking a deer 200 yards away with a rifle.....Well, I feel more like a sniper, and it's anticlimatic. It's just not the same. I killed my first deer w/ archery gear in 2003. I've taken my rifle ONE DAY since then, and that's because it was my dad's rifle that he gave to me. I shot 2 does w/ it that morning, and it was cool. But I haven't taken a rifle in the woods since, and won't.

RE: bowhunting vs gunhunting
 

Go ahead, you can say it. Gun hunting is for the less skilled people.[8D]

RE: bowhunting vs gunhunting
 

I love any excuse I can get to hunt deer with any weapon that's legal but there is a certain snobbery with bowhunters but more often then not ittakes a lot more time and effort to get one into rangewith a bow. It certainly is more complicated and less forgiving.
Try bowhunting on public land in gun season in the northeast It'scertainly not the same as having privacy and acreage to hunt unpreasured deer.. During gun season out comes the gun.

RE: bowhunting vs gunhunting
 

I prefer bowhunting, but I like all the seasons. The main reason I like bowhunting more is that it is more of a challenge, the season starts sooner and lasts longer, but most of all I enjoy hunting when there are fewer hunters and less commotion in the woods.

RE: bowhunting vs gunhunting
 

Bowhunting is my favorite type of hunting ...... that being said, I see WAY more deer when I am bowhunting than when I gun hunt ..... way more. In some ways, at least in my area, it's HARDER, as the deer are skitish and will not move unless pushed ......

RE: bowhunting vs gunhunting
 

I have gun hunted for years and and this just got bowhuning this year. I got my buck! I will say that I like bow hunting better.

Is bow easier or harder than gun? humm some things that are harder about bow and some are easier

Bow: better weather,(early)dear havent started rut yet so you can hunt them by paterning. Its hard enough to switch a safty off a gun yet alone stand,pull back 29in, get withing 30(for me) to get one. I think deer are more apt to know if there are changes in the woods(people)

Gun: dont have to get within 30, freeze you ass off(here in MI) weather permits garage butchering. deer are spooked but moving around alot trying to get some.

final thoughts: you can kill a deer in bow range but you cant allways the other way around.

not freezing my butt off is why I like bow better and the above reasons. I know a ton of peopel that have shot a deer with a gun but not with a bow! there may be a reason for that. I think it takes more skill with a bow

RE: bowhunting vs gunhunting
 

all great points guys

i also think bow hunting is alot harder then gun hunting i also see a differnce in shooting a bow at 30 yards and shooting a gun at 200 yards.
i do not know anyone who would not think the same way

shooting 200 yards is not as hard because scent is not such a issue nor is camo i do not think a deer will see you that easy at 200 yards

RE: bowhunting vs gunhunting
 

Do you get the smae rush when a doe is stareing at you at point blank and your so close you cant draw your bow oppsed to you walk into a field and see a deer in it and shoot without it knowing it was in any danger?

RE: bowhunting vs gunhunting
 

Bowhunting for me. You have to getextremely close to the animal you are hunting, and theres nothing like a deer at close range.

RE: bowhunting vs gunhunting
 

The only deer I've killed was with a bow second day of the season this year. I have a shotgun and was going to use it because distance limits my chances of actually killing deer, I even bought slugs to use this year instead of .00 buckshot. After I got a spike with the bow I was content until gun season and carried the shotgun a few times. Last Sunday a doe and two yearlings stepped out in front of the stand I was in with the shotgun. I carried the shotgun because the range was between 30 and 40 yds and I didn't feel comfortable with the bow. I saw that same doe and two yearlings about noon today because I had let her walk.

There are several reasons I let her walk.

I only had two chances to take her and not kill or injure one of the yearlings.
I felt the yearlings probably wouldn't make it without her.
I just enjoyed sitting and watching.
Most of all, I HAD NO DESIRE TO HEAR THE BOOM OF THE SHOTGUN.

I resighted my bow and only use it now. I like the sounds of the woods and watching the birds and animals. I don't see a need to disrupt everything witha gun. It's quiet, peaceful, everything is content. And I see bowhunting as more of a challenge that doesn't make such a ruckus that I lose all other opportunities for the day. One of the guys that helped me out shot three does within ten minutes last week, how often does that happen when gun hunting? By the way, one of the does went in the freezer and the other two went to feed the hungry.

RE: bowhunting vs gunhunting
 

i agreethere is more of a rash with a bow .four years ago opening day gun season on my fist hunt. i had the chance to take anice size buck with my 30.30 draw down on him and everything, but it was still a little early and i could not see if there was a deer behind him.

and on my first bow hunt last thursday i drawed downon a nice doeand had more of a rush and a shake with the bow .

i just think that alot of bow hunters think gunhunting is some how lesser then bow hunting

RE: bowhunting vs gunhunting
 

You go hunting saturday morning. A nice size doe comes in 75 yards out stands around eating in front of you. You can't take her. Deer walks.

The next day is rifle season the same doe comes in 75 yards out and you take her.Dead doe. A great deer and you should be proud of her

RE: bowhunting vs gunhunting
 

I am a bow and gun hunter. Both have their difficulties that the other does not have. For example during gun season deer completely change their behavior and patterns and become much more nocturnal, but during bow season, their patterns remain the same and are easier to hunt.

RE: bowhunting vs gunhunting
 

this is my first year bow hunting and i already love it more then any gun season... being able to sit there for hours and not freeze my arse off is one of the perks... but being able to be out with my bow and watching what the deer do during prerut is really fun.. thismorning i saw a button buck running about thinking he was the king of the jungle.. it was funny...

bow hunting i think is more difficult not only b/c its harder to acuratly take deer with a bow (way more practice needed then fireamrs) but your hutning during a time when the deer;s senses are hightened as the same as they are during the rest of the year... atleast here in the north east,,, gun season starts peek rut,, so the deer are love blind and its a bit easier to be out during this time... this is all opinion and speculation but this is how i see it!

RE: bowhunting vs gunhunting
 

I love bowhunting and gunhunting, heck I love deerhunting!!!!!! Why can't you get close to deer with a gun in hand??? I killed one at 11 yards and one at 16 yards with gun in hand! It all in the way you chose to hunt! ;) I am really looking forward to the muzzleloading season this year, the ole' flintlock with a patched round ball!!!!!!!!!!:)

RE: bowhunting vs gunhunting
 

here in wisconsin gun season is typically two weeks after the rut and all of the deer just buckle down for a week