Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

I wonder if you guys that hunt with a bow and gun (blackpowder, shotgun, pistol, et al..) if it's different, or the same with just a different weapon.

Let me explain. For me, although I bowhunt with most of the guys I gun hunt with, bowhunting is more of a personal, solitary deal.

Gun hunting, for me,is so steeped in tradition ..... sighting in guns, running to the store for the sales with your buds and/or kin ... the preparation before .... the unknown of what is gonna run by you as it escapes the neighboring property .... drives set-up .... meeting for lunch ..... guys hunting on adjoining properties...

Then there is bowhunting .... preparation is mostly year round ....all day sits....calm deer ....you know what animals you are hunting (for the most part), ....

I think bowhuntingis my favorite, because it is therapeutic .... but I could NEVER give up the tradition of gun hunting ,,,it is just too much fun!!!


Can anyone else relate to this???

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

You mean.....like going to the strip club v. being with your wife?

I'm not following you......;)

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

PT
That is pretty much how it is for me. Bowhunting is more personal/relaxing by myself, where rifle hunting is family bred and more of a time spent with others type of hunting.

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

I can Tony, I hunt with every thing thats legal in as many states as I have time for. It starts with early goose season and ends with late grouse season. Bow seasons ,slug gun seasons,rifle seasons and shot gun seasons.
In PA we get one buck tag and I use mine wisely,NY same thing in slug season then our rifle season comes in and I have friends from all over the country come home to hunt,play cards andlie about past hunts,I would not miss it for the world.

I guess not enjoying all of the seasonswould belike going to the strip club tosee your wife.

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

I still keep a little of the solitary mind-set for gun hunting (we don't do drives andI spend more time on stand than most)but there's still the regular group that shows up for opening weekend. I share the woods with most of the guys during archery season, but we rarely ever see each other during that time so I feel like I have the whole place to myself.

As far as the lunch/dinner get togethers I feel the same way. I'd miss that part of hunting if I did nothing but bowhunt - everyone bringing in their deer, making dinner, a bonfire and a few cold beverages at night. ( But no strippers GMMAT):)

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

Actually, I can't. Gun hunting means nothing to me. There's absolutely NO tradition involved what so ever. I've done an awful lot of hunting and fishing in my life w/ my dad, but NEVER deer hunted. NEVER. I've never had the tradtional deer camp to head to every November. No big family gathering, no pre season sighting in of the guns....none of that. I've pretty much always hunted solo, or at best, with 1 other guy. So bowhunting is just the natural progression for me.

Hunting deer with agun means absolutely NOTHING to me. I've got absolutely nothing against it, but for me.....no thanks. I've done it, I've killed quite a few deer w/ a rifle. It's almost...anti climatic for me. I feel more like a sniper than hunter.

The last time I hunted w/ a rifle was 3 years ago, and only because it was with a rifle my dad had given me. I thought it would be cool to whack one w/ dad's rifle, and it was. Opening morning, 1/2 hour into it, I had 2 does on the ground. I haven't picked that gun up since, except to clean it. There's just no challenge in it for me.

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

Yeah Jim ... you understand for sure! :)

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

Bro ... you don't know what your missing....... I'm talking about the tradition and commradery (sp?) part .....

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

Mobow I get 2 or 3 doe tags every year,in PA we just one buck tag,most years mine is filled in bow season.[:-]

But there is no more fun than taking kids hunting or helping older guys get their deer gutted and out of the woods. In bow season I'm on a mission I have little time for the trivial things that get in the way of others success,Its all about me.[:-]
Come rifle season I'm in it for the entertainment. I haven't shot a doe in 15-20 years ,I just can't bring myself to do it. I find it Kinda like stomping baby chicks ,just a little bit easier.[:o]
But I have a great time helping my neighbors & their grand kids, they do little harm to much more than my trees but every once in a while they kill one. Just like a fat kid finding an unopened box of Ho-Ho's they are in utopia. And with out question I'm the only one around with a camera,a drag rope Or a sharp knife. :eek:
I wouldn't miss it for the world.:)

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

Tony:

As foreign as it seems to you .......and as much as you think we're "missing out"......I agree with Don, 100%. I've never gun hunted for deer......but I've never tasted dog ****, either. I'm just pretty certain I don't like either.

I can certainly understand your love for it, though. It brings people together that don't normally do so EXCEPT for that time of year (and by design, that way, most likely). That'sHAS to be funAND special.

But again.....Don and I don't feel like we're missing a thing. We're happy for you guys......but it holds no interest, to us (and if Don feels differently than that he can say so). Canmaraderie is also not mutually exclusive to gun hunting. ;)

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

Gun season is more..."exciting" maybe IMO. Hearing shots that are nearby, never knowing whats coming through next, firearms season is a fun time to be in the woods. I really enjoy bowhunting, butI'll be honest though, I only bowhunt becauseit allows to hunt ALOT, not because I think it makes the hunt more special/meaningful etc.I'd be out there with my potato gun if there was a season for it.

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

Jeff ....... trust me ....your missing out ...... read Jim's posts ........ I'm not saying there aren't other things ..... all I am saying .... nevermind ... you can't miss what you never had, I guess

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

While I agree with something everyone has said, this statement is very true.

I hunt with anything and everything. Up here we have 2 weeks of bow only, then 1 week of bow and ml, then rifle kicks in and they all end on November 15. My brothers, dad and other friends come up and hunt for the first 2 weeks of Novmeber with what ever weapon they choose. When I look at deer hunting I don't put a prefix on it....bow, gun, or ml.....its all hunting.

A lot of times I wake up in the morning and pick up whatever I feel like hunting with that day. If I grab the bow, I never feel like I'm better than the rest of the guys who are using a gun that day. On the flip side, if I grab the ml or rifle, I never feel like I'm less of a hunter than my buddy who only hunts with a bow. He looks at it the same way.....its just hunting.

Also, I have never shot a deer at under 30 yards with a ml or rifle and thought it would have been so much better if I would have brought the bow that day. Conversly, I have never sat with a bow and saw a deer at 100 yards and wished I had brought the gun that day.

Dudes, its just hunting, as long as its legal.......get out and do it and encourage everyone else to do the same.

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

Tony:

If I lived in a state that didn't allow me to bowhunt during ALL open deer seasons.....I'd gun hunt them. I'm sure I'd learn to love it, too.

I'm just afforded the luxury of being able to hunt them with the bow (on relatively unpressured land) the entire season. I'd also have ONLY one place to hunt them if I gun hunted.

Like I said, though.....as hard as it is for you to relate.....I KNOW (for myself) that I'm not "missing out".....as much as you know you're not missing out on hunting them in a pen (and I am NOT correlating the two....at all).

I'm sure your experiences gun hunting ARE special, to you (and others). I wish I felt that way. I just "don't". Kudos to you guys.

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

I am on the fence with this one because I see both sides, I grew up with the deer camp every year gun hunting, with all the normal traditions.....I started bowhunting in my early 20's, and over the years have a bunch of guys that I bowhunt with, we now do all the same stuff as before but it is with bowhunters instead of gun hunters and sometimes a mix of the 2 at camp. In Texas's general season you can hunt with gun or bow, I still hunt with my bow as does several of my other buddieson the lease but we also have some oldr gents that gun hunt only....I don't think the two different ways of hunting have to be totally seperated but again in Texas you can hunt with what you like for the most part of the season......Us guys that bowhunt get a month in the woods before the general season yet we still have all the same traditions just with a few less guys than in the gun season....I can see both sides but can't relate as much to the solitude of it as wenormally hunt as a group, hell I like it when the gun hunters come in, they generally push the deer out of a lot of areas that they would normally hide in....With my job taking me overseas I have a lot more time off now a days and have started doing a lot more hunting during the week by myself and it too has it's positives.....

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

PT, I can definitely relate. OH's short gun season resembles a family reunion at the cabin. The "usual suspects" are always in attendance, usually so many that the floor is covered in sleeping hunters (or hunters TRYING to sleep ;)). The neighbors are stoppingby through out the days to swap stories and food. It's an excellent time for all!
To me, bowhunting is a part of my everyday life (one ofmy favorite parts :D), while gun hunting is definitely an event . . . a MAJOReventindeed! And if I take a plump doe with my shot gun, it's a bonus. It's the part of my season where I just don't feelany pressure to put a deer down. It's far more about the experience than the take.

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

PT, I feel the same as mobow and GMMAT. I cringe when our PA season comes around although I understand what your saying with the tradition and cabin thing etc. I'd like to belong to a cabin for nothing more than the tradition though I'll never hunt the rifle season with a rifle. I would do it with a bow. The way I read your post though, it has nothing to do with the weapon but the gathering and traditions behind the scenes. It would be the exact same way if the entire event happened with bows but that's rarely if ever the case.

What sums it up for me is something an older WY'r said to me when I was out elk hunting in WY. After I took my bull I was in "town" Sheridan. A guy saw our vehicle plates and asked " You guys hunting? " Sure are I said. " What for?" he asked. I replied, "Bull elk". He astonishingly asked, " With a BOW?" , yeah, why I asked.......

I thought, here we go, and he said, " You know I envy you guys". So I asked why. He said, " I'm a rifle hunter, I see an elk and I shoot it, you see an elk and your hunt begins".

Again, I understand the traditions and the camp camarodorie etc.... but when rifle season comes in this great state of PA, I feel sorry for the deer. Yup, sorry. Damn things run around frantic, orange behind every other tree, lead flying everywhere, bam, bam, bam, bam as deer flee across the fields, zing goes a bullet..heard too many of them. Signs get shot, litter along the back roads, orange in the bars, orange in the stores, orange at the gas station, beat up truck here, out of state tag there. Orange standing on the black tops. Radios chattering constantly, slow moving road hunters on most back roads.

Yeah, it might be different where some of you live but I cringe when our rifle season rolls around. [&:]

But I understand the tradition and camaradory. ;)

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

The camaraderie associated with deer camps (during rifle season) seems to be the "kicker". So I'll ask.....if the SAME guys all bow hunted.....would that "disappear"? Be "different"? How so? Just curious.

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

I grew up gun hunting, since the time I can remember, gun season was a big deal, the biggest to exact. I would be excited for months leading up to it. School was cancelled for opening day, so of course we were always up at camp the night before. Everything that went into the hunt was fun. Some of my fond memories come from the shopping trip the day before to stock the camp with food. All of those things we couldn't have the rest of the year were fair game, if we wanted Snickers for breakfast, have two! That tradition is what made me the dedicated hunter I am today.

I came in to bowhunting later in my life (I'm not old (26) but I didn't start bowhunting until 14, and then took off for about 9 years because of sports) and now I bowhunt hard, and love to do it. I bowhunt here in IL, so there is always excitement. I do wish I had some of my friends from gun season that I could bowhunt with, the commaraderie is just not quite the same. There's something about hearing that gun shot and wondering if it was my brother/dad/friend who shot. Can't do that with the bow...or shouldn't anyway!

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

It's all good and depends on the person. Otherwise, you might as well try to argue which is a better experience golf or tennis, fly fishing versus bass fishing, boxers versus briefs, sandals versus flipflops, taste great versus less filling, etc., etc. As for me, I consider myself to be a hunter and don't choose to define myself by my choice in weapon or hunting style.

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

Tony, believe me bro, I know exactly what you're saying. But I share that same fellowship w/ the guys that I bowhunt with. And I'm not arguing in the least.

But for me, honestly......if I were FORCED to hunt w/ a gun.....I wouldn't be at that camp anyway. And if I were.....it would be more frustrating than fun, taking away from all of it. Fellowship or no, if a guy isn't interested in bang stick hunting......It just wont' be fun. Trust me. ;)

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

Not singling you out Rob, just using this as an example.

A lot, not all, of the guys who are diehard bowhunters and won't pick up a gun come from states that have a crazy deer season. During the bow season you take your time going in and out carefully, watch your scent, watch the wind, etc. Then when gun season rolls around you see all your hard work not educating the deer go right out the window. Guys running everywhere, doing drives, being loud, etc.

Is there the factor that someone screwed up "your hard work?"

(Again, not pointed at anyone in particular, just stating observations.)

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

I'mstrictly a bowhunter and I love it. I've killed plenty of deer with rifle, shotgun, and crossbow. I get more personal satisfaction out of killing a deer with my compound. I do miss the good old days (to a certain degree)of going to the mountains with my pop, brother in law , and a few friends. Time has changed this, as friends have gotten married/had kids, moved away to persue jobs, or just lost intrest. Dadhasn't hunted in many years, so it just leaves me to hunt pretty much by myself. Occasionally, I'll bowhunt with my brother in law, but that's about it.
I really love hunting by myself. I get to call the shots ( no pun intended). I get in the woods real earlywhen I hunt, instead of having to wait forsomeone to get motivated (I hate that!), stay as long as I please, and leave when I please. I wouldn't trade this for anything! I also love hunting basically undisturbed animals, which is usually the case during bow season. Another big plus of bowhunting is the small number of hunterson the state land that I hunt. I really don't miss gun hunting much at all!;)

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

Most of the guys at my deer camp or lease bowhunt, so it is all the same to us....a few of those guys will turn to a gun when that season rolls around and a few of us continue to hunt with bows and then we have a couple of guys that gun hunt only.....For us it is no different, other than the weather....:D I personally like to bowhunt better,I have rifle hunted the last couple years a handful of timeswith my daughter and when she got her first, that beat any day I have had in the field with any weapon....

Anyway for us and the way we hunt it is all the same....

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

The difference would be that I hardly ever come back to the cabin during bow season during the day. It's an organized thing during gun season, we meet back at the cabin around 10-10:30 and have breakfast, then back out once everyone decides what stand they are going to. When I bow hunt I might change my mind mid-morning and go to a different stand site. Can't do that during gun season w/o buggering up someone else and couldn't do much of it if there was a group during bow season.

Now if we had decent cell service in our woods maybe we could move around w/o causing problems.

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

For ME, Dan.....it's justthe revelation that they hunt the same animal in (many times....not all) an entirely different scenario/mindset than what I do. That's ONE reason I find it UNinteresting. It's simply "foreign" to my methodology.

I KNOW....believe me....KNOW that there are guys who gun hunt who take EVERY (and likely MORE) precaution I do when I bowhunt. But...at least around here.....those guys are the exception and not the rule.

I used to go the bow shop sometimes to shoot 3D (indoors) during my mid-day break. I'd see the gun guys come in from their hunts....and have their same camo they hunted in on. They'd eat lunch.....go fill up with gas....etc, etc, etc... and go right back out from there. I just can't imagine being able to do that and be successful, bowhunting.

So....do I think they prepared the way I did? Nope. Do I think they take the precautions I did/do? Nope. Do I find "their" way of hunting "interesting? Nope. Does it afect me in the least? Well.....yeah. They hunt the adjoining properties I do....and sometimes the SAME properties.;) Are the screwing up my hunting? You bet.

Do I think ALL gun hunters are "this way"? Heck no. Do I think ALL bowhunters are virtuous? Heck no.

Is it for me? Heck no. Do I begrudge anyone doing it.....as long as they're doing it legally and ethically? ABSOLUTELY NOT. More power to you. I wish you great success.

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

I feel a lot like you do Preacher. Bowhunting allows me to hunt earlier and more and the deer are easier to hunt during this time of year. I tend to hunt alone and it's much calmer and more predictible. The deer are a little easier to pattern because there is little to no preasure.

Rifleseason is a radition like non other. All the things you mentioned are :Dalso reasons I like rifle season.Shooting our guns, breaking out the old hunting clothes and the stupid hats..........[8D]:D

The cold air, the feeling I get on opening day makes me feel like a kid again...:D. I also can re-live the excitement through my nephews.........8 and 12 yrs old.......They get tore up over opening day of rifle season.....I can't imagine a kid not experiencing thator having to wait until they are old enough to hunt with a bow....[&:]....Let's face it....not too many 7,8,9 year olds can bow hunt proficiently...

Ohhhh yeah..............I think it's fun to kill deer with guns............;)

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

I gave up gun hunting central Wis. because I got tired of dodging bullets. I won't hunt that situation any more. That being said, I would never give up the pure adrenalin rush of tracking a big buck in remote areas with my rifle. I believe it's the situation not the weapon.

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

Now THAT sounds "interesting";) Completely "foreign"....but interesting. Kudos, MM.

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

There are VERY few things each year that I look forward to more than opening day of gun season. It's not just the opportunity to hunt with my rifle, but everything that goes with it. The 6 hour drive to where I hunt, seeing 5 trucks/SUV's heading north to every one car. The night before figuring out stands, the visiting of other deer camps and hearing the stories about what deer have been seen during preseason scouting. Its almost like you can feel the excitement in the air. Opening morning has to be my favorite though. Out in your stand, thermos of coffee, just waiting for the first hint of light to see whats out there. Just as the first light comes, out in the distance you hear the first shot of the season. At that moment a smile always comes to my face, my favorite time of the year starts right now. I sit in anticipation hearing shots echo around me, thinking to myself," When is it going to be my shot other people hear?" I love everything about it. Then that night getting back to camp and hearing the stories of the day from friends and family. Going out that night, visiting other deer camps, seeing whats been harvested that day while throwing back a few beers.
I think its just being out around so many hunters makes the opening day of rifle season such a great thing for me. Bowhunting is great and I love that is well, but something about the tradition of gun season makes it so much better to me.

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

Mr. Bawana - I thought I was stocky, thanks Jim, the ho-ho's were delicious and need another box!:(

#1 (period) I like to hunt, all the other stuff is insignificant.

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

GUS I'm sorry I missed this the first time....and believe it or not (coming from me[&:]) I tend to agree wtiht you about the "ease" factor.....knowing how pressured some of you guys woods must be.

This thread has made me think about something else, too. We used to have similar anxiety as the dove opener around here drew closer. It used to be a BIG deal. It likely still is to many.....but I've moved away from that (a little longing, perhaps???). If it didn't coincide so closely with our deer opener.....I think I'd love to revisit it. I've got an aging father in law that would love to get in a good dove field with me. I think I need to think about that, some.

I appreciate the thread, T.....even though we RESPECTFULLY ....heck we don't even disagree (that much).;)

Missed this one, too....but I agree with Yooper (below).....WOW. GREAT picture.:)

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

Now that right there is gun season! Well said fastetti.

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

Yes, I love bowhunting and use most of my vacation time during that season but I love gun season too. I started bow hunting for one reason....more time in the woods chasing whitetails, not because I didn't enjoy gun season. Bow season is fun and very personal to me it is also hot, humid, bug infested, andfrustrating. Sometimes after nearly two months of stand hunting and chasing them with the stick and string I am simply ready for a change, a couple of days gun hunting at the farm with pops or listening to a hound work a trail is a welcome change in "format" sometimes and keeps things interesting. The smell of burnt powder on a crisp, cold morning is something that isengrained in my memory as much as the distinct "thwack" made when my arrow finds it's mark on an unsuspecting whitetail. I crave to relive all of it again and again. I put something likethis in another thread recently and it sums me up:

".....I enjoy hunting/killing them with every weaponduring every season.Bow, bp, rifle, shotgun(buckshot or slugs), doesn't really matter much to me.

A good hunt is a good hunt."


But that's just me I can undertsand thefeelings others are mentioning as well.

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

It's nice to hunt with out all of the distractions and things getting in the way.........That's why I love bowseason.

I guess I also like all the distractions and all the things getting in the wat too..............It's funny, I really don't care if I kill a deer or not during gun season, but I wouldn't miss it for the world......:D

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

Jeff, I think the success rate of most hunters in deer camp (gun) helps with the camaraderie. Yeah I know, its not all about the killing......but some of it is or we would all be hunting with Polaroids.:D

Seriously, I've been hunting where no one has seen a good deer or killed anything.....about then someone pulls up the drivewith a big 10pt. It gives you hope that the deer are there, you just need to put the time in. I see few big bucks killed with a bow every year, but I'll see 5-10 during our short gun season every year. All of these things help add to the camaraderie IMO.

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

This is one of the main reasons I bowhunt. i always have bullets whizzing by my head due to careless hunters.

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

I understand Preach. ;)

I'm actually taking 2x days vacation this year to hunt the gun season, it's been a loooooong time since I've done that and I'm really looking forward to it.

Lisa will be hunting with me this year for her first time on the NY opener and first weekend in PA and I'm thrilled to be able to introduce her to the tradition. I'm still going to spend the majority of my time during bow season, butgun season will be one of the highlights ofmy season this year.

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

The first time that a bullet/slug or arrow (yeah that happens too) whizzed past my head, I think that I would have to re-think my priorities in terms of deer hunting at certain times at certain places. [:o]

RE: Bowhunting and gun hunting ..... a different perspective?
 

Tony, I know exactly what you are talking about. Those that have never gun hunted, or did not grow up gun hunting, they would not understand. I love sitting in my stand that first morning and hearing the first shot ring out. Something you don't and cannot get with bowhunting. Bowhunting is more of a one-on-one thing, which I love with out a doubt. Gun hunting, there is so many things that can and do effect your hunt. I have always said that bowhunting is hunting, gun hunting is hanging with the boys and filling my freezer. I don't aruge that bowhunting is special, but gun hunting is special also, they are just different kind of specials.