Hunter_59

What ever floats your boat! If you can't get a thrill about hunting then it may be time to hang it up. You can make gun hunting anything you want it to be just like bow hunting. You can set parameters in your hunting i.e.; not taking a shot over a certain yardage, not shooting a certain size of animal, or using a more primitive weapon for examples, but their should be no reason to feel upset about taking an animal as long as it's legal. Maybe you have these feelings because you didn't challenge "yourself" enough!

Wolfpack

I just love to hunt!! I prefer a bow but I will also rifle or shotgun it from time to time also. Around here I am LUCKY if I see 1 "good" buck per season and by "good" I mean 3.5 yr. old or older,to the ears or wider. I do shoot does but I love to try as hard as I can to kill a decent buck and I sometimesfeel it is just better for me to take my gun and sit rather than watch my 1 opportunity walk by out of range and then be sick the rest of the season. This happened 2 yrs ago. I had my biggest buck ever @ 40 yrds and could not get a shot with my bow. I was devasted! Frustrated, I came back 2 days later and killed him with my rifle @ 12 yrds. Was I happy? YOU BET!! Would it have been sweeter with my bow? Of course, but I am still thrilled today and remember every detail of both hunts. What it boils down to is if it does not make you happy, excited, pulse racing thrilled to kill a deer with a gun then just keep your bow. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.

my7pointmonster

The fact that it was a doe was irrelevant like I said it was more "lets fill the freezer" type of deal if it had 3 points on one side it would have been in trouble trust me when I say that too. But no the fact that its a doe has no bearing on my hunting, if it did why on earth did I get a bonus doe tag??

Ryan.

Wolfpack

I may not have gotten my point across and sorry if I didn't but whatI was trying to say is that you should not feel ashamed of killing a deer by any legal means BUT if it doesn't make you happy to kill a deer with a gun then let the arrows fly It is all about getting out there a being happy anyway and trying to escape what is going on in the real world at least for a few hours at a time. (for me anyway) Good luck and fill that freezer!

rybohunter

I kind of see your point, but on the other hand, its a flippin deer. Meant to be shot by people to keep thier numbers in check. Use whatever tool you deem "worthy" to hunt with, but losing sleep and getting all bent out of shape is a little much. Bow hunting isn't the center of the universe and rifle hunting isn't evil. Theres a lot of ground in between that you may find enjoyable. Good luck.

my7pointmonster

I don't think rifle hunting is evil I just think that rifle hunting isn't for me there was a transition apparently from when rifle hunting did it for me and when it did nothing that I missed and apparently it was recently enough that it sucks real bad right now.

Ryan.

MichiganWhitetails74

I guess be true to yourself and do what your heart tells you to do. Maybe carry a camera and video your buds during gun season?

I feel 150% with a bow kill & 125% with gun kills....all around I'm in the woods, I have venison...and I have another cherished memory....I just love it....I love a good doe on the ground in the snow with the muzzleloader....If I'm into the deer...you'll see me smiling.

LouisianaTomkat

In response, 4 years ago I had the same experience. This was before I purchased my first bow. I sat on the edge of a pipeline and had a mature doe and yearling at 50yds. I chose to shoot the mature deer. 30-06, 1 shot took out the spine and upper lungs. Dropped in her tracks. I was sitting in a lawn chair hidden behind some small pine saplings. I walked up to this deer, grateful for the meat and the hunt, but lacking in excitement. I hung up the gun for my son and daughter only. I may pick it up again one day, but for now, bowhunting excites me every hunt whether I make a harvest or not.

LT

MichaelP

I am thinking that if this were a 150" deer we would be reading a different post inthe deer hunting section. If you do not want to use a gun that is cool and well respected, but to feel shame for killing a deer is wrong IMO.

supaflav

There's no need to feel ashamed. Actually you should take it as a postive, that you learned something about yourself.Hunting with a firearmjust doesn't do it for you anymore. You took a doe and that will help with your herd ratio and that's never a bad thing. You would've felt much worse if it had been a mature buck and it wouldn't have been asrewarding. I climbed ina shhoting house last year witha rifle, because I only had about 1 hour to hunt after work. Once I was settled in the stand, I found my self praying that a big buck WOULDN'T walk out. I knew right then that my days of hunting with a rifle were behind me....and I couldn't be happier.