Rob/PA Bowyer

There may be more to the story than we/you (poster) realize.

And for PA, I disagree with PT. With 1,000,000 license sales, obviously most for deer season, that's alot of lead in the air. Ask any late season flintlocker or archer about found deer after lead season. [&:]

Archers/Bowhunters already get a bad rap for die hard gun hunters because their season follows ours, but ask any die hard second season archer/flintlocker what they find. I think it would open the minds or at least I'd hope of some lead slingers.

PreacherTony

I didn't say #'s .... I said %

No WAY I will ever believe the % of deer hit to deer not found will be higher for gun .....anywhere in the US....

GMMAT

First thing I noticed, too. Our temps are generally higher than yours.....and there's no way a deer dead here a MONTH would look like that, right now.

mondoman86

Well We had a picture of the one with the big brow tine ontrail cam november 24th. It was still alive. Yea those 2 were younger deer though. They had weird looking racks, but The other ones He said were alot bigger. I'll get pics of them soon. There is a line of weird looking buck genetics, and some good genetics around here. Just hit or miss, I guess.

Vito1

PT,

I get what you're saying are far as percentages and it is probably true. I don't know the numbers, but it is easier to kill a deer with a gun so I will assume a higher percentage are recovered. This is what I do know about my area. There are a lot more gun hunters than bow hunters. I'd say 4 gun to every 1 bow. All of the bow hunters I know in my area are pretty serious hunters and take ethical shots. About half the gun hunters I know are the same, the other half is not. They empty their guns at running deer, take poor shot angles, and shoot even when a clear shot is not present. I rarely see a wounded deer before gun season. During the late archery season, I expect to see a wounded deer every other sit. Again, percentages come into play here. More hunters equals more wounded/unrecovered deer...regardless of weapon. In my area though, a higher percentage of gun hunters are not serious or ethical hunters. I think the lethalness of a gun gives some false security. They think they can "throw lead" at it and the deer will go down. Like I said before, there are plenty of ethical gun hunters out there. It's just in my experience the percentage of ethical gun hunters is lower than the percentage of ethical bow hunters...in my area.

PreacherTony

I agree with all this post ....

GMMAT

PT....You'll appreciate this....

I USED TO feel the way described, above. I don't, any more. I can only attest to the guys who hunt around me (the ones I "know"). I just don't see it like I used to.

Disclaimer - The poaching neighbors I have are an anomoly. I realize that. I don't judge ANY ohter hunters by their actions (let alone break that down into weapons used). They're scum.

The rest of the guys hunting the "triangle" I hunt (2.5sq/mi.) are pretty ethical, as far as I know.......except the mentality of getting "their" buck makes a few of them crazy during the BOW season. Outside the poaching neighbors......the poaching I'm aware of has been carried out by bowhunters. I turned two in (who I formerly called 'friends'), last year.

Rob/PA Bowyer

Okay, % I agree with you, #'s I do not but the #'s and % are higher in PA as well.

Schultzy

I know exactly what your talking about mondoman. A few years back my dad and I took a canoe and floated the big river bottom that's across the road from the land my dad owns and I hunt. We found 30 dead deer In a 1/2 mile stretch a week after the gun season. Some were fawns that were shot right through the lungs, people just left them lay for obvious reasons. Most of the others were doe's and bucks that were either ass shot or gut shot. The gun hunters In my area are pretty pathetic. If they don't fall over when they shoot, they must of missed then. The recovery percentage In my area I bet would favor the bow hunters by a long shot. There's not a whole lot of bow hunters around here and there's a pile of gun hunters around here. I've got cousins of mine who are big Into gun hunting, they absalutely love It and can't wait for It every year and they themselves would agree with everything I've said as they've seen the same results themselves finding dead deer after the gun season on there land from other gun hunters then themselves. Most of the deer that they and I have found usually happen the last 2 days of the season when people start getting desperate and are taking pot shots they shouldn't be. It Is what It Is. My dad said the gun hunters up by his place In northern Minnesota are completely different and very efficient and have allot of pride In what they do. I wish more were like that around my place.

early in

I only have this to say regarding recovery rate. I think gun hunters have a slightly higher % rate of recovery because of the sheer force and knock down power of a gun. At the same time,I believebowhunters will have more of a tendency to take an ethical shot,"generally speaking", than a gun hunter will. The reason I say this is because a gun hunter often thinks his/her capabilities (range, knock down power, ability to hit running/moving deer) are greater than they actually are because they're using a gun.Where as the bowhunter "usually" realizes his/her range limitations, waits for a clear shot, doesn't shoot at running/moving deer. Again, generally speaking. This is STRICTLY MY OPINION, and I'm not in any way against gun hunting at all.