Bowhunting is my passion and what I love to do most. It started when I was six years old and my dad took me out too grandpa's land. I sat between his feet on a 10 foot ladder stand. Before we left my father made me practice acting like a branch. I would sit there with my arms up and not move for minutes. I laugh about it now because its funny what a kid will do. He shot a doe that night and after that I was hooked. I wanted to go with him every chance I could. I was addicted to the outdoors. If he went trapping, cutting wood, trout fishing, I would try to be by his side as much as I could. For that "I thank you dad"!!!

Never gun hunted a day in my life, besides shooting squirrels with an air gun as a child. After bow hunting for so long, gun hunting would seem too easy to me and not provide me with a sense of accomplishment.

I hunt the same way with my Longbow as I do with my shotgun. Just because I have a rifle in my hands doesn't mean I have to shoot a deer at 300 yards. Hell, the closest deer I have ever killed was at about 8 feet with my shotgun. I watched this deer come in for 45 minutes, it was awesome and a big sense of accomplishment in my book! I love hunting!

I used to watch a uncle of mine that had to be the one to take that long shot or the hunt was no good to him...everything had to revolve around him...when I was a kid deer hunting with a gun it was just like a camping trip...in the years he didn't go it was alot better...just a day or so into the hunt he would attempt 200/250 yrd shots sometimes 350yrds...(very inpatient) some were hits and some were misses...even with a rifle when I was a kid I still like to get within 50/100 yrds...that is why I was so attracted to bow hunting by the time I was 20, just due to the fact I have to get in close ..and with Muleys that can be a trick in itself bowhunting.

I used to use guns to hunt deer, Now I am a Bow hunter on the deer.
The reason why is a combination of things. 1 was that I could just go sit an watch a field an pick what ever deer I wanted, then I could always get that exact deer with my 6.5 Swedish mouser. It just takes some of the sport out of it and eventually when deer season rolled around and people were getting excited I was like *yawn what ever im sleepin in*
And then there was the ear damage. I allways thought that ear plugs stoped every thing so I didn't use them in hunting then I found out that damage was permanent. So I stopped gun hunting entirely.
Now I found out about some Cheap foam ear plugs the Mil. had invented. These things are amazing, you can carry on a casual conversation *with out yelling* *with them in* *right next to some noisy farm equipment* and can STILL HEAR WHATS GOING ON!!! They are freakin great.
That is why I started bow hunting deer. I am still not gud enough with the bow to keel them gobble heads *what my pro shop owner calls them, he has nicnames for every thing* so I shoot the guns at every thing else but I am workin on getting gud enough with the bow to keel other things than deer. :rock:

I'm a bowhunter only. I just really enjoy and there are tons less dumbass's out there bowhunting. Anybody can shot a gun, but not everybody has the patience to bowhunt.

Bowhunting
 

Though I have never Biggame hunted with a gun I admire those who are successful in this sport-it's just another part of our heritage.