Our gun season opened saturday. I got my triumph muzzleloader a week and a half ago and love it. My delima is wether to bow hunt or gun hunt. I want to kill a deer more then anything but i would perfer it be with a bow atleast for my first. I can not figure which to take with me. It is raining early tomorrow then letting up around 6to9. Then rain again so i worry about the muzzleloader and the rain but want to kill a deer. Should i take there rain a reason to bow hunt or go with the gun.
What would you do. Kind of dammed if i do dammed if i don't if i take the bow and a buck shows up 100 yards out i will kick my self all year.

Well if ya never shot a deer before with BP I would go BP..Just Doooooooo It....

Never shot one period. Bow gun bp nothing.

Im in the same situation. Never shot a deer. A couple of years ago I went during archery season almost every weekend and never got anything. Firearms season came around and I decided to get a firearms license. We went out and didn't see any bucks, but a line of 11 does walked about 20 yards from me. (In Indiana with the general firearms license you can't shoot does.)

This year I decided since I already bought an archery license, Im going to stick with it until I get one, even though we're already in gun season. Good luck!

i am a bowhunter, i enjoy it more than any form of hunting, but for a first chance at a deer i'd suggest you try with whatever fire-arm is legal for your area, shooting a deer after you have killed a few with a rifle will loose its luster, i mean its just shooting a deer with a rifle, now if a high scoring buck shows up it still gets the ole thumper going, but nothing compared to having him at 17 yards broadside and blowing steam

for your first one i'd go witht the smokepole be sure and "water-proof" it

at this point i'd put the odds in your favor

You can load your muzzleloader up and put a piece of masking tape over the end of the barrel to keep the moisture and water out in rainy conditions. Of course don't leave your primer in unless you are hunting. Also remove your primer when going in and out of the treestand. Keep the gun at outside temperatures so condensation doesn't form inside the barrel. You can shoot through the masking tape, no need to remove it. Keep your primers dry as well. I have a Triumph, they are great guns and easy to clean. Keep it clean after shooting and you will not have any problems. Go kill your deer and have fun.

your hunting with an inline.....keeping it dry is not a big deal at all...ive carried a flintlock in pouring rain and heavy snow all day and still had no worries about it doing off...


id say take the inline...your likely to get the fever like no other if you ever get a shot with your bow as youve never killed one...

wouldnt hurt to get a few gun kills under your belt...no shame in that...TV and the internet got many people in the hunting world turned into "elitists" thinking their form of hunting is better than another...

ive killed deer with a rifle, flintlock, and bow..guess what? when rifle season rolls around i grab one of my rifles and go rifle huntin! why?? im a bow hunter..im a flintlock hunter...am i cheatin?? heck no i dont think im cheatin...im evening the playing field! its legal...and heck, squeezin a trigger and watchin a deer buckle and hearin your shot echo through the valley is a sweet feeling...yaaa its not what it once was...its pretty much BANG, tag, drag...but it still gets my heart pumpin...and i love venison..i enjoy the commrodity of rifle hunting with a bunch of buddies..i still love bow hunting...but i love flintlocking and rifle hunting too...my closest bow kill is still probably a yard farther than my closest rifle kill...and probably 11 or so out of my 14 gun/flintlock kills have been well within bow range...so the whole "they gotta be closer for a bow and blah blah blah" doesnt hold water for me...

do what makes you happy.....truth of it is that i love deer hunting...i love venison...when the gun, or bow, or flintlock quits gettin me excited, then i'll quit using it...but 16 (i think im at 16) whitetails later, i still got plans for another rifle for the collection...a revolver...a slug gun...and another flintlock or 5...

what i do is i try to take my buck with the bow so i can flintlock hunt for does...heck, i might even take the rifle or slug gun doe huntin this year just because i have the time and wanna scout new spots and try fillin the freezer...

If it is legal my suggestion would be to put a sling on ur muzzleloader and carry both your bow and muzzleloader to the stand with you. If you get a deer in close give them the ol' shaft, however if you see a deer a ways away and you get the feeling that he will not come within bow range, use the muzzleloader. I have always wanted to do this, however in Illinois it is illegal to bow hunt during shotgun season.