I have determined if you get a deer with a bow you have accomplished something...
 

I used to use bow season as a way to kill time until gun season. I shot at and missed several deer before getting my first one 2 years ago. I didn't bow hunt last year but am back at it this year. I have been out twice and had does within range but they didn't give me a shot. I already knew bow hunting was hard but I have realized that it is a real accomplishment to get a deer with a bow. Especially a mature buck. I am really hoping to get my second deer with a bow this season though and hope to do it before blackpowder and rifle season starts. Once those kick in, it will be nearly impossible for me to take a bow to the woods when I can have a rifle instead. :fighting0007:

I enjoy it mostly because its so exhilerating. Being that close to an animal and having to time everything out just so and being in just the right position; its just special to me. I feel like I gave the deer a fighting chance, and that makes me feel good about myself.

southernsportsman i feel the same way last year i was in a blind with my dad and this doe comes walking out and this is my first hunt with a bow and i draw and i wait for my dad to say take her ........my dad finialy says take her so i steady up and pull the trigger i was shaking and well my arrow went over her back but hey o well this saterday i will get my revenge lol but back to subject it is very exhilerating

I have picked up a bow 10 years ago for hunting and i have never let it down . IMO its more sporting and gived then the same chance of surviving the hunt as to getting harvested. Like i said in 10 years i have not picked up a rifle to hunt cause shooting a buck at 25 yards and shooting a buck at 200yds. the feeling is a ton different .

You know every drug addict is looking for the best high money can buy all they have to do is go bow hunting Cause the best drug in life is free ( ADRENALINE ! ! ! ) the Best feeling in the world . . .

you should try a bow (recurve/longbow) instead of a compound - its nowhere near the same ball game

primitive archers are in a totally different game too

I love the peace that comes with it. I love the extra a person has to put out when bow hunting. I even love the misses, well not so much. I think it is an accomplishment when you kill a deer 800 yards away with a rifle. Just nice to see the white in their eyes so to speak.

so is using a rock and stick more sporting? I agree there is far more to it but a rifle kill is no lesser then a bow kill.

its actually a LOT more of an accomplishment than a rifle kill -

Much harder with a bow even compared to a slug gun. But hey a kill is a kill, and any hunter no matter what the weapon he uses, has accomplished something. Deer aren't stupid, especially the big ones :)

Where I live its actually the opposite. For me, killing a deer with a bow is much easier than w/ a gun, because the places that tend to have alot of deer are particularly in the subrbs, and all you can hunt with is a bow. Its getting harder and harder every year, to even find places to gun hunt, and theres always much fewer deer than in the burbs. On big public land, or even a private farm up north, I may go days without seeing a deer. On a small woodlot in the burbs I see maybe 10 in 1 morning under my stand. Being able to shoot far doesnt matter much if there aint nothing to shoot. Also, most states hold their gun season ,well after the rut winds down, so theres less chance of seeing a good buck during daylight, most of my better bucks were bowkilled while they were chasing does past my stand , happens almost every year. Your also competing with alot more hunters in gun season. Personally I love shooting deer with bows and guns equally, both have their advantages and disadvantages IMO. Good luck to all, whatever your shooting.