Dang gun hunters
 

I am so mad! I scout my spots way before bow season comes in. I hunt private land but it is small and so i started hunting state land. So both two weekends ago (shotgun for does only) and this week (muzzle loader) these guys are killing deer all over the place. I have been out over 20 times already. I am not a stupid hunter either. I dont mind people killing deer near where i hunt, it just frustrates me that i have done so much work and i know most of these guys one way or another through friends. They come out during gun season, sit in a state stand, and they smoke their cigs and eat their supper right there. Im leaving empty handed and they are filling their freezers. Am i wrong to be mad. Anyone else feel like this.

Nothing is stopping you from using a gun during gun season instead of a bow.

Its not about that its just its almost like there not hunting. They have done nothing but get their license and dust off their guns. I know it is my choice to use a gun. I chose not to because i really enjoy the challenge of bow hunting. I have seen a lot of deer that i could have taken with a gun. I watch them walk by and i have no problem with that.

if you cant beat 'em join 'em

You have made your decision. That's all there is too it. They have just as much "right" to do what they do as you do.

I know some of the state hunting lands in DE and they are just like the ones in MD. Trust me I am getting very frustrated over on my side of the state line as well. Just yesterday I was hunting in a bow only area of Fair Hill, MD. I was in my stand nice and early in an area that I had been scouting heavy and seeing a lot of action. Expecting to have a nice peaceful hunt to myself where my work paid off was the wrong answer. About a half hour after I got in the stand another guy sets up FIFTY yards from me. I was frustrated but let that go for awhile, because afterall....I am hunting public land. The tipping point was when I heard twigs breaking straight up a deer trail from me. I knew it was the time of evening the deer had been moving so I got excited and positioned myself to draw back when the time came. After about 5 minutes of adrenaline pumping and checking out the brush..........out pops a two-legged animal with a bow and no treestand. This guy was clearly walking around the woods just hoping to jump one right before dark. Like I said, I understand that I hunt public land. Unfortunately, it is the only opportunity I have. you would just think that some guys would have some type of hunting etiquette. A little different than your situation but I feel your pain brother.

Been there done that too schester

How do you know whether or not they scouted the area for gun hunting ?

It's just as much their right to be there with a gun as it is yours to be there with a bow. I bought a cheap old bow last year just so I could be out in the woods a bit longer than our two week gun season. If you want to bitch and moan about something then do it over poachers, not people that are doing the same legal thing that you are. No one forces you to stick to a bow. I take my bow to get out in nature, and possibly see a deer. Maybe kill it. I take my Howa 1500 .300 Win Mag to fill the freezer. It ain't a question of will I kill a deer, it's when.

Oh, and bowhunting IS my scouting for rifle season. Thank you very much.

If you were really worried about your freezer or having a waaay better chance at getting about any deer you see, you'd grab the gun, same as most people. Bowhunting is about the challenge, the rush, and even the long seasons giving us bowhunters the time in the outdoors that we should be enjoying. Those many gun hunters aren't going to give up their enjoyment of their season, and their use of public land, (which is 3 months shorter than bow season here) to worry about the few bowhunters in the area. Bowhunting is not allowed during rifle season here so it isn't a problem (except crossbows are allowed with a firearm tag). But if it was, and I was hunting with my centerfire rifle on public land---I'd have no problem going out in a pink suit with a thermos of coffee and a box of donuts and doinking a deer 300 yards off and smiling at the people with bows.

Agreed, I hunt gun and bow. I am just as scent anal, crazy obessive about scent and such as I am during bow season. I prefer them at 40 yards be it bow or gun season.

So many responses yet one theme, get a gun. bull****! (if filtered, BS). Hunt thickets. The big boy you're after moves into thickets during hunting season and stays there. He moves at most about a 20' circle during the day. He's not stupid. So you need to get into those thickets early in the morning and I mean early. I jump into these places 60 mins before legal shooting and it goes without saying, opposite from where he is hanging out at night.

People think, especially because your bow hunting that you need all these clear lanes. You don't. You need the one shooting hole to drop that one big buck. Sure, having a couple of good holes to shoot into is ideal, so choose wisely. However, hunt the wind and find the good spot and you will see a lot of deer. Will you see a nice one and not get the shot? Sure. However, what's more exciting, seeing him without that shot or hearing guns go off all around you and not seeing a deer?

I love bringing a bow around people using guns. Nothing better than showing them a kill after the hunt. It's like bringing a fly rod to saltwater fishing.

relax fellas, im not bitchin. im justb sayin its a little dissapointing for lack of better words. i know these guys are not scouting or doing any of the other work because I know most of them through friends. just wanted to see if anyone else felt the same did not want to get butchered

Turn your experience into a positive reaction. You have one full year to get a couple of private spots. They are there, you just have to get out there and find them. Some you have to pay for, some you may have to do work for and others you may have to show your respect to gain admission. One thing with private land though, unless you own it, at some point you will loose it. Always be working to get more.

Yes, you are wrong to be mad. The gun hunters are doing what they enjoy and have every right. Yes, it is easier. So.

Not to steal your thread, it may go along. How about hunting in archery only areas that are surrounded by regular hunting only to have a- holes push the archery woods out. Then they have the nerve to say "Why are you hunting with that when you can use a gun anyway"

well here fer instance....we have 1000 public acres for gun or bow..but just an hour or two down the road, is a bow only public hunting lands that is 3000 acres..do yall not have these bow only areas?

You say you scout well in advance of the season. That may be part of your problem if the deer are now on a food source that was not present during your scouting, like acorns. When the acorns are falling around here, deer hit them hard and seem to avoid the fields where you see them all summer. Just a thought.

Also on public land that gets pressure, you can find good spots without scouting. Just get yourself into the thickest cover you can find. The deer will show up at first light when guys are going to stands, or around 9-11 AM when guys are leaving stands. Most of the deer you will see in the thick stuff will be in bow range.

Adapt and overcome.

uncle norby i am seeing deer just not in range. heck i had one night where i saw three does come into a corn field at about 5. the deer have been moving late so i thought, well ill set up on them tomorrow. that night i had two deer come in to the field i was on but i needed them to have been about 15 minutes earlier. so the next day i got in real early to set up on those 3 does. they never came but guess who came early in the other field, thats right those two from the night before, or at least i assume it was them. thanj you for the tip about hunting the thick stuff. i will have to try that on my next weekend. i work night so i miss most of my morning hunts. we do have one bow only land but its an hour and a half away so with my schedule its ruled out

I know how you feel sussex. I hunt private land basically by myself during bow season but come gun season i get ran out of every spot i have to hunt and the deer i pass up to let them grow another year or two, get shot during gun season buts there nothing i can do about it though because its not my land and have come to accept that over the years. I have always got gun permits in the past but its not worth hunting in a war zone so i didnt even buy gun permits this year. I just hunt as hard as i can with my bow before gun season and thats all i can do. Just my 2 cents

I did not mean to jump on you. I also do not think you really wrong to be mad, I think it is more of a your mad because you ant killing deer and they are. I started off gun hunting when I started. Like you said no scouting, not work, no scent control, just drive around and find a spot. If their hunting the same area as you, either their scouting or just following you around. LOL

I think it is all buck fever and you will get easy with it when you drop a deer.

Like I always say if you want to kill a deer use a rifle.
If you want to hunt a deer use a Bow.

I like that :happy0001:

I don't know of any "bow only" area's in NY state. Maybe down near the city, but I think in 99% of NY state there is nothing like that. They do have drawings in some parks and recreation areas that they only allow bow hunting. But they usually only allow a handful of people, 6 to 10 people. Its hard to get into those. Then you have to hunt from the ground....

Here in NC they run dogs during gun season, it can be a good thing for a still hunter or it can ruin a hunt. I have a couple of spots that I hunt on public land and I don't hunt it until gun season, between everyone driving around trying to stay ahead of the dogs and the dogs themselves it pushes deer my way. On the other hand at my inlaws where I hunt mostly their neighbors have 2 golden retreivers that bark non stop while they are outside the early season like now the deer pay them no mind but once gun season comes in the first bark they hear the deer are gone. Anyways my point is those other hunters you say are not "good" hunters use it to your advantage let them push the deer to you. Just my .02 you can keep the change.

Those who have suggested going into the thick areas are right. that's where the smarter, older (and hence bigger) bucks will likely go. If they've survived before by going there, they'll try it again. I'm like you, I hunt deer exclusively with a bow and I get worried that some of the ones I've targeted will be taken by gun hunters when the seasons open. I've seen several REALLY good bucks this year and I'm hoping to tag at least one of them before the early MZL season opens next week. I could have easily killed any of the big bucks I've seen with a gun, but it will be my choice to keep on trying with a bow. I understand the risks and I accept them.

well i would also suggest moving into the really thick areas, not only for a better chance at seening a deer, but a better chance of not being shot by another hunter which all them gun hunters around.