Good move by going to a good archery shop. This is only my second year bow hunting and I'm hooked. A good shop will definetly be the right move. There's so much that I didn't know that i would've been in trouble if I'd just found a bow and bought it. The main reason that I got into bow hunting was challege. I don't regret it. Hopefully if you decide to take it up, it will be a life changing experience for you just like it was for me. Good luck and have a great season.

I bought a bow for many that same reasons that you are considering one. The rifle season in Nebraska is only 9 days and every idiot in the state is out hunting. Quite a few without an ethics (trespassing, road hunting, etc.). I hunt to relax and enjoy myself, not have to tell people that they don't have permission on this ground or get into arguments. I know not all people are this way but that has been most of my dealings the last few years I hunted with a rifle.

I will add that after elk hunting in Colorado for several years with a rifle and killing elk that the last deer I shot with my rifle didn't even get me excited. I almost felt like I was shooting at a target, no adrenalin rush at all. So after taking a year off from hunting and getting into bow hunting I have a whole new outlook on hunting. The littlest deer walking by my stand gives me the shakes. The peacefulness of hunting and knowing that you don't have to worry about someone trespassing or pushing the area that you are hunting is well worth it. I now enjoy myself again and I will probably not go back to hunting with a rifle at this point. I have no problem with anyone that chooses to hunt that way, but bowhunting is an addiction for me and it has more to do with the relaxation and freedom than the killing. I have only shot one deer in 3 years with my bow. I called in a 150" deer this year from 600 yards away and he skirted my stand at 40 yards the whole time looking for the doe he knew should be there. That is outside my comfort zone and I had to let him walk. I know with a rifle he would be at the taxidermist now, but I had just as much fun calling him in as I would of had shooting him with a rifle.

This is one mans feeling and I am not trying to tell you that you are less of a hunter because you prefer a rifle. I am just saying that bowhunting changed my whole outlook on hunting and I am very glad I started to do it.