How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

This is my first year bowhunting. I have been rifle hunting since I was 11 I am 27 now. I have always heard once you start bowhunting that rifle hunting just isnt much fun anymore. Well rifle season starts next weekend and I see no reason to hang up my bow. Besides I still havent gotten a kill.

I am just curious how many of you guys still rifle hunt. Or is it pretty much strictly bowhunting for you. I feel like I might take a couple of does towards the end of the season with my rifle if I have not tagged out yet just to help our ratio, but other than that I will have my bow in hand this season.

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

I still rifle hunt, but theres nothing like bowhunting. Both rifle and bow hunting make my heart pound and thats all that matters.

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

I'd hunt em with a paintball gun if the regulations allowed it.

I bowhunt more than anything...because the season is longer. I consider myself a bowhunter first and foremost, but unlike some, I don't look down upon anybody's (legal) method of hunting. It's all hunting...

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

that's greatness.

As for the rifle thing, I haven't shot a deer with one in 3 years. I just like being face to face with the animals. There is nothing like bowhunting for sure.

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

rifle,slug gun, inline,flintlock, and since I cant physically operate a bow I use a x-bow

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

I still hunt firearms season in NY, but its not so important if I get skunked anymore. Theres usually a few in the freezer already by mid Nov. ;)

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

I live in Michigan and this year is the first year I am allowed to hunt with a Rifle/Shotgun. I am excited, yet I love the competition a bow brings to me. I have been hunting with my bow since the legal age of 12 in Michigan and got a doe my first year and a 5-point last year! I am excited of this years rifle season and I am wondering what it will make me think of bowhunting? Good luck to everyone tonight!! ~ Halloween night is a lucky night ~

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

I still rifle hunt if I have tags left. I have started getting creative to make it more fun, 1st it was a pistol caliber lever action rifle, now it will be trying to take a deer with a revolver.

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

I will never give up my rifles or my hunting handguns. I love to reload for my guns and hunting with what I make is every bit as satisfying as taking one with my bow.



Brian

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

Kinda hard to rifle hunt when you don't gots a rifle. Some slug kicked in my door and stole all my guns about 20 years ago. I never replaced 'em because I started going broke buying bows. ;)

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

I no longer rifle hunt, I enjoy every aspect of bowhunting to much. Less people in the woods, alot more peaceful, and the deer aren't running at top speed scared out of their mind.

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

I still rifle hunt. I get invited to places that I have never been before and only have 2 or 3 days at most, so in times like these theres no time for scouting and setting up stands and such which is very important in bagging an animal with a bow. So times like this I tote the rifle.

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

i riffle hunt and enjoy it very much, good lord willing i will always to riffle hunt. with that said, there is nothing like getting CLOSE to one of natures warriest critters. I love bowhunting. I especially enjoy sub 20yrd encounters, shot or not.

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

I will always gun hunt. I use shotgun here in NY. It has been part of my life for so long I can't imagine not doing it.

Besides.......my dad doesn't bow hunt so gun season is the only chance I get to be out in the woods with him. I am not giving that up for anything.

I love hunting..........I don't care if I am holding a bow, shotgun, or muzzleloader........as long as I am hunting.

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

Springer!

I mostly bowhunt now ,I use my rifle maybe 1 day a season but by far prefer to use my bow .I've been hunting since I was 15 and am now 45 and bowhunting is it for me,but sometimes I get the urge to take the rifle out.

nubo

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

by whatever means nessacary. If it affords me more time in the woods, then i'll keep rifle hunting.

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

If I had to rank my hunting implements they would be as follows:

Bow Hunting
Muzzleloader
Slug gun
Rifle

Game would be:

Deer
Ducks
Coyote
Pheasants

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

I dont see any reason to quit hunting with a gun cause i bow hunt, different season = more hunting time!!! I enjoy it all!

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

As much as I enjoy bowhunting, it goes in the case when gun season comes in. I just can't get into bowhunting in blaze orange. I still enjoy rifle hunting as well as muzzleloading and both allow me to spend more time in the woods.

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

Since i dont have a drivers license yet, im severly limited in teh land that i can bowhunt, so rifle and shotgun hunting in Wisconsin and Iowa is always a nice change for me. i guess i've been brought up hunting large tracts with plenty of stand choices so bowhunting small tracts is a bit of a challange. i mean, i love bowhunting. if i had to choose, i would pick bowhunting. once i have my license though next september ill be able to broaden my horizons, hopefully heading to iowa plus our land in wisconsin. i basically decided that i would use these years to get myself good so i can really do well once i start hunting the big tracts with a stick and string.

slayer

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

ahh yes! Any chance I get, I'm out there. I don't get enough time with school and hockey =( I took up bow hunting so I'd have more time to be afield. I'm still learning the ropes, but I love every minute of it ^^ Rifle opener is tomorrow... I'll be out there, before school that is -.-

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

I am a deer hunter first and formost. I love bowhunting the most, but when rifle season opens up I use my rifle, same for Muzzle loaders. I just love to deer hunt and each form has it's own challanges. A buck I will gladly take with my bow I may very well pass with a gun. It's just another way to add some challange and enjoy hunting in general.

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

I also Rifle hunt. While I enjoy the solitude of bowhunting, rifle is just the opposite. We have a camp and gather with Father, Uncles, cousins and friends. It's a family tradition.

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

Of course I still rifle hunt (actually shot gun this year) and if they had a sling-shot season I would hunt with one of those too. It isn't the weapon, it's how you hunt them. You don't have to shoot 400 yds accross a field with your rifle. The weapon is only a tool in the process. If you want to shoot them close then let them get close. I am comfortable shooting my bow at deer to 40 yds. and most of my gun kills were about that distance as well. Bottom line, hunt the anyway you want (legally) and only take shots and harvest game that you will feel good about after the fact.

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

What's a rifle? Seriously, I have been hunting over 40 years, 30 of them with a bow. I reached a point 15 years ago where I didn't care to take a gun to the woods anymore--for deer. You'd have to hunt central Pa. to understand how many people there are that pick up a rifle for a couple days a year, sit a few hundred yards off the road, and call that hunting.
They are not referred to as the Orange Army for nothing. I just don't care to compete with 100 guys on a mountain for a couple of legal deer. Give me the bow season where I can have some peace and quiet and just enjoy the outdoors, whether I get an animal or not.

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

I hunt 99% of the hunting seasons with my bow. The one exception is my yearly 3 day trip to a friends camp where I dust off the slug gun.

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

I still rifle hunt once the firearm season opens. I carry my bow several times during firearm season, but I'm just not diehard enough to lay the guns down for good. Maybe one day, but not today!

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

I haven't gun hunted in 3 years. I used to be deer hunter. I would bowhunt during bow season, gun hunt during gun season, etc. However, about 3 years ago I decided to take my bowhunting to the next level and start concentrating on killing mature bucks with bow. Since then I have grown tremendously as a hunter and outdoorsman. On the downside, I have also developed an elitist attitude towards guns. For me personally, I would not disgrace a buck by sniping him off at 100yds. These are my personal convictions and I do support gun hunters. My entire family is made up of gun hunters.

I will never kill another whitetail with a gun, but when my son is of age, I will be striking out with him, gun in hand.

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

The way KS laws are, you choose your poison, gun or bow. Can take a buck with one or the other, but not both. I usually kill a couple does with my rifle in the January season. Truly enjoy bowhunting much more, always see alot more critters... and it does not hurt that the rut is during bow season either.

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

In both state I hunt bow hunting opens in September and runs through the middle or end of December. Bow season overlaps all the other season and I seriously have little intrest in hunting with a firearm. It dosn't extended the season for me to do so and I honestly prefer to hunt with my bow.

I won't rule out hunting with a gun completely though. My father got me into hunting and I'll go out with him on occasion because I like the father son time it affords.

I agree 100% with the above statement. Although it dosn't fit my style completely I support it 100%.

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

Exactly

I like the variety;)

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

Well i actually only bowhunt mule deer and elk. The archery elk season opens before i am in college so i have 2 weeks of hunting. Mule deer opens in the area where i am at college so its handy to get out after classes. But as for whitetail i am a rifle hunter. I really enjoy bowhunting but i still find more than enough challenge trying to get a 160 plus deer with the rifle. Possible some day i will hang it up and go after those big whitetails with the bow but I am not that skilled yet.

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RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

I hunt with the rifle... but bowhunting whitetails is by far the best!...but it sure is nice looking through the scope and having a big buck in your crosshairs.;)

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

Sure I rifle hunt and muzzleloader hunt as well. I enjoy the differences of each season. But, in my opinion, there's nothing that compares with taking a mature whitetail buck with a stick and string.;)

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

I hunt with a bow and muzzleloader, actually use my encore for BP and shotgun season. There isnt anything more exciting as bow hunting and i tend to find hunting with a gun too easy after bowhunting, but as the year goes the hunting gets harder as well. I get to hunt more with a gun now then bow being in colllege but nothing compares to drawing back on a deer, just nothing like it.

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

I recently purchased a new Thompson BP gun, and went through the whole BP season with my bow. I just can't get enough. I have been hunting deer since my father handed me a break-open 410 with 1 slug at age 10, and have only been bowhunting for about 5 years now. Each year it gets more and more addicting. I have vowed to my friends and Battle Buddies that every deer that I take on Fort Sill will be with my bow this year!
I know it sounds goofy to some people, but it makes me a more disciplined hunter to walk into the woods knowing that one false move will leave me empty handed! \
God Bless, and happy hunting.

SL

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

i started in n.j. bow hunting only....then moved to PA and gun hunted but went back to bow....now my gun hunting is with a muzzleloader even during deer season with all the high powered guns out there....and it's nice when i score on a deer in the rain with my flinter and they don't............bob

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

I use my bow. pistol, shotgun, and xbow. Most of my time is spent bowhunting. The areas I hunt allow up to 40 yrd shots at most. My brother thinks I'm nuts but I always try to hunt where the bucks will be hanging out.Mostly long walks back to swamp off of fields. I get does each year and score on a decent buck on average every other year. This year opening day gun season I will be in my stand with my bow since I have had so little time to get out.Opening day it is like a deer highway were I am at. I think if a person is a successful bowhunter you can apply that to any type of hunting for deer. I use my xbow if I am hunting the last of the January archery season in Ohio. I have never taken a deer with it yet.

RE: How many of you still rifle hunt?
 

I still love to rifle hunt, thats where i get the majority of my meat. Bowhunting is more exciting and challenging and sometimes alot more stressful but i wouldnt give up my rifle hunting for the world. I havent been able to bowhunt much this year but i plan on doing more next year when i get my new bow. I also plan on really gettin serious about muzzleloading this year.