nubo

Gutshot!

I believe your absolutely right on ,I rifle hunt as well and i wouldn't even consider bowhunting for many year's ,I made a bet with a friend who bowhunted only and we made a bet .the bet was who ever got the biggest deer that season would be the winner and the loser would have to try the other's hunting method's for 1 season .It was looking pretty good up till the last weekend of the season when my buddy showed up with a great looking buck .So as I promised I borrowed a bow from him and used it the next season,boy was I ever losing out bowhunting filled all the gap's and all the challenge's that i was missing during gun season.I found there to be more challenge's to bowhunting and definetly a lot more to learn,but I loved it .
Ever since that season 5 yr's ago I've boughten 3 bow's and a few thousnd's of dollar's worth of archery gear ,I've only used my rifle 2 or 3 time's since .I think back now that I wished i had been bowhunting as a child because I've missed so so much in all those season's as a rifle hunter . I bowhunt almost strictly now and i only use my rifle for 2 day's a season.
But bowhunting has lifted my spirit's and I rise to new challenge's every outing .It is the most awsome sport and I'm passing it on to my kid's as we speak.

nubo

Stonyrvr

Good post gutshot, I agree.

I shot a very decent 8 pointer with a rifle a couple of weeks ago on opening day of our firearms season. Five years ago before I started bowhunting I would have been elated shooting that buck. This year instead of being happy, I was actually sad. I think that I felt the way I did partly because I typically sit with my son for the opener and video his hunt and had he not been working, it would have been him shooting that deer. It's hard to explain, but I think the biggest reason that I felt the way I did after I shot him was that it didn't seem fair to the deer to take him at 200 yards. I understand that it was my decision to shoot, but if I would have had any idea that I would feel the way I did afterwards, I would never have taken the shot. If I'd had my bow instead of my rifle when I first saw him, the challange would have been just beginning instead of being over.

I guess that's the main reason I sold my Browning rifle a few days after shooting that deer. That money will be put to good use-it's going to help pay for my new Bowtech.

Blodg

I agree with all the posts above as I have been preaching the same thing for years. It has been a full 15 years since I have hunted with a gun. I shot my first deer with a shotgun and tried bowhunting the following year and have never went back.

I enjoy hunting the deer on their own terms and not when they are running scared from some blaze orange over the hill. The quiet woods, solitude, closeness, and challenge were all described well above and are reasons I would not enjoy gun hunting.

My 11 year old son even made a comment the other day when watching a hunting show on the Outdoor Channel. Some guys were hunting Whitetails in rifle season and when it showed them climbing into their treestands my son said "they are using guns AND tree stands"? He said he didn't think it was fair to the deer to be able to shoot so far and hide in a tree at the same time. I was suprised to hear that from an 11 year old but I guess my beliefs have rubbed off on him.

This weekend my son and I were sitting in our tree stands together and it was the youth gun season here in Ohio. We were bowhunting my woods when my son saw the orange of a guy and his kid sitting in the cornfield adjacent to our woods. They were sitting watching our woods hoping a deer would walk out into the cut cornfield. Now they were not doing anything wrong so-to-speak, assuming they had permission to hunt the farmers field. But if seemed strange to me that they were watching my woods where I have planted Biologic food plots, created thickets for the deer to bed, and planted thousands of pine trees for additional cover. I want to enjoy the entire experience of hunting, and the actual act of shooting an animal is such a small part. But with many gun hunters the act of shooting something seems to be the only concern.

Stonyrvr, that was an interesting story and thanks for sharing your honest feelings with us. I would imagine I would feel the same.

Aquakeeper

U guys def have some great storeys and I am getting pumped for next season! Cant wait to get my 1st bow and practise all summer to get ready for the begininig of next yrs season.

gutshot

It's good to see all of these replies. It reminds me of something "Cuz" Strckland said on one of the Mossy Oak Shows that some people just don't get it. To me bowhunting helped me "get it". I hope that when my son grows up het get's it too. Like I said I'm not knocking gun hunters it's just that bowhunting and archery takes the experience to such a higher level. Keep'em coming.

wideone

As stated above, love it, but can hate it at times and that's why its addicting.

I hunting approximately 30 mornings/evenings/all day hunts from Sept 15 until the day before gun season opened. Up at 3:00 in the morning many times and home late many others. Took enormous time from my wife and kids. I was after two of the largest bucks I will likely ever see. Had the biggest within 50 yards twice. Had him within 80 yards at least ten times. So, with a rifle, muzzleloader or shotgun I would have easily had a true record book deer on the wall. Never got a shot off.

On the contrary, the cowboys rifle hunted the property and I am sure bagged him within the first morning, then proceeded to walk the entire property to end my season.

It's frustrating, but I will never go back to a rifle.

WV8Point

Very good post.

I also rifle hunt less and less each year. I enjoy hunting with a revolver during buck season. It is a little more like bow hunting.

TURKEY FAN

I am glad not everyone bow hunts to be ohnest. Let em have their orange jackets and hats and guns. I like to consider myself as a splinter cell of bowhunting or perhaps a sniper of the woods. I have come along way in hunting and i am only 26yrs old and i could hunt with the best of those realtree boys or anyone else. However i am always learning every year. I still bow hunt while shotgun season is in, i like to see the deer running all over the place but i like to shoot them with a bow more. If there is a buck that i cant get to during bow season then i might break out the ol 870 and put it on him!

martin.8

Don't promote bow hunting too much. I like being in the woods without lots of hunters. Bow hunting is skyrocketing each year and could be a problem finding a place to hunt in the near future. Promote Gun hunting for a couple of weeks a year!!

5 shot

I am with you. I have been hunting hard all year long. I have been rifle hunting for the past week and half, and before that our black poweder season was in. this past Saturday I decided to hunt a friends farm down the road. He doesn't want any rifles on the place and I was getting a little bored letting the does and small bucks walk past my stand when gun hunting so I headed over there for an evening bowhunt. I saw three deer, and about came unglued as a doe kept me at bay for 30 min walking just outside of my shooting lanes. The excitement was intense and finaly she gave me a good 20 yard shot. The excitement was back! This was my 5th deer this year, 2nd with a bow and by far my most exciting hunt. Had I had a rifle or muzzle loader in my hands I would not even thought about shooting that deer.