This should heat it up.......
#12
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Roanoke VA
Posts: 118

Silent,
I have to say "A" too. I get excited about any of my friends shooting big deer gun or bow but I have to say I give more respect for the bow kills. I also hunt with a gun (rarely) but feel it is far less challenging to get a big buck with a rifle. In fact I am contemplating going 100% archery. No need to apologize to anyone for your opinions. If thats the way you feel so be it.
I have to say "A" too. I get excited about any of my friends shooting big deer gun or bow but I have to say I give more respect for the bow kills. I also hunt with a gun (rarely) but feel it is far less challenging to get a big buck with a rifle. In fact I am contemplating going 100% archery. No need to apologize to anyone for your opinions. If thats the way you feel so be it.
#13

When I see a good buck that was shot with a gun I definitely look at it differently. I think to my self that would have been a real trophy with a bow. It is a trophy in either respect. In this part of my State the majority of the gun hunters do little or no scouting and If they do get a good buck its usually just dumb luck. They have one weekend or two a year so they don't put much effort into it. Thats not necessarily bad. If you put little work into the hunt you deserve less of a congratulations for you successes because they were less deserved. That is also why it takes a 160" deer to get B&C and 125" to get a P&Y. Obviously its easier to shoot a large buck with a gun. NOTICE I said "easier" NOT EASY!!
I don't gun hunt for deer. I have a few times in the past and it just doesn't do anything for me. I support all hunting but that doesn't mean I have to like or be involved in it! I say I don't have to like it,meaning that the only reason I dislike gun hunting here, is that it screws up my bow hunting, thats all!!
I don't gun hunt for deer. I have a few times in the past and it just doesn't do anything for me. I support all hunting but that doesn't mean I have to like or be involved in it! I say I don't have to like it,meaning that the only reason I dislike gun hunting here, is that it screws up my bow hunting, thats all!!
#14
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Memphis TN USA
Posts: 3,445

I must answer a to your question, as I have decided to only bowhunt. Your opinion would have more meaning had it not been for the fact that you DO GUN HUNT! To feel that way and express contempt, you are certainly being hypocritical.
BTW how many 190+ class deer are hanging on your wall due to a rifle?

#16
Fork Horn
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location:
Posts: 202

As I stated in the other post, I don't think it matters if you use a bown or rifle. I'd guess most hunters are after the meat more than anything, don't have the opportunity to track deer year 'round, can't put stands all over private land, or can't even hunt areas that have P&Y or B&C class bucks. In kansas you're darn lucky to have exclusive rights to great deer land because of all the publicity the state is getting as "monster buck heaven". Just go hunt with what weapon you choose and don't look down on others because they use a rifle. People have been using both methods for hundreds of years.
#17
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location:
Posts: 24

I believe that any deer taken in a "Fair Chase" manner is a trophy, regardless of how it was killed. But with that, there are many factors, is the deer a giant by the standards from where it was harvested. How much time was spent trying to out-trick the buck, or was it your first time out on public property and you just got lucky, or did you trespass in order to get it, or worse yet, did you poach it! We should be careful on what standards we use when criticising others on how they harvest deer. If you want to go by those standards, the only person who has a trophy worth talking about only hunts with his homemade bow and homemade arrows that are tipped with flint that he shaped himself, and that he shot wearing his red plaid wool clothes while hunting on the ground. Just a thought.
#18

I would have to say C. When hunting with a rifle although there is a challenge that requires skill, the reason I think bowhunting is more rewarding is because the extra skill, scouting, practice and dedication that it takes to get to within 30 yds. of a trophy class animal.
Bowhunter by choice and to tell you the truth, I have never shot a rifle before so maybe my opinion is uneducated but eh,,, who cares.
Bowhunter by choice and to tell you the truth, I have never shot a rifle before so maybe my opinion is uneducated but eh,,, who cares.
#19
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Liberty Indiana USA
Posts: 382

I admire any deer that someone has taken regardless of the method they use, gun or bow. I hunt with both, but personally, I feel a greater sense of accomplishment with a deer taken with my bow. I feel that it takes more planning and skill to get a deer 20 yards or under with a bow as it seems more exciting to me to have them up close and personal. I guess it really comes down to what the individual likes the most. If I want them to respect me for what I enjoy, then I have to be fair and give them that back. JMHO. Aim for the boiler room. BHunter32.