Both. The prior is necessary for the latter. I love to hunt and the kill makes the hunt that much better.

It's a product of the board you most frequent. If you go over to the deer hunting forum where most are gun hunters they look down on bow-hunters. We injure and fail to recover to many deer etc etc.

I hunt with Bow and Gun. Each have advantages and disadvantages. I certainly see many many times more, trophy quality animals when archery hunting. I feel that is my best opportunity for a wall-hanger. Deer are patternable at that time, once the orange army hits the woods, it's tougher to score on a quality buck. AT least in my neck of the woods PA and Ohio. Yes you still must scout to find the escape routes the deer will take, but someone can easily cut-off the buck before he makes it there. Someone just stumbling around the woods can ruin your best layed plans.

Heck the deer can be extra spooky, take for instance opening day in PA. At 7:40 AM I had a deer heading along the base of my mountain about 85 yards. It is coming my way at a fast walk. First I have to identify it as a buck. Yes it is a buck. Scan ahead to the next break in the trees, as he crosses this tiny clearing I must count tines. He has to be at least a 6 point (3 on one side) where I hunt. Yes he is an 8 point. Next clearing I may get a shot. He stops behind a tree. The next step he will provide a clean shot. But a woodpecker in my tree decides to give a shrill call in the silent woods. The buck takes off like a bullet, never offering a clean shot....easy hunting with a gun? Not neccesarily! This buck had been shot at on the the next mountain at first light, any sound sent him bolting!

I also took my bow with me to camp. If was lucky enough to score on a buck with the rifle i was going to bow-hunt for my doe.

With so many folks out to bash hunters why can't we pull our ranks together and fight the good fight? There are aspects of hunting that I disagree with, but why should I bash them because I don't agree with them. Follow the game laws and enjoy the great outdoors!

I commonly fequent that board and can't remember any negative comments about bowhunters. If I did, I would defend them, like I defend gun hunting. Do you have any examples????

Sorry

Just curious as to how you knew that the deer had been shot at?

By the sounds of this post, a deer taken by a gun is no trophy at all, and i think that is a disgraceful thing to say about any deer... I dont care how i hunt with bow or gun it is always just as challenging to hunt with a gun as a bow. Especially while hunting for specific deer you have scouted, i hunted alot for a big deer that i would have liked to have killed but have been unsuccesful, with my bow and i only seen him once this bow season before gun opened (other than scouting trips), and i hunted all 3 weekends for him with a gun and didnt even see him once, now if i would have shot the deer with a gun, would have it made it less of an acomplishment, i think not, especially where i am from where it is draws up and down hills and not trees and cornfields everywhere.... but that is my opinion...

gun season vs bow season:
1. deer change their patterns alot
2. deer become easily spooked
3. deer become nocturnal
4. when the deer are moving, they usually are moving rather fast and not simply browsing and walking through the woods
5. gun season for me is only 9 days and opportunities are limited

being able to cover more ground with a gun allows me to minimize these additional challenges.

For some it's about the pursuit, for others it's about the kill.


I cherish the pursuit, that is why I choose bow only

Silentassasin.... I know the guy who was on the point directly across the valley from me, I talked to him later in the day, when I described the deer he said he had missed him as he trotted past.
It's one of those areas that when there is a shot, i get ready because I know if they miss, there is a good chance he is coming my way.

There goes the entire reason we got bow-only seasons in the first place. Nowadays we've got bowhunters who call themselves meat hunters and trophy hunters. We've got bowhunters griping about tagging out with a good bit of the season left. Those are concepts unheard of in the archery community, when I began bowhunting. That was the realm of the gun hunter. So, if archery equipment has progressed to the point where hunting with it is no more challenging than using a gun....

Oh, but that's elitist talk, isn't it.... Pardon me whilst I go chastize myself.[8D]