BigJ71

Having done both I will tell you now that it is just as difficult to shoot a kill shot at 300yds with a rifle as it is for a bow at 30yds I don't care what scope you have there is no room for error at 300yds....none!!

muley69

Well said BigJ.

BigJ71

And don't forget that at 300yds you have to take very much into consideration the wind. even a slight wind can blow a bullet off course 10-15 inches or more and if you are shooting anything but a magnum big bore you have a bullet drop of even more than that to think about. Put this all together with the fact that you just had to stalk this animal and you are out of breath because of the two big hills you had to go over and have no real rest to use and have only seconds to take the shot............or you can be in your stand nice and calm in trees to break the wind, with shooting lanes alread picked out and have a deer walk right under you and into one of your lanes right by one of your yardage markers you put down for distance.

Two sides to every coin.

muley69

Factor in the reality the bowhunters wound more animals, one may argue that they are less skilled then rifleman. In fact, if you ask people out west here, it is much easier to kill an elk with a bow then a gun. During early season bowhunters have the benefit of the rut, and calling. During general season elk get much more scarce and much more diificult to find. Bowhunters rarily have to deal with hunting pressure in the early seasons.

Wulgeur

well you know and i know animals are going to get wounded, as to say who does the most wounding i don't know, but i do know that a broadhead will leave a flesh wound and is more likely to heal up then say a bullet wound.

BigJ71

Muley69

I hear ya! When I was in college (in Utah) it was not easy hunting with a rifle. I know you are full aware of the "Hills" I was talking about in my other post. If you don't get out of the midwest you don't know hills. Kinda glad I'm back in Illinois but I sure do miss the Rockies.

No matter what form of hunting you do it is the skill of the hunter (and some times pure luck) that makes the hunt successfull and not what is in his or her hands.

muley69

BigJ, what part of Illinois are you in?

muley69

Wulgeur, you and I both know bowhunters wound more animals the gun hunters. Listen, my argument is that weapon of choice does not a skill level make. I'm a bowhunter, so I'm not slammin bowhunters, but the lead post was a bit much. In a lot of ways bowhunters have it made, especially in the early season. A more accurate statement would have been. "How come elk hunters are so much better then deer hunters". Now at least there is some truth to that.

Wulgeur

You might think so, but i don't. There are alot more bullets flying around out there then there are arrows. more gun hunters then archers fella!!!

Washington Hunter

I think you folks are over analyzing the situation here... Fieldmouse said he nedded to vent, I doubt he was trying to make a stab at rifle hunters. I don't know why everyone is so prone to argue about which sport is better, but it's getting ridiculous.