GR8RALLY

I agree with you Bowhunter, I love the peace and quite of bow season. I love the challenge of being soooo close to the deer, and when you are, I enjoy the smell, the sound they make etc. Ya, bummed about "rifle" season due to the heavy pressure and the ongoing sounds of muzzle blasts, but hopefully one of those blast will be from me!

Good luck to everyone this weekend, the clock is ticking and my heart is a thumping to the anticipation!

BigJohn H

The loss of an animal is not determined by the weapon the hunter is using, I don't mean to start a feud here but someone who takes bad shots will loose their deer and it will not matter if he is using a gun or bow. Shot placement is everything. A few years ago I shot a 4 point that someone had blown off it's lower left hind leg, a bad shot. That deer had been limping through the woods for at least 24 hours because there were no shots fire before I shot the deer, irresponcable hunters are the cause of lost animals not their weapons.

BigJohn H

Gr8rally I will E-mail you.

LIAF

I can understand some bow hunter's frustration in dealing with the firearms opener in their area. I am pretty lucky as i will enjoy the firearms opener up in 6P. Then come back 'downstate" to rifle hunt the USMA lands at west point 3P.West point is a controlled hunting area and even though the deer are somewhat pressured its not like most areas in NY after opening day of rifle/shotgun. I then can go over to westchester county till 12/31and bow hunt since archery is the only legal weapon allowed. The deer in westchester have changed their patterns somewhat but they don't become nocturnal as they do in heavily hunted areas which occur throughout the state. seeing that i live about 10 miles from NJ I may investigate that state next year as it appears their archery opens earlier than NYS and I believe they may have a season that extends into january.

Unclemeat

Talk about a thread going in the wrong direction! I live on Long Island where you can only bow hunt. I started bow hunting this year and really enjoyed it. It is difficult to explain to someone that has never done it, how nice it is to be up in a tree above it all and have the sun come up right in front of you. I loved it and didn't even come close to getting a shot off. However, there is something about getting together with the guys and heading upstate for gun season. I look at it as more of a vacation. No phones, no TV, no hassel of day-to-day life. I guess if I traveled to bow hunt, I would get that same feeling.

BOWHUNTER818

DE's has come and gone considering that we dont have a rifle season but the shotgun and M/L has come and gone. But there is more to come.

Phade

Listen, odds are even you, the holiest of all sharpshooters will lose a deer. Either in gun or bow. It happens to the large majority in their lifetime. I had a first this year with contact, and survival after a shot of mine.

You said it yourself, you haven't spent much time bowhunting. Odds are like any other aspect of life, the more you do something, the more likely you are to experience a potential outcome. You'll likely get a bad hit someday, because it happens despite best efforts.

Humble is my middle name, but I really detest the way you wrote both of your responses. I think there were several ways you could have approached this in a better place (a new thread), or in a more thought-out manner. It does no good to come out and bash people who put in time, and for various reasons get a less-than-desirable outcome, including myself.

I have a feeling you need to meet Mr. Pot, Mr. Kettle.

nyhunter863

Now where did I call myself such a thing?? I agree with you 100% however, that If you hunt long enough, most hunters WILL have it happen them. And yes, I have had it happen while gun hunting, so please don't think I profess to be superman here. As far as bowhunting is concerned I will stick to what I said. There is MORE that could go wrong, including the animal moving before the arrow connects which results in a poor hit eventhough the bowman did everything right. A rifleman won't have this problem shooting at a stationary target. Bowhunters have to contend with angles from trees, estimating range, etc. Please don't tell me that even the best of bowman does all these calculations correctly when a good deer is in sight. A mistake on anyone of them can result in a poor shot and it happens more times than many admit.

Please also explain why you thought I was picking on you with what I stated? I must say that you seem to have a guilty conscience. I was talking about bowhunting in general, which includes what I read on this forum along with what I have witnessed personally. I made NO mention of anyone in particular, so don't think I was talking about you.

BuckAlley

nyhunter, you've obviously changed the whole subject matter of this topic somehow. I believe this forum was about feelings on the opening day of Reg. season opener. This wasn't about personal feelings of which type weapon, and hunt wounds more deer.
Regardless of what your personal feelings are on bowhunters wounding deer, its going to happen to many of us. Its happened to me. Both with a bow, and a gun. For some reason you seem to be phrasing rifleman above bowhunters in skill, and % of harvested deer. You pointed out all the ones on this forum that have wounded a deer thus far. Maybe you should consider how many bowhunters are on this forum to begin with, and wait to hear of all the wounding that occurs during the reg. season, before you make judgements.
I personally feel both types of hunting have risks of wounding deer, and no matter the type of weapon preferred or used it'll happen. Sometimes its carelessness from the hunter himself. Sometimes its just plan bad luck at the shot. A deer can move, and change the shot placement on any weapon resulting in no recovery.
The one thing I can tell you for certain, on a poorly placed shot. A broadhead simply cuts, and has a better chance of healing. A bullet damages, by destroying tissue making healing more difficult.
Please be careful with your opinions, and next time try & stick to the topic at hand!

GR8RALLY

Hello nyhunter863, I see your on a roll. A skilled hunter, regardless of bow or rifle etc. should not take a shot if it is a questionable one. As you and I have gone back and forth on another post, it comes down to ethic's.

With that said, I know of other hunters who did indieed, both bow and rifle took a good shot and by some quirk, "buck fever" I believe, wounded a deer. To say bow hunters have a higher wound rate then rifle hunters, I would disagree. I've heard and SEEN some hunters with a shot gun blasting "4" shots at a running deer and he "thinks" he missed. Needless to say I don't hunt with him or his buddies, I would be afraid of being on the other side of that drive they were doing and getting hit. Total recklessness.

As per NY DEC reports, there's 700,000 hunters in NY and I've read somewhere that only approx 30% of them bowhunt. Chances are,hunters that use rifles may wound more deer. I guess nyhunter863, take another poll and hope for honesty?

I, for one will start for you, never wounded a deer bow or rifle. Yes, before you say it, I've only hunted for 3 years and eventually it's possible it will happen. It will be a sad day when it happens, regardless if by bow or rifle.