Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

Plain and simple, if you could ONLY hunt with a gun or a bow, which would it be??? Crossbows obviously fall under Bow and Muzzleloaders and Pistols fall under gun!

Please give only one reason why you would chose this weapon! Whatever the reason!

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

For me I love the intimacy of bowhunting!:)

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

Love the intesity of bowhunting!

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

Bow... And I beleive that any "serious" deer hunter, at least in Kansas, would feel the same.

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

I like to hunt with the bow but I do like the gun. probably I vote for gun. Got a couple of old ones my old man gave me and enjoy telling him of what I harvested with his old guns...He gets all excited when I talk to him. He doesn't hunt but maybe once a year with my younger brother. They live in another state. Dad is getting up there in his years and don't like the cold to much anymore. He still fishes alot thou...

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

Bow, definitely.

Sorry but I cant just give one reason but here are the big ones:

1 Hunting the animal on their terms. Your success more often depends on your talents and skills than on the luck involved when someone boots a deer your way in gun season.

2 The weather is nicer

3 The season is longer

4 Bowhunting requires serious commitment and dedication. While there are some very dedicated and committed gun hunters out there, there arevirtuallyno "one day a year nimrods" within the bowhunting ranks.
Please guys, this is not meant to disparage gun hunters. I would say the average member here is definitely a notch or two above the rest regardless of their weapon of choice.

5 Bowhunting is more laid back. In rifle season, each day past opening day, it becomes tougher to find a mature deer. Each day in early archery, your chances are just as good or they get better.

6 WE GET TO HUNT THE RUT

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

gun because i just got my first gun for christmas and i like it and want to use it.:)and its not like im one of the people that need a high power rifle to shoot 200-300 yds just to kill something, and besides i only get one shot with it its a muzzleloader

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

Six months ago (when I thought it was impossible to get one with a bow) I would have said gun, but now after taking one with the bow its all I want to do.
The exception is the social aspect, at gun camp (we only get two weeks and one tag each) we see the old gang, work together during the hunt and get to hear alot of stories. Archery is more of a personal thing because not alot of people do it up here and I usually go out alone.

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

I have always hunted with a gun, so I voted that way, but I am looking at purchasing my first bow in the spring. I am looking at a PSE, just to get started.

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

My first deer was taken with a bow 43 years ago,I still gun hunt-I like being in the woods, hopefully when I take my last deer it will be with a bow. Just something about being 10yds away from the animal versus 40-200 yds. that makes it seem more exciting to me.

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

Bow without a doubt-

I like the challenge of getting a mature buck within 20 yards of me. IMO everything about bowhunting requires more dedication and skill than gun hunting.

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I voted gun just becasue thats how I started out hunting. During bow season I'm usually kickin up pheasants or in the turkey woods, cuz thats what my dad did. We hunt in a shotgun only area so I do get pretty up close and personal with a lot of the deer I take. I would love to try bow hunting tho. Always wanted to hunt the better part of the rut. I'm thinkin of getting in to it maybe next season.

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If I had to choose it would be bow. The seasons are longer, there are less people in the woods, the weather is nicer, and the big bucks are just settling in before being chased around by rampant gunfire.

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I have took over 75 deer with a bow ... but am now at an age I just cant see well enough to focus on the tip of my arrow and see the target ... I can see fine far off but up close its just a blurr ..so now I have bought a crossbow ..will try it next year but until then the rifle will do.

dd

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

tough choice but i went with the bow. Mainly cause it take a lot more patience than with a gun and u have to be more disaplined(sp) with not movin and bein quite, plus u dont have to clean a bow like u do a gun after each shootin sesion or after u kill a deer.:D

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

I love shooting a deer with a bow you fell like you earned it more but when you got a gun in hand you can touch any thing were I hunt.And I always get mad buck fever when I have a bow in hand.

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

Bow is more challenging. But the gun is my favorite. IMO nothing beats the loud bang of a gun and then the smell of a shell that was shot.

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Bow...

I love the sound the arrow makes when it passes through. Like it just went through a 20 pound tub of butter...

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

I love both types, but I would have to pick bowhunting. The season is longer, andthe majority of the timeI have the woods to myself at our 350 acre farm. Also using a bow is more of a challenge.It's not unusual for me to eat one of my archery tags, but most of the time I have filled both my shotgun tags before the second season. And the more time I spend in the woods the better IMO.

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If I had to pick one over the other; hands down it would be bowhunting...I only had a rifle in my hand 5 days this year...

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

I hunt with both, but if I had to pick just one it would be the gun. It is just a more effective means of harvesting an animal to me. But the main reason is I really LOVE to shoot my bow. And during bow season it pretty nice out still. I'm getting to the point where I would rather be at home shooting my bow than sitting in a stand looking at it.

When I first got a bow I had no intention of hunting with it, that was not the purpose. I wanted to learn archery and really like to shoot. Hunting with it was just sort of a natural progression.

What I would really like to do is try pistol hunting, that looks kind of fun.

Paul

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

I would shoot with a bow if I could. :(

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

More of a challenge, I just love bowhunting!

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I have never felt the need to make hunting challenging, to make it as hard as possible, quite the contrary. That would be like fishing witha spear.I dont have an ego trip, or need to make my self feel maucho about killing a deer with a bow. Dead is dead.
I like bowhunting and killed one doe this year with my bow, but rifle hunting is by far more productive, and I like to eat deer meat, lots of it.
I voted for rifle.

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

Bowhunting- hands down! I feel like it's much more of an accomplishment to take a deer with a bow. It's more gratifying after all the time you've spent practicing with your bow, scouting, hanging stands, and sitting in a tree stand. I'm not saying that gun hunters don't go through the same things but in my area a lot of gun hunters only go out during the 1 week shotgun season or 1 week muzzleloader season. And then deer drives are the method to get deer moving so it's easy for anyone to get a shot at a deer. Nothing at all against gun hunting (I go myself sometimes) but I feel that there is more skill involved with the bow.

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

Bow. More fun for me.

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

Bow! Take all reasons already mentioned for bow and that sums it up for me.

Hey DD

They have this new invention out now that will get you back to bowhunting.
Their called glasses! They even have special doctors that examine your eyes and everything.:D

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

I agree with all the other bow hunters out there. In fact, I'm probably going to give up on gun hunting for deer all together. I just find more pleasure in bowhunting. I feel like you have to put forth a lot more effort to be a good bow hunter. This is only my second year with a bow and I've taken my first deer with a bow this year. It was an awsome feeling. I started off with a gun my first year and my little brother talked me into trying a bow. It just seems like I've learned a lot more about hunting all together when I'm sitting in the stand with my bow.

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

bow, like some others said, better season, more deer, better wx. much quieter too.

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

Its no contest in my eyes......hands down.....BOWHUNTING!! I dont need to meantion the thousand ways its better.

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

Thanks for all the great replies! There are alot of proud bowhunters around here! The gun hunters have to step up!

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

Right now I gun hunt, however I am hoping to bow hunt turkeythis spring and start deer hunting with a bow next fall.

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

voted bow but my main goal is deer meat! would like to gun hunt but ohio only has a one week season and thats when everything that can hold a gun comes out and it can get real bad. so i crossbow hunt because the season is four months and i am always alone but i also own a ML.

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

bow hunting is my passion, you need to be close pick the right spot not saying you dont have to to your homework with a gun but you get that much closer , if i had a choose between shotgun orr blackpowder it would be black powder , you only have one shot , so you tried to make sure it counts;)

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

I voted for the bowif it is in reference tothe sporting aspect of hunting. If itwas a necessityfor foodI would opt for the gun, and if a centerfire was available, it would have to be a long action, either .270 or .30-06. Of course, if it was in very big game territory, and not in the Midwest, I would opt for something in .35 or .375 as a minimum. But the fire is lit when I take to the field with a bow and my broadheads.

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

I voted gun, but i am thinking of gettin into bow hunting.

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

Bowhunting. I find it more entertaining and challenging. I have hunted many times with the rifle before, but in the last 6 years, I have been bowhunting. Wouldn't change for anything.

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

I enjoy it all but the weapon of choice is the bow.In my home area you have a much better chance at a big buck during the archery season than the rifle season.Bow hunting has made me a much better hunter than I ever would have been otherwise and bowhunting is something you are or should be involved with throughout the year(shooting).I can't imagine my life without it!

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

Bowhunt

RE: Bowhunt or Gunhunt??
 

Well its illegal to hunt with bow in Sweden so I cant make a fair choice between the two.