Leverdude

Spoken like a guy without a clue. I always get deer bowhunting. Usually about 10 a year. Havent got one with a gun the past two.
My kids probably shoot their rifles as much or more than most guys shoot a bow. Heck, bows are pretty simple to shoot acurately now anyway. If your not overbowed you should be shooting nice groups pretty quick if your setups tuned.

I'd bet money that if you took a guy thats never shot either a modern compound bow or a rifle & gave him one of each he'd shoot the bow proficiently faster. I'v seen so many guys scared of their guns recoil it makes me laugh sometimes. Then they'll tell you how their 300 superwhizbang magnum is good to 400+ yards when they cant hit stuff at 100.

I think its simply because bowhunting is mostly an individual sport. All hunting is but traditionally guys have been going on hunting trips with guns forever. My son will bowhunt next year & probably get his first deer. It'll be a big thrill & he will never forget.
But I think the memories that come from me him & his brother going to deer camp will last as long or longer & be more meaningfull. Theres so much more to it than the act of killing a deer. Most folks, even some hunters obviously, will never understand, unless they do.

GMMAT

There's nothing "clueless" about the statement I made. it's 100% accurate. My son is living proof. 70yds and I don't give the deer a chance in hades.

hammerman

I have nothing against using a gun, I do occasionally. First time I ever shot a rifle, 30-06, was at a deer at 60yds and it was a perfect double lung. First time I shot at a deer with a bow I missed at 15yds. For ME a gun is easier. JMO!

BigTiny

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one in here who started hunting later in life. I started at 38. My dad was more of a bird and tree rat hunter, but he quit before I was born.

atlasman

Like I said.


You are just wasting your time leverdude.

englum_06

You guys all said it perfect. The thing about gun season is the tradition and the family. Its one thing to hunt alone, but when gun season rolls around and its time for deer camp, stories, pranks, freezing your butt off, hearing each other shoot and wonder what's happening, the smell of the powder, all the hunters driving around wearing orange waving at each other, strangers becoming friends at gas stations just talking deer stories.... I dont know, its just something altogether different. Ill always love it.

Steve863

Most of the bowhunters who look down at gun hunters never have hunted the way many gun hunters do. Many bowhunters hunt in these suburban woodlots where there are lots of deer and sooner or later one will walk within bowrange for them. If they were to hunt where many gun hunters have to, they would probably never get a deer. I started out gun hunting and then a number of years later started bowhunting also. I am at a point where bowhunting has become of NO interest to me. With the limited amount of time I have to hunt I am tired of just seeing deer. If I go hunting, I want a good chance of getting a deer, and a rifle is my weapon of choice for this. From my experience gun hunters are generally more content with what they bag. Bowhunters seem to be more obsessed with trophy animals which really has little to do with the hunting experience as a whole.

Father Forkhorn

Let me add a unique deer camp experience. My father hunted, but stopped before I was old enough. I started deer hunting in my mid twenties--if you can call it that. I was simply on my own and more or less stumbling through the woods, as I look back on it.

Needless to say, I didn't really have a deer camp experience coming from that kind of background. It wasn't possible.

Where I got the experience, oddly enough, is because I'm a priest and a monk. I did my seminary studies at a seminary run by another monastery in Pennsylvania. The monks had an old farm and land that they used to hunt. It was deer camp in every sense of the word.

I miss that experience. I'm the only hunter in my community and have to do it alone now. I find a lot of enjoyment in the solitude, but deer camp has something irreplaceable. Everyone's excited and out for a good time. If it were possible, I'd get together with those guys every year.

Leverdude

Whoppee doo. Give the kid a bow & a deer might walk right in front of him too.
Like I said, you dont get it.

Leverdude

Yes I suppose your right. I'm thick headed tho.