Bow only VS Gun/Bow lease .

[BigThicketBoy]

For the guys that been on both, do you think you see more deer and are they more relaxed on a bow only lease over a gun / bow lease.
We as bowhunters take more precautions to be scent free and tend to take greater care goin to and from our stands.
Seems like the more the deer don't know your there the more comfortable they are.
Do y'all see more mature deer at feeders and in the daytime on bow only lease because of this?

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[Javelin]

I really,do not think guns pressure deer any more than bow. maybe less. bow hunters get close to deer thus spook them more often. the sound of a gun last a half second. it doesn't scare deer unless the deer is right there in front of you

[BigThicketBoy]

I really,do not think guns pressure deer any more than bow. maybe less. bow hunters get close to deer thus spook them more often. the sound of a gun last a half second. it doesn't scare deer unless the deer is right there in front of you

Nothing to do with the gun fire I honestly don't think they know the difference between gun fire and thunder. They don't think and reason like we do. A big boom is a big boom.
It has to do the the precautions bow hunter have to take to be successful by having to get so close.
If I'm hunting with a rifle and the feeder or area is 100yrds away I'm not as worried about scent control and the like.

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[AntlerCollector]

I have a bow only lease in Newton County. You are on my lease in Polk/Hardin that's gun and bow. IMO the deer are more relaxed during bow season on our lease. Once the guns come out they get harder to hunt. I think it has more to do with scent control, and more hunters in the woods than anything else. The bow only lease, they tend to stay calmer because like you said, more precautions are taken for scent concealment

[Traildust]

Yes, no, maybe. Probably not. Most defiantly. Unsure.

What was the question again?

[Hydestik]

Depending on the neighbors.. you will harvest fewer deer on a bow lease usually and they will have time to get some age on them. I don’t believe you will see many mature deer at feeders but it will happen from time to time. I would expect to see better quality deer on a bow lease .

[LUCKY AGAIN]

I've hunted both types of leases in my 40+ years bowhunting. Pros and cons for both. A lot of gun hunters don't go close into their hunting areas unless they shoot something 100+ yards away unless filling feeders.
We bowhunters walk 20/30 yards from feeders, etc everytime we hunt.
it is my opinion that it is almost impossible to beat a whitetails nose if they are down wind no matter what you do. so very little activity on a property is about the only way I would know of to make deer less wary

[Fargus]

I have a bow only lease in Newton County. You are on my lease in Polk/Hardin that's gun and bow. IMO the deer are more relaxed during bow season on our lease. Once the guns come out they get harder to hunt. I think it has more to do with scent control, and more hunters in the woods than anything else. The bow only lease, they tend to stay calmer because like you said, more precautions are taken for scent concealment

I think AC hit it on the head. I feel that it has to more to do with the sheer volume of traffic in the woods once general season kicks off. In my experience with bow/gun leases, first weekend of general season I saw more deer activity then things tapered off.

[oldtestamentman]

Deer wise up to feeder set ups on bow leases. They get harder to hunt each year. The Lincoln Ranch is a good example. Those deer see a pile of corn, they put on the brakes and do back flips trying to get out of there!

[Arrow Slinger]

Day leases are a different game all together. I'm on a bow only lease currently and I feel that pressure is pressure rather you pack a rifle to your blind or a bow. Now our neighbors couldn't be happier that we are bowhunting only.

[Tx_Wader]

Ever shot a deer with a rifle at say 200 yards? He falls over dead or runs off and the other deer are like *** for a moment then go back to doing what deer do?

It's a noise. They don't know that it was a rifle shot or what happened to old Bernie or Bernice who is taking a dirt nap.

On the other hand I can't think of a time when I shot a deer with my bow and there were other deer around it that all of the deer didn't run like the devil himself was after them.

I do like the analogy that with rifle season there are more hunters in the woods so the deer might be a little more on edge than during bow season. Makes perfect sense to me.

On a rifle or bow lease I think that one of the most important things that a hunter can do is to get to his stand or blind as quietly and as quickly as possible, avoiding bedding areas and to remain as quiet as possible while on the stand.