Why do you bow hunt?

[Hooverfb]

Because I am a bowhunter....

Kinda of hard to really explain properly. It is just how I like to hunt. It feels better... It feels right. No matter how frustrating it can be at times... it is just the way I like to hunt.

This. Enjoy using a bow and the different skills. Nothing against gun hunting, but there's just something abot a bow and flinging arrows.

[diamond10x]

The RUSH. that is why I do it.

[Smart]

I helped my Dad for several years (while I was a waterfowling junkie) clean up their doe and cull buck tags on his 6500 acre MLD3 property when 90% of the lease members were there to kill a trophy and a cull worth getting a euro mount on.... Killing that many does and cull bucks for several years will make you lose interest quick. Hell I even bought a brand new 7mm-08 TC Encore Pro Hunter for it and he decided to get off himself in 2008. I sold it soon after because I knew that bowhunting only was the way I was headed on my own lease and I had my other rifles if I ever needed them again. I think I have two deer killed with a rifle since then....both head shot does. One was after a shoulder injury on the last weekend of season and I needed a deer for sausage and one was a meat hunt on somebody else's property.

I just like the up close and personal aspect of bowhunting......I like the shot not being automatic. I like the extra prep...I like watching the deer interact.... I like the tracking (well most lol). I just like everything about it except getting busted.

Would I kill another deer with a rifle? Yes but it's not something I would be pressing to do unless needed or required. Pigs or varmints are a different story. I bought a new 22-250 to earhole a few...but a bow will still be preferred. No problems here with folks using them on deer....It's just not me.




Really and truly I like the year long prep, lease work and get togethers at camp. Killing is just the cherry on top of a full blown banana split. I just like to see the eyes of my cherry before I run an arrow through it....

[gingib]

more time to hunt

[Hammerdown15]

For me, I love shooting my bow. Getting to hunt with it is a bonus. As others have mentioned, being so close to the game is exhilarating. Like the OP, I stopped seeing the “sport” in sitting in a box blind 100-200 yards away over a feeder. I like the challenge of scouting for a great location, playing the wind, and getting within 20-30 yards of an animal without being detected.


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[sbushee]

For me setting off a 100 yards or better with a rifle just didn't do it for me after the first bow kill.
It's that thrill the being so close you can hear me crunching on the corn in the dark.
It's here in the impact of the arrow and seeing the blood pour out of them as they run off. Knowing you play the game of chess with a chess master and checkmated them.

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You crunch corn in the dark? Lol, just kidding. Bow hunting is far more exciting and rewarding.

[BolilloLoco]

I bow hunt to change it up a bit. I've killed plenty of deer with bow and firearm.
Now I'm more interested in management than anything else. I just like watching them grow up. I use a firearm on all trophies. I work too hard to risk a bad shot when the time comes to pull the trigger. I get the same satisfaction either way. Heck they can die of natural causes as long as I get the antlers.

[44mAG]

I like getting to hunt a month early. I like the thrill of having the deer so close. When everything works out, I feel very accomplished. However, I am not one who never picked up a rifle after bow hunting though. I have too much respect for the deer. In all my years of bow hunting, I have found out that bow hunting is hard and deer are **** tough animals. Even if EVERYTHING goes as planned, there are so many variables that can result in a wounded deer. If there is a certain buck I am after, I will have a rifle in my hand when gun season arrives. The thrill of the bow kill alone is not enough to overpower the thrill I get when I have the mature buck, which I have been watching for years, in my hands, bow or rifle. Now when doe hunting to reduce numbers, I prefer bow over rifle for the thrill factor.

[MQ32Shooter]

ANYBODY can do it with a gun. A bowhunter has to work for it and make it happen.

[TexasArchery_27]

As others have said: The thrill of the hunt, and getting close. The increased difficulty, and the opportunity to be out in creation earlier than some. Hunting with a bow also gives you the chance to harvest an animal with a tool that requires more skill than with a rifle.

I do however prefer to hunt with a rifle after Archery season. Although boring, the hunting is much easier, and the margin for error in the heat of the moment is reduced.

[Jcjohnson]

I like getting to hunt a month early. I like the thrill of having the deer so close. When everything works out, I feel very accomplished. However, I am not one who never picked up a rifle after bow hunting though. I have too much respect for the deer. In all my years of bow hunting, I have found out that bow hunting is hard and deer are **** tough animals. Even if EVERYTHING goes as planned, there are so many variables that can result in a wounded deer. If there is a certain buck I am after, I will have a rifle in my hand when gun season arrives. The thrill of the bow kill alone is not enough to overpower the thrill I get when I have the mature buck, which I have been watching for years, in my hands, bow or rifle. Now when doe hunting to reduce numbers, I prefer bow over rifle for the thrill factor.

This. My choice is archery equipment But where I hunt it’s hard enough to get on a mature free range buck. If I have to take out the boom stick to seal the deal I will. You are mistaken if you think there is no skill in that IMO. A lot of work and skill involved in trying to pattern one of these ghost bucks in the piney woods.

[the marshall]

enjoy being so close to the animals
more time and opportunities to hunt

[tyak]

This...






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[MQ32Shooter]

Great pics Tyak!

[Clark]

Schoolmate had a great ranch, his Dad gave us permission to hunt, but had to be with a bow.
Pawn shop bows were bought.
We had no internet, no help and no clue.
Hunted 2 seasons, made every mistake you can.
Zero kills.

But...I kinda got obsessed with killing a good buck with archery equipment, I had to figure it out.
And once I did, nothing else would scratch that itch.

I still love my deer rifle.