Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game When hunting became shooting

Freakin' Byron Ferguson here.........

Steelhead,
There must have been a hell of a pile of bucks as good or better than those that you passed up, just out of "bow range" before you dropped those critters. Care to tell us about all of them?

Gotta love this place. We could argue about whether the sun will rise tomorrow.

PS. I'm all for allowing rifle hunters in the bow season as long as they stick to 30 yds or less and wave their hands over their heads 3 times before shooting.

Reminds me of a bow hunt I was on with my best friend whose last name is "Adkins". We were in a fair area and he had called in a decent bull; a 6X7 on the smallish side. He decided to just take some pictures of it instead of shooting it.

Back at camp he broke out his camera to show us. His cousin was astounded as he was looking at the pictures that he didn't shoot it.

He exclaimed, "WTF man! You're name is **** Adkins, NOT **** ADAMS!!!!"

It still hurts my sides when I remember how hard I laughed!

That's funny rca...!

What's wrong with 'em BrentD?

Not a damn thing That's my point. I see, oh a maybe a dozen or three trophy animals outside of bow range for every one that I see inside bow range. Comes to reason that the biggest ones are pretty much out of reach; just simple probabilities. So, if I had killed that many beauties at close range, you can bet I'd have seen a hell of a pile of them that were just out of reach of my old twigs. I'm guessing that Steelie has passed up a few world records that didn't quite fall inside the magic 30 yds for rifle hunters that challenge themselves with bowhunting rules.

How about you? Have you seen more trophies under 30 yds or in rifle range but outside of 30?

I've never hunted blacktails in that kind of cover, so you can't compare that to the way I hunt because I hunt wide open stuff. But to answer your question, I've seen a crapload of really big mule deer outside of 30, and a few giant bucks inside of 30 that I couldn't kill.

It's where and how I chose to hunt. I seldom position myself in the open. Have I shot deer at 250 yards, yep. Have I shot them at 100, yep.

I've shot more under 100, but a goodly margin, than over. In fact I can count on 2 hands how many have been over 100 yards.

Never said I didn't shoot some further, but the idea that bow hunting is somehow more challenging because of the 'you have to get close' factor is BS.


How many deer hunter 30 yards have you shot with a bow, without the help of a blind or tree stand?

With the exception of one of those deer and the turkey, all had to have a round chambered at the time of the killing too.

Of course I forgot how many years you've spent hunting the rainforests of SE Alaska, so you know how dense that stuff is.

Most of the remaining deer have been shot in the south, were thick rules too. I don't hunt green fields, food plots etc. I hunt the woods.

I've killed about 5 deer in Texas which is about the most open area I've hunted whitetail and the furthest shot there was 100 yards.

My best Texas deer was at 70 yards, not in a blind.


I've NEVER had an issue if someone says 'I love bowhunting, it's what I like' or 'I like hunting with old single shots, it's what I enjoy'

When the elitist start saying that it's TOUGHER that way and if you don't hunt that way you don't have soul, well then those types are so full of [bleep] and themselves.

Of course you ain't one of them Brent.

I can compare it to the way I hunt in bottomland timber for whitetails.

You probably didn't get those bucks inside 30 because you waved your arm over your head three times like Steelie

Me, I just shoot'em

I don't raise my arm, but I still have to chamber a round and bring the rifle up. Of course that makes it less sporting than bow hunting.

So again, WHAT is the challenge that bow hunting offers that rifle hunting doesn't?

I certainly understand his point though. I personally think bowhunting in trees over foodplots would be the most boring thing in the history of deer hunting.

I've also seen and read bow hunters killing [bleep] at 70 yards with a bow, I'd not shoot past 30 yards with one, but that don't mean folks can't do it at 70.

Guessing a guy killing something with a bow at 70 yards is akin to someone killing a deer with a rifle at 500.

So what is the range limit with a bow before it no longer has a soul? Is killing a deer with a bow at 20 yards full of soul, but 45 soulless?

Is slinging a carbon arrow cheating? Sights on a bow? Compounds? Wearing glasses to correct your vision?

Seems lots of folks out there cheating by wearing glasses that could never hunt without them. If God wanted you to have perfect vision He would have given it to you.

So much cheating.


I don't give a flying [bleep] what makes someone happy, enjoy it, but forgo the elitist bullshitt.

It was guys like a few here that almost made be give up flyfishing before I even started. Then I said, [bleep] them, and I did it on my own.

I tend to avoid most 'hunters' as many fall into the 'my way is better' gig and many are pigeon hole themselves into one way of hunting.

If I'm in west Texas hunting mule deer I'm going to have a rifle set for shooting further than 50 yards. If fish are hitting better on a fly, I'll do that. Spoons, I'll do that.

It's apparent that the word repertoire is lost on many, damn shame really.


I've never considered any deer a cull, though many do, but that's their thing. I'll never tell a kid 'that will eat well' after he shot his first buck, a spike.

I will concede that stalking deer with a bow and shooting one at bow range is pretty damn sporty, but not many do that.

FAR from that. But folks fail to understand how much I pass up because I am not sure of the shot. If folks would operate under that premise, it wouldn't matter if it was 1000 yards or 5 feet, things would go smoothly most of the time.

FWIW the quote about not missing the heart is the truth. The heart is as large as a large orange typically. Its not hard to hit it. Especially since my max range these days with a bow is 15 or maybe 16 steps and closer. If I can't make that happen, I just don't do it. Plain and simple.

Wouldn't even think of 20 or 30 yards.

And the bottom line, its damn sure worked in my favor.

Always interesting that folks can't live and let live.... after reading a few more posts.

My way is not the best. But its the best for me. IE its what makes me happy.

Dang, that musta hurt

Well, you know, when I see you playing Howellesquian word games, I just figure you are pretty bored - maybe sitting in a tree over a food plot with your iphone or something.

But be that as it may, it ain't about what bowhunting "offers" so much as what it "requires".

Me, I only use a Rem 700 to club'em to death

But you knew all of that, right?

I agree on the tree stands, food plots, charcoal suits, and so on.

Above you said "bow hunting" and "rifle hunting" meaning in general, not how a few do it.

My answer is, bowhunters have to get close. Rifle hunters can opt to get close, but they don't have to. And in general the vast majority don't. Who here has had a rifle in his hands and seen a nice buck or bull at a hundred and fifty yards and said to himself "you know, this is just too easy, I'm gonna sneak within bow range and wave my rifle around like I'm drawing a bow?"

Well come on now. You KNOW Steelie does. He just said so.