I don't have a beef with bow hunters but they kinda have a beef with me because I won't let them hunt my land until after rifle season. My beef with is with fish and game for giving bow hunters such a big advantage. Let the bow guys hunt with the rest of us and just have one deer season regardless of weapon.
> I hunt both ways bow and rifle and too be honest bowhunters have to work a heck of a lot harder than I good rifle hunter to get a good bow shot. its almost against law for good bowhunters to rifle hunt we know a lot more about deer hunting after years as a bowhunter,we need more time as a bowhunter before the redcoats come out and scare everything cazy ! with my bow a long shot would be 30 yards if deer isn`t looking, but my custom rifle 257 weatherby with a niteforce scope,handloads,rangefinder and bi-pod shoots flat to 600 yards and it don`t matter if deer is looking at me I still will kill it ! it takes time with a bow with a rifle most just drive around with binoculars and shoot animal close to truck,seen it and done it too myself. as hunters best not to complain about each other ,myself on my land its only for a few close friends and family.
Pete, I feel the same way. Sometimes an archer can get lucky, but I used to figure 4 weeks to fill my elk tag. That's hunting after work and on weekends mostly. You really had to invest the time and effort to make that one killing setup and shot. Lots of missed opportunities, wind was wrong, cows busted you, etc. But you're right, you learn more bowhunting than you ever do rifle hunting. I don't know who said it but it's true, "The bowhunt starts where the rifle hunt ends".
Now that I rifle hunt exclusively I feel I'm far better for the 20 years I spent bowhunting. The hard part is resisting the urge to revert to rifle hunter mode after while. I admit to flushing and shooting a lot of deer with a rifle out of impatience. The difference is now I know how they think so I pretty much now where they are to flush, I don't have to wait them out like I did when I bowhunted.
