Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting whats more expensive... rifle or bow hunting?

My bow hunting cost me almost nothing. I have not put in a dollar in 4 yrs. I hunt 4 miles from my home. Gun season is 243 miles away one way , I loose time at work. I really dont spend much at all all deer season and most is for gas. I would say $300 dollars altogether. Of course my guns are old and my bow is 6 yrs old and still just fine.

They can both be as cheap or expensive as you want them to be. I have killed dozens of deer, turkey and a bear with my bow and have spent relatively little. Bought my current bow in 02 when my first bow was stolen. A dozen arrows will last me years. Replacing broadheads and arrows are my only archery expense.

In comparison, every time I squeeze the trigger its at least 2-3$ with rifle or muzzleloader. I have dropped a whole lot more cash on rifles and optics. Not a requirement but it is a fact.

Who cares???? Follow your passion! Life is short. HUNT HARD.

For me, rifle. Because I like to get new toys and different scopes and ever since I started reloading I’ve dumped God knows how much money into that. Ammo may be the deciding factor in price. Because I’d say I waste way more money with my bow. Losing arrows, breaking broadheads, restringing, wearing out targets, etc.

I'd say archery. The average joe buys a cheap rifle(often combo one with cheap scope) and box of shells. Sights in, then use the same box of shells for next four or five years.

Whereas, I always seem to see the archery guys constantly practicing.

When I tried to getting into archery three or four years back, I was very surprise at the initial expense even for complete start up bow package. The arrows and heads are very expensive and you lose or damage them through practice.

The main advantage I see for archery is generally am earlier and longer season than rifle hunting where I'm at.

AGREED
may I add this I have spent a lot of money bow and rifle hunting and target shooting too, lost a lady or two because of my hunting addiction and I would never change my way .I live to hunt ,fish and shoot and may our good lord give me another good 10 years ! good luck and have great safe success this fall ! Pete53

That's a pretty lose question, it depends on how you look at it and what kind of equipment you're using and how much you practice. I'd say overall Archery, it's the hunting ammo that drives the cost up. However, if you go to the range a lot, rifle shooting can cost more in ammo. Just my basic opinion with numbers pulled out of my ass.

Set up.
A half decent bow or crossbow with arrows, sights, quiver and broad heads $1200.00.
A half decent rifle package with a scope and a couple of boxes of shells $700.00.

Hunting ammo to shoot one deer.
1 Arrow & broad head $20.00.
1 Shell $1.50.

Practice ammo used for 40 rounds.
Arrows and field tips $0.00.
Shells $60.00.

You have to go apples to apples. The one gun hunter with a Walmart savage who uses a box a year is likely spending less than the one bow hunter. Archery is crazy expensive and depreciation is bad. I shoot a cheap Galaxy/samick recurve so I don't have a ton in my archery gear.

Bow hunting seems to require a wider range of specialty clothing - from warm September through cold December around here. Rifle hunting means I put a blaze vest over my work clothes.

Expense is what you make it.

I sold my Ruger #1 RSI for what I had in it.
Bought a beater 760 instead (wanted .35 rem).
W Leupold 4X have 700 total in it.

Archery I run about an old Blackwidow recurve I paid $400 for (bare bow).
All set up, have about 600 in it.

Have had the thousand dollar rifles/bows (bare rigs) and bought scopes and other.

Deer don't care how much you spend.

Killed quite a few w a Mossberg 500 I paid 125 bucks for.

archery hands down. bow costs about the same as really nice gun but at 20 bucks an arrow and all the other things that become necessary, it is getting ridiculous anymore. and if you go the economy route its really a big difference. hell you can get a perfectly adequate rifle for under 300 bucks and a box of shells for 15 and that will get you at least a dozen deer.

Im a rifle hunter.....between my spotting scope , tripod and binoculars Id bet I have more tied up then most archers

Archery. Not only are trendy bows expensive, they require periodic maintenance like cables and other parts that wear out if you shoot a lot (stick bows are excepted, of course). The bowhunters I know are always chasing the holy speed grail too, trading up to gain a bit. Lastly, when the bows break, it can be catastrophic. My cousin had one crack a limb, then its replacement did too. The second time, he got about half what he paid, and bought another brand.

When I decided to get a crossbow, I went recurve because I can do all the maintenance myself without buying a press. No regrets so far.

On the other hand, rifle lust has kept me on the verge of bankruptcy for decades, just like the "other kind".

This is easy for me, bow hunting is cheaper. I have bow hunted since I was 15 off and on. I like to buy a good bow and shoot it for 6-8 years before I upgrade. I also shoot my arrows multiple times, I can't do that with a rifle. For some reason, I like to collect rifles, so I am always buying new rifles, scopes, ammo, etc. With a bow, I stick with what I have for few years. I also shoot my bow a lot more than my guns, and I shoot quite often. With a bow, I can walk out in my backyard and sling some arrows, I can't do that with my rifle. I also prefer to archery hunt, but haven't since I moved to AK, that changes next year though.

I can't believe how much bows sell for now. What does each shot cost? $10 arrow, $10 lighted nock, $10 to $20 broadhead..... WOW!

If archery is "hands down" more expensive for a guy yet he also fancies himself a rifleman, then he's not shooting his rifle(s) enough.

Agree!

You can spin this so many ways. Guys talk about bow depreciation of bows. So the 3 to 5 year old bow that has depreciated terribly is a frustrating situation for the seller and an opportunity for the wise buyer IMHO. Historically I have liked to practice a lot with either bow or rifle. I do spend more time practicing with archery equipment than i do with rifle in recent years.

I like a quiet bow and I like a quiet rifle. Was about to spring for a silencer when I opted instead to get back into archery. Spent at least a grand less on tax stamp, silencer & threading barrels for rifles and instead purchased a less expensive Flag ship bow that was very trendy 2 years ago. The two year old bow is fast, quiet and dead in the hand. The new to me carbon riser bow ways very little and is warm to the touch in cold weather.

My preferred rifle sells for near $600.00 the prefered scope sells for nearly as much. Rounds go for a buck round give or take. Trip to the rifle range just got less expensive as we just got a new rifle range that extends out to 300 yards on the edge of town. Still may pick up a silencer yet

My preferred bow ran $570 to my door for a used bare bow, used a old sight and rest and dropped another $60.00 for a quiver. I spend near $12.00 per premium arrow and 6 to12 arrows will last me a season of active practice and hunting. I do not use lighted knocks and my premium broad heads run no more than $12.00 ea. Used 1 broad head this year to harvest 1 deer. Truth be told I could sharpen the broad head and re-use both the arrow and broached on another deer, should i wish to. Archery lends itself much more to recycling.

Don't hurt my feelings that I can practice on my property day or night. OK I BOUGHT A PREMIUM target as well that should be good for 20,000 practice rounds so as well.

For me, archery is Annually marginally less expensive. Yet I get many more hours of enjoyment per year with archery and no need for hearing protection & the cost and castle of tax stamps. I feel better about sharing the sport of archery with my 8 year old son and expect this to be decisively the case for the coming 3 years; perhaps more.

In my area we are only allowed 1 archery deer per season. Extend my area out to our full state and I could take up to 3 archery deer for sure. Rifle I could take 3 deer plus per year as well.

Enjoy every aspect of rifle and bow hunting to be sure. This includes tuning the bow and building arrows. Seeing up the rifle and reloading ammo. and tweaking in each for maximum performance.

I guess it depends on how you look at it.

If you shoot a compound and trade up every couple years, it'll get very expensive. If you're content with a serviceable bow that's several years old, cost can be kept way down. I built a truckload of selfbows for years and if you factor in the thousands of hours making them, time cutting wood, and hours spent in a stand per deer killed then that's very expensive as well, even if materials are "free". But I used to love it, and still do to a degree. In my case, it would have been cheaper to buy a top end custom recurve and use it for a couple decades.

If a fella is content with a couple of rifles, deer hunting isn't that expensive. Just depends on how looney he is. But, If I measured cost in hours spent hunting per deer killed, rifle hunting is cheaper IMO.