I know hunting shows are not all that popular here, and I seldom watch them. The whooping, high fives, and hard rock music ruin any possible redemptive qualities. Having said that, what’s with all the archery hunting shows? Is bow hunting really that popular compared to rifles?

Not in my house.
Never owned a bow.

Yes, when you consider I have bow season for a few months, and gun season for 1-2 weeks (depending upon population)

I agree with Kellory, Oklahomans have 3 months to archery hunt and only two weeks for rifle. I think most states are similar and if you are filming a hunting show that makes for a lot more archery hunting shows

Definitely. One of the reasons I stopped archery hunting. I ran into more hunters in archery than rifle season. And I only hunt public land, in PA!

Most states have a very long archery season. I know Arkansas' reason used to run 01 Oct. 28 Feb. when we lived there. Growing up as a teenager, a friend got me into archery, and thus my dad got back into with me as he saw it as 6 months of hunting versus just three weeks of rifle and 10 days of ML.

The state of Michigan has catered to bow hunters for decades, and it is much more popular than I can understand. It is common to meet hunters that are either bow only, or gun hunt only out of state.

Heck yeah it is. They can used scoped crossbows here and have 6 weeks. Why bother hunting rifle for two weeks in brutal December weather? I don't hunt Archery because I'm more interested in trying out rifles and loads than I am in just killing animals. A sharp stick doesn't do much for me.

In many states it's also easier to get an archery license than a rifle license.

Most people think that gun hunting is too easy, so with archery equipment you need to get closer and probably overall a better hunter. A hunting show can pack more drama into archery hunting to fill up a half hour segment. A crossbow is little more than a rifle with a string inside of 50 yards and is looked at with some amount of disdain by the vertical bow crowd.

Our Archery season has turned into Crossbow season.

WHOA there!!! Thems fightin words!!! If 99% of todays archery hunters didnt have 1. Private land 2. Game cameras 3. Scents/Lures 4. Prime dates(rut) along with all the other tech they use, they couldnt kill a deer let alone find one. I see so many archers on facebook losing deer or requiring dogs to retrieve downed game. So many bad shots.....todays archers for the most part suck at hunting. That said, theyre very effective due to the sheer number of archers, the amount of posted property, the lack of pressure during prime season and abundance of feed.

The majority of deer killed in rifle are shot at ranges well under 100 and more close to archery range than most will admit. We all hear of jerk offs who shouldnt be hunting, both archers and rifleman. But the rifleman I know can rival the best archers in general woodsmanship and knowing their quarry, where long range hunting isnt the norm.

Take your best archer from say Iowa and your average rifleman from the northeast and put them in the mountains, public land, in west virginia for a week and see who comes out on top. Sure as hell wont be the archer.

Now them are fighting words. I took a 4 point buck at 7 yards, with a bent sapling and a bootlace, and hand carved arrows. I'd like to see YOU duplicate the feat. On public lands, with a swiss army knife. (Just to see how primitive I could go, and still get meat).
Tech is fine, but not necessarily.

7 yrds?? Pfftt!! Seriously, good on ya! And I could make that shot, IF I could make the equipment, which I dont have that skill. When I archery hunted almost every kill was straight down. Yes, I used a compound and carbon arrows, but simplistic as possible, single pin, etc etc. I hear the phrase "rifle hunt like you bow hunt" and it pisses me off! You either know how to hunt or you dont. Even out west you need to know the game, how they use the land and get as close as possible. There is no other way to hunt.

I have no sights on my bows, and one pin on my crossbows. I used a pit blind, and you are right, you need to know the game.

+1

I expect that to be a universal growth, as a vertical bow does not include the same synergies as a crossbow for the average rifleman looking to increase his hunting opportunities.

I know I have no interest in bow hunting but could be enticed to explore a crossbow.

I like both, bow is very exciting, a doe is a trophy with a bow!

I like both too.
In Indiana we are a one buck state.
I much prefer to kill out before gun starts as it seems they go into hiding.
With that said I very much do look forward to opening day of gun as it be quite exciting.
Fortunately I have killed out before gun in the past many years.
As far as archer hunters being bad shots same goes for gun too.
I’ve seen both sides.
So far I haven’t lost a deer in archery in quite some time......(knock on wood)

Shows do archery alot because it puts the animal in closer.

I do both, getting a shot with a bow is harder than getting a shot with a gun. There's lots more movement required to draw a bow.

Both are fun!

I like both. In northern states where I hunt (NY, Mass and a lesser extent VT) there is a very different vibe to the different seasons. In the much longer bow season, there is very little pressure even on public land. You hunt deer as they feed, breed etc, Couple this to the more moderate weather and its a more relaxed season. The gun seasons have much more pressure and even on private lands the deer pretty quickly give up their normal patterns.

I wish there were liberal deer seasons like archery open to revolver hunters with open sights only. Most would be held to about 40-60 yards for shots or if really talented perhaps 80 yards. I see the open sighted revolver to be somewhat like archery in its distance challenges and very effective at putting down game. Like archery some would be more proficient than others. Most hunting shows never show the archery disasters that take place or for that matter even rifle screw ups. I do not believe an open sighted revolver should be constituted as a rifle season firearm. Understand now that the 460 S&W and 500 S&W bring in a new breed, but perhaps limiting revolver case length to 1.4" would eliminate that concern. Still hunting in deep woods with a 41 Mag, 44 Mag, 480 Ruger, etc., makes for some great excitement. Should have the opportunity to hunt both revolver and rifle just like the bow hunters get without being restricted to a two week season.

You are a stupid ....

Fine with me, but you get in line behind the rifle hunters like we have to do with the archers. Seasons would be bow first, then rifle, last handgun.

My way would be you choose your weapon when you buy a license. You get one choice. Would be interesting to see how many bow hunters drop out.

I like that idea!

Really? We added a law to allow dogs to track wounded game. When you can name every whiz bang rager broadhead matherson bow scent snooper clothing and by God lets put your 2yr old daughter in the pic of the buck you lost and had to pay a houndsmen to find your kill you shot at 21 steps we have a problem.

When you post you feelin really bad you made a perfect broadside double lung shot but cant find him what would you do? And 380 people comment dont worry it happens a lot you misjudged the shot it happens to all of us move on theres more buck out there.....we have a problem.

We dont have to mention the numerous pics of deer shot in the ass, forehead, brisket, gut, etc etc found later by dogs. Or the photos of deer posted with puss sacks overgrown around broadheads found while gutting your deer.

Might be worthy to note the amount of weekly photos posted asking what "this" is an its a basic anatomy photo. Most recently pic of lymph nodes and more than 10 people said cancerous nodes, 3 buckshot, and over 30 people stating dont eat its CWD!!

Archers are by far the most stupid hunters ive ever come across, most not fit to hunt. If that makes ME stupid in your small mind so be it.

And just like that, shotguns-only turned into sabot slugs and ML season turned into scoped in-line season.

Very few people have the time or desire to be saddled with the inefficient BS.

If this is to be another bash on bow hunters thread, I'm done here.

Well, not quite, but the second part is certainly true. The same attitude was prevalent when compounds first came out. They'll get over it when they get old or otherwise have trouble shooting their wheel-bows. The hunters in my small circle are deer hunters, and don't care what anyone uses.

I got a crossbow so I could hunt longer and without dodging the crowds on public land. So far the experiment had been a huge success with two down and one more tag to go. Been passing on does with my rifle, but that nonsense stops Thursday. Overall, I think hunter numbers are down where I hunt, and I've seen little or no evidence of deer kills by other hunters, by any method.

You are. You evidently have never known a good hunter, especially a bowhunter, but you just go ahead and live in your world. You are an elitist snob and you are welcome to your opinion.

I, on the other hand, embrace the outdoors and hunting and enjoy all offered and have killed from 3 steps on the ground, with a homemade recurve all the way out past 800 with a rifle and all kinds of in between. My wife is about as capable. MZ, Shotgun, pistols, bows, you name it, we enjoy it. And we realize their are differences and enjoy those and don't live to b i t c h about others. Well scumlord is a rare exception.

I"ve seen more lost deer by guns, than bows. Simple math would verify that truth too. If anyone would think about it. How many killed by gun, how many killed by archery etc...

Crossbow, check, got it when I injured my shoulder so bad as a volunteer firefighter, that I could not draw my recurve. Trying to save 2 kids in a house fire. Guess how far I've used it? I won't shoot it past the distance that I won't shoot my other bows. Basically 15 steps max. I"m not saying thats what all should do but I'm tired of people not backing others choices and just continually damning each other though we are SUPPOSED to be on the same side.

I believe you agree with me there.

I suspect your circle is small, like ours, because there are not as many good humans out there anymore like there used to be.

Oh yeah lets go one more since I'm tired and grumpy. We have a trailing dog. A rescue we didn't really want. Turned out great. We have been called all over our county and where we hunt also. Dog has gotten nice tips from some folks. In about 4 years now he has found close to 40 deer. I've not had one single call from a bowhunter. Trust me I know plenty of them, wife and I each have taken over 100 animals with a bow..... My last bow shot went about 30 steps and fell over. No need for a dog.

FWIW I almost enjoy watching the dog work the trails that the gun hunters can't find, and watch him locate the deer for them. But don't fret, we know how to track and trail too, hunted since the early 70s without a dog and learned how.

I know many hunters, including myself, that are excellent hunters. I also know some award winning archers that do NOT hunt, but own a very well known archery business and their opinion echos mine, that the majority if todays archers are inept. My bitch isnt the excellent hunters, theyre a rare breed. Apparently youre too phuggin stupid to understand that. Now if what I said above about 99% of bow hunters today is acceptable to you, youre really one stupid MFer! As to your comment on the numbers of deer lost rifle/bow, of course rifle hunters lose more simply because the number of rifle hunters outweigh archers. Thats just common sense. Which apparently you lack heavily.

40 deer? Thats it??? I can show you a facebook group where ONE man and his dog found close to 60 this year alone! Hunting Pennsylvania Close Group. Check it out.

I just never could really like bows. If they made one that went "boom", had recoil and shot copper jacketed arrows 3000 fps I might get interested.

+1

Me too. Hunting feeds my interest in Rifle shooting, not the other way around.

I live in PA and honestly, I bow hunt just to have more time in the local woods. If I had to pick between rifle and bow hunting, I would definitely pick rifle hunting. Bows/crossbows are as interesting as a shovel to me, but I love being outdoors. Honestly, I’ll bow hunt less next year, I took a morning off this season to go squirrel hunting, and wonder why I got away from small game hunting- had a blast that morning! Whatever keeps me in the woods is what makes me happy though, so I’ll continue to do all of it.

I had a guy from work ask me about bow hunting (a non-hunter), as he said he watched some shows and listened to them talk about it making it seem like a more exciting hunting. I thought about it for a second, and told him I didn’t think that was true. Setting up for archery hunting and getting a closer shot is great, but it’s not like all rifle shots have to be 300+ yards. If you get your jollies from taking a deer at close range, that’s fine, but whether you have a bow, crossbow, or rifle in your hand doesn’t really matter.

I just generally dislike the concept of boutique seasons. Ought to be just one season - deer season, pick your poison.
But then the archery Co.s would go out of business.

You would like what they do in VA. The limit is 5 or 6, including 2 or 3 bucks, depending on which side of the Blue Ridge you take them on, and it matters not what you take them with. They still have seasons devoted to different weapons, but you can always drop down to something more challenging. Not quite what you want, but it works pretty well, and their seasons are long, and drawless.

Winner, you are on ignore.

Love em both.

If you're going to argue that hunting with a rifle doesn't make up for a lot of opportunities lost in comparison to a bow, you are either heavily biased or moronic. What is required of you to hunt with a gun isn't even remotely close in comparison with long bow. You could continue the comparison with a long bow vs a spear vs a sling shot vs a hunting with only a knife.

As far as a skillful hunter is concerned, there are way too many variables at play that would determine one's quality and it isn't what they are carrying in their hand.

I bow hunt. I gun hunt.

I enjoy both immensely. I’ve killed 5 does with my bow this year and 3 with a gun. I still have my buck tag and bow hunted today. Muzzleloader starts Saturday and I’ll use one of those for the next week or so. If I don’t see a buck I want to shoot during muzzleloader, I’ll get back after it with a bow until season closes.

If there was a F-16 season I’d use one of those too. I like hunting and I like shooting stuff. The weapon in hand doesn’t mater. I’m the weapon.

I’m just a hunter, regardless of weapon.

F16's are better than guns or bows, as they are also useful for making booty calls!

I like this response. I never intended what seems to be a typical ‘Fire heated response to archery vs guns, I simply wanted to know why there are so many bow hunting shows rather than rifle.

Years ago I purchased a very nice long bow because it was just so cool. But the time required to get any good with it was significant. Within 15 yards I could keep most all my shots within a 4” circle, but if I stepped back 5 more yards I was all over the place.

Bowhunting here is before gun season.

So the deer haven't been pressured, plus here we get pre rut and often start of rut.

X bows considered reg archery gear in most places now. Putting a hurt on vertical bow sales.



Shot my Blackwidow recurve today. Fun

As for rifle vs bow...............see through rings make one superior.

LOL

I don't see that happening at all. I"ve hunted general gun seasons with all kinds of weapons. By choice.

Would it cut down on sales of other things, like bows, handguns, blackpowder? Yes of course some only do it to get more time in the woods. Who can blame em for that? If you don't want more time in the woods then you dont' have the real drive IMHO.

Its about the end of our general season here, we'd be hunting with bows if the owner allowed it, as is we are still hunting with glocks though time is running out and there are a few deer that need to be taken out, not deer we WANT, but deer we NEED to take out, ( our opinion) and they may have to fall to a rifle but we'll see.

It’s all hunting.

Exactly! Just remember with any weapon if you collapse BOTH lungs it die fast.

P.S. I know about main arteries, brains and spines.

But NOTHING other than CNS is 100% sure. Even a double lung deer can clot, heal and live... though I should probably say main arteries I've never seen fail or a hole in the heart, though a hole in the heart has covered up to 500 yards a few times.

I will hunt with my x bow in ml season and rifle sea. will hunt with x bow &muz. in rifle sea. don't matter to me

Now how about we continue with your scenario of taking the best archer from Iowa and a average rifleman from the northeast. Only lets even the odds, by giving both the same rifle & ammo. Ill argue that an experienced Archer will more frequently put themselves in the right place at the right time. I hunt with both Archery equipment & rifle. While I have over time become quite proficient in archery hunting whitetails. I generally have seen a rifle hunt as a meat hunt. That is I generally know if I see a deer & choose to shoot from 5 yards to 300 yards Ill be hauling meat out of the field in short order.

On the other hand while archery hunting I can't count the number of times I have been within 30 yards of a deer Id like to take, yet had no viable shot. Give me a rifle & even if we increase the range to 100 yards & the level of certainty of connecting with lethal shot-placement improves massivly.

To put this differently I am a much better hunter, rifle or Bow today due to my Archery experience. With my level of proficiency with a bow Ill need to close the distance on a deer to inside of 30 yards to make a kill shot with any certainty. Put my rifle in my hands & If I am able to develop a good rest my comfort zone may stretch as far as 300 yards.

I enjoy hunting with Bow & rifle. As I get older & my feet are giving out on me (plantar fasciitis) If I wish to be assured of putting meat on the table, Ill apply for a rifle tag & get her done in a day or two.
If I wish to spend time in the field I'll apply for an archery tag. Then if the deer of a lifetime provides the shot of a lifetime on opening day, I stand to be disappointed if I fill that tag on my first day out of the season. I am often disappointed when tagged out with an archery tag early in the season.

Tracking distance for both Archery & Rifle shot deer seldom exceed 60 yards anymore for me & surprisingly often have resulted DRT with bow & rifle. BTW my favorite deer rifle today happens to be chambered in 6mm ARC

I bow hunt during bow season, rifle hunt during rifle season

What's funny is I will hear dumbasses up on the public ground fire five or ten times at deer all the time.

Private ground is no golden ticket to a successful hunt. In fact, my biggest deer have all come from public ground that I access from private ground. Guess what? You can use game cameras on public ground just the same as private. I see lots of them put up by rifle hunters.

Today's hunters....rifle hunters, for the most part suck at hunting. I couldn't tell you the number of wounded deer I see in rifle season, some with their jaws blown off or shot in the rear quarters.

Archery, in my state at least, gets shut down in the middle of the season for a youth hunt and rifle season...which all occurs directly in the middle of the rut. Archers are denied the rut, but we can have Sept and early October. Then we get a couple weeks in December (we can archery hunt during muzzle loader season which occurs then, and we get January.

One of my favorite things about archery hunting is I don't have to worry about getting shot by the 99% of idiot rifle hunters. I can't remember ever hearing of an archer sticking a cow, but almost every year, some dumbass shoots a cow with a rifle in close proximity.

I can tell you for sure, my success rate in seeing a deer and harvesting a deer are near 100% every November. But with a bow it is less than 10%. It is much more difficult. Rifles are like cheating.

Yup. Me too.

i love the outdoors and have always worked my entire life outdoors in all Minnesota weather condions. during bow season i use archery equipment,rifle season i use a rifle, muzzle loader season i use a musket. but my favorite time to hunt is last week of December in Minnesota which is also the last legal week of archery season in Minnesota its very cold ,absolutely no persons but me in the woods and once in a while i see a huge Whitetail buck , that gets me excited even if i don`t get a chance at a shot with an arrow. my all time true love is archery season when that old buck is so close you can see his eye lashes and that buck has no ideal i am above him 15 feet.

Here in WV, if you have all the legal toys you can hunt deer and bear from the opening of the pointed-stick season until December 31, and then four more days in January during the Mountaineer Heritage Season. I'm not crazy about hunting in late September because it's hot and buggy, but getting a doe down early satisfies the Earn-a-Buck requirment in my county, allowing me to shoot whatever walks by, within the bag limits of course. With generous limits and special no-tag-required opportunities for geezers, I can theoretically put a lot of meat in the freezer, but the main draw for me is the 3-month+ window to enjoy the woods with the possibility of taking a deer included.

Our bonus tags are weapon-specific and you have to buy them before each season opens, but if you make your meat early with say your bow, you can forgo the extra expense of the other bonus tags.

Three antlered-buck limit, whatever way you take them. One buck per day as well.

Longer seasons and usually earlier in the year. Lets them film more shows in better weather. That is just a guess since I don't watch any of them.

I’m gonna say there might be some crow eating going on.

I never found bow hunting to be all that difficult. I only did it for 4 seasons but easily killed deer every year. Several times on the first day I hunted, including my first season when I took a doe at 10 yards from the ground on opening morning. Last season I tried crossbow for the first time. Took a doe at 30 yards on opening morning an hour and a half after climbing into my stand. Second mornng had three bucks go past my stand by 9:00 am but none came within my self imposed 40 yard limit so didn't shoot. Third morning killed a six point at 17 yards 5 minutes after climbing into my stand. Yeah real fuggin tough. Bow and crossbow hunters needn't be breaking their arms patting themselves on the back for being such great and skillful hunters.

Yeah, well, I could kill a "doe" eating shrubs around my pool with a rock from my back door.

Killing mature, quality bucks is a whole 'nuther ball-game.

All bow hunting is to me is an early jump on filling the freezer before rifle season starts. I've never really liked bows or bow hunting because I don't like static hunting from a stand or blind and prefer to hunt afoot either tracking or still hunting and find both the compound and particularly the crossbow excessively clumsy for such use. I do tire of bow hunters patting themselves on the back because bow hunting is so tough and takes hours of practice and dedication because unless they're hunting with a longbow and cedar arrows it's mostly bullshyt. I can pick up my old compound after not shooting it for a year and be sinking arrow after arrow into the kill zone of a deer target from 30 yards in one afternoon. Last season I shot one arrow out of my crossbow from 20 yards and one from 40 yards to check zero {both were in the 2" bullseye} a week before the opener and then went and filled both of my archery tags in short order. The majority of the deer I've killed with a rifle in my life were within 50 yards and a large percentage within 30 yards or easy bow range. It just isn't that hard to get within bow/crossbow range of deer and it isn't that hard to shoot accurately enough with a compound or crossbow to consistently hit a deers vitals unless you're an uncoordinated, clumsy ass retard.

Modern crossbows are deadly accurate although long distance shooting is out of the question; it is an archery tool after all. Last few years, I've travelled to hunt within restricted zones with my friends. Crossbows are allowed and we have brought home much tasty venison harvested at fairly close ranges from climbing tree stands. I foresee the day when there will be much more restricted lands and rifles will not be authorized. But archery hunters probably will benefit most.

Sherwood

Long before picking up a crossbow I learned that deer moved more naturally and were much more relaxed before the orange invasion began. Not all that long ago I still-hunted to within about 20 yards of three bucks feeding on acorns and after I finally stopped one of them fed to within about five yards of me. None of them ever picked me off and they finally drifted off. I was squirrel hunting, but any of those bucks would’ve been an easy shot for my x-bow, or even my recurve, back when I was in practice anyway. That relaxed attitude is a huge advantage for bowhunting, maybe as much as the rut, and here the pressure from bowhunting (and squirrel hunting) is light enough that it remains for the most part until the opening of the rifle season, which is after the peak of the rut. Dog walkers and other “civilian” foot traffic probably are more disruptive then than hunters actually.

I started out bow hunting and kept it up until my shoulder went bad in 2007. I live outside Cincinnati, and if you look on a map, we're a just a few miles from Kentucky and Indiana. Bow hunting is different in all 3 states. When I got into bow hunting in the early 80's, I was the only person I knew doing it.

Ohio was much more of an archery-oriented state. At the time I got started, it was still shotgun only, and the modern weapons season started after the rut. Kentucky was and is much more oriented to rifle hunters. Indiana was kind of in the middle. The firearms season was shotgun only in my day, but it started in mid-November, during the rut. Indiana also had a lot more hassles for non-residents compared to the other two.

As far as popularity, (I'm hunting in Kentucky exclusively these days) KY takes 72% of its deer harvest with a rifle. Archery and crossbow account for most of the rest and are evenly split.

Both IN and OH have liberalized their modern weapons seasons to include centerfire rifles of various ilk. The main reason I see is that deer populations were exploding and there weren't enough deer being taken. You're starting to see complaints in all 3 states that the deer populations may have been over-corrected. Overall, I'd say the archers get the worst of it.

Where I am in KY is in Zone 1, which means unlimited antlerless harvest. I can take up 4 deer on the regular tags and then keep going at $15 per 2 tags after that. I normally kill 1 or 2 per year; that fills my freezer. However, the archery guys can start in September and keep on hunting until January and take as many as they want.

Honestly, I thought I'd miss bow hunting when my shoulder went. In truth, it was the best thing. I was having to devote a heck of a lot of time practicing, preparing and hunting. Once archery was no longer an issue, I recovered all that time and found I could enjoy other fall activities like squirrel hunting and such. However, I can be more laid-back about it.

As with most things, follow the money. Archery seasons are long, providing plenty of time for creating content. Archers buy a lot of doodads, made by companies that fork over a lot of cash to sponsor shows that feature them, overtly or covertly. Even more so than with rifles and cartridges, there seems to be a constant flow of new technology, real or just promoted, in bows, broadheads, shafting, scent control, stands, yadayadayada, to keep the troops buying in hopes of gaining an edge. The majority of rifle hunters are not Loonys, and buy less stuff in general than archers, and are also more likely to wait until just before the season to check their guns, buy some grub and maybe new socks, and go hunting.

Since I don’t have cable, the shows I watch are limited to ones on YouTube. If memory serves (!), those shows are much less likely to feature celebrities, long drawn-out story build-ups, and other “entertainment” than the cable shows, and also more likely to teach me something, even if it’s just deer behavior.

Shaman, when I buy tags, I’m buying opportunities (and maybe providing myself a little incentive) to hunt, not really more deer. Like you, one or two will keep me in red meat. I enjoy the Fall and Winter woods, and hunting gives my time there purpose, and makes me more observant, especially when I sit still. The “civilians” that use the same property I hunt just blow by most of the good stuff.

I don’t know how you could choose one over the other. I do both and enjoy both very much for different reasons. I do however like the challenge of archery and really being able to get in close with the deer.

I most prefer hunting with a bow, because lately I haven't been getting as exited when gun hunting

One thing I noticed post-bowhunting was that I actually had more deer-related experience. When I was bowhunting, I spent a heck of a lot of the fall up in a stand. After the shoulder went, I did a lot more scouting and other things that got me out and about and I actually saw more deer. I also found the deer on my property became more used to me and spent much less time on alert. I'm much more a part of their everyday experience than when I was hiding in a tree for 3 months out of the year.

The other thing about bow hunting was it was like having 3 sports in one. On the one hand, you had the actual bow hunt-- sticking a shaft through a deer. However, there was also the archery part-- the constant practice away from the hunt. That was a sport unto itself.

For me, climbing treestands were a 3rd sport. Schlepping a 50 lb climber into the woods at 3 AM and getting set up and doing it without getting soaked in sweat was a challenge. Not freezing in your gear was another. Not falling was still another.

I am so much happier that I can now wander out to my ladder stand about an hour before the Rifle Opener starts, pull up my rifle, watch the forest come alive, have a cup of coffee, and be well assured that when the right rack shows up, I'm not going to have to participate in a goat rodeo chasing it down.

I didn't stick with bow hunting because there are other things I'd rather be doing that time of year. Like hunting small game, upland birds and waterfowl.

I hunt with both but a bow is just a way to extend the season. I’ve always been an avid gun guy that likes taking various guns out to hunt with. I think of guns as heirlooms of future heirlooms an old bow is just an obsolete garage sale item.

You’re spot on that MI caters to bow hunters. The long archery seasons probably made sense back when archery was still a niche sport and guys shot recurves and hunted out of brush blinds on the ground. It makes no practical sense today with scoped crossbows and hunting out of a shooting house. It’s easier to kill a mature buck with a bow in MI than it is with a rifle given the 6x’s longer season and first crack at the deer along with the rut. In a heavily forested state like Michigan where most deer are shot within about 60 yards even with a rifle. You’re not giving up much with a good scoped Xbow, not when compared to the season differentials.

I’d like to see the rifle season extended to three weeks starting one week earlier. It would basically split the peak of the rut between bow and rifle seasons and the extra week would help to take at least a little pressure off of having the woods so crowded for what’s a really concentrated firearm season. It will never happen but there’s no reason not to do it when MI hands out licenses left and right and claims that we have to many deer.

Bow hunting is exciting as hell, they are so close to you. I’ve killed deer, bobcats, coons, bunches of pigs, several Aoudads too. I like the sound an arrow makes when it hits. It took me 40 years to get a Turkey with a bow, killed 4 so far. They SOBs have good eyes and there is a bunch of them except in the Spring. Got this little Aoudad a few years ago. They spook easier than a deer.

keyboard each key is a screen

When I first started deer hunting, I did a lot of bowhunting, mostly because the season lasted so long compared to rifle season. In some ways, it's probably easier to get a chance at a trophy buck with a bow than it is with a rifle. Over the years I've lost most of the interest in hunting with a bow, although I do crossbow hunt now and then. If I could still shoot a bow, and I can't because of shoulder problems, I might take bowhunting back up.

I too see it as a way to extend the season. I hunt with rifle and bow and love being in the woods as much as possible. Only problem here is the heat during bow season.

Where I live you can start bowhunting on September 27th and it goes through January 31st and you can hunt every day of the week. Rifle and smoke pole gives you about 5 weeks total beginning the third Saturday in November. It is a no brainer if you want to make the most of your allowable time in the field. I like to hunt and will take it however I can get it. I have been shooting a bow since 1976 and guns before that. What I have come to dislike over all those years from some not all hunters I have met is how they need to inform you of how superior they are because they only use (enter your favorite primitive weapon here). I've taken enough game with each weapon I like to hunt with to understand that each one makes me just as happy at the end of the day. Last years bow buck was taken at 31 yards , last years rifle buck was taken directly under my feet literally straight down. Whether I'm backpacking or flying in for a 2-3 week stay in the bush or I'm walking in from the truck I'm just happy to be hunting and really don't care what the weapon of the day is. Hope you guys enjoy your time out there too and good luck.

To me bowhunting is hunting. Rifle hunting is just gettin' groceries.

I couldn’t disagree more. I bow hunt mostly because it’s easier.

I’m a gun guy at heart. I’m sure that a bow out west in the wide open is a big disadvantage but in Michigans thick cover where nearly everyone hunts out of tree stands or box blinds, hunting swamp edges, funnels, or food plots. A typical rifle shot is only about 60 yards. It’s no big trick to close that another 20 yards for archery gear. Especially if hunting with a scoped Xbow. I’ll give up 20 yards or less practical effective range for a 5x longer season that includes the first several weeks pre gun season and the rut.

Most of the big rack hunters in the Great Lake States focus almost exclusively on archery gear because the seasons favorite it. In a vacuum sure a gun is easier but the seasons and lengths there of make archery gear easier. IMO. The days of Fred Bear hunting out of a brush blind or stalking deer with a recurve and wooden arrows are long gone.

Spot on.

I bow hunt for the long season and extra opportunities. I hate hearing guys go on and on trying to convince their wives or themselves that Midwestern or back East bow hunting is difficult. Literally most big buck hunters gravitate towards the longer archery seasons that usually include the pre rut and rut.

I mostly get annoyed with the special interest seasons, in GA, where I hunt mostly, we have archery (including cross bows) for a month, then "not so primitive weapons" for a week then the rifle opener. By the time of the opener, the deer have been harassed for over five weeks. I really don't care what people hunt with, if they enjoy the challenge of the bow, more power to them, but the season should start on the same day for everyone. Deer aren't really hard to kill, having access to land that has deer on it is the real challenge. Public land in the south is too dangerous and private leases are very hard to find these days. Hunters from So Florida lease up every available land from GA to AL and everything in between.

Hunting with a bow is perceived to be more challenging than hunting with a rifle by most non-hunters and many hunters.It is easier to sell to non-hunting suburbanites who can practice shooting their bow in the backyard and potentially hunt close to home. It's easier to sell to rifle hunters as a new challenge and a chance to take an early crack at this years monster bucks. Makes sense why sponsors would promote archery shows over rifle hunting.

For me bowhunting is mo fun. Mucho sized satisfaction getting the deal done with a bow. Up close and personal is my style gun or bow.

Bow hunting deer is a rush.

More of a rush than rifle/ slug hunting, when the shot occurs.

But rifle/ slug hunting keeps your interest longer in the day , and makes stalking tracking in snow more of a possibility of success Or seeing one while riding the mule.. So I feel gun hunting you can spend more time “ hunting “ per 24 hours.

Now elk hunting with a bow in the rut is a bigger rush!

I think archery is becoming more popular because OTC archery tags are much easier to get for non-residents and offer more opportunity where it would otherwise be hard to obtain.

Thanks to all the bow hunters and others scouting the woods our deer herd will double between Labor day and the opening of rifle season. Bow hunting can ruin your chances of ever seeing a mature buck. Most years I don't get a shot at a old mature buck with a rifle during the rut. And there's no way I'm eating a skinny doe that's been struggling to feed herself and her fawn throughout the summer. Venison is really good eating if you shoot the deer at the right time of the year.

Huh?

I'm not sure what part you don't understand? The deer are not people friendly around here because there's no ranching or farming. During the late summer, early fall the deer browse is terrible.

>> double Huh ?

Anyone who puts crossbows in the same category as any other bow is delusional. States did it to please insurance companies and special interest groups.

Crossbows were, and still should be, for disabled hunters- a clue that they in fact easier to use.

Getting a decent buck is mostly about access to land. Giving everyone the ability to hunt during the rut and shoot an extra buck with a scope sighted crossbow is only harming the age structure of the deer herd. Baiting deer should be placed on an even lower level of difficulty, and most people who use crossbows seem to defend the idea of baiting as well.

Anything made or acquired easily quickly loses its value.

After trying all of the seasons, I can say without question, bowhunting has been the most challenging and the most rewarding for me personally. I had no idea that I literally knew almost nothing about deer until I had to get close to them on a consistent basis. It actually made gun hunting boring.

yes i have had surgery on both shoulders the right one is fine now the left one is painful always and i can not draw a bow anymore at my age of 69 , my job was climbing poles for the REA out in the country we had no buckets the first 20 some years ,so i now use a x-bow in Minnesota archery season . but i still wish i could draw and shoot regular bow but my health will no longer allow me too , i have been in archery and bowhunting for over 60 years so now i use a x-bow during archery season ,plus i rifle hunt because i have always handloaded my own ammo yep i am a looney. i see many deer ,some very close every year sometimes i may shoot a nice buck doesn`t happen every year. last year may have been one of the most exciting deer hunts i have been on in a long time 10 year old grandson sat with me and grandson shot a nice doe and to be honest in general kids today don`t get to hunt or fish as much as many of have when we were young ,so i could care less what the kid uses rather its a bow,gun or even a x-bow to hunt with as long as that kid has a lot of fun doing it. > if your worried about what someone is hunting with including a x-bow i think your a little selfish so get over it there is room for all hunters in America.

I'm a bowhunter and a rifle hunter. I can't see myself dropping one or the other, love some aspects of each of the hunts.