Whistling Wings Outfitter
January 18, 2012 at 10:43 pm
filed under Hunting
I know the obvious, but I am curious as to why bow hunting is a very popular niche. Is it because bow hunting (archery) is more challenging? Does anybody know from experience?
It is the challenge, the sheer joy and elation at getting close enough to a wild animal and make a successful kill.Once you make your first bow kill, you never again have quite as much satisfaction at making a gun kill.
I hunt the traditional opening days with a gun, and go with family and friends. But the rest of the 5 month long bow season, I bow hunt.
There have been many hunters that hunted with a gun for many years, that have taken up bow hunting and after making their first kill with it, never picked up their gun to hunt with again.And here is one of the reasons for that. When a hunter makes a bow kill, he experiences the same feeling of elation he did when he killed his very first deer with a gun. Each and every time he makes a bow kill, the excitement never dies.
I would rather shoot a deer and miss it with my bow, then kill it with a gun.Because when I get a shot off with my bow, it means I did everything right, found the deer, found the right stand spot, and got the shot off without being detected.
Statistics show a gun hunter will usually quit hunting when he gets in his forties. The reason for this is that he not longer has the fire in him to hunt anymore, mainly because the challenge and excitement is no longer there when he makes a kill with his gun.
But the bowhunter will usually stop only when he becomes too old to hunt, or unable to pull his bow back because of physical limitations, because the thrill never dies, never gets old, and never becomes too easy, which is the case with many gun hunters that quit hunting.
Nicholas
There are a number of reasons:
1) Owning and operating guns is rather expensive whereas the costs associated with bows can be much less.
2) Some people are purists. They may believe guns offer unfair advantage.
3) Lead is toxic and eating it is unhealthy.
4) Guns make much more noise than bows. After firing your gun, whether you score a kill or not, your chances of a second kill in the area are severely diminished.
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I prefer a gun.
august
Some places have hunting seasons devoted entirely to primitive hunting. Sometimes that’s ONLY archery equipment, while in other places and times it may include muzzleloading firearms. As such, people in those areas often choose to develop archery skills as a means to extend their hunting opportunities.
Some people also prefer to bowhunt because they desire a different type of challenge; hunting with a gun at long ranges offers as many challenges as hunting with a bow at short ranges, but the TYPE of challenge is different.
With proper training and practice, bowhunting is no more challenging than gun hunting (I’m sure I’ll get a lot of TD’s for that, but I stand by the statement). The only real challenge for either is actually seeing game, so long as the hunter is intimately familiar with his hunting tool of choice. That being said, both are inherently challenging, which is why people choose to hunt. It’s not about killing; it’s about overcoming obstacles. Patience, good judgement, precision in using your hunting tool, and the knowledge that you are putting food on the table and helping conserve game animals are all benefits of hunting in general.
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Aaron
1) Guns offer a ranges from 0-500+ hunting distance
a. Bow 0-30 or so max
2) Takes more skill to bow hunt than with a gun. But with a gun especially with a a decent amount of range and wind you have to compensate. With a bow you still have.
3) Bow hunting your in later summer early fall and everything blends in with the background so youll have yo rely more on hearing. Gun hunting leaves have fallen and you can see farther (depending on what your background is).
Its really what your niche is. I’ve tried bow hunting but i prefer rifle. I love the smell of gun powder in the morning.
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Hillbilly
In my case, I live in the Northern Tier in Upstate New York, bow season opens 2 1/2 weeks before gun season, so it expands my hunting season, and it’s an extra deer tag. In New York, if I don’t score with my bow, the tag is also good for muzzle loader season. Also, it’s nicer weather, and the woods are a lot more peaceful in early season.
I like bow hunting, but I don’t love bow hunting. If I was given the choice, I think I might park the bow & just use my rifle. But that’s just one hillbilly’s opinion.
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Die hard hunter.
Bear Crap
Areas are open for bows and crossbows, that firearms are not, for hunting.
Some hunters want more of a challange because you have to be so close and accurate.
I must say bow hunting and crossbow hunting causes more wounded deer than guns do. I have found deer and other big game with a broad head buried in them. Some of those animals were in real bad shape with festering wounds and gangrene. Both my brothers have also found this. Too many people don’t understand the limits of a arrow or bolt. They have to be placed just right at close range with enough speed and weight to do the job. And the Archer must be able to judge distance and drop really good. There is a great deal to learn to be a good archer. But unfortunately some just buy the gear, shoot at a target a few times and think that’s it, result wounded deer.
A rifle has more range and has more room for error. You miss the lungs on a deer with a .270 or a .308 and gut shot it, its going to die. It may run 150 yards but its going to bleed to death much faster than an arrow in the same place. It could run miles with an arrow in the guts and die in agony.
Still you must be a good shot, know shot placement and know the limits of your rifle. So if you have the right rifle a 200 to 300 yard shot is rather simple with a standing deer. With a bow or crossbow you have about 35 to 45 yards where you can make a shot.
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question mark
MANY reasons why bow hunting is popular.
challenging is one of the reasons. but the main reason why i personnally do it is because when you shoot an animal with a gun you have wasted some of the meat you will soon eat. and not to mention the piece of lead you may bite into. with archery you pull out the arrow, reuse it and you have a nice clean animal to feed your family
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experience
Zakonye
Archery season starts a full two months before gun season here.
And it’s more challenging and fun
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FAROUTDUDE1970
I can only speak for myself but I find archery hunting much more challenging than gun hunting. You have to be able to get much closer to the animal (30 yards or less) where with a gun you can shoot from a few hundred yards.
I also like archery hunting more because you see more animals because there are not as many archers out there as gun hunting and you seem to see more deer.
Also because there is less noise there are not as many spooked animals.
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17 years a hunter, 15 years a bow hunter.
Mr.357
A good bow typically costs much more than a good rifle. There are a bunch of other stuff that you have to get to go with a bow. It is typically much harder to hunt with a bow than a rifle. That is one reason that I typically hunt deer with a handgun. In most states, bow season lasts much longer than firearms season for deer. In the state that I live in, bow season is 3 months and firearms season in 12 days.
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jack of some trades
bows are weak
arrows don’t shoot as far
arrows don’t penetrate as much
need to be closer to game
cannot compete with firearms; cannot hunt effectively in general season
arrow trajectory is very arc-like
bows require more muscle to pull & hold
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you ever shoot 80# a long bow?
I’d prefer a gun.
Jake
I have never missed a deer with a rifle.
I have shot two deer in the lungs at around 100 yards with a rifle and it was relatively easy.
However, with a bow, I am limited to about 30 yards, and it is difficult (at least for me) to get that close to a deer. When I did get the chance to take a deer with my bow, I missed. Then she ran around in a circle, and when she came back I missed again. Note: On a target at 30 yards I had no problem keeping my shots within a softball-sized group, under pressure on a deer I missed completely.
The difference between bow hunting and rifle hunting is night and day, at 25 yards when you are looking that animal right in the eye it is a whole different animal.
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dumdum
It is the challenge, the sheer joy and elation at getting close enough to a wild animal and make a successful kill.Once you make your first bow kill, you never again have quite as much satisfaction at making a gun kill.
I hunt the traditional opening days with a gun, and go with family and friends. But the rest of the 5 month long bow season, I bow hunt.
There have been many hunters that hunted with a gun for many years, that have taken up bow hunting and after making their first kill with it, never picked up their gun to hunt with again.And here is one of the reasons for that. When a hunter makes a bow kill, he experiences the same feeling of elation he did when he killed his very first deer with a gun. Each and every time he makes a bow kill, the excitement never dies.
I would rather shoot a deer and miss it with my bow, then kill it with a gun.Because when I get a shot off with my bow, it means I did everything right, found the deer, found the right stand spot, and got the shot off without being detected.
Statistics show a gun hunter will usually quit hunting when he gets in his forties. The reason for this is that he not longer has the fire in him to hunt anymore, mainly because the challenge and excitement is no longer there when he makes a kill with his gun.
But the bowhunter will usually stop only when he becomes too old to hunt, or unable to pull his bow back because of physical limitations, because the thrill never dies, never gets old, and never becomes too easy, which is the case with many gun hunters that quit hunting.
References :