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I am just curious (not a hunter) - why bow hunting over a rifle?

sbi

sbi

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Why is it better? Seems to me - again, to the non-hunter eye - that it is a more painful death to the animal than a bullet, assuming both the arrow and the bullet are perfect shots.
Not bashing anyone, I am not a tree huger, just curious what the fuss about bow and arrow is.

Thanks.
 
Bow hunters are less successful due to the limited range....20-40 yards depending on skill...success rate is not lower because of lethality of the bow......its because the hunter has to have more skill and get closer. a bow is just as lethal if the hunter stays within his skill and practiced range. An arrow through the heart or lungs is just as lethal as a bullet or shotgun slug through the heart and lungs. Difference is with a shotgun or rifle that heart shot can be made consistently at a much longer distance than with a bow. You've seen a broadhead before right? Those things are deadly!!!!

However.......bow hunters don't need a LTC to hunt......so anyone with the hunter safety course can hunt without the mass bullshit of getting an LTC....so....theres that. Also bow season is much longer.

Other poster was correct....no rifle season for deer in mass just bow shotgun and muzzle loader .
 
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I am asking in general, not specifically to MA. It's just that I watch all these bow hunting on the outdoor channel on the weekend and was always curious why would someone choose that over a rifle.
 
All of the above.

Deer don’t suffer a more painful death with a bow. That is a common misconception. Their most painful deaths by far are from nature through starvation or being consumed by a predator.

I have shot deer with a bow that didn’t even realize that they were shot. They jumped at the noise of the shot and started looking around for the source of the noise. Then they wobbled and tipped over only going a couple of feet from where they were shot.

As always shot placement is king.

Bob
 
sbi said:
Why is it better? Seems to me - again, to the non-hunter eye - that it is a more painful death to the animal than a bullet, assuming both the arrow and the bullet are perfect shots.
Not bashing anyone, I am not a tree huger, just curious what the fuss about bow and arrow is.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Bow hunting is about "the hunt" more than "the kill". It's about proving to yourself that you can get "that close" to a deer. Bow hunters are a different breed of hunter for sure. Google a guy named Fred Bear (yes that's actually his name). He's considered the father of modern bow hunting. Read a little about him and you'll probably get a better idea of why bow hunters hunt with a bow.
 
whacko said:
Bow hunting is about "the hunt" more than "the kill". It's about proving to yourself that you can get "that close" to a deer.
Click to expand...

Most - not all, but certainly most - hunters let the deer come to them, rather than get close to the deer to be honest. The number of hunters that use a stand rather than stalk their pray is way greater, as is their success rate. I hate being in a stand or blind being still just waiting - I prefer to try to creep quietly through the woods and sneak up on the deer. Problem is I suck at it, and I always scare the deer away before I'm in shotgun range. (To put it in a most confusing way - "I can't stand to stand hunt, and if it weren't for still hunting I would not still hunt")

Hunting is a super inefficient way to get food, that's why we started farming and raising animals.

It is also super fun, and draws people for different reasons: some like to get out of the house, some like being in nature, some like the kill, some like the food, some like the chase - whatever draws you to hunting is as individual as your fingerprint. Likewise, people will choose an implement that appeals most to them: subgauge shotgun, bow, rifle where allowed, handgun, etc. All of these have limitations, with the bow giving you the least range and not much chance for a followup to a miss.

The added challenge of one shot at close range is a draw to those who want that challenge.

Using a bow also allows you to hunt closer to people than with a gun - even if legal, a shotgun 501' away from a house may attract unwanted attention, and lead to the land being posted.

Other people hunt deer, because they like the taste of antlered rats. So for these people, they get another two months to pursue the vermin to try to fill their tag. This extra time also gets you in the woods to get away from chores and family events during fall.

Many people, many reasons, many methods - just remember - one team. It does us no good to have anti hunting gun owners, and anti AR hunters.
 
tuna said:
Most - not all, but certainly most - hunters let the deer come to them, rather than get close to the deer to be honest. The number of hunters that use a stand rather than stalk their pray is way greater, as is their success rate. I hate being in a stand or blind being still just waiting - I prefer to try to creep quietly through the woods and sneak up on the deer. Problem is I suck at it, and I always scare the deer away before I'm in shotgun range. (To put it in a most confusing way - "I can't stand to stand hunt, and if it weren't for still hunting I would not still hunt")

Hunting is a super inefficient way to get food, that's why we started farming and raising animals.

It is also super fun, and draws people for different reasons: some like to get out of the house, some like being in nature, some like the kill, some like the food, some like the chase - whatever draws you to hunting is as individual as your fingerprint. Likewise, people will choose an implement that appeals most to them: subgauge shotgun, bow, rifle where allowed, handgun, etc. All of these have limitations, with the bow giving you the least range and not much chance for a followup to a miss.

The added challenge of one shot at close range is a draw to those who want that challenge.

Using a bow also allows you to hunt closer to people than with a gun - even if legal, a shotgun 501' away from a house may attract unwanted attention, and lead to the land being posted.

Other people hunt deer, because they like the taste of antlered rats. So for these people, they get another two months to pursue the vermin to try to fill their tag. This extra time also gets you in the woods to get away from chores and family events during fall.

Many people, many reasons, many methods - just remember - one team. It does us no good to have anti hunting gun owners, and anti AR hunters.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Not anti, just needed to understand.
 
whacko said:
Bow hunting is about "the hunt" more than "the kill". It's about proving to yourself that you can get "that close" to a deer. Bow hunters are a different breed of hunter for sure. Google a guy named Fred Bear (yes that's actually his name). He's considered the father of modern bow hunting. Read a little about him and you'll probably get a better idea of why bow hunters hunt with a bow.
Click to expand...

Thanks.
 
sbi said:
Why is it better? Seems to me - again, to the non-hunter eye - that it is a more painful death to the animal than a bullet, assuming both the arrow and the bullet are perfect shots.
Not bashing anyone, I am not a tree huger, just curious what the fuss about bow and arrow is.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Next time a liberal PETA loving member asks why hurt an animal before you eat it, tell them GFU. This State is f***ed.
 
Any you don't need to worry about blasting out what's left of your hearing. Once you spot the animal you often don't have time to deal with hearing protection, or the motion will draw attention. But you can't hunt with ear plugs in because you often hear the animal before seeing it. (Yes, there are high tech solutions to this.)
 
I would rather be shot with a rifle than an arrow. My broadheads leave a 1-1/2" hole where they go through. Cuts from sharp blades tend not to clot so you bleed out much faster, even from not so good shot placement you are going to die.

Also if you bow hunt you get more time in the woods and your chances of seeing something to shoot increases. Some people like the challenge of getting closer to the animal without being noticed.
 
  1. The challenge
  2. The length of the season
  3. Archery tackle is a tinkerer's and tuners dream. It's a lot of fun.
  4. It's quiet. I can hunt the minimum setback distances and not worry about pissing off neighbors
  5. Venison is extremely healthy meat - better anything than money can buy
  6. Venison when prepaired properly is delicious
IMHO there is no more challenging hunt then identifying a specific animal on a specific piece of land and then hunting that animal down and killing with a bow. I tried it last year. Passed shots on probably 20+ deer that would have all fit in the freezer wonderfully. But I was waiting for "the one". Had a couple encounters but an ethical kill shot never presented itself.

I finished the season empty handed. But it was more fun than any other season I spent in the woods prior.
 
HorizontalHunter said:
All of the above.

Deer don’t suffer a more painful death with a bow. That is a common misconception. Their most painful deaths by far are from nature through starvation or being consumed by a predator.

I have shot deer with a bow that didn’t even realize that they were shot. They jumped at the noise of the shot and started looking around for the source of the noise. Then they wobbled and tipped over only going a couple of feet from where they were shot.

As always shot placement is king.

Bob
Click to expand...

I have seen this a few times.

I do lots of bow hunting, love it. I shot a big doe couple years ago, perfect double lung shot, 15 yards. The doe jumped a little then went back to eating acorns. I could clearly see it was a clean shot, arrow buried in leaves on other side of her. After 25-30 seconds she wobbled and fell over.
 
Bow hunting let's me start in Ky. and Montana on Sept 1, and goes until late January in Ky. Also, on public land, gun season is a shit-show circus just about in any state you are in, and I avoid that period. I hunt the gun season in MA, but on public land that is bow only.
 
cockpitbob said:
Any you don't need to worry about blasting out what's left of your hearing. Once you spot the animal you often don't have time to deal with hearing protection, or the motion will draw attention. But you can't hunt with ear plugs in because you often hear the animal before seeing it. (Yes, there are high tech solutions to this.)
Click to expand...
I've been hunting for a long time. My hearings fine. Get tested at work every year. Also spent a good deal of time in combat.......hearing was not damaged other than some tinitus (ringing). All the deer and small game I've shot.....Ive never even noticed a ringining after I fire.....and honestly don't even remember the noise at all.
 
whacko said:
I've been hunting for a long time. My hearings fine. Get tested at work every year. Also spent a good deal of time in combat.......hearing was not damaged other than some tinitus (ringing). All the deer and small game I've shot.....Ive never even noticed a ringining after I fire.....and honestly don't even remember the noise at all.
Click to expand...

You are lucky. My hearing was trashed. The ringing in my ears is to the point that I need the tv or something on when I try to get to sleep or it will keep me up and drive me crazy. Short trip for me.:D

Bob
 
Too much to say on this. My experience is that bow hunters are an advanced class of hunter. They know their game. They pay attention to detail. They are respectful to the game and to fellow-hunters. To the original question, I say that I bow hunt because I am fed up with the ignorance of rifle (VT) hunters. They are noisy, smelly (yes), walk/drive all over the place (my property) with total disregard, and exhibit signs that they have no clue about hunting (whitetails). I have observed the most obnoxious behavior during the 'rifle season'. I avoid this at all cost.

Some might say, 'Post your property.' However, this comes with another set of issues, such as enforcement and potential retribution. Yeah, I am not always there. So, it is difficult to take this route.

Sorry for the rant. The question must have triggered something...
 
sbi said:
I am asking in general, not specifically to MA. It's just that I watch all these bow hunting on the outdoor channel on the weekend and was always curious why would someone choose that over a rifle.
Click to expand...


I have not personally done it, there are a few instances where someone arrowed a deer only to have another one come through and tag two in a day. First shot with rifle, shotgun, muzzie and theyre gone.


It definitely increases the length of the season also.
 
VTHunter said:
Too much to say on this. My experience is that bow hunters are an advanced class of hunter. They know their game. They pay attention to detail. They are respectful to the game and to fellow-hunters. To the original question, I say that I bow hunt because I am fed up with the ignorance of rifle (VT) hunters. They are noisy, smelly (yes), walk/drive all over the place (my property) with total disregard, and exhibit signs that they have no clue about hunting (whitetails). I have observed the most obnoxious behavior during the 'rifle season'. I avoid this at all cost.

Some might say, 'Post your property.' However, this comes with another set of issues, such as enforcement and potential retribution. Yeah, I am not always there. So, it is difficult to take this route.

Sorry for the rant. The question must have triggered something...
Click to expand...
I'll start this off.....not all bow hunters are "advanced class" by any stretch if the imagination. Had a bow hunter in a damn tree in full camo on the edge of a stocked pheasant field once start bitching at the pheasant hunters walking through telling them they were ruining his hunt.
1. What deer is going to walk through a pheasant stocked field that has had humans and dogs hammering it for weeks?!?
2. Full camo ....15 feet in the air.....on the edge of a field stocked with pheasant. Good way to get your ass shot.
3. Hunter orange cap required on pheasant stocked wma during pheasant season.


Onto the next point......bow hunters on public land drive me batty with their winey ass selves when shotgun season starts in mass. Driving deer is legal.....shotgun hunters do it on public land......if your are a bow hunter and have had 6 weeks to fill a tag when shotgun season opens up.......expect gun hunters to be out there driving deer.....the tree stand you've been sitting in for 6 weeks aint got you a deer yet......it ain't gonna now.....they get 12 days so move along.....it's public land....... Deal with it and stop bitching.


With respect to the thread though......bow hunting....I get it....it's a challenge. But calling them "advanced class" is just plain silly.
 
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