Archery vs Rifle hunting

[BillLarson]

I do both..... But prefer Bow..... less hunting pressure....longer season..... and you really get a chance to study animals.....

 

[VLD Pilot]

When getting excited seeing a shooter stops whether bow or gun (rifle, muzzleloader, shotgun), I will take up checkers.

Hell I get excited when I see just about any buck when hunting. Never gets old for me. I'm real selective on buck kills and prefer a doe over a buck in most cases but bucks get me excited. Especially during the rut.

 

[mongo4567]

I have done both. I originally started bow hunting for a longer season: here in TX you can start about a month earlier deer hunting. I have been on managed land leases for 10 or so years which allows an even longer season and allows rifle. Bow hunting is a lot lower success rate, so I haven't done it in years.

 

[sp6x6]

Been chasing bugling bulls with a stick and string for 30+. Doesnt get any better

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

I get excited with either but I prefer archery. I like them close. There's something about having a deer so close that your afraid it's going to hear your heart beat that is just absolutely exilerating.

 

[sveltri]

I grew up rifle hunting, no one in my family ever shot a bow. I'll hunt any way I can, but chasing elk with my recurve is my favorite.

 

[bigngreen]

I really have enjoyed both, archery got a little boring and honestly was just killing at a point, found that same feeling of being challenged again when I started long range hunting. I hunted the same areas but LRH required more practice on site, more honed skills and way more being tuned in to the area and game which really got me back into hunting similar to when I first bow hunted.

 

[FrogFire7]

I really love rifle season, most due to efficacy. I really enjoy archery season, but man it's HARD! I'm a pretty good shot with a bow, but it's just a lot harder to get the animal in range, get them in a shooting lane, get my bow drawn undetected, and get my arrow where it needs to go without the animal jumping the string, or the arrow hitting a branch, or me getting the yardage wrong, etc

After a month of that, having a rifle in my hands feels a bit like having the power of God lol. If I can see it, it's basically dead

 

[Critter Picker]

I love both, but as I get older my cold tolerance has went down. Sitting all day in -20 Temps with a stiff breeze doesn't work any more.

There's something about pulling back the bow srring when you are eye to eye with a big buck that really gets the adrenaline flowing.

I will continue to do both as long as I can still draw breath.

 

[Greyfox]

I shot my first deer as a teenager back in te 60's with a Bear Grizzly recurve, and continued to hunt with traditional archery equipment right up until about ten years ago when I packed it in due to tendon/muscle damage. Gave the compound a try back in the 70's, but I was never able to warm up to them. The appeal of shooting a recurve/longbow instinctively, much like LRH, is a challenge that requires a whole lot of time and effort to be effective. The skills are quite different, but achieving success is equally rewarding to me.
Still have that old recurve!

 

[patrickjr]

I love hunting with a rifle and bow equally, I grew up hunting with a rifle until I realized how much more hunting I could do during archery season. I also agree with above that archery hunting has made me a better rifle hunter, especially in regard to planning/executing stalks.

Of late, I've decided to focus on killing a single big buck and will do so with any legal means whether that's archery or rifle. He's gotten away from me with both already, I wont be upset at all if I need a rifle to kill him

 

[bozoben]

In 2020 I killed a bull elk with a recurve bow. In 2021 I killed a few different animals with my long range setup between 680 and 900. Having both of these scenarios recently burned into my mind, I still couldn't tell you which is more exhilarating. Both for different reasons.

 

[Muddyboots]

When getting excited seeing a shooter stops whether bow or gun (rifle, muzzleloader, shotgun), I will take up checkers.

Clarification-Shooter definition: brown hair

 

[squeeeeze]

I used to primarily be an archery hunter. Growing up it was just a 3-9 or maybe 4-12 .270, no range finder and shots usually within a couple hundred yards and using Kentucky windage AZ.

Things have changed dramatically since then. As I got older I enjoyed challenging myself more and more. I now hunt with traditional archery (longbows and Recurve), compound bows, black powder Flintlock long rifles, Long range muzzleloader (new to me, yet to hunt with it) and of course long range rifles.

Really depends on the season as to OTC Archery, Archery only hunt, HAM hunt, General etc… but I enjoy it all.