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Archery Only?

gcr0003

gcr0003

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2018
Messages
8,059
Who here exclusively hunts with a bow? What reasons do you have for staying bow only? Have you ever regretted taking your bow instead of a rifle?

I am bow only by both preference and necessity. I enjoy archery as much if not more than hunting alone. I love shooting and tweaking my bows. Archery is almost a daily routine for me. Also, the public land I spend all my time on is restricted to bow except for a short muzzle-loader season and small game. Even when I have chances to hunt my buddy's lease I always bring my bow.
 
swapfox1862 said:
i love the challage of public land bow hunting ...to me its to easy with a rifle with a big ole scope on top of it ....i hunted with a compound for years an kills piles of deer ....i now shoot a long bow an man i love this

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I just traded some gear for a recurve and I'm having a blast shooting it. As soon as I feel I am proficient enough I'll take it in the woods. When did you decide you were proficient enough to harvest deer with traditional gear? Anything in particular you aimed for (pun intended)? For example, golf ball size group at ten, softball at 20 or something?
 
i shoot ping pog balls with mine out of a saddle i throw some at different yards i never measure distance i shoot random yardage just like hunting will be ....i also enjoy hunting rabbits,squirrels,an grouse with my bow ...an a few of them chip munks that annoy you while deer hunting....an the best thing i did for my self was stop shooting multiple arrows an only shoot one shot then pull arrow gives you time to think on what you did wrong on your shot ....you tune clay hayes an watch his videos an watch a video called the push is 2.5 hours but helped me alot
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For my hunting abroad now is all with a longbow, I still have to shoot rifle back home but there is no thrill involved anymore, it is just for management of numbers, there is nothing like getting everything right with the bow, even then they can turn a different direction at the last for me it's about the thrill and the chase and being so close to nature.
my shots are around 20 yards and my groups are consistent, I had to let a black bear walk at 30 yards from my last hunt but spot and stalk was amazing only to have the wind turn at the last minute and the game was up, I wasn't disappointed at all just in awe of his senses.
I took a trophy chipmunk at 10 yards with a double lung, I didn't need the dog to find him lol.
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glad to see i am not the only person to shoot em

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wayne r said:
It’s a bow I made, d/r longbow, 58” and 50# at 28.
Bocote riser, red elm inner lams and bocote veneers, I am just trying to make a form for a recurve so I have twins lol
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pm you

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Public land near me is bow only, I miss gun hunting, but chasing mountain deer with a compound and recurve is plenty fun/challenging.

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I'm leaning towards archery only. Started bow hunting like four years ago because I can hunt from October 1st - January 5th instead of just two weeks for firearms. Have a smoke pole if I want to increase my range. They legalized high powered rifles on private land a few years back. But I only have one private spot to hunt (brother's property) that's three hours away. So it wouldn't even really be worth it other than just to have one. I have an advantage with a bow on public land because it gives me a higher bag limit, two doe or one doe and one buck vs just one buck for firearms. Also on private land I essentially have two tags that are exclusive to archery on top of the regular doe quota. Just need to get more proficient with my bow ha.
 
I have been archery only for deer for 10 plus years. I have not killed a deer every year but I have tagged one 7 out of the last 8. I take a win knowing that 90% of my hunts I would be able to tag a deer if I had a gun in hand. Obviously I still have to make the shot but when you are set up on trails to where to see deer most every sit with in 80 yards odds are in your favor with a rifle or shotgun. I take those sits over my only gun dear all day long even though to date its my biggest buck. My cousin has 10 deer over 150" and when I told him I have killed every deer 22 yards and in the look on his face made it worth not taking a gun. There is just something so rewarding about taking an animal with a bow. I don't want to come off as not believing that people that hunt with guns are not good hunters because they are but for me its just not rewarding.

Now Turkey hunting everything goes rifle, bow, rocket launcher, grenade, tank.....Hahahaha
 
Kowi Anukasha said:
I've been archery only for deer for 20 years. I still shoot rifels competitively and predator hunting. Just love bow hunting deer. Planning on trying a recurve soon.
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It seems like a good idea until you are 30 yards away from a good buck, tag in your pocket, and you are only confident to 20 yards, I could have cried last year. I'm other news, 35 is now my recurve max, and I'm not taking it out until I shoot a buck with the compound

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Have always been bow, except my first year hunting I did borrow a buddy's ML for the season. I am seriously considering doing some gun, though. We will see.
 
I prefer archery and 95%of my hunts are archery only but if i get a gun quota and the freezer is empty I'll take a rifle
 
I’m pretty much now only anymore. I do it mainly for the restricted property access and for the longer season. Like someone said above, I like shooting archery almost as much as I love hunting.

I will grab a muzzleloader tag occasionally if the freezer is empty. Haven’t gun hunted in years.
 
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