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Archery Only?

CptFrank said:
I am hunting bow only for now due to the rules of the public land I've been hunting but i thoroughly enjoy gun hunting.

My hands down favorite way to hunt deer is organized or semi organized deer drives with shotguns. While i feel more accomplishment from deer I've killed bow hunting or gun hunting off a stand, the camaraderie and excitement of a deer running right at you is great. On top of that, there is more strategy involved than one would assume, especially when your deer are used to being pushed. I've also learned more about the area i hunt (bedding areas, escape routes, hidden & overlooked areas...) by walking through the thickest part of a woodlot trying to get the deer moving than just about any other way. As long as the group you are with is safe and enjoyable, i would take that experience over any other.
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Sorry bud but driving deer how is that fun or sportsmanship and extremely stupid if u ask Me don’t care how much experience you have i lost someone to that very thing he was a great woodsman his father was a state trooper and avid trapper/hunter every year towards the end of season we would drive deer. Know every one part of the drive was experience in firearms such as other officers long story short me and my buddy took safety measures always wore red or orange when pushing because we were inexperienced we didn’t shoot let’s just say I’m here telling u this story and he is not his dads best friend had shot him and these men were driving deer before I could walk so please think about this. Is driving deer really hunting and extremely unethical in book good luck with hope I not reading u in the paper
 
Flueg said:
Sorry bud but driving deer how is that fun or sportsmanship and extremely stupid if u ask Me don’t care how much experience you have i lost someone to that very thing he was a great woodsman his father was a state trooper and avid trapper/hunter every year towards the end of season we would drive deer. Know every one part of the drive was experience in firearms such as other officers long story short me and my buddy took safety measures always wore red or orange when pushing because we were inexperienced we didn’t shoot let’s just say I’m here telling u this story and he is not his dads best friend had shot him and these men were driving deer before I could walk so please think about this. Is driving deer really hunting and extremely unethical in book good luck with hope I not reading u in the paper
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That was extremely difficult to read and understand.

I’m sorry about your friend that truly is a terrible travesty. It’s clear you have a strong bias due to your past. I haven’t been on any man drives; however, I have been on a few dog drives as a youngin and it was a lot of fun. It’s also a big part of a lot of southerners tradition. To say it is unethical is your opinion. Many deer were taken with drives back when folks lived off the land and provided for their family’s. It’s clearly not sustainable for conservation in all areas, but is still perfectly legal in many states for portions of the season.

I digress, I’d really like to keep this thread positive. Can we go back to talking about archery?
 
catman529 said:
I love hunting with my 30-30. And making a good longer range shot with the 308. But we got a long bow season in TN and I love it just the same. Not sure if I have a preference. Only thing I don’t really like is muzzleloaders, dirty finicky smoke poles. I’d like to get a smokeless conversion some day. But between bow and rifle it’s hard to say which I like better. Bow hunting is more exciting, rifle hunting is just a lot of fun. Wouldn’t give either up.


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I grew up hog hunting only with my Ole man in the Mobile Lower Tensaw river delta. We only ever used 30-30s. I love the 30-30 and have enjoyed many hunts with it. When I moved to north Alabama after college I got into archery and bow hunting and haven’t really messed with rifle hunting. I’d be down to take a deer with a 30-30 at some point, but for now I’m locked into archery.

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I’ll
gcr0003 said:
I grew up hog hunting only
with my
Ole man in the Mobile Lower Tensaw river delta. We only ever used 30-30s. I love the 30-30 and have enjoyed many hunts with it. When I moved to north Alabama after college I got into archery and bow hunting and haven’t really had an opportunity or area to hunt with a rifle. I’d be down to take a deer with a 30-30 at some point, but for now I’m locked into archery.
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sorry I’ll keep to minding my own
 
I just got back into archery last year and I’m in love with it. I will definitely be bow hunting only from now on. The challenge and reward is so addictive! Check out bow hunters of Alabama Facebook page. They do a lot of 3D shoots in the off season. It’s a lot of fun and really sharpens your skills. There is an awesome outdoor archery range in cullman if your not familiar with it already. I’m hoping to start doing some small 3D shoots on my land next year.
 
Kwfranklin88 said:
I just got back into archery last year and I’m in love with it. I will definitely be bow hunting only from now on. The challenge and reward is so addictive! Check out bow hunters of Alabama Facebook page. They do a lot of 3D shoots in the off season. It’s a lot of fun and really sharpens your skills. There is an awesome outdoor archery range in cullman if your not familiar with it already. I’m hoping to start doing some small 3D shoots on my land next year.
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I don’t have Facebook but I have done a couple 3D shoots. They are great practice and a lot of fun. I actually live 2 miles from that Archery range in Cullman. It’s my exclusive practice spot haha. Where are you located? Nice avatar!

I’d be willing to break in your 3D range before you start holding tournaments. Heck I’d be willing to help clear some paths for different lanes if you’re close and would like help.
 
Flueg said:
Sorry bud but driving deer how is that fun or sportsmanship and extremely stupid if u ask Me don’t care how much experience you have i lost someone to that very thing he was a great woodsman his father was a state trooper and avid trapper/hunter every year towards the end of season we would drive deer. Know every one part of the drive was experience in firearms such as other officers long story short me and my buddy took safety measures always wore red or orange when pushing because we were inexperienced we didn’t shoot let’s just say I’m here telling u this story and he is not his dads best friend had shot him and these men were driving deer before I could walk so please think about this. Is driving deer really hunting and extremely unethical in book good luck with hope I not reading u in the paper
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I think this is the longest sentence I’ve read to date on the forum! Congrats!

Sorry about your friend’s father. It sounds like a bad mix of luck and irresponsibility.

If it’s legal, and it makes you happy, rock on folks! The day we climbed out of the trees and started sharpening sticks, is the day the argument of ‘fair, ethical, moral hunting’ went out the window. Unless you’re killing an animal with only your body parts, you can’t cast a stone here(pun intended).
 
@Flueg I am very sorry for your loss, it sounds like it was a tragedy. Obviously we had very different experiences with the act of driving deer and i cant imagine anything i could say would ever change your views.

Probably not a bad time to remember that there are inherent risks with this sport and while we all know what they are, it is important to take the necessary precautions to ensure you dont hurt yourself or others.

@gcr0003 sorry to drag us off topic, i was just wanting to share a different opinion since i was seeing a good bit of "Bowhunting Only" type views (which is obviously fine, just not how i feel).

I will disagree with the people that say killing deer with a gun isn't challenging enough. Killing a deer @ 300 yds isnt my personal cup of tea but there is open country out west where that's how its done. Some hunters value the challenge of managing their property and deer herd more than they do the pursuit of the hunt. Personally i find myself gun hunting with iron sights in thick country if given my pick and it is plenty challenging for me (an acknowledged weekend warrior) to kill a couple deer this way each season.
 
gcr0003 said:
I don’t have Facebook but I have done a couple 3D shoots. They are great practice and a lot of fun. I actually live 2 miles from that Archery range in Cullman. It’s my exclusive practice spot haha. Where are you located? Nice avatar!

I’d be willing to break in your 3D range before you start holding tournaments. Heck I’d be willing to help clear some paths for different lanes if you’re close and would like help.
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I wouldn’t do any big tournaments just a group of guys shooting for fun and a friendly competition. I have about 8 tree stands setup on the property I thought it would be fun to shoot out of some of them. I wnt it to be more of a hunting scenario. Like kneeling behind a log or in a stand.
 
CptFrank said:
@gcr0003 sorry to drag us off topic, i was just wanting to share a different opinion since i was seeing a good bit of "Bowhunting Only" type views (which is obviously fine, just not how i feel).
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People do tend to defend why they do something one way by bashing the way others do it. That was not what I intended when I posed the question. I wanted trying hear why those that hunt archery only, hunt archery only.

For example, I hunt archery only because I love archery. Not because I hate rifles. Or I hunt archery only, because I am limited by the public land near me, etc.

Saying that archery is more challenging to yourself does not mean it is not challenging or preferred by another individual.

We could just as well stirred folks up by saying why do you only hunt with a compound versus a crossbow or a compound versus a recurve. Within every group of people there are subset groups that do things differently.

Lots of frames of reference on the internet. Thank you all for sharing yours.
 
Kwfranklin88 said:
I wouldn’t do any big tournaments just a group of guys shooting for fun and a friendly competition. I have about 8 tree stands setup on the property I thought it would be fun to shoot out of some of them. I wnt it to be more of a hunting scenario. Like kneeling behind a log or in a stand.
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Do you have many 3D targets already? I want to get one but I also want to get about a million other things.
 
gcr0003 said:
People do tend to defend why they do something one way by bashing the way others do it. That was not what I intended when I posed the question. I wanted trying hear why those that hunt archery only, hunt archery only.

For example, I hunt archery only because I love archery. Not because I hate rifles. Or I hunt archery only, because I am limited by the public land near me, etc.

Saying that archery is more challenging to yourself does not mean it is not challenging or preferred by another individual.
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Understandable. For the record i didnt feel put down and i certainly hope it didnt come off as if i was putting anyone else down. I was just sharing a differing opinion to keep the discussion lively haha.

To answer your question, I am archery only for the minute because of the public lands i am hunting.
 
gcr0003 said:
I grew up hog hunting only
with my
Ole man in the Mobile Lower Tensaw river delta. We only ever used 30-30s. I love the 30-30 and have enjoyed many hunts with it. When I moved to north Alabama after college I got into archery and bow hunting and haven’t really had an opportunity or area to hunt with a rifle. I’d be down to take a deer with a 30-30 at some point, but for now I’m locked into archery.
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I think there’s a lot of public land in N Alabama that you can hunt with your 30-30


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catman529 said:
I think there’s a lot of public land in N Alabama that you can hunt with your 30-30


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Area and opportunity were poor choices in words. I've hunted a couple times with the 30-30 on Bankhead. I have never been to Skyline, or over to muscle shoals. Wheeler is steps away and most convenient. I agree that there are lots of places to hunt rifle, right now I'm all in on archery.
 
I only bow hunt, I am a terrible gun shot, I am crowding 70, have taken over 60 deer, and all with bow. I create recoil that isn't there. I do not like the boom, I do not like the recoil that is there, and I shake like a dog crapping razor blades
 
Kwfranklin88 said:
Deer season always drains my bank account somehow. There are so many things I want and a few I need.
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These are facts...

Archery only for about the last 4 years. Bought a compact rifle and carried both for awhile but decided I could let the largest deer Ive seen walk out of my life at 40 yards and live it, Hasn't happened yet
 
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