Which is more rewarding?

[sojourner]

I had to google "merkin"...im so glad I did. Had no idea that was a thing! I think the question is, how do you know what a merkin is? And secondly, would a merkin be this big? Are they cut-to-fit?

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Also, whenever we get topics like vertical versus cross, bait versus no bait, it seems many get their underbritches in a twist.

Just adding some irreverent humor to lighten things up.

 

[ricky racer]

The feeling of reward comes from winning over adversity. The more effort and dedication something requires, the more rewarding the result once you've achieved your goal. Just getting meat is not in my view not all that rewarding. I worked with a guy that considered himself a hunter but the only effort he put into it was sighting in his muzzle loader. He be working around the house and when he'd see a deer in the field behind his house, he'd go into the barn and get his muzzle loader and put it on his shooting bench and shoot the deer. He got meat in the freezer but no sense of accomplishment. I don't hunt over bait which has been legal in Michigan most of my life (I'm not sure if it is currently legal now or not) and I pass up way more deer than I shoot because I place restrictions on what I'm willing to shoot. I bow hunt because it's difficult to do. To get a deer I'm willing to shoot within the limited range of my recurve and execute the shot is hard, but man is it rewarding when it happens. I feel sorry for those who never get to experience that feeling.

 

[Jtaylor]

We as hunters have an obligation to kill an animal as effectively and humanely as possible. For some, baiting and crossbows are a viable option. 6 of one half a dozen the other. To the recurve/longbow shooter wearing Scentlok, hunting under ozone, using carbon arrows, fiberglass limbs and all the modern amenities besides a bow sight, how can this person frown upon a modern compound, crossbow or someone hunting over bait (where legal)? If you get "buck fever" or are a newer hunter and don't feel comfortable taking an ethical shot unless it's an animal stopped and eating bait (where legal), how can we frown upon that? If you're a crossbow hunter that doesn't have the time or money to piece together a compound or recurve but still enjoys hunting I don't think we can say too much about that either.
Rather than labeling each other as "crossbow hunters" or "trad" hunters or guys that hunt over bait, why can't we just all agree that no matter how we hunt, we're still hunters and no matter how you get the job done we need to embrace that and pass it on to future generations and others that show interest? I think the reward from taking an animal either way is in the eye of the beholder and we probably shouldn't judge the proverbial book by it's cover.