Do you prefer to hunt with a Bow or a Rifle?

Bow or Rifle?

  • Rifle

    Votes: 10 50.0%
  • Bow

    Votes: 10 50.0%

  • Total voters
    20

trigger creep

AH enthusiast
Joined
Jul 17, 2009
Messages
300
Reaction score
136
Media
4
Hunting reports
USA/Canada
1
Hunted
USA
The question is, do you prefer to hunt with rifle or bow? I prefer to hunt with a rifle over a bow. I think a rifle feels much better than a bow and I trust my skills with a rifle more than my skills with a bow. I actually am a pretty good shot with a bow out to about 35 yds., but it doesn't excite as much as a rifle does. So, what do you guys prefer?


P.S the goal of this thread is not to start a fight, I just want to see what you guys think. A poll is included so please vote!
 
Christian, as you can tell from my avatar and user name, I prefer to hunt with a bow. Don't get me wrong, I love hunting with a rifle and do a lot of it (mostly for mule deer, whitetails and pronghorns), but I prefer bowhunting.

There are several reason but primarily, I feel that it is a bigger challenge than rifle hunting (just my opinion), and personally my excitement level is higher while bowhunting - getting within 30 yards of a bedded mule deer buck is one of the ultimate challenges in the bowhunting world in my opinion. While rifle hunting that challenge would've stopped at 300 yards. Just adds much more challenge in my opinion.

Hope to see what others have to say.

nd
 
I prefer to use a rifle rather than a bow as I prefer to kill the animal instead of pissing it off.
You can take the above as a commentary on my level of expertise with a rifle as opposed to a bow.

TerryR
 
I prefer to use a rifle rather than a bow as I prefer to kill the animal instead of pissing it off.
You can take the above as a commentary on my level of expertise with a rifle as opposed to a bow.

TerryR
Come on, don't start a fight.
 
Not trying to start a fight, see my second sentence. I can shoot a rifle, can't hit the broad side of a barn with a bow.
 
With a rifle you can kill more animals in less time.... I don't have a lot of time right now....so I like to use my rifle....bowhunting taught me a lot about wildlife.....and the fact you have to have patience to be successful. Bowhunting is very fun though!
 
Well after getting this elk about a week and a half ago with my bow (first kill with a bow by the way), I don't think I could ever hunt elk with a rifle again. But I will continue to hunt deer with a rifle and if I ever make it back to Africa, it will most likely be with a rifle too.

watermark.php
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Christian,

RIFLE & RIFLES my friend & only rifles ............. my perception no hard feelings for our fellow bow hunter friends ...
 
I am mostly a bow guy. I still use a rifle on occasion, but there is just something about getting archery close to animals. When i see guys bragging about 300-400 yard shots with a rifle i just can't think that is hunting....it's shooting.
 
When you have hunted and shot a few hundred animals with a rifle, the shooting part becomes kind of unimportant and not worth mentioning or discussing anymore.
This is in my experience the moment when you start making the most of any hunting oppertunity.
You start turning down easy shots, making it even difficult for yourself sometimes, because you know when you pull the trigger it is all over and then what !?
The next step for me was bowhunting.
I am fortunate to have a son who also likes to shoot a rifle and like many others he started shooting from the young age of 5.
He is 14 now and disturbingly deadly up to 200 yards on plains game with a 300 Win Mag in his hands. Oryx, Kudu, Zebra at any angle, he drops them everytime.
I must ad that it was not difficult to learn him all that, but he is not a hunter in my opinion.
I now decided to learn him what hunting realy is and I introduced him to traditional bowhunting.

Helgaard van der Vyver (PH)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I have never used a bow so can't speak to them. However i respect those who do use them.
 
I have no issue with bows either, I just prefer rifles. I do have a problem with certain bowhunters that look down on us rifle hunters, they think they're "better than us". They drive me crazy!
 
I have no issue with bows either, I just prefer rifles. I do have a problem with certain bowhunters that look down on us rifle hunters, they think they're "better than us". They drive me crazy!
Christian,

Its one's personal perception to relish a routine of hunting with rifle or with a bow , hunt the way you like , you are your own BOSS ! my friend.................................

Monish
 
i have only shot with a rifle!!! but sometimes i think u just walk and stalk and shoot witch is also quite fun
but i prefer a bow it seems much more fun to me!!
All the best!
Ibie
 
Christian,

I understand your point about some bowhunters thinking they're "better than us". Unfortunately there are people like that in this world. I would like to think that I am not one of them, since I absolutely love rifle hunting too.

Surprisingly, there are issues like this even in the bowhunting community. For instance, some compound bow shooters get the this same impression from traditional bow shooters. At archery shoots traditional shooters have said to me, "when are you going to take the training wheels off that bow and start shooting like a man?"

That said, I think it is a tragedy that things like this go on. We are ALL hunters. As long as it's legal and ethical, we should all support each other. Just my opinion.

nd
 
Christian,

I understand your point about some bowhunters thinking they're "better than us". Unfortunately there are people like that in this world. I would like to think that I am not one of them, since I absolutely love rifle hunting too.

Surprisingly, there are issues like this even in the bowhunting community. For instance, some compound bow shooters get the this same impression from traditional bow shooters. At archery shoots traditional shooters have said to me, "when are you going to take the training wheels off that bow and start shooting like a man?"

That said, I think it is a tragedy that things like this go on. We are ALL hunters. As long as it's legal and ethical, we should all support each other. Just my opinion.

nd
I agree 100%. The problem with hunters is that we are not united and the anti's are. We fight amongst each other constantly and some even hate each other. I wish we all could put our opinions aside and just UNITE!
 
I hunt with a bow and rifle. To me I enjoy a spot and stalk to bllind hunting no matter the choice of weapon. I have yet to purchase a double rifle, but it seems very similar to bow hunting if done with iron sights. To Pheonix Phil congrats on a nice bull to call & stalk elk with a bow is the purest form of hunting to me.
 
I started rifle-hunting early as many of us, all the available game in my grandfather ranch, mostly white tailed deer, javalina and predators, it was a lot of fun and I belive it was really hunting, that was 30 years ago, in that time we used no blinds and no bait, then 15 years ago we started down that road (corn / blind) at first I did not realiced but after a few years it became Shooting and not Hunting, that is when I started hunting diferent states diferent countries and never again hunted over bait in a stand, tat was 8 years ago, until last year that I was introduced to bow-hunting, It had been 7 years with out hunting white tail and javalina, because I belived I no longer enjoyed it,,, boy was I wrong,,, bow hunting is really something else it makes me fell hunting in the old days,
I have to save money in order to hunt elsewere and for me this means a lot of things I have to stop doing, things that I enjoy so it is a hard thing, because of that when I book a hunt I always bring my rifle, really just to have more oportunity to be succesful, I hope one day I will be good enough with the bow to have the same oportunity I enjoy with my rifle.
 
I hunt with a bow and rifle. To me I enjoy a spot and stalk to bllind hunting no matter the choice of weapon. I have yet to purchase a double rifle, but it seems very similar to bow hunting if done with iron sights. To Pheonix Phil congrats on a nice bull to call & stalk elk with a bow is the purest form of hunting to me.

Thanks Dlove.

To me hunting is a personal choice and so is how you choose to pursue your game. Whatever your choice is provided it's legal and ethical, I respect it, even if mine is different. I spent a portion of my time on this earth being concerned with the opinion of others of how I hunt and what I killed for what reason now I don't know.

Life is short, be happy with your decision and if your not, do something about it. But don't worry about what others think is the best way to hunt or the proper trophy, in the end it only matters what you think. If you want to hunt only for Boone & Crockett / SCI trophies with a long bow or take "lesser" animals with your rifle, then so be it. I respect your decision no matter what it may be.

Funny enough, when I stopped being so concerned with hunting only for "trophy" animals is when started seeing much more of them, go figure.
 
I love rifles, can't help myself. I bow hunt mostly to extend my hunting season or special deals on bow only hunts. That being said, I just returned from a great bow hunt in Africa. But I must admit there were a couple of times I would have loved to have my rifle in my hands. Wow! Congratulations PHOENIX PHIL, great elk!
 

Forum statistics

Threads
53,626
Messages
1,131,433
Members
92,685
Latest member
YvonnePaws
 

 

 

Latest profile posts

Impact shots from the last hunt

Early morning Impala hunt, previous link was wrong video

Headshot on jackal this morning

Mature Eland Bull taken in Tanzania, at 100 yards, with 375 H&H, 300gr, Federal Premium Expanding bullet.

20231012_145809~2.jpg
 
Top