Long Range hunting versus bowhunting wound loss rates?

[ftrovato]

My last bow kill , was perfect double lung , and it got into the heavy brush and cactus
Left him overnight and my wife’s wiener dog was turned loose on the trail the next morning, and luckily the coyotes and hogs hadn’t found him and the wiener dogs did
I gave up on bow hunting after that

I'm on the same page.

I had so many friends calling me out after dark or early in the morning to help them look for wounded deer that I decided to start telling them to stop calling me since I was giving up the sport.

I can go dove hunting instead... ;-)

 

[skydiver386]

My last bow kill , was perfect double lung , and it got into the heavy brush and cactus
Left him overnight and my wife’s wiener dog was turned loose on the trail the next morning, and luckily the coyotes and hogs hadn’t found him and the wiener dogs did
I gave up on bow hunting after that

I gotta get me one of these!

 

[deewayne2003]

I spent this entire weekend guiding bow hunters and it's such a pain that I've sworn it off after having 6 deer hit and only 3 recovered and one of those was only recovered because buzzards located it for us.

I haven't lost a deer bow hunting, but I limit my shots to 20ish yards and even then I've had some interesting recoveries with boiler room hits, when mortally wounded deer decide to smite me by running off the side of a cliff before they die.

Every time that happens I'm reminded of what an old Choctaw Indian told me many years ago while we were practicing with our bows.......

"When Indians found out about rifles they quit this shit!"

 

[HankBuck]

I respect and agree with all your points. But for me, to many variables with an arrow moving at 300 fps compared to a rifle bullet at 2500 fps or a pistol bullet at 1000 fps. So I stick with rifle or pistol. I've considered a now legal cross bow in my area but haven't made the leap (yet).

@ftrovato you’re right about the “variables” w/a Bow.
I’ve had similar experience Hangun hunting deer —only taken one deer w/a handgun - small Doe, easy 30 yrd shot broadside and aimed S&W 629 w/5” barrel & open sights behind shoulder But—- HIT the Neck ! …was off my aim by a foot and lucky to have dropped it dead - guess I’m Not much of a threat with a handgun.
I don’t crossbow hunt - yet, saving that for when I get older and can’t draw a real Bow. I don’t believe you get any real “killing” advantage with a Crossbow but it requires less skill to place your shot on target and most find they get an additional 10-20 yards more range with more consistent accuracy. The big advantage is you don’t need to draw or make any “movement” with a cross bow (No draw for deer to see) and can ‘hold’ your aim as long as needed until good shot angle presented. Still if you only hit only liver or one lung = long tracking job and less blood to follow, could result in a lost-but-dead-deer.. While I really like Bow hunting - I’m Not a “dedicated” bow hunter and only use a bow to get an early crack at the deer - switch to MZ/rifle or shotgun just as soon those seasons open and then immediately put the bow away until the next year. I did want to start Handgun hunting but only with Open Sights and based on my one deer taken so far - I’m less then impressive with a handgun so I might lay off of that for awhile. Try a crossbow, most States allow them and give you an earlier season for big game, they are very easy to learn and highly effective

 

[BJH65]

Yes I archery hunt and no I have not wounded and lost an animal perhaps because I haven't killed near the amount of animals as I have with a firearm and I won’t take a shot unless I’m 100% sure. My own personal standards are 40 yards for elk and 30 yards for deer although I routinely practice out to 50 and 60 yards and can reliably place my arrows in the vitals at those distances, still I’m paranoid about wounding one and I want to be sure.

Still hunting elk in western montana with a bow was both a humbling and rewarding experience back when we lived there. It made me a better hunter and less concerned about killing when it would be so easy with a rifle.

Reading some of the commentary about hunters littering the forest with wounded deer stuck like pin cushions, clearly some hunters have no business picking up a bow and going hunting, a lot of dumbassery taking place. The bow hunters that I personally know routinely practice, use the correct archery tackle and probably passed on a truckload of game during their hunting career because they couldn’t be certain of their shot. They only take the shot when they are certain and make humane kills. None of them hunt with a gun anymore.

 

[Sjdb243]

Interesting topic for sure. I sell firearms and hear more than my share of stories, half truths and lies behind the gun counter. I’ve never bow hunted, gave the thing away when I realized how perishable the skill was, as well as how much I like fine rifles. This season I’ve heard another handful of wounded and lost animal stories from bow hunters, who proceed to go out and cut tags in rifle season, while blaming poor wildlife management and wolves for the lack of bucks

My feeling is that I should use a tool that gives me the most effective method of killing and recovering the animal I want to hunt… however this weekend I’ll be taking my iron sighted rifle out instead of one of my many scoped rifles, that no doubt I can shoot better - does that make me a hypocrite? Probably.

I will be limiting my ranges to what I’ve trained on and am very confident in a good hit - but I know in the heat of the moment, after days of failure the temptation to stretch that confident range will be there, and I’ll have a 7 PRC with a good scope nearby for when that time comes.

I think the bow leads to guys stretching their abilities to fit the situation, by nature of how difficult it can be to close to that sweet spot to where confidence is backed by ability. No doubt the same thing happens with extended ranges with a rifle.

In my location, the community I am in, and the opportunities we have here, I tend to find myself thinking that guys who are intentionally taking a shorter ranged tool out, then wounding and losing game are doing so out of some kind of ego driven motivation. If you’re set on using a how, use it when you know it will work effectively. Where I live bow seasons are by significantly greater than rifle seasons, so I’m particularly frustrated by hearing about deer wounded at 50 yards with a bow, when most folks would have killed the same animal with a rifle and be eating it, not feeding the coyotes.

I mean no offence to anyone who bow hunts, I’m speaking only to my experiences, and I know there are absolutely many folk here who are better hunters than I. Like all things in life people are a diverse bunch, and my frustrations may well be driven by a minority rather than the majority of bow hunters.

Maybe part of the number of lost game heard about with a bow vs with a rifle is that the bow hunting community has accepted this and made it’s discussion less taboo (rightly or wrongly), and the rifle folks aren’t as ready to talk about it, even if the prevalence is there?

 

[RedTag]

I have wounded and lost game, and ALL of those have been with shotguns. Mostly waterfowl with the dismally performing steel shot, and once a turkey many years ago that I still struggle to explain. Haven’t yet lost anything hit with a rifle (or handgun) but I have not taken any shot beyond that comfortable 300 yard mark. I have been into archery since I was a kid but never hunted with it. I try to be honest with myself when it comes to my own abilities and realistic expectations so I know I would have to set a reasonable limit of 20-25 yards for bow hunting. And for me the juice hasn’t been worth the squeeze. That may change as the hunting seasons that allow firearms are getting so short and crowded and in some cases closed altogether due to low game numbers. Sure some guys are hunting with bows because of their pure passion but most get into it simply to have the opportunity to hunt that has largely been lost in regular season firearms hunts. Case in point I live in Fairbanks Alaska and the local caribou rifle hunt (40 mile herd) didn’t even open as planned this year because the managers were worried about over harvest. By contrast a guy can take his bow and arrows up the haul road and have the option to take multiple caribou in a season that lasts months instead of weeks or days. The catch is you'll be hunting an area with little concealment and shots are likely to be 50 yards or more. Suffice to say wounded game is a certainty. Back to the rifle hunt and there are many instances of animals wounded by guys shooting past their ability and often with kit that hasn’t even been dialed in or tested. Either way the bottom line is we owe it to ourselves, each other, and the game we hunt to be prepared and to do our best work. Obviously this is easier said than done. This is a very interesting topic as so often we hear complaints against the long range rifle hunters for being unethical yet archery is regarded as a somehow more pure and ethical pursuit despite the same fundamental principles needing to be called into question either way.