Bow hunting V Rifle hunting debate;

[Uncas]

In my opinion you are more alive and in nature when silently hunting with a bow, all you hear are the natural sounds with no disturbance not the crash and boom of a rifle to spoil the skill involved in a silent stalk.
When you hunt with a flat bow or recurve you have to stalk to forty yards preferably less with all the skills you have learned over the years of your hunting life which gives a great satisfaction to a successful hunt, with the new type of compound bows available today you are capable of extending the distance to sixty yards or there about with a lot of practise and crossbows are like rifles these days with scope sights and red dots, capable of 400fps + and 22 inch bolts.
My preference is the traditional type of bow either flat or recurve I just like to keep thing as simple as possible.
I do not think there is quite the same satisfaction from hunting with a rifle as there is with a bow, but we do not have a choice in this country unfortunately, you can hunt in France/Spain and most of Europe,so are we missing out?
What is your opinion ?

 

[McKenzie]

I've not hunted with a bow but the idea of woodland stalking open sights or an Aimpoint Micro & restricting oneself to a max of 80-100 yards really appeals.

 

[LuckyEddie]

Unfortunately when we get this type of reporting I doubt we will ever see bow hunting here.

'Bow and arrow' killer admits stabbing

For your information I am neither for or against bow hunting and I can see its place in hunting but I also have the same opinion about hunting with dogs!

Atb
Ed

 

[JMikeyH]

My understanding of bow hunting is limited, but I've listened to enough of Joe Rogan and other such prominent hunters to have a slight grasp. I have the feeling that with bow hunting, it is putting personal enjoyment over the most likely way to procure a clean and ethical kill. Guns are so common because they are better at killing than bows. How quickly do animals bleed out with a good lung strike from a bow? I'm sure it's around the same as a bullet. But I wonder if there is a less ideal strike with a bow, will it still be fatal in an acceptable amount of time.

The argument I hear made a lot is that when a gun goes off, it is this loud and violent event - whereas with a bow it is near-silent and the animal doesn't even know what has happened.

I'll call bollocks on that; you'd know if a flying stick punctures your organs and comes out the other side.

The deciding factor (I think) between hunting with a bow or gun is what you want most from it. Do you want to enjoy your time hunting more, and feel more 'natural' (I also think that a large part is ego - bow hunter moral superiority and all that)?

Or do you want no-nonsense, kill the animal efficiently and humanely and perhaps get less enjoyment from your hunt?

I have an obvious bias as I've never bowhunted, but from what I've seen and heard I have no intention to try it either

Not trying to ruffle feathers, but that is my opinion

 

[nun_hunter]

I'd love to bow hunt for the reasons you outline above. Doing a trip to Europe would be a nice way to culminate the experience of learning how to shoot accurately and stalk in so close. The thing that I like about it is that it takes a long time to master the accuracy and skill to stalk so close.

With a modern rifle it's too easy to buy one, put a scope on it, zero it and shoot accurately enough to go out and kill a deer with little to no practice. This applies to people who are ethical enough to want to hunt humanely , its easier with a rifle. Obviously hunters who don't care can go around wounding animals with rifles as much as bows.

 

[enfieldspares]

What is your opinion?

It's illegal in UK. And rightly so. You can equally enjoy stalking in close using a deer legal calibre rifle. With no 'scope but using iron sights. Like this one that I own. Here and also here. Nice and light, clip loading so carry spare rounds in a clip. Early post-war commercial Czechoslovakian Mauser in .270 WCF. And cost all of Sixty Quid!

 

[VSS]

Bowhunting threads usually end badly....

 

[Malxwal]

Personally, why use a bow when you can use a rifle. Number one priority is humane and effective despatch, not how much satisfaction you get etc. There may be circumstances where bow hunting is a better option in terms of safety, such as deer in built up areas.

 

[LuckyEddie]

I'd love to bow hunt for the reasons you outline above. Doing a trip to Europe would be a nice way to culminate the experience of learning how to shoot accurately and stalk in so close. The thing that I like about it is that it takes a long time to master the accuracy and skill to stalk so close.

With a modern rifle it's too easy to buy one, put a scope on it, zero it and shoot accurately enough to go out and kill a deer with little to no practice. This applies to people who are ethical enough to want to hunt humanely , its easier with a rifle. Obviously hunters who don't care can go around wounding animals with rifles as much as bows.

You wouldn't believe how right you are!
Watched a couple of video clips from PointofImpact on YouTube and they're shooting rabbits from over 100yds and using thermals to scan for deer and then shooting from well over 200yds.
Ok it's great marksmanship - however it's more target practise than stalking in my mind.

Atb
Ed

 

[LuckyEddie]

It's illegal in UK. And rightly so. You can equally enjoy stalking in close using a deer legal calibre rifle. With no 'scope but using iron sights. Like this one that I own. Here and also here. Nice and light, clip loading so carry spare rounds in a clip. Early post-war commercial Czechoslovakian Mauser in .270 WCF. And cost all of Sixty Quid!
QUOTE]
Thing is you have to view bow huntiing objectively.
It might not be to your taste, and so be it, as everyone is entitled to their own point of view.
However there are many tribes in the world past and present that used the bow to great effect - just look at the North American Plains Indians hunting bison with bows and arrows.
So they do have a place in hunting and we need to recognise that even if it goes against the grain.
As I've said before united we stand, divided we fall. Yes bow hunting isn't legal here but it does have a place in the environment.

Atb
Ed

 

[Chasey]

On a selfish level, Id love to have a go at bow hunting I am sure id love it in theory but sadly I think id hate it in practice.

The skill levels for bow hunting are just to high end. The risk of damage thats not quickly fatal is too great

Sorry, I am happy its banned in the UK and I cant be tempted

 

[Highlandsjohn]

LE.... but more likely this! ( a pic of Roe Deer with arrow through its jaw) Not a good advert for bow hunting and there are hundreds of pics out there on the web.
You can not see a bullet or a jaw missing on a ( shot) wounded deer so easily. Still happens, some of us have had to deal with a few...Arrows not so much. jc

 

[20-250]

Personally, why use a bow when you can use a rifle. Number one priority is humane and effective despatch, not how much satisfaction you get etc. There may be circumstances where bow hunting is a better option in terms of safety, such as deer in built up areas.

Couldn’t agree more with the first part of your post. However, I can’t imagine that the less than instant kills which seem commonplace with a bow would be great PR in a built up area or anywhere else for that matter.

 

[takbok]

Give me a rifle any day. Bow hunting doesn't appeal to me. With a bow I'd possibly manage to shoot 1 deer a year, and woodland owners wouldn't be too chuffed with that.

 

[landkeeper]

How many commenting on this thread have had a deer run 100yrds after the shot or hit one slightly too far back they never found ? i'd imagine there are as many deer not recovered from firearms as bows where its practised, i think at one point i saw USA fish and wildlife dept figures on the same .

 

[GnZ]

I would like to try it but I fear there would be a lot of idiots/accidents if it were made legal in the UK.

 

[Neoublie1]

I would like to try it but I fear there would be a lot of idiots/accidents if it were made legal in the UK.

Have to agree with that!

 

[landkeeper]

I would like to try it but I fear there would be a lot of idiots/accidents if it were made legal in the UK.

why ? ,its very easy to buy archery gear atm no licences needed and there are thousands of archers out participating in field archery every weekend in the uk i don't remember hearing of any accidents , theoretically if your bowhunting your going to have permission where you are shooting and almost certainly going to be hunting alone and be very aware of what and suchlike is around you

 

[GnZ]

why ? ,its very easy to buy archery gear atm no licences needed and there are thousands of archers out participating in field archery every weekend in the uk i don't remember hearing of any accidents , theoretically if your bowhunting your going to have permission where you are shooting and almost certainly going to be hunting alone and be very aware of what and suchlike is around you

Because there would be loads of dumb people who take stupid shots and leave animals with arrows hanging out of them.

 

[landkeeper]

Because there would be loads of dumb people who take stupid shots and leave animals with arrows hanging out of them.

Thats an assumption and one i simply can't accept , just because you don't need or wouldnt need a fac for a bow doesn't mean your a dumb person lol, as i said before you'd have to go get permission at the very least and your assuming if it were ever made legal(and i hope it won't) there wouldn't be some hunting competancey course or similar