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Frustrated with bow hunters


308shooter
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We all have a responsibiltiy to try and havest wild game

(deer) as quickly and humanly as possible.Truth is it

doesn't always work that way.Ya everyone's entitled to

their views.But here's something for you to think about.

More deer are killed or mamned every yr by being hit

by auto's or natural accidents(yes this actually happens to)

then hunter's wounding them in a given yr.I won't bash anyone

on here but I would ask for anyone posting about a sensitive post

to please take the time to think about what your saying and who

or what it's about.I have been bow hunting for over 20 yrs now and

yes I have lost 1or 2 over the yrs it happens.As long as humans are

on god green earth human error will occur we just hope it doesn't

happen to often.

Is this really some sort of "sensitive" post? All us bow hunters have lost deer and i think 9 times out of 10 you know exactly what went wrong and why. You will replay it over and over for years to come if you are the kind of hunter that cares. I don't think any debate on this forum will make that any better or worse for you when your in that situation. The hope is that you learn from it and correct the things you can control.
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1 not an anti.....far from it, 2- the response to my post have been interesting to read and for the most part well thought out until the last few, 3- myke123 if your profile is correct and u r a women your daddy must be proud of the way his little princess speaks

1 you are a anti.... you have chosen to single out hunters and attack them. It does not matter in the least that you yourself hunt. This does more damage to the hunting community as a whole then any outside influence from antis will ever do.

The fact is that this guy, 308shooter represents a growing number of gun hunters that simply are looking at bowhunters as being an enemy within the hunter ranks that are taking their deer. I don't think it really has anything to do with wounded this and wounded that. It has more to do with the fact that bowhunters get first crack at their deer each season. I think it is also a jealous reaction to the fact that bowhunter success is now becoming fairly high and a fairly high quantity of very impressive trophies are being taken by bowhunters. Imagine how it must have frosted this guy to read some of the threads that talked about how these bowhunter upstarts are now now getting "chosey" about hunting only for mature bucks. We are no longer content with taking bucks out of the possible harvest when gun season finally gets here, but we are now talking about taking only the very best. Every buck that a bowhunter takes represents a buck that they have been deprived of. I've heard that sentiment expressed over and over. And now we are getting so good at what we do that we can pick and chose.....lol.

I have heard these kinds of remarks being made by an ever growing number of gun hunters. If you need a few more samples just check out the letters in New York Outdoor News in just about any issue.

Back in the days of recurves, and longbows, bowhunters were few and viewed as a bit of an oddity. It was understood that bowhunters weren't much of an influence on deer populations and more specifically, bucks. So when we had our own little season, nobody worried about giving the bowhunters some extra time and some liberalized rules, and even allowing this rag-tag little bunch of bowhunters first crack at the deer herd. What harm could that be?

Fast forward a few decades with the introduction of compounds and other gadgets and go-fasters, and all of a sudden bowhunters are reaping even longer seasons, and larger bag limits, and actually are successfully harvesting some rather huge deer. That has gotten the attention, (and the jealousy) of more than a few gunners. Don't be too shocked by these negative comments directed toward bowhunters. It's getting to be a little louder under-current as these people realize that the only way to get a piece of this kind of action is through taking on additional challenges that they are not willing to do. So the only reaction left to them is to start up these kinds of whining arguments and simply declare war on bowhunters.

Also, the pressure to get bigger and bigger deer and the resulting measurement of success becoming inches of antler as driven by TV has only aggravated the situation as gun hunters begin to see bow-harvested trophies as being animals taken out of their pool of the necessary potential trophies. Anytime they want, they can turn on the TV and see whatever hunter-hero that is on at the moment, passing up some monsterous bucks and finally arrowing some gigantic monster. I have noticed that they don't even feature that many gun hunting programs anymore. In the minds of a lot of gunners, it all points toward opportunities being removed from gun season and being given to bowhunters.

I've watched this all coming, and I fully expect it to get much worse as our bowhunting equipment continues to improve and harvest success ratios continue to increase. And none of this nonsense really has anything to do with wounding losses. It's just plain ol' human nature at work.

I think you hit it on the head Doc. For the most part i think a one buck rule would help to resolve the issue. Not to mention the approval of X-bows for those who don't want to take the time, don't have the time, or cant use a vertical bow.

Now getting back to 308's original post.

Its already been stated but i will say it again. Its the type of hunter that takes bad shots and wounds an animal not there choice of weapon. Sure you can see a arrow sticking out of a deer after the fact but if there is just a hole in the neck i guess that must have been from the fighting during the rut, right? I have by far seen many more wounded and or dead deer during gun season than bow. In-fact i cant ever remember seeing a wounded animal or carcase during bow. The only exception i can say to that was the one i found with the rack cut off or is that a reflection on bow-hunters as well?

Lets suppose for a minute that this is a bow hunter issue. Whens the last time someone was killed during archery (besides the morons who wont wear a safety harness). What is worse wounding a deer or failing to identify your target and blowing a hole in uncle Bill? Those fatalities must be due to the firearm right? No its the Hunter who will define his or her actions (not the weapon used). At least the guys on here have ID'ed their target before sending there projectile on its way.

And for the record i have also been shot at (with a firearm) three separate times.

I also find it amusing that you don't really seem to like government (i.e. DEC) but you have no issues with them restricting your freedom when it comes to choose what you harvest (i.e. AR).

308 if you indeed have never lost a deer as you claim i commend you. That being said i hope you have bugs bunnies foot in your back pocket and a horse shoe up your @$$ because your going to need it.

I think your time would be better spent doing something constructive like recruiting the next generation of hunters, working on conservation projects or writing your elected official vs. brow beating fellow hunters.

Just my 2 cents.

Edited by 5.9cummins
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I would'nt point the finger at one group of hunters, I accept there will be bad shots made, I've seen deer jump ,duck,and weave like in the matrix. But I will say there are a lot more ignorant hunters that have no business hunting at all. These are the guys who never take the time to practice with there weapon of choice and just take the shot for the hell of it and will shoot at the flicker of movement without identifying the target that's why I gave up hunting on state land. These are the ones giving all of us sportsman a bad name That's my opinion

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I'll take every deer in the state wounded than 1 hunter losing his life. How many bowhunting deaths vs gunhunting deaths? How many accidents by bowhunters vs gunhunters? I think treestand falls kill more people than bowhunters. Attached is dec's report from 2008 look at the 5 year averages 0 incidents with bow and arrow, 32.4 incidents with a firearm. This was the safest year on record at the time btw. Me, I'm frustrated with idiots. Have a nice day!

NY_HRSI_SUMMARY_08_draft1.pdf

Edited by ELMER J. FUDD
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Really I think he just posted that nonsense to get a response. I do agree that the difficulty level and the risk go up with shooting a bow vs a gun. It's the idiots that take bad shots or don't make the effort to completey follow up on tracking a wounded deer that should be the target of his anger not bowhunters alone.

If you don't like it move! I hear they don't allow bow hunting in Los Angeles.

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I am as equal opportunity as anyone, probably more than most, I dislike everyone the same.

"People are....", ....Lazy, Stupid, selfish, morons, slobs, disrespectful, ghey, poor sports, ignorant, pain in the asses.

and you can substitute for " PEOPLE" any other term you want, ie, Black, White, City dweller, Logger, Farmer, Woman, Kid, Hound Hunter, Bowhunter, Fisherman, Feminist, Racist, Liberal...guides....

PEOPLE are all those things, a PERSON is not.

I have guided full time year round for over 30 years, as did my father and his father and his father.

One thing remains true and one thing only, people are easy to hate....a person is not.

well that, and for enough money a guide can tolerate anyone. LOL.

the OP is taking an emotion he or she has and is shotgunning a generalization out there to express it.

I wont waste time trying to argue it, not until the OP says clearly what it is the issue is,

I hear you saying" I hate when people wound and lose deer. I hate bowhunters because I think they do it most."

If that is your statement? I will agree with the first part, especially now that leashed tracking dogs are wide spread in NY and are FREE to call and use.

second statement? bowhunters wound and lose more deer than other hunters? the numbers simply are not there to back that up. Rifle season especially when there are doe tags, leads the way for unrecovered deer.

Now let me ask the OP this; Do you think the deer hunter losing a deer means that deer is wasted?

everything that eats meat will eat a dead deer.

consider this. what happens to the 400 million animals hit and killed in the USA every year on the roads?

University testing labs torture over and over then finally kill 100 million animals a year in the USA.

I honestly ask why a comparebly tiny number of bowhunting lost deer ticks you off with 400 million animals hit on the roads per year and wasted and that doesnt bother you?

100 million animals having hairspray and gasoline sprayed in their eyes to see if it blinds them, dogs, cats, monkeys and rabbits being given cancer and birth defects doesnt bother you?

the handful of deer lost to hunters but still part of the mountains ecology...that bothers you most?

Boy, I wish I were you and a few deer being lost to hunters and eaten by eagles, coyotes, fox, bear, possums, coons, birds, owls, ravens, crows, mice, weasels, mink, fisher, bobcats, et als, was my main problem in life.

I will make you a deal, get the UNiversities in the USA to stop torturing animals and I will make sure all hunters ahve the means to recover all wounded deer if fatally wounded.

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I have never bow hunted before in my ife. I have lost deer by shooting with a rifle twice, and muzzleloader once. in my opinion, anybody can lose deer regargless of the weapon of choice, or season. I do plan on bowhunting in the future for more time hunting and meat on the table. btw, i eventually found all the deer i shot, but that dont matter here nor there, i was lucky to find them days later.

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i do not bow hunt and dont like it but dont go after people who do it . it is their choice . i like to hit the deer and know that it will die . i cant hit the inside of a barn with and arrow if i was inside . so it is your choice and i would not do anything to take that away from you . i like some of these posts and some are just assnine . but to each his own .i have taken deer that someone has shot and not bothered to track or look for if . i have gotten 3 deer that way . i dont mind that i got them but i do mind that they didnt even look for them . i watched one run thur the field and lay down under a bush the guy didnt even walk out to the field to see if he hit her . i will say this there are good hunters and there are people ( wont call them hunters ) that give hunting a bad name

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Guys you cant change stupid so dont even try to beat his statement. What you said 308shooter made no sense. Many deer are lost during gun season as well as bow season. Just because you havent lost a deer after shooting it does not mean anything. I have dropped a doe at 35 yards with my 20 gauge. Went over to the truck to meet my dad to go drag her back, and when i got there she was gone because she wiggled over the hill edge, and rolled down it to get up on her legs and i lost her in the swamp. Not everyone is perfect like you, but i will laugh when you shoot a deer, and then you post on the site that you lost a deer. Were all out to have fun and enjoy the "sport" that we all love.

Edited by Robinson446
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I would'nt point the finger at one group of hunters, I accept there will be bad shots made, I've seen deer jump ,duck,and weave like in the matrix. But I will say there are a lot more ignorant hunters that have no business hunting at all. These are the guys who never take the time to practice with there weapon of choice and just take the shot for the hell of it and will shoot at the flicker of movement without identifying the target that's why I gave up hunting on state land. These are the ones giving all of us sportsman a bad name That's my opinion

I think those guys are what 308 was referring to... I have to say i can understand in a way... I think most of you are hot over him badmouthing bowhunters... some of you have even said similar stuff here referring to gun hunters... He made an observation and pointed it out... yeah he went overboard... but he wasn;t far off base with his general observation about the number of lost animals... we are all good at trusting that just because fellas post here about how much they practice and how ethical they are... that they actually are what they say they are... my experience tells me that with all the practice that a lot of hunters do with their bows or guns...they still don't seem to make the right choices when it comes to actually firing those weapons... I know fellas that are crack shots at the range that still shoot at running deer in the brush, take shots just outside their comfort zones, and are a bit too anxious about killing a deer at all costs... so although you might not like how 308 said it.. you all know that some of what he says is true...

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I have been on this site for approx one week and I have lost count as to how many deer have been lost after being shot. I now know why the dec is extending the bow season next year. Let u people cull the herd while the dec reaps in the money from our licenses. This has got to be the first time in the history of any local gov't that they can actually make a profit without lifting a finger or breaking a sweat. Unbelieveable...a lot you should be ashamed of yourselves. Thank God for the AR. Maybe there will be something left for gun season for the rest of us. Can't wait to see the responses to this one....and no I have never lost a deer after shooting it...that I can honestly say.

Everyone who has hunted for any length of time has lost a deer. If you're saying others, you either have little hunting experience, or you're full of crap.

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