Is it worth getting a BOW to have more hunting options?
Let me hear ur thoughts. Are there some places and people that will only let u hunt with a bow? I went hunting with a member and he loves his bow and I saw his buddy ( great guy) practicing and I was hooked. I mean Ca has a lot of close up hunting 20-80yrds. Also what bow would u recommend? Thanks everyone
Last edited by rbrown77; 05-20-2010 at 08:31 PM.
IMHO YES!!!!!!!!!!!
And once you start hunting with a bow you will want to hunting with it only!!!!
There are very few times when I grab a rifle first!!!!
And when I take my rifle hunting, I almost always bring my bow. When I take my bow hunting I never bring a gun(except a sidearm when legal).
Huum ok I never get to hunt so I want to make sure I have the best chance at getting something :)
It takes lots of practice, not as easy as it seems for some folks to get close to game and addicting once you get good at it. Some of us rarely if every use a rifle...
Stop Global Whining...
Yah when I saw him practicing I was HOOKED it looked hard but soooo cool !!!
As easymoney said yes, but only if you have the time and inclination to practice, practice, practice. I used to do it and even though I had a few opportunities (on deer, not pigs) I never harvested any big game. I blew a couple shots (my fault - buck fever is magnified when you're only 25 yards or so from the game). Anyway, as things progressed in my life I had fewer and fewer opportunities to practice and since I'm now an old fart and both my shoulders are blown out I doubt I could even draw a bow of legal hunting weight. It is really a neat way to hunt. I've been sitting all camoed out next to game trails and had does walk by me so close I could have taken the arrow off the bow and poked them in the butt as they walked by. The thing is, unless you can consistently get arrows at least in a dinner plate sized target at 50 yards it would be unethical to go after any big game with that large a possibility to wound, and not recover, it. Things happen but even if you blow a shot and do wound an animal, as long as you were properly prepared that's much different then going unprepared with a high percentage chance of a non-killing shot.
Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you. -- Gen.9:3
Yea bow hunting is where it's at when you shoot you don't scare off everybody, you might let a few shots go like I did this evening, but it opens up more draw tags for ya.
go get a BowTeck very smooth one day I'll get one, but try out the bows befor you get one
When you enter the water you enter the food chain, Fish On!!!
ya i will say i have never gotten buck fever till i had my first archery experience with a 4x4 at 20 yards wow the excitement and for the bow you cant beat a mathews bow it also has a lifetime warranty
Bow hunting has got to be the most addicting hobby I've ever taken up. Started with an old cheap bow, shot targets, got decent...bought a new bow and started hunting from a pop-up blind. That turned into tree stands, which turned into ghillie suits, that turned into my wife hating my bow...since I spend more time with it than her.
I hunt both the bow season and the rifle season every year, but honestly the rifle hunting got boring. Now, I take my bow about 90% of the time, regardless of season. With the rifle, if I can spot it I can shoot it...no challenge anymore. No calls needed, really don't feel like I even need camo. I like Long-Range rifle shooting still, but most of those long shots aren't even as ethical as the bow up close, since wind, heat, luck and chance all seem to take part in that bullets path.
Its nice having the ability to get out during the archery only season, and not have a bunch of scared to death deer running everytime you lick your lips too loud...so if thats what you're after...by all means, get a bow and start practicing.
I just purchased my first bow this year for that very reason more opportunities to hunt. The more your in the field the better chance you have of getting a trophy. I would suggest a Hoyt, they make extremely good bows.
"Hunters will do anything for a buck"
i have found that a lot of people in norcal only let me hunt there property with a bow. this is the land of hippies of course. so it has gotten me a few more hunting places.
however getting an animal with a bow is tough! ive been bowhunting for 2-3 years. wounded one pig and killed one deer. but i have rarely hunted with a gun since.
my advice would be if ur gona get a bow get something used, or a bow package. something on the cheaper side incase you lose interest in it. once you get a couple animals and you know your hooked on bowhunting then upgrade. my first bow was a pse nova. its easily adjustable to different draw lengths which is great for beginners who later realize they are a longer draw length (which i did). it was around 500 bucks and came with everything needed to hunt. sights, arrows, quiver ect.
ok thx for all the replys
I highly recomend it. A good shop to go to is Archery only in Newark. Basspro in Manteca has a huge selection but I would not trust them to set it up. If you are looking for a screaming deal they have a Diamond Blackice on clearance, Diamond and Bowtech are the same company like Mathews and Mission.
out of all my weapons i prefer hunting with my bow. after shooting doves with my shotgun i lose interest because its too easy. after shooting 6 inch metal gongs at 700 yards at an incline with my rifle i feel it would be too easy for me to hunt deer and pig this way. with my bow its such a challenge and very satisfying that i can nail small game at 40 yards with my bow. it does take practice but damn its so exciting being that close to game. as you can see im a hoyt guy from my avatar.
murrietahunter
My current bow is a 1 year old Mathews DXT. I've taken one pig with it, and missed a couple of turkeys.
I will always pack the bow over a rifle when going to hunt. It's Hella fun!
Nope, best advice I can give you is to stick with the rifle hunting
YES
Coming to a National Forest near you!
do it
A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user. -T.R.
If you are not working to protect hunting, then you are working to destroy it. -Fred Bear
Go afield with a good attitude, with respect for the wildlife you hunt and for the forest and fields in which you walk. Immerse yourself in the outdoor experience. It will cleanse your soul and make you a better person.-Fred Bear
besides it creating more hunting opportunities for you with a bow, i always like the fact that bowhunters get to start there season first at hunting game in Ca. before the gunners start banging away in there seasons and scare the game back into a nocturnal state or another country...........tra
Member of CBH/SAA/NFAA
Predator Archery
JHO Godfather of Tapatalk
That's a great point thx !
I bought my bow for the purpose of extended hunting seasons and to be able to shoot with my daughter who loves shooting her bow (she's 7). Since then, I have been granted access to some local private land that is too small for guns, met new people to shoot and hunt with, and practice at a weekly after-work shoot with some new friends met on a popular archery site. I bought my P.S.E used from that same site for $160 and included the bow (with rest, sight, stabilizer, and quiver), arrows with field points and broadheads, and release. I've put a couple hundred more into it in improvements, but it has been a great bow for the money.
I may not feel good enough about my skills with it to hunt with it this year, but in the meantime, the practice alone is fun. I spent the last two weekends at the local club with my daughter shooting, and in addition to having a great time, we've also spotted several deer. in the woods where the ranges are.
I too took up bowhunting to extend my deer season and to hunt in areas not authorized for a gun. Stalking up close to a big hog and making a clean shot is certainly a rush. It will make a better hunter out of you as it forces you to get in close to your target. That said though; a rifle will do a better job of killing an animal with a less than perfect shot placement. Using your bowhunting skills to get close THEN shooting one with a rifle or muzzleloader can be almost as exciting. I know I'll hear complaints, but there it is. A bow requires a lot of discipline and a tremendous amount of practice. I shoot a compound, recurve and longbow and enjoy hunting with the compound. As someone else said: practice practice and more practice!
It's good to have a plan. That way you have something to change.......
oh yeh i almost forgot another great point that i like the most about being strickly a bowhunter and archer, you can get an A/O (ARCHERY ONLY LICENSE) and get ALOT MORE ZONE"S to HUNT then a general li. will for gunner's. the only thing is you cant posses a firearm with you during the bow only seson's while hunting with a bow...............tra
Member of CBH/SAA/NFAA
Predator Archery
JHO Godfather of Tapatalk
this is exactly right!!! i have shot an elk with a rifle. looking thru a scope takes "something" out of the deal..i get way less buck fever. with a bow..all bets are off..buck fever, turkey fever, pig fever..crap. i just have fever.Originally Posted by iroc6976
answering you original que..YES! rifles are loud..bows, quiet. that and the short range gives people comfort, and will grant more hunting access.
Swine Flu
Is pig fever anything like Swine Flu?
Get a bow dude, AO tags, uncontrollable fevers, close encounters of the third kind...did I mention it'll make women want you? Whats there not to like about bowhunting?
Bowhunting has the highest highs and the lowest lows of hunting. Once you commit to the bow go to a good shop that will be around a long time and that you trust to work on your stuff, then shoot every bow they have befor you make your mind up as to what you want. Buy once and be happy. I would not waste money on a set up you wont be happy with after you go the range and see what the real archers are shooting. Practice, practice, practice. Many guys that have success here shoot every day. I love to shoot and can shoot day or night in the backyard without a sound to disturb the nabiorhood something you just can't do with a rifle. I would prefer if you left all those archery tags for me though. Go get'em.
If you like hunting and have the time to do it. I would recomend you getting into bowhunting.If you are limited on the times you can get into the field then I would not do it unless you just enjoy being outdoors.
My emphatic answer, of course (read my "name"), is YES... BUT... As nearly everyone has said, you need to PRACTICE. Admittedly, it's FUN - waaaay more fun than shooting a rifle at metal at 300+ yds. But you actually have to have the time to do it. I've been bowhunting for over 22 years, and have killed everything from deer to squirrels with a bow. I even regularly shoot rabbits from my in-law's back yard in the Thousand Oaks area of Los Angeles. The neighbors have no idea! Good stuff... but I have also made the mistake of hunting after a long delay in practicing, only to find after hitting a buck wrong that either/both the bow and/or the archer were out of tune.
IF you get into bowhunting, you must commit to a different level of intensity as a hunter, from all angles. It's well worth the effort, but it is more effort than most can/will dedicate to hunting (or most anything for that matter.). I've owned a half a dozen bows in my day, and all served the purpose. Today you can get a phenominal "economy" bow that is better than the top of the line bow available just 10 years ago. So go to a local pro shop and shoot everything he has within your budget. Your hands and ears will tell you what to buy. The last bows I bought were Mathews and Hoyts, but my favorite will always be my first (it's broken thanks to my wife running it over in her car): a Jennings Forked Lightening XL.
Look at a Fred Bear bow for value and perfomance. Other hunters won't admire your spending habits, but they are the best value in archery today.
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