Depends on where you are I guess because at my places, you still see big bucks throughout deer season.

i do both, and i enjoy both. you gotta be quiet at both, unless your shooting gophers at 800 yds, then i guess you dont have to be stealthy.

I woulndt say that bow hunting requires more skill but it does require a lot more time in the woods. As for pressure it depends on the individual hunter.

The disturbing trend I see with alot of "urban" bowhunters is they like to bow hunt but more and more people have little or no woods manship about them. I have guided guys that shoot deer with arrows and if they cant find them in 100yds they give up, and will flat out deny they even shot at a deer rather than admit a bad shot. This has gotten so bad I count arrows before and after dropping people off.

Where I have the problem is bowhunters that hunt in highfenced ranches and shoot a buck under a feeder that has and ear tag in its ear then want to puff their chest out and say...

"I bow hunt because its more of a challange!"

This goes for rifle hunters to; I have no problem hunting in either highfenced ranches or under feeders but lets call a spade a spade here. Do you bow hunt for the challange or notority of it?

The really good bowhunters that know how to hunt, track and take care of business are getting fewer and far between. Bow hunting is a learned skill that in my opinion has been turned into a weekend hobby by all the media that is centered around it.


Which in turn sends alot of people into the woods that in all honesty shouldnt be going out in the first place and thus ....disturb or destory alot of good deer habitat.

Well put deewayne

I'm a gun hunter that carries a bow and sits in a tree stand during archery season.

Archers put much less pressure on deer IMO, they are quiter, more scent free, have to pass more shots and are a lot less inclined to do stalks, drives and still hunts.

Deewayne, can you give examples of not having any woodsmanship? Just curious as to what you mean.

IMO, Bowhunting only, puts way more presure on the deer, i have seen this first hand on several different places. My BIL has a place in Bandera, bow only, only 4 hunters on about 500 acres, they have been hunting it for 6 years i think, their deer are very spooky, you wanta kill a deer there, you better be prepared to aim low, or their going to jump the string. The deer there know how to look up, they can pick you out in a hurry, you better be wired tight, and have your stuff together, no weekend urban bowhunter is going to kill a deer on their place. Thats my

I'll second that, I hunt a state that is primarly bow season, after thrid weekend it gets tough.

Exactly, couldn't have explained it better!!!!

I'm no expert but I think alot of these ranchers/land owners have bow only leases to lessen the chance the hunter will kill the deer. Bigger bucks increase next years lease price. Obviously it is harder to kill a deer with a bow at 30 yards than a rifle at a 100 to 300 yards.

Well, when I am bowhunting, my ninja skills kick in so it makes me more stealthy! When I am gun hunting, I like to hide in a box and let my lead play ninja for the day!!!

Holy crap Sig, we agree on atleast one thing!

JustinT

Examples of woodsman ship that I have seen lacking in "hunters" that I think should be common knowledge for hunters.

1. How to tell which way is north(or any given direction with out a compass)

2. Gut a deer!- yes thats right I have met "hunters" both bow and rifle that dont know how to gut a deer.

3. Sharpen a knife-and handle it safely

4. Start a fire-incase you fall in water or get lost

5. How to walk to a stand and be relatively quiet(not step on sticks or other loud things)

6. Mark a trail/ back out when theres a bad shot.

7. Respect your fellow hunters and not disturb the lease/ranch trying to get a deer for your self and thus running off all deer and ruining others hunting oportunities.

I think all these things leed to disturbing others hunting, and running deer off and I think both bow and rifle hunters do them.

If it was my land there would be NO BOWS ALLOWED. I am 53 years old and I have shot a bow since I was 6. I have tracked deer that have been shot by guys that never pull a bow back until the day before season. I got to where I would not even go to the lease during bow season. I think that anyone that hunts with a bow should have to qualify with it to get a tag.

Mr. Redneck

That is the exact reason why you have to qualify with a bow to hunt on the hagerman national wildlife refuge in Grayson county.

I think thats a good thing.

When the o'l lady says you can spend all that MONEY you better bring home something...She don't care what or how I kill IT

I think it really depends on the Hunter and the way there hunting

For instance

Hunter A
is hunting from a Stationary Blind that was scouted and placed in early spring, He walks stright in from the Trail not disturbing the bedding or feeding zones nor crossing major Deer trails.

Hunter B
Likes to stalk prey, he found some awesome Beeding/Feeding zones on the property and wants to walk in and Harvest something soon as season starts.

Either Scenerio can be applyed to either type, obviously Hunter B is going to put more pressure on the game.

I think Bowhunters Don't notice it because by the time Bow Season is up they have already done the damage, and are no longer in the woods. I also see on my lease that deer are not Gun shy but by the end of DEC there definately FEEDER shy, as they have been getting shot at around them which is why I don't like to shoot deer under feeders.

On our lease most of all of the Gun hunters and Bow hunters are like hunter A so I couldnt tell you. This year we had a guy whom was like hunter B hunting pigs all the way from Spring Turkey to Opening BOW and guess what we didnt see crap all year. I think we harvested 6 deer this year we normally do 7 times that between us and the Owners.

So in summary I think it has less to do with what your using but how your using it, that being said I can see on other places how Bowhunters can cause more pressure.

I couldn't agree more with the recent posts and number seven of deewaynes post seems to be a problem around here. Its all about hunting in a manner that represents the situation and the weapon you are using while respecting other hunters and the game you are after. When I first started bowhunting, there were a LOT fewer bows in the woods and, when you ran into one, it was usually a guy who was more than dedicated to hunting. Thus, the reason they hunted with a bow. As years went by, it seems as though people were bowhunting more and more for the early and longer seasons as opposed to personal challenge or other similar reasons. When I bowhunt, patience is the key to success for me. I have to know when to pull out and when to press on. If I don't get him today, I want to get him tomorrow. Unfortunately, with the growing number of bowhunters in the woods, it is harder and harder to back out on an animal when you know three other guys will be right in there to push him. This, in effect, makes even a patient hunter have to push when they wouldn't normally do so. Its the snowball effect. I guess I shouldn't use bowhunting as an example because it is prevalent in rifle hunting as well. I just think that its more noticeable in bowhunting. One of the reasons I switched back to rifle hunting is that, while bowhunting, the people I ran into seemed to be younger and more competitive about hunting with a win at all costs attitude.(don't get me wrong, I've met some truly great outdoorsmen as well) While rifle hunting, it seems like the general population is older hunters that haven't jumped on the bandwagon and they display old school values towards other hunters. Again, in no way am I lumping all hunters together because I've met some doozies hunting with bows and rifles. Its merely a generalization that I've noticed. In the end, a quality hunter is just that, a quality hunter, regardless of what they are hunting with during any particular season. EDIT: I thought I'd add that I didn't mean any disrespect when I mentioned "younger" hunters. I'm 36 so I'm kind of in the middle as to being older or younger. lol

Howdy- newbie here....

I've never bow hunted and only rifle hunted 3x.

From my little intelligence with the rifle is that once shot the deer scatter and 1 lays still.

Within sever minutes or so the deer comeback (Does and little bucks).

I have done some reading to learn more about traits, tactics, and whatnot but also picked up some tips about "Pressure".

Im done with my 3rd book and, to me, it appears bow hunting can actually place more pressure on deer than rifle hunting.

With that said, lets omit the oddities such as the hunters that harvest everything they see, shoot at anything else they see bedides deer, and other total disregards to the property and wildlife. Lets focus on those that are more mature and methodically pick their hunts.

Bow hunting requires one to study the behavior traits, trails, bedding, food, and water resources (as does one who shoots with rifle). Difference is, for a bow hunter to score that trophy, then he needs to "out think" that trophy and go after him in his (trophy) environemnt. By doing this, can add pressure to the hoemstead of that deer. Whereas a rifle hunter can set up just outside of that path and /or around those funnel points (keeping his distance) to score that trophy deer while leaving the initial homestead of that deer inhabited.

So when reading this I couldn't help to think that by one dominant object moving into another objects pressence will eventually force one of the objects out. Hence my answer.

However if we were talking skilss, then I would have to favor the educated Bow Hunter.

kp

This is the quote I have been looking for....I agree....100%.......

I would say because bow hunting defers from the indians and they were pretty darn stealthy. So ive heard. Before alcohol.

I have never witnessed a stealthy indian on alcohol.

IMO more people are bowhunting these days and some really lack the skills to be successful therefore putting more pressure on the deer. I think more people are bowhunting so they can call themselves a "bowhunter."

See, I am not stupid, just stubborn!

The buck I killed this year with my .270 was 18 yards away........ I must be a sneaky gun hunter!! Im glad there was a lot of leaves on the ground, he woke me up with his footsteps!

Humans in the woods pressure deer. Doesn't matter if they are bowhunting, gun hunting, farming, nude sun bathing, whatever. The more they are there the more they pressure.