I bowhunt high fence, low fence, feeders,etc,etc. I don't think rifle hunting is unsportsmanlike in the slightest, or that bowhunting has some moral superiority. I just like to bowhunt more than rifle hunt. But i tend to not worry about what other people do

No, no, and no.

There's no doubt what would happen if the TPWD announced it was going to treat all deer hunters equally and allow hunters their own choice of rifle or bow to use on October 1st. There would be bow hunters almost foaming at the mouth in protest. The level of kicking and screaming would be several times what was seen when there was first talk of allowing crossbows during the archery season.

Or maybe the TPWD should create a new season that's only for those hunters who hunt with what everyone should choose, a Tikka chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor. After all, anyone can buy and learn how to shoot one.

The exact same amount that came from quail hunters when the extended season was proposed last year statewide.

I have a question. Why does bow season open a month ahead of the general rifle season?

I have no doubt that you are correct about most people griping if they allowed rifles on oct 1, but i wouldn't be one of them. Just like i didn't care when they let crossbows in. I figure we all get the same amount of tags, fill them how you like, but i know there are many who don't see it that way.

That said, all deer hunters ARE treated equally, we all get the same tags and follow (hopefully) the same laws. If you choose not to take advantage of all the opportunities available to you, that is on you. I don't take advantage of muzzle loading season, but I am not pissing and moaning about those who do. If i wanted that opportunity I would go buy a muzzleloader.

Lobbyists for bowhunting maybe? Just a guess

To give them a chance

What you meant was...to give the a chance to shoot another one after that wounder deer ran off.

I certainly hope you didn't make this post with a straight face. This isn't in any way a valid argument. No one has said anyone SHOULD use any specific means of hunting, just that we all have the same opportunities. Your first post about favorites hit rock bottom, this post has started to dig.

As I've always understood it (take that for what it's worth), there is actually some truth to this. I always understood a big reason for the early start date was the fact it gets more difficult to get within bow range of deer as more hunting pressure is put on them starting in November. This may or may not be true, and if so, is likely not the only reason for the decision.

TPWD surveys indicate 10 percent to 15 percent of the state's 730,000 deer hunters participate in the archery-only season, which requires bowhunters hold a valid archery endorsement on their hunting license and hunt only with a long bow, compound bow or crossbow.

"So we're looking at between 75,000 and as many as 100,000 bowhunters in Texas," Cain said.

Different challenge

Those bowhunters have a much lower success rate than hunters using firearms, a function of bowhunting requiring the hunter get much closer to the quarry. Bowhunter success rates in Texas traditionally are about 10 percent, while those using firearms have a 40 percent to 50 percent success rate.

Because bow hunting is more difficult. Three months is often not enough to tag a buck.

Very good question Fouzman. I do not know the answer. My assumption would be that someone wanted to promote/help bowhunting. By giving them the extra time it gave a lot of hunters an incentive to pick up a bow. Apparently it worked since there are lots of bowhunters now and I don't think there would be if the early season had never started. Im not saying it should happen but IF IF the early season was dropped then im pretty sure a lot of bows would be put down (not all, but lots).
I started hunting Oklahoma for the first time this past season and they have a very long bow season and a short rifle season and an extra Muzzle loader season. I went out and got a bow and ML which I never would of done if they had a decent length rifle season. Now they have proposed lengthening the rifle season in Oklahoma and it has already been lengthened in the past. So there is a separation in attitudes(bow/rifle) in Oklahoma like Texas but its kinda driven from the opposite direction with rifle hunters gaining more time.

But we don’t all have the same opportunities. Bow hunters get an extra month.

Is deer season over for some? I feel like we have had this discussion before.

I have always been in favor of 1 season for bow rifle etc. all combined. You want to accept the challenge of bow hunting? Then go right ahead, step up to the plate and do so without a special season. I picked up bow hunting on properties I wasn't allowed to hunt bow season on, I still bow hunt because I like it, same as why I use an iron sight shotgun with slugs or smoke pole or pistol or iron sight lever gun.

Since most of us hunt on a private land or lease what is the big deal if it was a general season on said land. Leave public land the way it is. The pressure theory goes out the window on private or lease land the deer see as much or little pressure as the group puts on them for the entire season. The way I see it if the state gives you x number of tags to use who cares what you kill the deer with once its dead it dead whether its from a bow or rifle.

While this sounds good at first, i will tell you why you don't want it to happen and why it won't happen.

1 if you extend rifle season an extra month, and remember that rifles have a 40 to 50% success rate vs 10 of bows, overall tag allowances will drop. There is a finite amount of deer and putting an extra month at 40 to 50% success rate could very well tip the balance so that everybody's tag numbers drop. That's why you may not want to do that after you think about it.

2 the reason it won't happen is income. In a post up a few someone mentioned that there were seven hundred thousand Bowhunters in Texas, multiply that by a $7 stamp and doesn't that come up to 4.9 million dollars in income to the state? Not to mention all the extra taxes that people pay for bows, arrows, broadheads, targets, Etc. That is why the state will not do away with bow season, and another reason we may not want it done away with. If bow season was done away with the state is going to have to make up that income somehow, probably by raising fees on all licenses.

Charge more for an extended season stamp then. Double the cost of the bow stamp, call it an extended season stamp and I guarantee you everyone will pay it. Charge 7 for bow and 14 for rifle. Seems fair to me.

Agree.

You have the same opportunity to be a bow hunter as all other hunters. That's my point.

This still don't take care of number 1 or revenue from taxes, which i would wager is much more than the tags.

I'm not concerned with the extra amount of deer shot every year. Yes there will be more but enough to impact the herd would depend on the part of the state it was in. Even then I don't think it would have that great of an impact since bag limits are county by county. Regarding taxes, people don't have to buy new bow equipment every year. People have to buy a license every year. I can almost guarantee that the additional tag cost would far outweigh tax money from bow hunting equipment in short time.

The rest of our point is why is there a bow season in the first place? I must have missed the 11th commandment that said there shall be an archery season before general season.

# 1 seems to be BS to me. I could tag out in a day if I really wanted to that doesn't mean im going to, not even given the entire season.