Modern Bowhunting

[Football Hunter]

I guess,"back in the day",any deer with a bow was a "trophy".Maybe to some today,but where I hunt,its pretty easy for me to kill several does,and if I chose,small bucks every year with a bow.Its cool,and I like hunting with a bow,but "any deer" killed with a bow is not really a trophy to me anymore.

Happens too often,easy enough to do,people who hunt around fewer deer may differ.

 

[BowGuy84]

I clebrate and enjoy every deer I kill, but they aren't the same.

I kill several does on public ground each year. This year I killed deer my first 4 sits in a stand. Passed over 25 deer with a bow. Trophy bucks (3.5 and large antlered-PY Gross) are a different ball game entirely.

 

[mathews338]

i have fun shooting any deer with a bow and i always kill a couple does. most guys i know around here could tag out on does and small bucks the first few weeks of bow season. only mature bucks get me real excited with a bow or gun.

 

[birddog]

I love to kill deer with a bow. to me its just plain fun. I killed 5 this year. but i did not shoot any bucks. i was waiting on one i would be happy with.

 

[102]

Totally agree with everyone on this.
I did not used to agree, but now things are different FOR ME.

But this statement holds true for most bowhunters I know.
If you are hunting high pressured, human wary deer, ANY deer taken at close range, is a "trophy".

I have hunted deer and turkey in places that were so plentiful and so relaxed I almost felt like I was shooting someones pet. It did not feel like much of a "trophy" to me because I felt I had not "earned" it. All these places had one commonality, they were on private land managed for deer and had low hunter pressure.

I still think any deer at any given time that I kill with a bow might be a trophy, depending on the circumstances of the kill.
But every deer I kill is still very exciting and when it stops being fun, I will do something else.

Every season I usually have a list of needy families who want venison. Also Tn. HFTH wants deer meat. So, I feel like hey, I like killing deer with a bow, I don't mind sharing my blessings.

So last Halloween, I was sitting in a stand with 4 tags in my pocket. One was a buck tag. I could see my truck.
The parade started about 9 AM and just kept coming. 18 deer sightings later I had made 26, 31, 32, and 30 yard shots on 3 does and a 107 inch 8 point.
I was hunting Public high pressured ground.

I was back at the cabin about dark. It was a long day.

I still think that for most "new" hunters, any deer taken by bow is a trophy. Simply because I still remember the nerves involved and self control needed to make the shot. Certainly a challenge.`

And I also believe that any deer taken at close range that has learned to avoid humans (usually public land deer mature much earlier in this respect because of human encounters) wether a 2.5 year old or a 5.5 + year old, is still a trophy.

 

[catman529]

I just started bow hunting recently and to me every deer with a bow is a trophy. I shoot a compound but not the newest or most advanced. I enjoy killing does very much, to me it's deer hunting and not just big buck hunting. I usually pass younger bucks but that is preference and its not to beat my chest or anything. I just like to try and get an older buck if I can. And when the bucks aren't showing ill gladly shoot that momma doe that ventures too close to my stand. It's a thrill hearing the arrow hit home and watching the deer go in a death run. Last one I killed with a bow went down in plain sight which was awesome. Hopefully I won't get caught up in the modern bow hunting craze that the article talks about. I like to enjoy being in the woods shooting stuff with arrows...

 

[catman529]

i have fun shooting any deer with a bow and i always kill a couple does. most guys i know around here could tag out on does and small bucks the first few weeks of bow season. only mature bucks get me real excited with a bow or gun.

i have fun shooting any deer with a bow and i always kill a couple does. most guys i know around here could tag out on does and small bucks the first few weeks of bow season. only mature bucks get me real excited with a bow or gun.

mature does get me excited too. The oldest looking doe I saw this past season was the wariest deer I saw in the woods and she had a big deep brisket and just looked like an old deer. She was a lot more alert and spooky than the horny 5.5 year old buck that I shot with my bow. He was too busy following does and getting pissed off at the young buck nearby. I guess that's what hormones do to the deer lol.

 

[WRbowhunter]

Sometimes I get a little tired of hearing about the "good ol days".We have more deer now then ever. Its certainly a lot easier to pass on deer when there are more around. It's also a lot easier with food plots and game cameras to let us know what deer are in the area and even pattern them without doing much tree time. If that is what makes it fun for you then why not. Also if you want to buy a new bow every year because that's what you enjoy then who cares. The writer whines because he did not kill a monster after a week long trophy hunt. Poor Baby. Sorry just tired of people patting themselfs on the back because they have now seen the Light.

Sometimes killing deer is easy. climb in a tree. shoot a deer and climb down. But other times. well the other times its called hunting.

 

[Redfred16]

I just started bow hunting recently and to me every deer with a bow is a trophy. I shoot a compound but not the newest or most advanced. I enjoy killing does very much, to me it's deer hunting and not just big buck hunting. I usually pass younger bucks but that is preference and its not to beat my chest or anything. I just like to try and get an older buck if I can. And when the bucks aren't showing ill gladly shoot that momma doe that ventures too close to my stand. It's a thrill hearing the arrow hit home and watching the deer go in a death run. Last one I killed with a bow went down in plain sight which was awesome. Hopefully I won't get caught up in the modern bow hunting craze that the article talks about. I like to enjoy being in the woods shooting stuff with arrows...

I'm kind of in the the same boat. I tried bow hunting a few times as a kid, old 55lb Bear recurve kicked my butt a few times, I think my wrist is forver internally bruised from the string slapping me. But just started deer hunting again 4 years ago and bow hunting 2 years ago.

I find any deer exciting, when they are in range even more so and watch out if its a buck, my heart starts racing no matter how old.

I've only killed a a handful with my bow and regardless of sex or age it's the best "rush" ever, far more than any I felt with a gun. Someday I do hope to kill a real monster of a buck, but till then I'll be happy as long as I'm seeing deer and eating venison I killed.

 

[String Music]

If you hunt only to please others, every hunt will be a failure.