Future design of bows

[Plumber]

I love bowhunting it is my passion. I do hunt the other seasons with my kids who are 12 an 7.If I had to choose it would be bow.

[buckeye_hunter]

I look at it this way....

If someone said I could NEVER gun hunt again, I would be dissappointed but ok.

If someone said I could NEVER bow hunt again, I would be fighting mad. The bow speaks to me and is very different than a gun in the woods.

Guess what I would pick.

Eventually it would get cold enough that even with guns in season you would have the woods to yourself as an archer.

[Archer Fanatic]

I don't own any firearms so it is bow only. It has been that way for 40+ years now.

[chopx2]

There is nothing cooler than driving into a check station with the bigest buck of the day and listen to the gun hunters whisper is shock when they see the bow   :D

[Bowwild]

A single season for all equipment would be political suicide and the agency leaders know it (I'm a retired graduate of 4 of them). It would also spell more trouble for declining shooter and license buyer numbers another slope that has become all too slippery these days.

I would still bowhunt --- but not in my home state if it did this -- I'd boycott the state if it did this. I boycotted hunting in Kansas the last year I lived there because of a management policy I disagreed with.  

In such a scenario bowhunting participation would decline a lot -- 70-85% I think.  Avidity levels would dictate the course of hunter number erosion -- first the crossbow folks would hang it up, then the compound folks.  The percentage of traditional archers among active bowhunters would increase dramatically because our numbers wouldn't change that much.

I'll have to admit though, by the 3rd day of firearms season I've pretty much stopped deer hunting. I move on to squirrels. I didn't used to quit like this. I've closed many a season in multiple states in mid-January or the end of December.  That's a really melancholy feeling being in the stand with one of your tags unfilled as that last sun sets on the bow season.

[Kelly]

Its been BOW only for me for over 40 years and will be always that way, by choice! Of course, I don't even own a gun of any sorts capable of killing a deer, anyway.

[brinkwolf]

Here in Texas we have a Archery only season but can hunt with bow during rifle season also but then you get the problem stated above with the rifle hunters.

[ChuckC]

I would chose to bow hunt.  I would have no problem deciding.

I very rarely use a rifle now as it is.    

I am what I am.
ChuckC

[bigtuna]

In TX there are a lot of bowhunters who bowhunt just becuase it makes their season one month longer. So yes, I think if they only could choose one for many of them it would be the boomstick.

[larryh]

the orgaized archery clubs got the washington state law changed to eliminate the people that only shot archery as a convenience because they hadn't filled their tags.
there were some publicized disasters in one archery area that sort of made change a good thing.
of course total numbers dropped but numbers of archers has remained pretty steady throughout the process.
it did eliminate the "slob" element.

[Buckeye Trad Hunter]

This raises another point, what about the people who love to bowhunt but are in financial crisis and need to take an animal for the food.  maybe this scenario could force a true bowhunter to give up the bow out of the necessity to fill their tags.

[bornagainbowhunter]

Well, it would definately be bow only for me.  I have not gun hunted for deer in 10+ years, i guess.  I don't need to hunt with them.  I enjoy hunting even if deer pass out of range.  I just love to bowhunt.

That being said I do have alot of guns because I like to shoot them.  I dont hunt with them, but they do have their place.

I take my sons on the youth gun hunts and they have a blast.  They both say, "Dad, I would rather kill a deer with a bow like you do."  Makes me proud.  One shoots a 25# Protogy and the other shoots a 21# Pup.  Someday, they will bowhunt with me, I can't wait.

[njloco]

Archery first and foremost, We're lucky in that regard in the Soviet state of NJ. Archery season starts about the middle of Sept. and goes until the end of Oct. then starts again with a bow permit tag until the end of Nov. then winter bow starts again from Jan. into Feb. We can shoot all the does we want, and one buck per season listed above plus one for shotgun, muzzle loader, two for six day firearm.

Yes, they want to get rid of the deer population but they never will because there is so much private land around and backyards that the deer live in. I work for the railroad here and when I am working in some yards the deer will walk right with you through the yard, heck they even walk with people in the street almost like a trained dog would except they keep a little more distance.

Up North the bears are getting like that also, only this year they are in for a little surprise.

Yes again, archery first, and this year it will be Trad. archery first.

Ken

[John Scifres]

I'll base this answer just on Indiana because I know the statistics.  Easily 60% of those who hunt with bows would opt for gun over bow if they had to choose.  Almost all bowhunters are 2 season hunters here.

Either/Or seasons are a good exclusionary tactic to ease overcrowding where needed but generally are a bad idea in most places.

As far as technology shortening season... not here.  We have way too many deer as it is.  We're in the midst of a political shiite storm because of it.  

As always though, the shrinking forest of hunters is being hidden by us staring at all these trees from 2 feet away.

[Buckeye Trad Hunter]

I don't think that the technology will ever shorten a season.  Here in Ohio crossbows have been legal for as long as I can remember and it hasn't affected our season.  In fact, the number of deer we are allowed to take has actually increased as now we are allowed 6 does and 1 buck per year because the deer population keeps growing.  As for the size of our deer, do I really need to say anything.  If you have any question about the size of our deer in Ohio just take a look at longbowbens avatar.

I don't think it would make much difference to me. I pretty much only bowhunt now so I can't see it being much different if I had to pick one or the other.

Bisch

[seabass]

i would pick my bow.in ohio we can bow hunt all season.this year i have vowed to lay down my guns for good.squirrel season starts sept.1st.i am going to hunt them with my longbow for the first time this year.next i going for pheasnt.i've had alot of time to practice this year being laid off.back to work today.now i need an excuse for time off to hunt.any sugestions?

[Ryan Rothhaar]

TJ's scenario in the editorial in TBM was not "either/or" seasons where you choose a bow rather than a gun and still can hunt a longer season but one where all weapons would share one "general hunting season" ie - a 2 week all weapons hunting season - no more special separate season for bowhunters due to higher and higher success rates.  Under that scenario the "bowhunters" would flee in droves for the boom sticks.  Of course "either/or" seasons are attractive to more folks because of the longer time to hunt.

[vtmtnman]

I prefer bow,I only rifle hunt basically to "roll with the flow".I haven't even seen a legal buck to shoot during rifle season in 14 years.I just rifle hunt because everyone else is.

Tell you Ohio guys this..if I lived in your state I'd be a bowhunter only!Insane long bow season,placed right over the rut with monster bucks all over.Lucky..

I hunted shotgun last year..my first year..  :eek:              and last...I wouldn't even bother with it...orange army is right!Dudes right on top of you,shots over top of you..no where to go without 15 trucks in the spots,even had one dude sit down and start hunting 40 yards awayfrom us while we were gutting my buddy's deer out...      

[Ragnarok Forge]

To many drunks and sound shooters from the big city around here for me to ever go back to rifle.  They are why I switched in the first place.  If I had to hunt a combined season it would be my longbow, just as it is now. I used to let the hunters drive the animals to me during rifle season.  I would just do it again.  Find the hunters.  Get set at a choke point out ahead of them and wait for the right one to come by.