Reasons for disallowing bowhunting during deer gun seasons?

[Altiman94]

We don't have a rifle season here in Iowa (only in the southern two tiers of counties you can rifle hunt antlerless deer in late jan.).  They shut down bow season however for a couple weekends in December for the shotgunners to take the woods.

Even if they allowed bow hunting during the gun season, I wouldn't.  Reason is that I hunt public land and there are way too many bullets flying for me to want be in there alone up in a tree.

But- I can see a lot of guys having good success since you'd let the other hunters push the deer towards you.

[landman]

Most game and fish departments regulate their respective deer herds for what they call "maximum sustained yeild" which translates into.....we're gonna set the limits so that hunters can kill whatever they want..    

That policy is pure BS but that's what they do.   I've always thought that the best policy is to make all deer hunters kill a doe before they're allowed to kill ANY buck.   Then, after the doe is down, permit them to kill a buck with more than 2 points on each side and encourage all hunters to kill bucks with bad antlers.   All bucks with less than 4 points...regardless...are babies and should be totally off limits.

I've hunted for years and only killed 1-2 "decent" bucks with a trad bow.   I've shot a butt load of them with a rifle or a compound though and each time I do it, I get less and less interested in gun hunting or with compounds.    In any event, the deer on my lease will suffer the loss of a doe and then a buck and if I tag out with my bow, the gun season is totally mute.   Ain't gonna happen for me.

Call me crazy girls, but I simply hate killing anything that I don't plan to eat.    I will not kill for the pure hell of it.

[bowtough]

Having lived in Il all my life and been privy to the examples that our state law makers have always exibited. I am confident in saying it all boils down to money. They will-not let bowhunters hunt during gun season because they want us to buy gun tags. This of coarse adds to the revenue which as far as I can tell is never reinvested in our deer herd. And if they don't stop issueing so many gun tags each year,there is not going to be any deer to hunt in a few more years anyway. I spend probably more time in a tree stand than most since I'm semi retired and each year now for the past several,I have been seeing less and less deer.JMO.

[Ken Babicky]

I wouldn't have an issue with buying the tags either, in fact I already do and still would. I just want to use my weapon of choice. Even though I don't use all it has to offer, I buy the WI conservation patrons license (includes almost everything related to fishing, hunting, trapping, state parks, etc.) because it goes to helping our outdoor activities.

[Kevin Dill]

Yes, in Ohio we can bow hunt during any of the firearms seasons. Finding a bowhunter here during gun season is about as likely as picking up a shed antler in August. It's uncommon.

Reasons why I seldom bow hunt during gun season:

It hurts my ears.
I can't draw my bow and wear a bullet-proof vest.
I always miss shots at running & leaping deer.
I feel like a novelty target up in a treestand.
I have target panic when a ricochet buzzes past.
I don't like bloodtrailing in a crossfire.
I worry that blaze orange makes my butt look big.

 

[Bowwild]

Folks,
It does none of us any good to exaggerate the danger involved in being out-of-doors with gun hunters or during gun season.  I've hunted in areas where I've counted more than 200 rounds in a single morning but I know it is not unsafe in the woods during firearms season. Sure, some folks shoot themselves and even other people. However, more die or are hurt from tree stand falls, driving to their hunting area, or from heart attacks dragging deer (or themselves) out of the woods. We should not perpetuate the myth that any hunter groups create an unsafe environment for one another or others.

I've been in danger of being shot (that I know of) only once in a lifetime of hunting and it was from irresponsible plinkers shooting bottles in a river across from me in my tree stand. These weren't hunters, they were litter bugs and vandals.

[GingivitisKahn]

Originally posted by Kevin Dill:
Yes, in Ohio we can bow hunt during any of the firearms seasons. Finding a bowhunter here during gun season is about as likely as picking up a shed antler in August. It's uncommon.

Reasons why I seldom bow hunt during gun season:

It hurts my ears.
I can't draw my bow and wear a bullet-proof vest.
I always miss shots at running & leaping deer.
I feel like a novelty target up in a treestand.
I have target panic when a ricochet buzzes past.
I don't like bloodtrailing in a crossfire.
I worry that blaze orange makes my butt look big.

         

Lol - great list!          

Some public land is certainly worse than others and I admit that I've had to duck behind trees as slugs went whizzing by.  I rarely go out of my way to take time off during gun season (though the deer are certainly moving that week) but my Hill and I will be out there when we can be.

[lpcjon2]

Originally posted by bamboo:
how does holding a gun in your hands make you ANY safer than holding bow?do you plan on returning fire?

I personally have been in situations while hunting during gun week and have had buckshot fly through the trees very,very close.if not for the ability to be able to fire a warning shot in the air I may not be typing this.Have you ever experienced gun drives for deer? Guys line up around an area and a line of guys go through the woods yelling to scare the deer.During these drives people are so amped up to kill a deer that they dont look to see whats really moving.And for the record if I was fired upon in an act of aggression I would return fire.   :D

[Bjorn]

Why not disallow-they can't hunt our season either. I don't bowhunt  during rifle season-allowed or not.

[Jeff Strubberg]

Originally posted by Bowwild:
Folks,
It does none of us any good to exaggerate the danger involved in being out-of-doors with gun hunters or during gun season.  I've hunted in areas where I've counted more than 200 rounds in a single morning but I know it is not unsafe in the woods during firearms season. Sure, some folks shoot themselves and even other people. However, more die or are hurt from tree stand falls, driving to their hunting area, or from heart attacks dragging deer (or themselves) out of the woods. We should not perpetuate the myth that any hunter groups create an unsafe environment for one another or others.

I've been in danger of being shot (that I know of) only once in a lifetime of hunting and it was from irresponsible plinkers shooting bottles in a river across from me in my tree stand. These weren't hunters, they were litter bugs and vandals.

I wish taht were the case everywhere, but it's not.  A hunting buddy of mine was stuck clinging flat to his tree and yelling like a maniac trying to get the attention of the two yahoos shooting along a nearby ridge and landing shots into trees surrounding his.  Every year I hear a story that involves the words "sound shot" or "a shot into the bushes".  I'm amazed more people aren't killed each year.

Our neighbor has lost two cows in the last five or six years to hunters who couldn't be bothered to be sure of their target.  Every year he threatens to paint "COW" in white letter on his livestock to keep them safe.


I stay at home during gun season.  I wish that weren't the case, but them folks just scare the crap outta me.

[Bowwild]

My point fellows is the rarity of it in terms of the numbers of us out there. If lots of mothers read this stuff there would be some sons and daughters(or nasty arguments)whose hunting careers would be severly delayed or curtailed completely. In fact, that's the primary reason youth-only hunting days are set -- so Johnny and Suzie will have the woods relatively alone so the parents will be more comfortable letting them go.

Like many of you, I hunt a lot. I have set up hunts, regulated hunting, all types, and in four states. I may be shot out of my tree next week but the odds are better than terrific that I won't.

Sure, I've heard (and read the reports) of the stories, the slobs, careless, and just plain terribly unlucky. However, we go some years in my current state (KY) with ZERO hunters killed and that's with more than 200,000 out there many days. However, I can't remember the last time we concluded a season without some poor soul failing to bounce up when he hit the ground. I've read accounts of opening weekend in Michigan where a half-dozen folks died of heart-attacks doing things beyond their ability.

I've had a grouse hunter flush a bird in an opening as he walked towards me. He swung right through my tree before shooting. A tresspasser shot at (and missed) a doe with a Muzzle-loader in the early 80's under my tree at 90 yards. I wear orange to help the other man see me during firearms seasons and I make sure I have a light on when moving in the dark.  The best thing most of us can do to protect ourselves is to practice personal safety and control the crowd we hunt with. The records show most shooting accidents/incidents involve self-inflicted or friend/relative-inflicted activity.

I've been on the defending end of hunting in very unfriendly crowds on too many occassions during my professional life. It is no fun having some of these anti-hunting radicals read accounts written by hunters about the alleged unsafe nature of hunting.

[Living_waters]

Jeff you have to learn how to play the game here in MO. We have the unique privilege here, to be able to hunt some of the bow only Federal and State areas during gun season, with a gun tag. If you ever have hunted some of our areas down here in the south east during gun season, you would look forward to gun season.

[Jeff Strubberg]

I've hunted Reform wildlife area during gun season, but it's easier just to hunt before and after rather than mess around with additional permits and orange gear.  

No doubt more folks are injured falling out of stands than being shot.  The last figures I saw from Missouri were around 70% of injuries being tree stand falls (which is beyond idiotic, btw).  Of the remaining 30%, a little over half were self-inflicted.

REgardless, tree stand and self-inflicted injuries are something I have control over.  Who is pointing a rifle my direction is NOT.  Life is about taking intelligent risks.  This is one I choose not to take.

If we had a short bow season, I would probably feel differently.

[Gary Logsdon]

This is a little off topic Roy, more of a quality deer management topic, but something that has always puzzled me.  PM me if you want. Several years ago I asked John Phillips (former KDFW Deer Biologist, for those who don't know)the following question: "Can you explain why Kentucky schedules it's firearms season each year during the peak of the rut?"  Now, back to the topic at hand:^)

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Originally posted by lpcjon2:
I called about that last week for Jersey and got the same reply.The lady said she didn't know either.I even asked if I bought the gun tags for those seasons could I hunt and they stated no!.I think it's about safety in Jersey,So many Jack holes fresh out of the LL Bean catalog ripping off rounds at anything that moves is enough for me to want to have a gun (for my safety)instead of a bow.You never know when you may have to shoot the dry cleaning tag off the yuppies camo jacket to get his attention.      

When I lived and Hunted in Jersey I did it with BOW in hand when others where out with their shotguns/smokepoles..

[hawkeye n pa]

A correction to my earlier post. Alot of those  40 years I already had my buck tag used.  But I still would go to camp and went out on the first day to check up on my Dad and uncles.  With out a weapon at all, as by law.

Almost all of my hunting is done on public land.  And Pennsylvania ranks right near the top in hunters in the field on the first day of Buck season.

[Bowwild]

Gary,
I know where you are headed. Let me answer that this way. As you know we in KY, including the Department are feeling pretty good about our decision to implement the 1-buck rule in 1992. It has worked exactly as it was supposed to do producing more than 800 BC bucks (only the ones we know about) since. Before the rule 1-2 Booners a year was about it.

Before I retired, my boss, the Commissioner asked me how we could further improve the quality of Kentucky's deer herd. I advised Tom,  "I'll tell you but you won't want to do it."  I advised we'd need to move the firearms season to the end of November or first of December to extend the lives of mature bucks a bit more. This would keep the firearms hunters out of the woods when the big bucks are most vulnerable. I quickly also advised that the firearms hunters would "rip us to shreds" if we suggested such a thing. The tradition of KY's firearms season coinciding with peak rut activity is very strong.  To be honest, although it hurt me to do so, I recommended he not even consider such a move for the sake of hunter relations.

I also pointed out moving the firearms season  would be great for the bowhunter, giving us even better access to great KY bucks!

So, the decision was more public relations than scientific.  However, without good relations with the hunting public science doesn't have much of a chance of working anyway (and I'm proud to say that the vast majority of KY agency personnel are also hunters -- some the most avid there are).  An interesting side note, during my career, I've found hunter relations with the wildlife agency to be much better east of Kansas City than west of it.

[Eugene Slagle]

I thank God that Virginia allows Bowhunters to hunt with the Gun hunters as long as I wear the required Blaze Orange because other wise I'd go nuts not being in the woods.

[vtmtnman]

Here in VT we're allowed to use a bow during any season that allows a gun.

It probably comes down to deer jacking.Alot easier to say you got that 190" buck amidst gunshots when some dude jacked it at night with a bow.

[LoweBow]

We are soooooooooooo fortunate in KY to have a Commission set up the way we do.  Yes some of the decisions will curl your hair...like crossbows, and spike bull elk tags....but all in all they have pushed an agenda of MORE and MORE hunter opportunity.  We have an extra long bow season and can hunt straight thru all the pesky firearms and modern musket seasons.  I'll be out in the morning wearing my orange hoping to fill a couple doe tags.  I'm thankful for that.