Is it worth getting a BOW to have more hunting options?

[rbrown77]

Let me hear ur thoughts. Are there some places and people that will only let u hunt with a bow? I went hunting with a member and he loves his bow and I saw his buddy ( great guy) practicing and I was hooked. I mean Ca has a lot of close up hunting 20-80yrds. Also what bow would u recommend? Thanks everyone
:smiley_you_rock_sig

 

[DBAR]

IMHO YES!!!!!!!!!!!
And once you start hunting with a bow you will want to hunting with it only!!!!
There are very few times when I grab a rifle first!!!!
And when I take my rifle hunting, I almost always bring my bow. When I take my bow hunting I never bring a gun(except a sidearm when legal).

 

[rbrown77]

Huum ok I never get to hunt so I want to make sure I have the best chance at getting something

 

[easymoney]

It takes lots of practice, not as easy as it seems for some folks to get close to game and addicting once you get good at it. Some of us rarely if every use a rifle...

 

[rbrown77]

Yah when I saw him practicing I was HOOKED it looked hard but soooo cool !!!

 

[Caninelaw]

As easymoney said yes, but only if you have the time and inclination to practice, practice, practice. I used to do it and even though I had a few opportunities (on deer, not pigs) I never harvested any big game. I blew a couple shots (my fault - buck fever is magnified when you're only 25 yards or so from the game). Anyway, as things progressed in my life I had fewer and fewer opportunities to practice and since I'm now an old fart and both my shoulders are blown out I doubt I could even draw a bow of legal hunting weight. It is really a neat way to hunt. I've been sitting all camoed out next to game trails and had does walk by me so close I could have taken the arrow off the bow and poked them in the butt as they walked by. The thing is, unless you can consistently get arrows at least in a dinner plate sized target at 50 yards it would be unethical to go after any big game with that large a possibility to wound, and not recover, it. Things happen but even if you blow a shot and do wound an animal, as long as you were properly prepared that's much different then going unprepared with a high percentage chance of a non-killing shot.

 

[Krisdude]

Yea bow hunting is where it's at when you shoot you don't scare off everybody, you might let a few shots go like I did this evening, but it opens up more draw tags for ya.
go get a BowTeck very smooth one day I'll get one, but try out the bows befor you get one

 

[iroc6976]

ya i will say i have never gotten buck fever till i had my first archery experience with a 4x4 at 20 yards wow the excitement and for the bow you cant beat a mathews bow it also has a lifetime warranty

 

[ighunt]

Bow hunting has got to be the most addicting hobby I've ever taken up. Started with an old cheap bow, shot targets, got decent...bought a new bow and started hunting from a pop-up blind. That turned into tree stands, which turned into ghillie suits, that turned into my wife hating my bow...since I spend more time with it than her.

I hunt both the bow season and the rifle season every year, but honestly the rifle hunting got boring. Now, I take my bow about 90% of the time, regardless of season. With the rifle, if I can spot it I can shoot it...no challenge anymore. No calls needed, really don't feel like I even need camo. I like Long-Range rifle shooting still, but most of those long shots aren't even as ethical as the bow up close, since wind, heat, luck and chance all seem to take part in that bullets path.

Its nice having the ability to get out during the archery only season, and not have a bunch of scared to death deer running everytime you lick your lips too loud...so if thats what you're after...by all means, get a bow and start practicing.

 

[Joetech34]

I just purchased my first bow this year for that very reason more opportunities to hunt. The more your in the field the better chance you have of getting a trophy. I would suggest a Hoyt, they make extremely good bows.​

 

[goldfinger]

i have found that a lot of people in norcal only let me hunt there property with a bow. this is the land of hippies of course. so it has gotten me a few more hunting places.

however getting an animal with a bow is tough! ive been bowhunting for 2-3 years. wounded one pig and killed one deer. but i have rarely hunted with a gun since.

my advice would be if ur gona get a bow get something used, or a bow package. something on the cheaper side incase you lose interest in it. once you get a couple animals and you know your hooked on bowhunting then upgrade. my first bow was a pse nova. its easily adjustable to different draw lengths which is great for beginners who later realize they are a longer draw length (which i did). it was around 500 bucks and came with everything needed to hunt. sights, arrows, quiver ect.

 

[rbrown77]

ok thx for all the replys

 

[jb229]

I highly recomend it. A good shop to go to is Archery only in Newark. Basspro in Manteca has a huge selection but I would not trust them to set it up. If you are looking for a screaming deal they have a Diamond Blackice on clearance, Diamond and Bowtech are the same company like Mathews and Mission.

 

[murrietahunter]

out of all my weapons i prefer hunting with my bow. after shooting doves with my shotgun i lose interest because its too easy. after shooting 6 inch metal gongs at 700 yards at an incline with my rifle i feel it would be too easy for me to hunt deer and pig this way. with my bow its such a challenge and very satisfying that i can nail small game at 40 yards with my bow. it does take practice but damn its so exciting being that close to game. as you can see im a hoyt guy from my avatar.

murrietahunter

 

[flytrue]

My current bow is a 1 year old Mathews DXT. I've taken one pig with it, and missed a couple of turkeys.
I will always pack the bow over a rifle when going to hunt. It's Hella fun!

 

[JNDEER]

Nope, best advice I can give you is to stick with the rifle hunting :bag-on-head:

 

[weekender21]

YES

 

[jdjtexas]

do it

 

[THE ROMAN ARCHER]

besides it creating more hunting opportunities for you with a bow, i always like the fact that bowhunters get to start there season first at hunting game in Ca. before the gunners start banging away in there seasons and scare the game back into a nocturnal state or another country...........tra

 

[rbrown77]

That's a great point thx !