Orange 9 Dayers

[Gafrage]

I grew up gun hunting, and that's all I did until I was 17, then I got into bow hunting.

Bow hunting and gun hunting are two totally different animals.

Imagine the rut, on steroids...that's your gun season...

You never know where deer are going to come from, you have an idea based on trails, but if you have any hunting pressure what-so-ever these deer learn human habits too...with bow hunting, you'll see these deer time and time again, with gun hunting, if you don't make that shot count...good luck seeing that deer again.

By the time gun season rolls around, so many bow hunters (who call themselves superior to the gun hunter) have screwed up and been winded or missed shots or placed their stands in wrong positions, but they get another shot, because Bucks let their guard down in late Oct. and early November.

Gun hunters don't have this luxury...the deer they are hunting have been reminded of the mistakes people have made with not taking care of scent control, moving around too much in the stand and the deer are on high alert.

Gun hunting isn't like opening weekend of bow season, where you could basically walk up to the deer, knock it upside the head and put it in the back of your truck...these deer have had 3 months of pressure and mistakes that bow hunters make.

I have been winded 1 time this year because I sat on a day when the winds were coming from the South at 20mph, and 1 deer decided to swing around behind me even though I had 10 feeding out in front of me...

The deer moved, but not far until they all slowly shuffled off the field...

If I had a deer wind me during gun season, the whole herd within 10 miles would be gone, until some fawns that were totally clueless decided to come out in front of me or bed down right next to me...

So instead of comparing apples to oranges, and complaining that you don't get to hunt the rut fully with your bow, grow some coconuts and accept the fact that whether you hunt with a bow, crossbow, gun or blow dart that you're all out for the same reason...to put some meat in the freezer...unless you're not, and you're complaining because your chances at the next B&C world record is shot down the tubes because you can't hunt the rut and post rut...cry me a river...

If you didn't get your record buck, too bad...I missed my chances at a 150 and 130 because A. I had to work the one day he showed up, and B. I sat the wrong set...am I complaining? Nope, its a part of life...am I going to see him this gun season? Most likely not...there is a lot more luck during gun season than there is during bow season...you can pattern deer during bow season, not so easily during gun season...deer could come from anywhere...like I said...the Rut on Steroids...

Good luck to all, have a safe hunt...shoot straight, and for Retch's sake...hopefully he shoots a buck so he stops complaining about how people who only have 9 days to hunt and not 5 months have it SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO easy...

[unclebuck]

Gafrage you are the first person ive ever heard try to make an argument that gun hunting is actually HARDER than bow hunting. I for one could not disagree with you more.

[Jslotter]

I thought the post was pretty funny.

[Gafrage]

Think what you'd like...look at all the big bucks people shoot during bow season that they don't get during gun season.

I've shot bigger and more bucks bow hunting than gun hunting by far.

In addition, if you're out to just shoot anything, I'd say gun is probably easier because you can reach out and touch something, but as far as big mature whitetails go...bow hunting is much easier.

Also, I'm not not going to see the 130, which turned out to be 138 2/8ths gross and 132 6/8ths net because I got him Friday morning...

So I'll stick to my original comments, you get more opportunities with mature whitetails during bow season than you do during gun season...

If you don't, you're doing something wrong.

[willypete]

The only thing easier about gunhunting is the fact you can shoot farther and a deer can't duck under a bullet. You cant say it's more accurate because with practice any bowhunter can be dead on under 40 yards.

I really don't see where Bowhunters get this idea where gunhunting takes no skill and you just walk out there and get a big deer, the only thing easy for me to get would be a fawn or on a good year with a late rut maybe a small buck. That only happen in the first day or two too. After that I will be lucky to see a fawn. Anything else is about impossible to get a shot off on. All the deer know it is rifle season and they go and hid in the thick stuff then comes out at night. Try to go to them and they run like the wind before you even see them.

The only reason I scout is for the enjoyment. There probably is no other point.

[unclebuck]

I agree you have a better chance of seeing deer bow hunting, but a better chance to shoot a deer during gun season. Overall though the success rate is higher for a gun hunter than a bow hunter I would think ( just my guess, could be wrong)

[Pistol Pete]

Taking the 2011 numbers into account gun hunters had an average one deer for every 3 tags issued. In the article I read it stated that 90,000 deer were taken by bow, but it did not state how many total archers.

I reread my previous post and to me honest I agree with retch more than I do myself. I put a lot of effort in gun hunting and I try to do it the right way, but to be honest I know more guys that do it the way retch described. Regardless though, that guy has like nine total post on here and almost everyone of them takes a shot at gun hunters. The bottom line is there is more gun hunters than bow hunters, and outside of tradition, gun hunters would love to have a shot at hunting the rut, but we give that up to the precious bow hunters.

[Gafrage]

Last year 1 in every 7 gun hunters harvested a buck while 1 in every 6 bow hunters bagged a buck.

629,935 licenced gun hunters harvested 92,754 antlered bucks. 14.7%
260,046 licenced bow hunters harvested 41,402 antlered bucks. 15.9%

You do the math. Nevermind, I did it for you.

In addition, the average size of the bucks shot I'm sure favors bow hunters...Based on what I shot, and saw and friends I know and what they harvested.

As far as this year is going so far, I'm willing to bet that the bow harvest will be much higher than that of the gun hunters, and based on the farmers almanac and the predicted rut for next year, the same should hold true.

I for one did not see an antlered buck last season during the gun season, but had several (10-12) antlered bucks within bow range throughout my season.

[Pistol Pete]

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/outdoors/2012-deer-season-has-oldtime-feel-ka7ilhu-178471891.html?ipad=y

According to this article The 2011 nine-day total included 100,758 bucks, 126,415 antlerless and 1,456 unknowns. With 620,500 tags sold

[Retch Crabtree]

Sat and Sun was like opening day with all the 9 dayers dusting off their gun (once they found them) Then it was chainsaws and pounding nails and ATVs all around. Way to make the deer aware you 9 dayers. Certainly not a quiet bunch. Everything about them is noisy. I wish it would have been opening weekend. The wind and rain and crappy weather would have kept the kill down and a few more bucks would have lived as many of them only hunt opening weekend (till the Packer game starts) and then put all their gear back until next year when they will step foot in the woods again for the only time all year.