Rifle vs. Archery

[cnelk]

After a few years of collecting PPs, Both my son and I drew a Limited Entry deer rifle tag this year.
The unit is on the eastern plains in a riverbottom of Colorado and the season is late Oct/Early Nov.
It holds some dandy WT bucks.

We have been pondering as to use our bows or rifles.
I realize we need to wear \'Orange\' with whatever weapon we use
There are tree stands to use or hunt from the ground.

What tactics would you use? Bow or gun?

 

[bnsafe]

brad i have thought about this alot after our talk about a leftover mulie tag i eastern co. honestly i wasnt that interested in killing one with a rifle. didnt realize you could use a bow an just wear orange. im thinking if it was me i would bow hunt for awhile then grab my gun. but its alot easier to say that when you dont have a tag, an if a big wt is 75 yds away an you cant shoot after saving pp for all that time it would be bad. good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[OldMan]

If you use a bow for the challenge of having to get close. There\'s nothing stopping you from setting that same close range for the rifle.

It\'s what I do. All my muzzy shots could be taken with a bow too.

Just sayin....

 

[getemduck]

Knowing a little about you and your son, i\'d say bow hunting is the way to go. With you two, rifle hunting isn\'t a fair chase :mock:

Either way I am sure you and your boy will have a great year.

Keep us posted.

 

[bowhunter]

I would prefer to get one with my bow but if I had the option to use a gun I would bring it too. You might plan ahead to x number of days with the bow then break out the long range tools for the last day or two. :mg:

 

[Ol' Arky]

What tactics would you use? Bow or gun?

Too answer the question ya ask, \"I\" would use my trusty tikka t3 lite .270 win, since I can no longer draw and hold my bow...

But if I were ya\'ll I go with ya bow\'s and if ya wanta, take ya rifles with ya just in case ya want to use um at some time or another... :upthumb: :upthumb:

Good luck to both of ya... :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[getemduck]

One carry the bow one carry the gun.....lol bases covered.

 

[cnelk]

I bought a Nikon scope from Still Hunter a few months back and put it on my Marlin 44 Mag.
I have some nice 240gr loads worked up to use.
With that rifle being a carbine, I just may carry both that and my bow to the stand

 

[bnsafe]

didnt realize you could carry both, problem solved

 

[mainebrdr]

Brad, you asked what I would use? The bow. That\'s what I do. My reasons for doing so pertain only to me.You might have a totally different view.

One question I might ask is this; When you drew your very limited elk tag for unit 61, what would you have used if you could have taken either the bow or the rifle?

 

[cnelk]

Tim
That puts it all into perspective right there

 

[OldMan]

What is it that most of you like about bow hunting? Isn\'t it mostly the challenge of getting close? Why can\'t you put the same restriction on yourself with a gun?

Everybody thinks hunting with a rifle is easy, because you can take long shots. That\'s true if you take long shots. Nobody says you have to.

 

[Deertick]

Tough call, really.

I\'d say that I would probably choose \"rifle\". Probably.

I think I\'d have to know more about the area, though.

I\'m not much of a trophy hunter, but trophy hunting with a rifle might be equal in difficulty to archery hunting for \"any deer\".

 

[cohunter14]

Lot of good input here for you Brad, but like John mentioned, I would want to know more about the area. If you are planning on stand hunting and the longest shot you could get is 50 yards, then no need for a rifle. However, if there are some spots where shots could be extended, I would probably want a rifle just in case. I would hate to see a big trophy sneak by outside of bow range and know I could have taken it with a rifle, especially if you have saved up a bunch of points for it. It is a little different than having a tag every year and giving a bow a try.

One thing I know is that no matter what you guys decide on, I am sure it will work out for you :upthumb: