A National Ban on Bowhunting Deer?

eee · Nov 26, 2004

Dave,
Even a muzzlloader and or a shotgun is more lethal,of course the shotguns you are using slugs in them. Don't get me wrong a good bowhunter who is a good shot is very lethal as well.

/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Henro · Nov 26, 2004

I think deer die alot quicker with an arrow than a bullet. These PETA-type people in my book are Whack-o's. 

Probably true...wonder how many of them are vegetarians? Why focus on one way of killing an animal, or on only one animal?

I have no problems with eating meat. I just don't see much difference between killing a cow or a deer.

My answer to Bob's question would probably be that neither a bullet or an arrow is humane...or they both are at least equally acceptable.

Killing is killing, eating is eating...

Can't help but see a picture in my mind of people in those organizations sitting together, over dinner, discussing the sad fate of those deer that archery hunters cull...while at the same time commenting on how tasty the steak is...

Can't help but think they should "get real."

I don't hunt, but I do eat the meat if I am lucky enough to find someone who will give me some... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Gatorboy · Nov 26, 2004

Don't get me wrong a good bowhunter who is a good shot is very lethal as well. 

Bowhunters take their shots usually from 25 yards or less. I know I can hit a paper plate from 25 yards 95 times out of 100 shots.

To me, shooting a deer with a gun is no trick, but that of course, is just my opinion.

MossRoad · Nov 26, 2004

Yes, I know they are razor sharp. And they work as designed. But the animal runs away, so it isn't dead, yet. These guys tend to hunt several seasons, ie. shotgun, bow and muzzle loader. When they shoot a deer with the bow and arrow, they wait quite a while before going after it. Like an hour sometimes. This is because they want it to lay down and bleed out. If they walk up to it too soon, it gets up and runs away. At least with a firearm, if it runs a bit and lays down, you can quickly put it out of its misery, should you have to.

I don't know anyone that has ever been shot with a bow and arrow, so I can't imagine how that feels. I have met a few gunshot victims, mostly WWII and Korean war vets. They said that hurts quite a bit.

Anyhow, I'm not against someone bow hunting. I just don't care for it if there is a better way to kill the animal faster.

Bob_Skurka · Nov 26, 2004

A National Ban on Bowhunting Deer?

Calm down ... not gonna happen.

You are 100 % correct. 

Interesting to see the way this thread is spinning.

I think the debate we are seeing above between GUN and ARROW is exactly the thing these anti-hunting groups are counting on happening. Some folks will argue that gun is "more" humane, therefore leaving the arrow as "less" humane. Once that happens we have a divide.

I remember talking to an avid duck hunter several years ago when the debate over the "assault weapons" was going on and he said he suppored the ban because he was a hunter. Me, being a gunner, I gave him a list of weapons that COULD be banned . . . and he owned a couple of those and considered them hunting weapons.

Still the concept of divide and conquer worked in that debate was pretty effective. And here on this forum I appears to be repeating itself in a slightly different way.

So for those folks who think that a ban can NOT happen, then all I have to say is that you are wrong. Perhaps it won't happen this year. Perhaps not this decade. But I suspect that until the various groups of gun hunters and bow hunters join together, then the non-hunting city dwellers will be able to gain a lot of momentum on this type of issue.

DannyD · Nov 26, 2004

Being a former hunter of anything that could be eaten, and not one bit against the LEGAL and ETHICAL taking of game animals, let me state one thing please. THESE PEOPLE would do more good for the animals in question by actually buying a tag and a hunting license. The money from these goes to the preservation of game animals and the ethical use of them. These people only want to bring notice to themselves and their ill gotten cause. If overpopulation is allowed then, the deer or other animals will be the only ones to suffer. As humans we encroach on the habitat each day, it started back when whoever founded America. The native Americans knew who belonged where and they respected the ground, and the animals. Proper management of the herd can and does provide for the animal as well as humans.

DannyD · Nov 26, 2004

Dont bet your arrow points on it............

DannyD · Nov 26, 2004

A well placed bow shot will kill an animal just as quick as a rifle or shotgun, placed in the same area. The difference is in shock, they will not feel the arrow as much as a slug or rifle shell. My 13 pointer fell in his tracks, my bullet separated with part going thru the heart and the copper covering going up and severing the spine. This does not happen very often. I have seen and participated in many deer trackings, not much difference in the two, given a properly place projectile.

DannyD · Nov 26, 2004

This strikes me as remarkably difficult to prove, though to be honest, I never really thought about it. I suppose it makes some sense......

Cut your finger with a razor blade, then a dull knife.........you will prove it to yourself

DannyD · Nov 26, 2004

It is not the paper plate, it is the quarter sized dot in the middle of the plate you should be shooting at. You can be 4.5 inches off on a deer kill zone and the animal will run for miles.