why should I not wanna learn to archery hunt for next year???

[backwoods_boy]

 
you get a way longer season, early and late seasons.
better options at hunting, not spike only.....
hunt during the rut.
much more of an experience of the hunt with a bow??
better chance to stalk elk without bullets flying.??
maybe less people hunting?

im just thinking about next year already, go figure....
the more and more i think about it i think i want to dive into bow hunting.
i just think that it might be more of my game and it might be more personal than a rifle.
YOUR THOUGHTS?

[.54 THUNDERHAWK]

Has crossed my mind as well...many times.  Being a muzzleloader on the west-side you don't get many options for units to hunt.  The options much more available for archery.   All though its hard to give up the camaraderie of your hunting partners.  Sometimes its not about the hunt but just touching base with the fellas.

[backwoods_boy]

oh trust me i know all about that.
well what we would do is my dad brother and i would all make the switch.
that is really the only guys i want to hunt with until i start my own camp in my 30's ;-)

[waoutdoorsman]

I archery hunt elk and go rifle for deer. But next year i may go archery deer and rifle elk.
I have never harvested an animal with my bow, but i have been within my "comfort zone" on a cow elk, and i would have had a great shot if i could have seen her through the vegetation-she was about 20 yards away. But i tell you what, the rush of the stalk and being that close to an animal, hearing sounds you usually dont hear while rifle hunting (the animal eating, breathing ect) was quite an experience. the seasons are pretty sweet too, but archery hunting requires  A TON OF HOURS at the range compared to rifle, and can be rather expensive, and if you screw your arm or shoulder up, your season goes down the drain. I find myself to be more patient and perhaps a better rifle hunter with the lessons ive learned in my humble two years of archery elk hunting.

[SpokaneSlayer]

This was my first year archery hunting (drew a multi-season tag) and I loved it.  Mostly hunted from a ground blind and was closer to the animals than I had ever been before.  Also saw more deer than I have in the previous 2 seasons combined.  I will probably straight archery hunt next year.

[backwoods_boy]

Thats the whole reasons i got back into hunting was to get close to the animals and experience nature to the fullest.
i think i will look into getting a bow.
plus you can practice year round and not have to go to the range.
get a bail of hay and start flinging them arrows.
i really am going to start to think heavily about archery hunting next year
thanks guys

[Antlershed]

get a bail of hay and start flinging them arrows.

An arrow will pass through hay and into the side of your barn, btw. Don't ask how I know. 

Anyway, I switched to archery this year and I only got out one day elk hunting the early season, but it was a lot of fun trying to get that close and just being in the woods that time of the year. My only problem is my dad and most of my buddies rifle hunt, so I'm not sure what I'm gonna do next year.

[backwoods_boy]

ha ha ha
ok ill get one of those cube thingys
into the barn huh ha ha

[HawkenBob]

Hunting with a bow or ML is all about getting close and personal. Once that Bull gets in range and or closer even but still has no idea your there, thats the payoff. For me I could shoot or not shoot. Or just shoot it with my 30D.

The meat and rack is nice but being able to trick that huge beast in is the addrenaline in my book.

If my left wrist was better, Id get a bow. It just cant take the rigors of over and over practice. Hense the Hawken 50.

[MichaelJ]

I've hunted archery the last two years, this year I went back to Modern to do the Sept high buck hunt...  I then hunted the general season and really remembered why I went archery in the first place!!!  Even though it was october I seen way more deer the previous two seasons with archery tackle and even stuck a doe my first year!  I love archery can't wait for next year!!!

Michael

[jadeball1]

Well, it aint easy, it will test your patience, it requires alot of practice, and you will get so close to animals that you wont be able to shoot, it will make you cry. Other than that, its alot of fun, and you should give it a try! 

[backwoods_boy]

i think i can also attribute some of my feeling towards watching every single primos big bull video they have. and seeing how close they get and how worked up they get i can only imagine.

[MichaelJ]

The first time you slice an animal with archer tackle will blow your mind!!!

Very surreal feeling shooting something with archery tackle for me anyways...

Michael

[Antlershed]

I've hunted archery the last two years, this year I went back to Modern to do the Sept high buck hunt...  I then hunted the general season and really remembered why I went archery in the first place!!! 

That's what I'm afraid of if I go modern next year. I think I will just put in for multi-season and see what happens.

I also still have the late hunt to do, and I'm gonna stick a doe given the opportunity since I've never shot anything with a bow either. I have a feeling that may make me change my mind completely.

[backwoods_boy]

yeah i think i will be hooked..
i think i will buy myself a bow for xmas and see how it feels.
i just want to get close to the animals and call em in during the rut instead of chase them around and duck from flying bullets

[Little Fish]

I've gone archery for elk the last 2 years and have seen 5x as many animals and 5x fewer hunters. Lots of close/almost shooting opportunities, but have not quite put it all together yet. I don't know anyone who hunts with a bow so I am solo hunting 100% of the time. Not too bad, but I think hunting with a partner might be more effective especially when calling.

[HawkenBob]

Go to Sportsmans and try em all out. The Federal way store has quite the archers I hear running the counter. I went to the Lacey store and they let me shoot what ever I wanted as much as I wanted.

Great place to get the feel for the different bows. I waited at Cabelas for 45 minutes before I went to SW. They never even acknowledged I was there. Couple stuck up geezers working the bow center. They obiously did not feel like being "outfitters" that day. I was ready to drop a grand or more on a package I put together.

I do plan to get a good wrist brace and try it again this Winter...

[bowsandhose]

backwoods FYI its not all great with animals everywere and calling in bulls like the primos videos. two buddy's of mine (very accomplished rifle hunters) switched to elk hunting and drew Bull tags this year. they hunted the whole season and did not hear a bugle from anthing but hunters. don't get me wrong i love bowhunting. i have been chasing animals with a bow 16 years. switch to bowhunting if you love to be in the woods and hunt, but don't think you will pick up a bow, go out in the woods and have animals everywere and then shoot a trophy animal. most bowhunters eat more tag soup then anyone.  
good luck and good hunting
Travis

[yajsab]

Too many people during archery, too expensive, too much time investing, and you can only shoot around 20 - 30 yards away.  Better stick with riffle.   

[backwoods_boy]

its more about being close to the animals for me.
and i know its not going to be primos style.
but just the way the react when the get close is priceless.
i can only dream
but i think ive had enough of dodging bullets

[jackelope]

spent 5 days archery elk hunting this year for the first time ever. had big dreams of bugling bulls blowing snot all over me and knocking the hat off my head. got to elk camp and nearly pee'd myself i was so excited. spent 5 days walking around the woods  miles a day with fanatic and never even saw an elk, never mind heard a bugle. i probably have over $1000 in gear...many hours at the range, many miles on my truck...

can't wait for next year. i might go archery deer too...who knows.

don't do it expecting to call in a different big bull every 10 minutes. do it to be in the woods.

[BENCHLEG]

stay out of the hell holes. they are no good toooo many people.J

[SHANE(WA)]

I will never rifle hunt deer in this state again, been bowhunting for 20 years now.Bowhunter4ever

[dreamingbig]

you get a way longer season, early and late seasons.
better options at hunting, not spike only.....
hunt during the rut.
much more of an experience of the hunt with a bow??
better chance to stalk elk without bullets flying.??
maybe less people hunting?

im just thinking about next year already, go figure....
the more and more i think about it i think i want to dive into bow hunting.
i just think that it might be more of my game and it might be more personal than a rifle.
YOUR THOUGHTS?

I am not sure it is a "way" longer season.  We do get 14 days which is great but it is definitely harder.  That is the same length as the modern permit holders and I think only 5 days longer than regular season.  Getting into your effective range and having all the things line up for a shot opportunity takes time and effort and a lot more skill than you have suggested in the past ("hunting is 5% skill and 95% luck").  Luck definitely comes into play but I think you need a core foundation of skill to repeatedly put yourself into position to have a chance to be successful.

I was born and raised in this state and have been bowhunting for the past 6 years fairly seriously.  Prior to that school/athletics prevented myself from getting out much but I did follow my dad around the woods quite a bit.   I have never hunted with a rifle; it just isn't for me.

As to hunting the rut, yes you do get to, but like Travis said it isn't like the videos and you will need to put in significant time and effort to both calling and scouting (like you did this year) to make it happen.  Also waiting for an archery bull permit is tough... I haven't drawn in 5 years!  If you don't have a bull permit it is either cows or spikes which are fun in their own right but it is a blast to chase the bulls.

Muzzleloaders get to hunt the rut as well and it is a really good season.  It is the first week of October and believe me they are still rutting then.  This year they were fired up.

As to archery in general, you will need to practice a lot but it is a very rewarding sport.  I wouldn't give it up for anything and will be doing it for life.  Bowhunting forces you to get close to animals (not that rifle/muzzleloaders don't) because it is the only way you can get a shot and to me that is what the sport is all about.  Up close and personal and a lifetime of memories.

There are a lot on here that can help you out (equipment, etc.) if you really want to get into it.

Oh, and if you do switch and then put in for a bull permit and draw with zero points then I might go crazy!

[getumclose]

Opening Day this year I was hunting alone. Actually first light I was in my truck wondering where all the guys came from. Had a hard time parking at the New area I was going to hunt with nine rigs already there. I got ahold of my buddy and same thing happened to him. We got together on day three and had one of our best years yet hunting. nope no monsters, just fooled 7 bulls into bow range. first bull we called in for a friends son. 12 yrds. next one 10 yrds for my hunting partner, mine at 6 yrds. We let one walk by choice, had him at 30 yrds right in the middle of the rd. Bow hunting can be good but getting away from the other guy's hunting is huge in my book. hunting Elk that had been called at non-stop is tough. just my two cents.

[Big10gauge]

This years marks my 39th year strictly bowhunting for deer,elk in this state and occasionally predators with the bow. Can't think of a reason or would ever want to use a rifle again unless I could not pull a bow anymore. I have owned or been part-owner in several Archery shops (WD archery, Arrow Shooters Inc.,Desert Archery)but quit or sold because it took too much out of my hunting time and I got tired of tuning someone else's bow. So I guess archery has been my passion. When you call in your first bull and he's so close and you got him so fired up he's pissing on himself and you, or rattling/grunting in a WT buck, putting the stalk on a sagebrush mulie and pulling back the string ever so slowly you'll be hooked.

[backwoods_boy]

hey guys,
first off let me say im thinking about switching to bow not because i want it to be easy.
second off i dont expect anything to ever come easy in hunting. i want to switch for the right reasons guys.
i want to make the switch because i am tired of dodging bullets and a 300 yard shot just doesnt excite me.
it might take me 5 years to call in a bull into bow range but when it happenes it will be just that much more rewarding than lobbing a bullet over a canyon in hopes of knocking him down.
I guess i just want you all to know if i make the switch its not cause i think it will be easier.
i want to do it becuase i want to be closer, i love a challenge and bottom line is i can only imagine what a feeling of accomplishment it will feel to even get any animal down with a bow.
so just so you know my head is in the right place if i decide to make the switch.

[funkster]

I will say it, I am not happy with people switching over to archery from rifle. I have been bow hunting since I was 11 and I have never seen so many archer's in the woods as I have in the last two season's. The number is not really the issue here. My main reason being is they bring over the same hunting tactics they had rifle hunting. I ran into a guy in camp this year that told me last year his buddy got shot and killed in the ryderwood unit during archery. He said they were on some elk down in a draw and two guys up the hill from them started flinging arrows at 80-90 yards towards the elk not knowing they where there. Come on 80-90 yards..wtf?? In my book those are not archer's. Sadly one of those stray arrows hit one of them and the guy died. The plain rudeness in the field has grown to were you don't know if you can ask "hows the hunting going". I am not trying to single out a single group but you never heard of this kind of stuff during archery in years past. Well you do now,where is it coming from?

I also attribute this to the rise of the "call in video's" exciting? Very,but most of them do not tell you when,why or how to use them. I counted 13 guys calling two days before the season even started. Do you know what that does to elk on a open to public land hunt?? Or how about the "hoochie mamma" guys that walk through the woods squeezing that damn thing non stop. I am done with my rant,sorry if I offend anyone but I just don't feel this is the direction archery should go because it is ruining public land hunts.

[bowsandhose]

it might take me 5 years to call in a bull into bow range

yeah but it will take you 10 years to draw a bull tag 

[bucklucky]

Backwoodsboy , sounds like you have taken rifle hunting as a long distance hunt. There is no reason to be hunting at long ranges, just because you are hunting with a rifle doesnt mean you cant get close to the animals. Its all about the way YOU are hunting. When I rifle hunted years ago, I used to hunt the real thick stuff, always had elk at 10 - 50 yards just like bow hunting. I have a little info for ya, stay off those quads you have and get in those nasty hell holes that you can only see 30 yards in and get close to your elk. Do that with your rifle first and see how that works out for ya. Now as you get close and finally find a bull and cant quite get a good clean shot with your rifle  think about haveing a bow instead. Absolutely no chance of sticking him with an arrow. Just because you are rifle hunting doesnt mean you cant get close to the animals. Those Primos videos are mainly on big ranches with no pressure, just keep that in mind when watching them. Those are elk acting like elk and not elk acting like highly pressure critters that are being ran around in circles for 3 months straight. You may think youll be getting away from all the yahoos going to archery, but your not exactly doing that. Trust me there are some real .........well I'll just leave it at that.  Now if you do decide to go to archery, good luck and have fun with it. You'll have to dig really deap to find a patients you never thought you had. Just like any  good hunter you will have to learn the animals habits and know them well. As for calling them in, that is a whole nother page or twelve that will have to be turned when you get there. Calling is really an art if you will.  Some people understand it pretty well , but I can tell you of all the people I know that "TRY" to call bulls in , and thats alot of people . Only a small hand full truely have an idea of how to do it O.K. and only a couple that truely do it well. Most guys get lucky but most have no clue. Be prepared to get kicked in ther guts a few times a day   as it seems everytime you have everything worked out , the wind ar a dang cow will catch ya and bust the heard.I have come to love Bow Hunting for elk ! Hopefully you will get the same plessure as I do out of it! I can twait till next year now!

OH! P.S : PRACTICE ,PRACTICE, PRACTICE ! You cant shoot a bow enough !

[backwoods_boy]

ok well first of all i dont consider myself a long range hunter by any means.
i have been with in 10-15 yards of elk in the deepest thickest crap so thats not the issue.
everyone has their opinions so thanks for the thoughts guys but i have a little while till i have to decide.
so lets not get into a pissing match and end this topic.
 

[rasbo]

good post bucklucky,I miss bow hunting im to broke up to do it anymore,but my archery skills have made rifle and muzzy a blast,I love thick steep close encounters of the fur kind

[BENCHLEG]

bucklucky summed it up perfectly. it can be frustrating and rewarding at the same time good luck J

[New England Native]

Some may have seen some of my post mentioning of me switching to archery luckily I didn't get as much greif but that could be I am not as well known as bwb since he has alot of post about rimrock. I can understand his interests in switching. I support him and hope he does well it is always better to see a hunter improve his skills than just complain. The main reason I want to switch is that modern is just not what I am looking for. I am not saying I am a very successful hunter because I am not. I have never scored an elk after 5 years of hunting them. But I have got all I want to get out of a rifle. Further more if I want to continue risking my life by some wacko trying to lob bullets 800 yds. I would still be serving my country. bwb I say good luck and I hope archery satisfies what you are looking for.

[backwoods_boy]

Thank you so much NEN......
its nice to have some positive feedback.
and i agree with you even after 3 years of rifle hunting i have seen all it has to offer.
you can shoot arrows in your back yard .

[Timberstalker]

Your gonna master Archery?

[backwoods_boy]

thats not what i ment
i ment that i can practice everyday if i choose too...
 

[WAPITIHUNTER]

Hey Backwoods_boy! Guess i better say hello. Just so you know if you take up archery elk hunting you will never go back to rifle with the same enthusiasm that you had before. I have killed a couple bulls with my rifle and that was all good. My first Elk i ever killed was a 290" 6x6. As exhilirating and awe inspiring as that was it didn't compete with my first elk with a bow. And that was a nice fat cow at 40 yards. Once i got a taste for bow hunting for elk something funny happened. The elk just kept dying. I shot and harvested elk 5 years in a row and on the sixth year i called in a really nice bull to 30 yards broadside and promptly bounced a arrow off of his shoulder bone. So number six was tag and release. Although i ended up with six in a row with a rifle spike elk in oregon to keep the string going. At any rate in 16 years of elk hunting i have shot 14 elk and harvested 11. Any body out there that tells you that you need to be able to call elk is full of it. The last thing you should be doing is walking around in the woods blasting on your horn. Case in point. The bull that i bounced the arrow off of his shoulder i knew they were there 45 minutes before i ever touched my call. I walked out of camp and immediatley heard them crashing on the hill below me. For some strange reason that early in the morning there was a warm breeze blowing up the hill right in my face. So i reasoned that i was good to go and i would wait for a shot opportunity to present itself through the mountain vine maple. No such luck. So i waited and waited and waited and waited and waited...................and then i waited some more. The entire time my brain was analyzing the situation and trying to determine the best course of action for that given situation. Because the elk were not calling i decided that i would wait until they called before i called. It took a while. I got so tired of waiting that i decided that i would go up the trail and get ahead of them and let them come to me. Didn't work. By the time i got up to where i thought i could cut down the hill for an intercept they were alredy there. Oh crap now what. Now i could hear the bull raking his antlers but still no calling. Finally after 45 minutes one cow let out a single cow call. Now i knew that i could finally play. I let out a single cow call. The bull fealing that i had gotten to far away let out a nice clean bugle. "get back here wench, i havn't screwed you yet." Of course all you experienced elk hunters out there know what i did next. I hit the horn with one nice high pitched young bull bugle. Holly living crap. That bull couldn't pull himself up that 50 degree slope fast enough. I could see his hooves pulling dirt like a stinking back hoe. Bingo right into my shooting lane at 30 yards broadside. Whacko. Unfortunatley there is not an arrow made on this planet that will break and penetrate an elk shoulder bone when hit dead center. Arrow penetrated 1.5 inches and the tip bent over at a 45 degree angle and popped right out. I guess what i am trying to get at is that each and every hunt is different and will present you with a different scenario. It is what and how you approach those scenarios that will make or break your success. The word practice is never used enough. When you are archery hunting you can't practice enough.LITERALLY. Practice until you are sick and tired of practicing. And then practice some more. I can tell you that alot of the elk that i have killed i have shot through openings in the brush the size of a soft ball. I can also tell you that i have never wounded an elk by taking such a shot. I practice at 100 yards until i am shooting 6 inch groups. then and only then do i move in and check my pins at closer ranges. I am not condoning 100 yard shots. But if you practice that way you don't even have to think about the close shots.

So i guess what i am getting at is go for it Backwoods_boy. If no one else will mentor you on archery elk hunting I will. I have never worried about more people being in the woods archery hunting because the majority of them never kill anything. There are other ways to hunt than what you see on the videos. And like some others have said, and i totally agree, it is a totally different ballgame when you are hunting on an unpressured private ranch or you are in a wilderness 20 miles from all the roads. Anyway thats my . If you want some advice send me a PM i will fill you in.