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

[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 !