Hunter Ed Incentive 245&247

[kentrek]

So the closer I get to this thing the more I am second guessing my thought to try with a bow first.  This is a second deer tag so I can still use my archery tag in the late archery season at my regular spot.

I am starting to lean towards just getting within 200 yards and shooting with the rifle.  There is so much that can go wrong with a bow, I would hate to screw this hunt up.

I get the anxiety butterflies in situations like this.
It's totally why I didn't bring my muzzleloader on my mountain goat hunt, then I killed a goat at 99 yards.

And do you regret not using your muzzle loader ? Do you think it changed the experience?

[gutsnthegrass]

I say it a lot but if you want to hunt a big deer grab your bow but if you want to kill big deer then pick up a gun. Even a muzzleloader is a completely superior weapon to a bow. Archery not only severely shortens your effective range but eliminates a lot of angles and also eliminates shooting a moving animal.

I totally get the enjoyment of archery hunting (I do lots of it) but there is lots of opportunities to bow hunt and not very many opportunities at special hunt opportunities like this.  Not to mention the vast majority of guys lower their standards if they are bow hunting.  Id say take your gun, sift through as many deer as it takes to find the one you actually want and not the one thats good enough just because he's in a good spot for a stalk

 

[Rainier10]

So the closer I get to this thing the more I am second guessing my thought to try with a bow first.  This is a second deer tag so I can still use my archery tag in the late archery season at my regular spot.

I am starting to lean towards just getting within 200 yards and shooting with the rifle.  There is so much that can go wrong with a bow, I would hate to screw this hunt up.

I get the anxiety butterflies in situations like this.
It's totally why I didn't bring my muzzleloader on my mountain goat hunt, then I killed a goat at 99 yards.

You know exactly how I feel.

[Rainier10]

I say it a lot but if you want to hunt a big deer grab your bow but if you want to kill big deer then pick up a gun. Even a muzzleloader is a completely superior weapon to a bow. Archery not only severely shortens your effective range but eliminates a lot of angles and also eliminates shooting a moving animal.

I totally get the enjoyment of archery hunting (I do lots of it) but there is lots of opportunities to bow hunt and not very many opportunities at special hunt opportunities like this.  Not to mention the vast majority of guys lower their standards if they are bow hunting.  Id say take your gun, sift through as many deer as it takes to find the one you actually want and not the one thats good enough just because he's in a good spot for a stalk

Thanks Karl, you are spot on.  I am really starting to lean towards just doing it with a gun and then hit swakane with a bow for the late archery season.  So many more options for shots and follow up shots with a gun if things go wrong.  I really want to hedge my bets for everything going right.

[Rainier10]

I have targets at 100, 200 and 400 yards at my cabin that I have been practicing on.  Going to send a few more down the barrel this weekend and should be dialed in for next weekend.

[jackelope]

So the closer I get to this thing the more I am second guessing my thought to try with a bow first.  This is a second deer tag so I can still use my archery tag in the late archery season at my regular spot.

I am starting to lean towards just getting within 200 yards and shooting with the rifle.  There is so much that can go wrong with a bow, I would hate to screw this hunt up.

I get the anxiety butterflies in situations like this.
It's totally why I didn't bring my muzzleloader on my mountain goat hunt, then I killed a goat at 99 yards.

And do you regret not using your muzzle loader ? Do you think it changed the experience?

No regrets at all. I just thought it would be cool to kill one with the muzz. Doesn't change a thing for me.  Still the coolest hunting experience I may ever have.

Rainier10 is much more of a die hard bowhunter than I am a  muzzleloader hunter.

[OutHouse]

Agree with the other comments. Scrap the bow take the rifle. Then you can discard the idea of coordinating a potential stalk/shot with the bow and just focus on getting in rifle range. If this is a "quality" hunt in fact, or is a quality type hunt  based on the circumstances of your hunter ed incentive, maximize the chances of getting the one you want with a gun.

[Rainier10]

Agree with the other comments. Scrap the bow take the rifle. Then you can discard the idea of coordinating a potential stalk/shot with the bow and just focus on getting in rifle range. If this is a "quality" hunt in fact, or is a quality type hunt  based on the circumstances of your hunter ed incentive, maximize the chances of getting the one you want with a gun.

This is a quality hunt. November 1-20. Peak rut.  Just need more snow. It is at the same time as 15 other rifle permits in the entiat or 21 permits in chiwawa, I can hunt both units.   If I don't shoot one during that timeframe I can still hunt 21-30 with a bow in entiat and then December 1-8 with a bow in chiwawa.  The archery hunts have 30 entiat permits and 8 chiwawa permits.  Should be low pressure whatever season I am hunting.  I have to use whatever weapon is allowed during the general permit hunt so I can use a bow during rifle if I want but I can't use a rifle during the archery permit season.

[jackelope]

Hey if the snow doesn't come in, we can always backpack in to the deer
I know a guy with a loaner Tenzing pack. It's gonna be awesome.

[Rainier10]

Hey if the snow doesn't come in, we can always backpack in to the deer
I know a guy with a loaner Tenzing pack. It's gonna be awesome.

No it won't!  I should have screwed with those straps more and tried to get it to fit me.   That was miserable.

I just ordered an Orange Aglow vest in camouflage. I have the standard all orange ones but decided to get stealthy and go with the camouflaged model.

[OutHouse]

Agree with the other comments. Scrap the bow take the rifle. Then you can discard the idea of coordinating a potential stalk/shot with the bow and just focus on getting in rifle range. If this is a "quality" hunt in fact, or is a quality type hunt  based on the circumstances of your hunter ed incentive, maximize the chances of getting the one you want with a gun.

This is a quality hunt. November 1-20. Peak rut.  Just need more snow. It is at the same time as 15 other rifle permits in the entiat or 21 permits in chiwawa, I can hunt both units.   If I don't shoot one during that timeframe I can still hunt 21-30 with a bow in entiat and then December 1-8 with a bow in chiwawa.  The archery hunts have 30 entiat permits and 8 chiwawa permits.  Should be low pressure whatever season I am hunting.  I have to use whatever weapon is allowed during the general permit hunt so I can use a bow during rifle if I want but I can't use a rifle during the archery permit season.

Oh wow-- This is like an ultimate quality hunt. Enjoy it and hope to see you post some pics of the hunt!

[Rainier10]

Great first day shot a grouse with my bow.

20 degrees with snow in the afternoon.

Saw 30 something does, 5 or 6 bucks, two of those were decent, this one and one that was a little bigger.

[Rainier10]

Day two was another great day in the field with friends and family. Not a ton of snow the night before but some. Not as cold today. Cloud cover all night kept the deer from using the moonlight.

Still not seeing the big migration. Lots of deer. 85 today, maybe 15-20 bucks. Mostly little guys. Saw two decent bucks and got a photo of this one at 40 yards.

[Rainier10]

Also bumped into this guy in Chiwawa. Thought it was a really big bear, then thought grizzly and finally got glsss on him and realized it was a moose. Walked up to him and took this photo at less than 20 yards.

[Rainier10]

Another through spotting scope when we first saw him