re: Bows & arrows: Saving hunting in America

All hunters should support other forms of hunting. Divided we fall.

That being said, just in the last few days there was a thread about a deer that was lost after being shot with an arrow. That deer is now walking around in the woods somewhere with an arrow hanging out his side, probably causing pain, possibly soon causing infection. I have personally seen deer with arrows hanging off them, and have talked to someone who killed a deer with a firearm that was suffering almost madness from a gangrene arrow wound (arrow was still in the deer). You will never convince me that more deer aren't lost during bowhunting than with gun hunting as a percentage of shots fired. So I really don't need anyone to preach to me about the superiority of bow hunting.

I always advocate handgun hunting as means to increase the challenge of the hunt while maintaining a superior level of lethality for those that want something different. Articles often don't explore that option because 1) handguns are 'bad' (yes, even to some outdoor writers) 2) many people don't seem to understand the breadth of handguns available for different purposes. Muzzleloading / blackpowder offers a similar challenge as handguns and archery IMO.

Understand this and do not doubt me: There is an anti-gun element to efforts such as this.

And as far as this quote:

quote:

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“That is not very much of a challenge.”

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I don't think this individual is hunting in an area with comparable hunting pressure to portions of the Southeast.