Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Reasons Why I hunt With A Bow
There are dozens of reasons why I prefer bow hunting for whitetail deer rather than using a firearm. One day I may make this blog simple by doing nothing but listing most of my key reasons for hunting.
I’ll just trot out a few tonight, and go into a deeper explanation about why they are some of my key thoughts. Here are several to consider while you think about why you prefer hunting deer with a bow.
*October is such a beautiful month, and most of the women I know who hunt with a bow favor the beauty of early October. It’s just a shame the color doesn’t last longer.
*There is a shoot-don’t shoot atmosphere about bow hunting. A person could hunt every day with a bow without turning loose an arrow at a deer, but why? A kill isn’t always necessary but it must be what our hunting urge wants us to do. Instead of shooting and killing an animal, it’s possible to draw on every deer and then allow it to pass without taking a shot.
*There are sights, sounds and smells that nurture our days afield with bow in hand. There is the distinct and sharp odor of skunk on a foggy fall evening, and there is the odor of pungent marsh mud when hunting through cattails for wary deer.
*There are countless sounds to be heard. The guttural grunt of a buck tending a doe, the soft rustle of deer hooves moving through dried leaves, geese passing overhead with that mournful honk, and the startling noise made when a ruffed grouse blasts out of heavy cover.
*Bow hunting always makes me practice more than I normally do while working at the Buck Pole Archery Shop in Marion. I have hay bales in my yard behind the house, and I’ll often shoot a dozen arrows before heading for the woods. I make the Oneida Eagle bows that I shoot, and there is something very satisfying about shooting a bow that I designed.
*Watching and studying deer is a great personal love of mine. I’ve found that the more one studies deer, the more they learn about the animals, and the better they become at hunting deer. Watching deer closely also teaches people when and when not to draw on an animal.
*My senses reach a higher level during deer season. It seems that I can see and hear better at this point in time. I’ve learned how to look deeply into heavy cover, and to spot the vague outline or movement of a nice buck.
*Hunting makes me feel good. I don’t need a kill to be satisfied. Just watching deer, studying their travel patterns, and learning how they react to other movements or sounds. I don’t move or make any sound, and the only movement comes when I draw the bow and I know when and when not to do so.
*Bow hunting is something very special to me. There are many other reasons, some more important than others, but most of my hunting time is spent observing. Very little time is actually spent shooting deer.
*I greet October with a passion difficult to match during any other time of year. October, when it comes, is such a wonderful time for anyone to be afield.
*The deer move well early in the season, and late in October is when the rut kicks off, and it too is an exciting time. The leaves are down on the ground, and the bucks are actively chasing does all over the farm.
For me, just being there, watching the ebb and flow of deer past my chosen stand is something I treasure. It’s like a dream come true for me, and that dream always centers around hunting with a bow.