After reading in 2010 GEAR SPECIAL North American Whitetail Mag. the article by Steve Sorensen "The (Benoit) Brotherhood " What a great article we all should read. It talks about deer hunting and deer shooting. Its something we should all address to keep our sport pure. So my ??? are you a deer hunter or deer shooter ???
I haven't read the article, but I would consider myself a deer hunter. I like to make it a personal thing. I will pick out a deer to hunt before season open, either by scouting or by game cameras, and hunt THAT deer. I have had a year (2 years ago) that I lost :banghead: , but it was still fun. He was a 145ish" 8 pt. He stayed around my land.
One morning during rifle season he was about 60 yards or so from my front door. My wife said, "If you want that deer so bad, just kill it now, you have a gun right there." I had to tell her that it wasn't the same. I keep a rifle at the front door for coyotes cutting across my pasture, but it ain't meant for deer!!
I was able to see that buck many many time through the year but never got a shot with my longbow. He has since dissapeared.
I guess that type of hunting attitude makes me a hunter, but when it all comes together I am a shooter.
I've been doing this for 46 yrs. and I have to say first of all that if I didn't want to shoot something I wouldn't carry my bow when I go. On the other hand I find my scouting, preperation, learning about this years deer movements and picking the right blind location the best part. After a year of that having a deer come into my shooting zone is truly a thrill. I like venison, I don't hunt to eat. I like big antlers, I don't hunt for horns. I practice good conservation, I don't "harvest" my deer. I usually fill my tags, but I don't have to. I don't "drop the hammer on deer", "slam them", "smoke them" or cry in my blind after shooting one. I hunt deer.
For the past few years I've been a deer watcher.
LOL JC, I kill a lot of deer and give away or donate most of them, but I would carry a gun if I were a shooter, or a wheelie bow. Even during firearm season I will bowhunt, or carry a trad muzzleloader to keep it more personal.
I go hunting to see some deer or any other game that I can. If the chance for a shot comes up, that's a bonus........haven't had many bonuses.I went to Ill. last year and in 3 days saw some deer and 4 TROPHY bucks [140-160 class],all were 40-50 yards away but it was a fantastic time. Maybe I have become a deer watcher also....lol!
QuoteOriginally posted by longbowman:
I don't "harvest" my deer. I usually fill my tags, but I don't have to. I don't "drop the hammer on deer", "slam them", "smoke them" or cry in my blind after shooting one. I hunt deer.
:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
Harvesting is for corn!! If I cried, I'd quit!!
I am definitely a deer hunter, especially in AZ. You have to WORK to get your deer with a bow here, but even then I don't shoot the first legal deer that I see.
QuoteOriginally posted by longbowman:
I've been doing this for 46 yrs. and I have to say first of all that if I didn't want to shoot something I wouldn't carry my bow when I go. On the other hand I find my scouting, preperation, learning about this years deer movements and picking the right blind location the best part. After a year of that having a deer come into my shooting zone is truly a thrill. I like venison, I don't hunt to eat. I like big antlers, I don't hunt for horns. I practice good conservation, I don't "harvest" my deer. I usually fill my tags, but I don't have to. I don't "drop the hammer on deer", "slam them", "smoke them" or cry in my blind after shooting one. I hunt deer.
Except for the part about usually filling my tags, I couldn't say it any better!
I don't understand the question.....
I HUNT deer.....then I SHOOT em.... :biglaugh:
As I havent read the article I cant say for sure I have a firm grasp on the meaning of your question, I have read some articles with the Benoit family as the subject though.
I dont pick out a specific deer for my efforts ahead of the season, I dont dedicate my every waking moment to the pursuit of a single animal if that is what you are getting at.
I do spend a great deal of time in advance of season preparing my gear and my hunting locations. I do practice restraint when I hunt letting the smaller bucks walk on by none the wiser. Im there to be part of the experience, to learn what I can from whatever happens on that particular hunt. When things go right I do kill a deer and most often it is a nice buck.
Now I dont know what you or the Benoits might consider to be a hunter versus a shooter but I do know I dont hunt in the same area with the Benoits or have their exact circumstances. I dont publish my hunting efforts to fund my hunting efforts. I dont have unlimited time to scout and hunt. I dont think my methods or my morality while hunting should absolutely apply to everyone everywhere.
Simply put if I had to say why I hunt its because I love every aspect of hunting including shooting. Im a hunter and I only have myself to judge my methods and my ethics.
Yep.
Why does it have to be black and white? Why does it have to be one way or the other?
I like to shoot them. Then hunt em..lol
but really.. I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't for the HUNT.
Last year I was a deer misser....They were completely safe if I was shooting at them(even at close range)!
#$%^ BUCK FEVER!
Oh Gosh !
I am many things to many people. Very deep. Very complex. Ever changing and evolving.
As in a certain movie. ... I am a dream to some. . . and a nightmare to others !
ChuckC
Both,
First I enjoy the hunt for them and then I shoot them. The hunt is the fun part that builds up to the conclusion which is meat on my table.
They are one and the same to me.
I have not read the artical but I think longbowman sums it up pretty good. I enjoy the whole proscess of the hunt. Some years I'm a killer other years it's hard times but my mind is always in prosute of the hunt year around.
I enjoy it all, the prep work, time hunting, the grattitude for the deer I and the wife kill, and for the fellow ship we share with our friends and each othe while doing it. Also, I really, really, really, like the cooking and eating part, excuse me gotta go get a tenderloin out of the freezer to thaw for supper tonight!
I like to hunt, and I like to kill.
I like to hunt deer,and I like to shoot deer so I guess I qualify as both.
I think Terry hit the nail on the head. If you use a bow, it seems to me, that you MUST hunt in order to shoot anything on a regular basis. I really can't see how you can separate the two activities unless you are a sniper with a gun that mostly just waits for a shot or as I have seen on some of the more recent outdoor shows, guys shooting magnum loads at animals at distances of several hundred yards. To me, that style of hunting is a misnomer...it is shooting...not unlike how they shoot prairie dogs in the western states.
I enjoy the hunting them part, the shooting them part and the eating them part. I am really not so crazy about the gutting them and dragging them a long ways parts, but enjoy the other 3 parts enough to make up for it. I also like to share my venison with non hunting friends and donate to the local food pantry. I shot 2 does to give away with a muzzleloader last year. Not very exciting to me. At this point in my life gun hunting is just grocery shopping with a nice view.
QuoteOriginally posted by longbowman:
I like venison, I don't hunt to eat. I like big antlers, I don't hunt for horns. I practice good conservation, I don't "harvest" my deer. I usually fill my tags, but I don't have to. I don't "drop the hammer on deer", "slam them", "smoke them" or cry in my blind after shooting one. I hunt deer.
I wish I could say it better than that, but I just can't, my thoughts exactly. Well put.
The only difference is the part about "I usually fill my tags"...that is where we differ... :archer:
I love to hunt'um. Preparation is the the name of the game if your going to consistany get close(20yds. or less). I love the prep work, but I really love it when everything comes together and I get that killing shot. Nothing better then eating prime venison that you've earned by the sweat of your brow. :archer2:
I shoot deer because I hunt them.
Thanks Guys... If you have the chance read the article and then you see better why I ask??? By the way I have been a "DEER HUNTER" for a long time. Yes I shoot deer but thats at the very end of the hunt. I think the article shows how most of us feel about hunting. Lets teach it to the Young hunters. Its about the fun of it isn't it !!
I'm in the woods yr round and have plenty of time to locate good spots. So I always hunt over big buck sign..unless I'm in a lazy mood and don't won't to walk far. Then I'll hunt the edge of soybean or corn field trying to catch a doe coming in to feed.
Otherwise I always hunt where I find the biggest rubs. Then I'll shoot whatever I'm in the mood to long as it's legal.
I am both. I hunt them and if my efforts reward me with a shot opportunity, I will shoot it.
Maybe the difference is people who hunt for sport and people who shoot for food?
I know a couple of guys that 95% of the meat they eat is shot or caught. And one of them don not seem to enjoy it as much as it is just part of life for him.
I live for the moment of truth......that moment when all your time practicing in the back yard all summer long gets tested, when you get to test out the angle you positioned your tree stand at to get the perfict shot, when you get to see if all your time spent sharpening your broadhead realy makes it so the deer dosnt even feel it, you get to see if the new fletching you picked out help you fallow the arrow to the target in low light ...................................................... OH IM DEFFINATLY A.......hhhmmmm.......
I Guess Im Both :thumbsup:
I think about anyone hunting with a stickbow has progressed to a hunter, unless of course you sit over a baitpile, then it kinda turns into deer shooter, JMO.
If we didn't like to hunt, but only the 'shooting' part, we probably wouldn't be carrying stick bows. I could go out with a rifle and shoot a deer in an hour or two; that would give me no challenge and no satisfaction. To me, it's all about the hunt; the persuance of game, watching them, stalking them, enjoying the outdoors. The shooting part is fun, but is not as important as the 'hunt'. For several years, I didn't 'shoot', but went out and 'hunted', stalking and taking pictures. To me, that wasn't the whole package, and that is why I came back to bowhunting. When I'm in the woods with bow in hand, with the chance to kill an animal, the package is more complete.
"At this point in my life gun hunting is just grocery shopping with a nice view."
Very well put !
This is very interesting... I'm learning a bunch about Hunters on here. Not to many Deer shooters (Maybe there not typing) I'd just like to see more fun put back into hunting. Don't get me wrong ..theres nothing wrong if your a deer shooter. But I'd like to be truthful on where the sport of hunting is going. Are we just a bunch of People sitting around in our warm camo or are we out putting tracks in the dirt and snow. Is instant gradification ...the way to go.Or is time, patiance, and hard work a better prouder way? I'm glad most of you pick the "hard Way" !!! Nice to see !
i hunt deer but not alot only when i need meat. somtimes it happens somtimes it dont so if ya call this deer hunting i guess this is what i do, so what ever it is its fun!! did i say fun :laughing:
Next time I go hunting I will think about this before I shoot.
QuoteOriginally posted by randy grider:
I think about anyone hunting with a stickbow has progressed to a hunter, unless of course you sit over a baitpile, then it kinda turns into deer shooter, JMO.
Does this include baiting hogs as well.A hog shooter!
I have to think I'm more of a shooter. I live for the shot. The moment in time that the whole world blures over and all I see is the tiny spot I want my arrow to hit. All the time scouting and hunting is just the build up to the monent I turn a arrow loose and watch it hit where I will it to. I get just as excited making a shot on a doe or hog as I do on a big Buck so I guess for me...I'm in it for the shooting
I am with Terry G.
"I hunt 'em.......then when in range I shoot them!"
chris <><
I'm both. It is definitely fun to hunt a specific animal and kill him in his home environment. Now I have a question. What would you call a person that bragged he had killed 32 deer in a single season? He is now an exmember~
Red Hill I'd say a "SHOOTER"
The answer is pretty simple even though I didn't read the article. The Benoits are gun shooters that stalk deer with pump rifles and open sights. Any time you can kill a deer at 50 to 150 yards your a deer shooter not a hunter. Since I don't hunt with a guy I'm a deer hunter.
Bowmania
Foreplay is great but I live for the climax, Fred
QuoteOriginally posted by randy grider:
I think about anyone hunting with a stickbow has progressed to a hunter, unless of course you sit over a baitpile, then it kinda turns into deer shooter, JMO.
That's how I define it, I'm a hunter ! I do my homework and study the deer and find natural ambush points. The scouting and outfoxing the deer is what I call hunting.
Dan
Who cares. Im both. I go hunting to shoot something.Killing is killing.As long as its quick do you think the deer cares.Not all deer are going to walk under a tree stand.Guys bust thier butts to get that 150 yard shot at mulies and blacktails.
I kill them for food.
most of the time a deer wisher, come the season I am a deer hunter, hopefully soon into the hunt I am a deer watcher then shortly after the deer watching I am a deer shooter then HOPEFULLY after I was a deer shooter I am a deer blood trailer, then very shortly after that I am a deer consumer.
Shoot the first legal animal that passes - not enough deer around to be passin up many opportunities. Bout only rules I hold to are - early season does are off limits as well as late in the season.
J
I can't see where you can be one without the other.
on second thought, I am both. I kill many deer where I am enlisted to, but when I am in a trophy area I am very much pushing myself to wait for "the one". I am fortunate to meet the moment of truth many times each season for the past 14 yrs or so, passing on more than I can count. I can't tell the farmers that or they would boot me off. I just run out of tags!
I hunt them to shoot them - regardless of season or weapon I hold. Another thread walking the line of elitism - I don't understand it. Hunting is different things to different people.
If I took more of them home I might have to actually sit and think about this, but given my situation I would have to say hunter.
I want to take deer. My family enjoys the food, but the absolute best part of a full day hunting for me is when I go out mid day and do the extremely low probability method of stalking for bedded deer with a bow.
Almost took one last year this way. It was a small buck, but it would've been the best trophy in my mind. He busted me when I was closing the gap from 25-20 yards.
I have no issue with someone hunting with any legal method as long as they are respectful to the land, land owners, other hunters and the meat is put to good use.
I'd have to say I'm a deer hunter. I rarely get a shot off. I've had a few misses and passed on a few shots due to range. I have to hunt public land so that makes a difference as well. I'm a deer hunter. If I get one close enough, for my comfort zone, then I morph into the deer shooter.
-Jeremy
Do the Benoits hunt with Trad Archery equipment? If not then maybe someone who does could call them deer shooters. It's a personal thing and the hunter has to decide how much challenge he wants to undertake. I've read about the Benoits and I certainly consider them deer hunters but if I shoot a yearling with my longbow from a tree stand I'll still consider myself a deer hunter. It's all good!
Rod
The hunt to me is everything I do that leads to the shot. So, I hunt all year and spend a 3-5 seconds shooting 1-4 times per season. Without the hunt the shooting is meaningless to me and without the promise of a shot the hunt is without fruit. I can probably have a fine season without taking a shot, but I'd just as soon not find out.
Rascal, you really nailed it im my mind. Like Terry said, you hunt it then shoot it, and if all goes well you have some meat for the locker, or maybe just all the great memories that drive you to next year.
I'm not anti-gun, I hunt squirrels and a doe a year with a rifle. I've been reading of the Benoits exploits for a very long time. They seem to be very persistent and get a huge kick out of snow-tracking deer. I'm sure they have learned a lot about deer behavior and preferences by tracking them. I respect their talent. However, last I read anything about them they weren't packing bows. Again, whatever their cup of tea and is fine with me. However, there is a WORLD of difference (as everyone here knows)in HAVING to be 10-20 yards from a deer and getting by with being 40-100+ yards away. The biggest live deer I've seen in KY since 1995 was 92 yards away last season (at the edge of the woods in my backyard--160 class). Might as well been in Ohio.
I'm a bowhunter.. And strictly a traditional bowhunter at that. I pass on too many deer each season but then again I am not hungry. Things would be different if I was. Getting close is what this is all about for me.
If I was a deer shooter I would take a stand over a huge bean field with a 30:06 and be home early mid morning of opening day in November...
John III
Any question that makes you think about what you do is a good question> Never thought about it like that before. I think I'm a hunter. Don't hunt close enough to pick one animal over another. I just set things up and try to know the area and stalk correctly and hope for success. Also has to be a good size animal and a good kill. I would feel bad if it weren't.
I love the challenge of the bowhunt and the feeling that there's a real sport and challenge involved. Not getting out there with a scoped 30.06 and mowing them down. I too use a flintlock during the rifle season. Put's us more on an even footing.
I think a couple of hundred years ago, however, people were more deer shooters. The hunted to survive. They saw one and shot it. There was no deer season or limits or rules on antlers etc. There was also plentiful game. I don't think that made them bad people. Hunting was more of a necessary skill like driving or using a phone for us. They rode a horse because they had to. We do it as sport.
That's all I'll say about it
sam