I dog piled someone? If my thread bothers you that much maybe you should leave the forum. This is the second time you stuck your nose in where it didn't belong. You say I took it out of context but can't tell me how. Why is that? I'll tell you, because I didn't take it out of context and you know it. Why am I not allowed to post a thread to see how many really think bowhunting early is unfair? You're in the thread so post it up... do you think it's unfair too? If so, please explain why. That is after all what the thread is about.

Whatever a group of ethical hunters decide to do on their lease that's within the law is OK by me. I've heard of some leases being archery only.

I am not going to address your statement being out of context or not. We shall agree to disagree on that point.

As far as bow hunting goes I am absolutely not against how the state has decided to setup the seasons.

However, if someone posts, in the Land and Lease section, a desire to put forth the time and effort to secure and organize a new lease I wouldn't hijack his thread to argue the merits of his opinion on bow hunting season.

I am an avid bow hunter and just to point how lucky gun hunters have it in Texas, here in Wisconsin we have much different rules. Gun season is 9 days long, with a bonus week for muzzle loaders, then there is a weekend(2 days) antlerless hunt in a few select zones late in December. Bow hunters get from mid September till the end of December, and until this year we were not allowed to hunt during gun or muzzle loader season, so most of us gun and/or muzzle loader hunted. We are allowed to only bait in parts of the state and thats only 2 1/2 gallons of bait per hunter not to exceed 40 acres( so if you have 3 guys on 60 acres they have to split 2 1/2 gallons of bait). We are not allowed to use feeders or feed year round. We cannot leave out licks or anything that will change the natural movement of the deer.

The reason, bow hunters need the time, is quite simple, to get a deer with a bow you need them to be in a natural movement, not screaming across field after field dodging lead. You need an animal to walk close to you, not run past you. And lets be honest, a bow hunter is not going to change a herds pattern, compared to 4 or 5 times as many guys slinging lead at them. A prime example is I was seeing 10-20 deer a set during bow season(I was holding out for a wall mounter since it would most likely be my last Wisconsin deer)and as soon as gun season started I didn't see a deer not screaming across a field again.

I'd also like to add that when visiting the inlaws this holiday season, I sat the morning 26 Dec and the evening of 1 Jan, with an automatic timer going off at the end 1 of 1 shooting lane, 200lb of corn down another shooting lane and 150lb down another and didn't see anything. Not deer or hog, so unlimited baiting is not what I thought it would be.

Thank you for your opinion.

As far as hijacking his thread, you are correct I should not have done that. That is why I apologized and stopped posting in it and started my own thread.

And I hijacked yours. I am sorry. Let's hug it out!!!

Seems like tit-for-tat....one hijack for another

I think it's unfair to bow hunt in October just for the fact that I'm to cheap to buy another bow!
Anyone willing to give me a new Mathews all rigged up?
I'll switch sides! I promise!!!!

This may get longer than the old reliable AR debates or once a spike always a spike

I never was really interested in compound bows (due to a number of reasons) so I put off bowhunting but sure was envious of all the guys that got an extra month. But when they legalized crossbows for everyone, I was first in line and havent looked back. I even bought a muzzie to extend my season in January. All I can say is 3.5 months worth of hunting. I absolutely love it. Heck, if they made September a slingshot only season I would be first in line as well/ I just roll with what I am comfortable with.

Soemone asked me the other day why there is a separate bow and rifle and muzzle loader season - all I can say is I guess a really strong lobby by the archery business. I assume aside from that it has to do with lower numbers of bowhunters than rifle so herd is not affected as much.

Agreed - it could be much worse. We have it ALOT better than a lot of other states.

Well just great I had to go eat dinner before my wife threw it out and I get back and everyone is hugging! But seriously I am glad this didn't turn out to be a holy war just because I exoressed my opinion and someone took offense to it.

It does make for an interesting discussion though!

thanks again bow-swayer

I could say ARs suck if ya want.

Not only do rifle hunters get 60 days of open season, WITH bait, WITH automatic feeders, in Texas we have HOGS all over the state with 12 months of open season on them, we have exotics that we can hunt anytime, we have some of the best wing shooting in the USA, we have antelope AND mule deer, we have year round predator hunting....

Need I go on? Anyone who complains about hunting "rules" (including AR's!) needs to go and see the LIMITED hunting allowed to our brothers in other states.

I am a bow hunter, sometime rifle hunter, and lifetime Texan and I have NO complaints about our hunting laws and rules in this state. I hunt in other states and the guys in those states to a man all think I am the luckiest person in the world to get to live and hunt in Texas - although I must say that those Illinois Whitetails are freaking unbelievable. i will always hunt one week each year in Illinois!

Well hell I wouldn't beeyatch either about Texas tightening it's hunting rules (like ARs) if I could hunt a week in Illinois.

Is that the "Long" lease? In all honesty, if the stick-chunkers get to start in October, then their season should end in Jan. and the lead-slingers get to hunt until Feb.-only fair that we all get to hunt the same amount of time...

Duramax/Cadillac stand

Ding,ding,ding, we have a winner. Bowhunting is allowed to start a month early because the participation and impact is MUCH lower than with rifle hunting. You bow season haters really kinda irk me-as many have said,if you want to participate then get up off your backsides and learn to bowhunt.

So how does a guy hunting for a month with a bow and two months with either a bow or rifle impact the herd any less? Why don't we just have one general season where you can hunt with whatever tool suits you?
In all honesty, it doesn't bother me as much as hunting a one-buck county, but it does irritate me a bit that a simple equipment purchase should gain a hunter an extra moth of hunting time.

Hey stxranchman we are done outta popcorn. How about some corn nuts are something?

I did get a special delivery though from one of those other threads about cat sightings.

Mama never said life was going to be fair.