shooting a doe with a bow is easy.. you obviously don't have the right doe make-up in your herd.

It's all about the

I'm thinking now we need a "senior" weekend prior to the general season.

Easy for the men of grit and resolve that don't take shortcuts or assistance from anyone. Easy as breathing for the sly, stealthy beings lurking in the shadows ready to silently send a projectile straight from their hand to the heart of their target. It's easy for the skilled hunters that take to the field to do things the honorable way; the right way. The bow way.

Still much more difficult than shooting a buck with a rifle.

My gosh, bowhunters are impressive. Rifle hunters are good at eating cheetoes in the blind.

I'm a rifle hunter, by the way.

Gimme about 10 years and I'll go with you on that....

it has been my experience that you just ride out in the yard on a 4wheeler with bow in hand, shake a corn bag and shoot one at about 10yds.

I watched a show just a few weeks ago where they shot an antelope @97 yards with a Barnett crossbow

high fence.

As I believe someone pointed out earlier, the context of the question asked in the original post deals with how those who don't bow hunt feel about those who do when they are both members of the same lease.

That being said, the question points to how you can now find leases where members have settled the debate by being "bow hunt only", or by not allowing or limiting early season bow hunting.

Our lease falls somewhere in the middle. We have one member who bow hunts. But just like those who hunt with rifles, his access is limited to a specific area throughout the season, unless he gets permission from another member.

Well Dan you have confused me once again. I have re-read the original post 3 times and I don't see any mention or limitation at all that the question was limited to those on the same lease.

That said,I believe the points made in this thread in response to the 'macro' question of the state as a whole would be the same in response to the 'micro' question regarding hunters on the same lease.

The main response being: If you want hunt deer in October pick up a bow and get after it-nobody's stopping you.

[/quote]Our lease falls somewhere in the middle. We have one member who bow hunts. But just like those who hunt with rifles, his access is limited to a specific area throughout the season, unless he gets permission from another member. [/quote]

As long as the guy sets up his own bow stand I dont understand why it would be a problem as long as its not next to your stand. I know that in rifle season if you hunt my stand without asking I am not going to be very nice about it. Especially if you have killed the buck I have been wainting on all year.

In the situation that you are describing above Dan, I agree with you. If the majority of the lease members do not hunt and the majority agree no hunting before November, then it is my choice to follow the rules or find a new place to hunt.

The part I disagree with, is saying it isn't fair. Take the situation described above. Would it by right for me to cry foul and say it isn't fair that the lease members won't let me hunt in October? IMO, it is the way it is and I have a Choice to participate. Same can be said about bow hunting. You have the choice to participate or not, but crying about "fairness" because you Choose not to participate doesn't seem reasonable.

Why not start bow hunting with the general season and extend bow hunters access till the end of January. Would anyone complain about that? Everyone would have the same chance of "spotting" that big buck and then taking at on equal terms bow/rifle hunter alike. .. There is post rut stuff to think about but dont think it would matter so much for those looking for an extra challenge.. ? .. BTW I have been thinking about getting a bow as on our place stalking a doe is possible and would be lots of fun I think...

I totally agree. I have no problem with any lease that does not allow bow hunting for any reason at all. I was just trying to figure out the "unfair" part of it. If I see a lease listed that says no bow hunting I honestly think nothing of it and just move on. Lots of folks have legitimate reasons for not allowing bow hunting I just don't think being unfair is one of them.

Oh yeah. my take with regard to small places where one neighbor uses a bow and there are no lease rules etc.. Entirely likely to watch one all year with high hope but its gone by Halloween....

You said here... " Everyone would have the same chance of "spotting" that big buck and then taking at on equal terms bow/rifle hunter alike".

That's the whole point of this thread. Everone DOES have the same chance of "spotting" that big buck. They just choose not to.

Some of these responses are SO self-centered and short-sighted.

It's one thing to think about what you would like to happen in your perfect world if you are a rifle hunter only.

It's a whole new level of selfishness when you want to make every bowhunter in Texas bend themselves,their season, and their way of hunting to fit your singular need/limitation to use only a rifle. A need/limitation that your place on yourself by choosing not to bowhunt. Sheesh.

I guess the lease issue is a little different in that members are of course free to make their own rules. But every lease I have been on has been with guys who are my friends and wouldn't dream of not allowing me to bowhunt if I want to. Just like I wouldn't dream of not allowing them to squirrel hunt even though it might affect my bowhunting a little from time to time. I have been lucky I guess...

(I was really hoping to have a more positive 1000th post.)

IMO, these comments made in the original post indicate a question that concerns the manner in which a lease is or has been managed...

"I got called out for voicing an opinion on this in the lands and leases section so I figured I would post this in my own thread."

If I read between the lines, members of a lease who don't choose to bow hunt are taking issue with other members being allowed to hunt early.

Your point about squirrel hunting brings to mind how many leases have rules that restrict ALL hunting activities during the weeks before the season opener. Right or wrong, many hunters feel that ATV traffic and other activities create unnecessary pressure on deer, and for that reason, want their lease to "quiet down" just before the season opens.

There's no question in my mind that once hunter activity increases on a given property, including that of a single hunter, deer WILL begin to alter their travel patterns. IMO, this is the strongest driver for leases that don't allow or limit bow hunting. Simply put, many people prefer paying their hard-earned money for a lease where EVERYONE hits the woods together.

No bow season\if you bow hunt it would have to be during the regular season. (I don't think its fair to nonbow hunters)

Yes the opinion in bold has been taken way out of context! This opinion was expressed based on a lease only not as a national past time or statewide! I also explained to Stick chunker that this was something not set in concrete several times! I think maybe he was so upset he couldn't read correctly? lol

I know of several bowhunting leases in my area, am I offended well hell no! Dan mentions something to the effect that it shouldn't matter on a lease because the bowhunter should be hunting in his area exclusively. Deer do move around and sometimes make a routine of visiting several different feeders\areas so that reasoning doesn't make sense to me.

I am glad everyone enjoyed the debate and I am going to post up another debate issue soon in the deer hunting section on feeder\blind ideas for a new lease.

Well on my property there are three of us who bowhunt and we all agree based on our combined 75 plus years of bowhunting experience that good bowhunters place almost no pressure on the deer.

The deer routinely maintain their late summer/pre-rut patterns during bow season. But we all likewise agree that,come the first Saturday in November, the scene changes dramatically. I have found those changes to be even more profound in heavily hunted places like central TX.

With knowledgeable bowhunters, "pressure" on the deer is largely a myth.

Now, yahoos are yahoos whether they are hunting or not. Constant riding around, yelling everywhere you go, checking your game cams daily, or any number of other "activities" can pressure a deer herd in Sept and Oct even if no shots are fired.

If it ever comes to a vote, I will vote there be only 1 general season, all legal mean would be allowed. I think if you want to challenge yourself to bowhunt that is fine, but you still get to hunt with the rest of the people. If you didnt get to start a month early there wouldnt be as many bowhunters as there are. And no I dont care how many bowhunters there are, and yes I do believe that a separate bow season divides hunters in general as I have had many bow hunters look down their nose at me in the past.

I hunt with everything I can, bow rifle smoke pole and pistol is coming soon.

matt

When we had a lease we were never alowed to hunt youth season even though I was 10 years old at the time. When I started bow hunting it was the same, waited for general season when everyone else started.

I'm a believer than anything out of the ordinary on a property will cause mature deer to act different. This could be scenting a place up, starting to show up at weird times of the day and walking by and looking at scrapes and such where their senses are keyed in on smelling what's going on.