Should I start hunting with a bow or gun?
- glenveenstra
- Feb 13, 2023
- 6 min read
As a new hunter, you may be debating whether to start your hunting adventures with a bow and arrow or a gun.
There are several advantages to both types of hunting. Both weapons will accomplish those goals if you’re hunting to harvest wild game for your freezer and find some great adventure outdoors. So which is best?
First, you need to ask yourself two questions that may be obvious but can’t be overlooked.
1) What’s the first type of game you plan to pursue, and is it feasible to hunt with archery, or is a gun necessary?
If you’re planning to hunt waterfowl, your obvious weapon choice is a shotgun. Shooting flying birds with an arrow would be very discouraging and extremely expensive with all the arrows you’d lose. However, if you’re planning to hunt big game right off the bat, you can likely choose either, as long as the hunting unit or land you’re hunting on allows it.
2) Can you hunt the game unit and specific land you’re planning to hunt with either archery or guns?
Some areas have weapons restrictions and may allow bow only. Your local fish and game regulations should be able to answer this question.
If those two questions didn’t solve your dilemma, let's look at the pros and cons of each type of hunting.
Guns
Pros
It’s easier, period.
Let’s get the obvious one right out of the way. Killing something with a gun is much easier than killing it with a stick and a string. This first pro is an overarching theme to the rest of the pros. The rest of the list explains why it’s easier.
It allows you to make more mistakes as a new hunter without always costing you the shot.
Archery has almost no room for error. With gun hunting, you can get away with a bit more because a) you don’t need to be as close, and b) the animal doesn’t need to be in a perfect position to kill it.
The learning curve to become accurate with a gun is substantially quicker than a bow for most people.
For example, it
doesn’t take long to be proficient out to 200 yards with a rifle compared to how long it takes to become proficient at even 40 yards with a bow.
Cons
Depending on your province or state, much more red tape can be involved in purchasing a firearm over a bow.
There are enough challenges with being a new hunter. Sometimes it's just nice to cut out one part of the process.
There are fewer places to practice shooting.
You’ll need to find a local gun range or some land where shooting is safe and legal to go practice. Guns have a much longer effective range than a bow, so finding good spots to practice can be a bit more challenging.
There’s a safety aspect involved both at home and while hunting that is far greater than archery.
This may not be a risk that everyone is comfortable with, and that’s perfectly fine.
Archery
Pros
The barrier to entry, in my opinion, is far less.
The reason is that many major cities and towns have a local archery shop. So what? Most major cities have a gun shop too. Yes, but in the archery shops, most of them have a place to shoot the bows. There are experts there that will help you find the right bow, choose the right arrows to go with it, set the bow up for you, let you practice with it, help you tune it, and the list goes on and on. Archery shops are set up to help you succeed.
Practice is easier.
The same shops you bought your bow at probably have scheduled time every day when the range is open for people to come to shoot. For a very reasonable fee, you can practice indoors almost every day if you want. Aside from that, you can shoot in your backyard if you live on a decent property. Neighbors don’t tend to mind archers shooting as long as it’s in a safe direction.
Some fantastic hunting seasons are available for archery that are closed to gun hunters.
Often the archery seasons precede gun seasons as well. This puts you in a position of hunting less pressured animals with no completion from gun hunters. It’s quite an advantage that way. Even though it’s tougher to kill an animal with a bow, I feel like when you’re in the woods before all the gun hunters show up, you see more animals, which improves your skillset as a hunter.
Archery hunting makes you a better hunter.
Because you need to get so close with archery, it highlights your mistakes. While this can be very frustrating, it speeds up the learning curve as a hunter.
Cons
There’s no getting around it. You’ll need to get much closer with a bow. This can often be the difference between filling the freezer and coming home empty-handed.
It takes a lot of practice to become effective with a bow and arrow.
If you’re short on time, this can be a real issue. Furthermore, it’s not one of those skills you learn and have forever. It requires continual practice year after year to stay proficient. It’s similar to exercise that way. You don’t need to just get in shape once to remain fit for the rest of your life. If you stop working out, you get out of shape again. Archery is the same. If you stop shooting, you lose the edge quickly.
The margin for error is very slim.
Archery is an exercise in patience and humbles me every time I get into the field. Not only is your effective range much less than a rifle, but the animal needs to do what you want it to, or you still don’t get a shot. The animal needs to be broadside and not moving before you can release an arrow. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been in killing range of an animal and failed to get even one opportunity to release an arrow. That can get very frustrating after a few times.
What camp do you fall into? Bow or Gun?
To help you make the decision, if you haven’t already, ask yourself these questions:
Do I have enough time to dedicate to practicing archery?
If you’re already strapped for time and can’t carve out regular practice time to learn archery, it’s probably not for you. Of course, it’s not a requirement to be an expert archer before going hunting, but if you’re not relatively proficient at it, you’re hunting season will likely end in disappointment. Either in the way of missing your target animal or worse-wounding it.
Am I ok with going home empty-handed in my first season?
The answer to this question must be yes if you only plan to hunt archery. Gun hunting is far from guaranteed, but if your primary objective is meat on the table, and you’re going to be highly disappointed if you don’t achieve that, then gun hunting is probably a better option.
Do I thrive on doing challenging things?
If the answer to this is yes, then archery may be for you. I love the adventure and challenge of trying to harvest wild game with my bow. Even on frustrating days, I know it’s making me a better hunter, and I love that.
Do you really need to choose??
If your time and resources are limited, you may need to choose. However, if you have the time and resources available, then the answer is no; you don’t need to choose.
I hunt archery at the beginning of the season (as most archery seasons are before rifle seasons) and then switch to rifle later in the year if I still need more meat to fill the freezer. I optimize both.
"Archery makes me a better hunter"
Archery makes me a better hunter and gives me the challenge I seek out in the wilderness, while rifle lets me enjoy some extra success and helps keep the freezer full. Some game, like waterfowl, require guns, so I match the weapon to the game and experience I’m looking for every time I head into the woods or out on the water.
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