You know you love to hunt. You love hunting gear. You love bow hunting. You love hunting with guns. You love it all: the preparation, the dreaming, the tracking, the excitement, the kill shot. Which do you love more, though? Are you a greater bow hunter or a gun hunter? Which subtype of the sport is superior? Well, both gun hunting and bow hunting have positive aspects and both have challenges associated with them. Many hunters use both types of hunting, though of these hunters, a good number prefer bow hunting over gun hunting because of its inherent challenge relative to gun hunting; at the same time, those who don’t prefer a challenge might appreciate the ease of gun hunting.

Bow hunting, as just stated, is often prefered by hunters. Let me point out the advantages of bow hunting. First of all, the season when one can bow hunt is quite a bit longer than gun season. In some states, the bow season can last almost four months. The gun season, on the other hand, only lasts for two weeks in many states, a huge difference.  Because the bow hunting season is longer, you can expect to see fewer hunters when you’re out on your bow hunt as hunters have a larger window in which to choose dates for their hunting trip. Fewer hunters in the woods means that animals are more restful, less so on alert against hunters since they’re not hearing myriad hunters crashing through the woods. In addition, fewer hunters means a greater chance each hunter will be able to locate, track, and kill larger animals.

Another reason bow hunting can be considered superior is the challenge and the reality that with bow hunting, the hunter gets closer to the animal than a hunter does when gun hunting. An advantage that could initially be considered an advantage is the fact that bow hunting requires more pre-trip preparation than does gun hunting. Bow hunting requires more scouting than gun hunting does because the bow hunter must be at least 40 yards or closer to the animal in order to get a clean shot. Still, many bow hunters are involved in the sport because they love all aspects of it, in many cases the tracking aspect being a favorite component. A bow hunter often loves the thrill of seeing the signs of a deer and following those signs. He is like a detective on the trail of a suspect. The excitement is part of the process, an excitement that drives the hunter and inspires him or her.

Now to the advantages of gun hunting. Given the fact that the gun hunting season is often only two weeks long, gun hunters need to squeeze their hunting trips into that small window. The fact that there are more hunters in the woods during gun hunting season means that the noise level is increased which forces more of the deer out of their bedding areas and into areas where they can be shot, a type of deer movement that does not happen during bow season. Another advantage of gun hunting is the fact that guns, being more powerful than bows, shoot farther. In addition to shooting farther, guns are considered by many to be easier to use than bows and easier to maintain. Also, guns are less expensive than bows.

No matter your preference, Explore Products has the supplies and expertise to meet all of your gun and bow needs.