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  1. #11
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    Default Re: Bowhunting-hide vs walk and stalk.

    I think hunting with a bow is a very pure way of hunting, so if you walk and stalk with a bow you are alright in my books.

    Looks we've had this whole debate about what is hunting and what not, I've expressed my views more than enough so not going to do it here.
    But then I would rather want clarity on one specific aspect of hide-shooting.

    Yes you are only shooting and no you are not pitting any other skill than shooting, and that is fine.

    But hell, I've done a few voorsit shoots in my life, and it's as boring as politics.
    I mean most hunters want to spend some time in the bush, even if someone offered me an animal for free I would still not sit in a hide the whole day waiting to shoot it.
    If I walk around and see nothing then at least I've accomplished something, if I sit in a hide all day long I might as well shoot from the bakkie, there are no difference.

    Sure, you can tell me you want some meat, but you can shoot some meat from the bakkie anytime and spend the rest walking around enjoying nature.
    Hell I'd rather walk around WITHOUT a rifle then sit in a hide the whole day long.

    So when you site there, in your hide, what do you tell yourself you are doing?

  2. #12
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    Default Re: Bowhunting-hide vs walk and stalk.

    I think hunting with a bow is a very pure way of hunting, so if you walk and stalk with a bow you are alright in my books.
    I agree and although I have never done any bow hunting, I have stalked and hunted warthog, fallow deer and springbok with an open sighted, 4" barrelled .357 revolver. Hunting with a revolver is easier than using a bow, I think, because you can shoot from any position, including prone, and a lot less movement is involved, however, you need to get as close as with a bow.

    Hunting, to me, imply that you, at the very least, played some part in outsmarting and stalking your prey. Sitting in a hide, no matter what weapon you use, or shooting from the back of a truck does not meet these requirements.

    I have killed my share of game, shooting a rifle over the side mirror of a landcruiser, using a supressed rifle from a hide over a salt lick and a shotgun from a helicopter but I won't ever consider any of that to be hunting. I am probably just old fashioned, but then, I have the excuse of being quite old, relatively speaking:)

  3. #13
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    Default Re: Bowhunting-hide vs walk and stalk.

    Shooting an animal with a bow from a hide/tree stand has its place, ideal for a beginner to concentrate on shot placement and learn about animal behavior. I've shot a few animals from hides including bush pig over bait at night. Nothing beats walk and stalk though, especially with a traditional long bow.

  4. #14
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    Default Re: Bowhunting-hide vs walk and stalk.

    Quote Originally Posted by pre 64 View Post
    fkritzinger....What put me off using a bow from a blind at a waterhole was the farmer who unbeknown to me closed off all water points on his enclosed farm so that my client could get a kudu bull at that particular place.
    Ok yes, that changes the picture quite a bit, because it forces animals to a specific point. they are deprived of free choice where to feed/drink... that approaches canned hunting in my view. for me, the crux here is the free choice part. by restricting access to feed and water you effectively heard animals to a specific point, and there is no 'luck' in them coming in or not. that would definitely p!ss me off too. I rather go home empty handed than shoot like that... last year I came home empty handed after 2 trips (one 5day, and a 3 day trip), this year my June trip only produced an Impala ram in 5 days. Fortunately last weekend produced 2 kudu and a bwb on a 3 day hunt.

    Just to throw a rock into the bush... On the flip side, a non productive hunt is not good for the farmer, so it is in his interest to get the hunter onto the animals, in order for him to earn some money from the 'hunt'... so they might do it to improve the productivity of bow hunters?

  5. #15
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    Default Re: Bowhunting-hide vs walk and stalk.

    Quote Originally Posted by Messor View Post
    So when you site there, in your hide, what do you tell yourself you are doing?
    I hear you and totally acknowledge your opinion, and as many others have stated. voorsit and hide hunting is boring as hell! fortunately for me, I enjoy wildlife a lot. one of the things I have noticed with hide shooting is how close you can get to many of the birds you typically encounter in the bush. I find bird behavious quite fascinating, and often spend most of my day watching birds, listening for calls, and just enjoy having them so close by.

    I am under no disillusion that I am more shooting than I am hunting, I am not trying to defend that stand point. My report with this one particular farm I have hunted on many times is improving to a point where I am trusted enough by the owner for him to allow me to walk and stalk if I so choose. When I am confident that my fitness and hunting skills are up to it, I will use that opportunity. I am only really becoming confident in my bow shooting now... and it has taken me 4 years to get to this point...

  6. #16
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    Default Re: Bowhunting-hide vs walk and stalk.

    Quote Originally Posted by fkritzinger View Post
    I enjoy wildlife a lot. one of the things I have noticed with hide shooting is how close you can get to many of the birds you typically encounter in the bush. I find bird behavious quite fascinating, and often spend most of my day watching birds, listening for calls, and just enjoy having them so close by.
    I also find it interesting to observe bird behavior in different areas.
    In one area they flee whenever people come close, in others they sit 2m away and watch you :)
    That is why new hunting locations are always exciting.

    Quote Originally Posted by fkritzinger View Post
    My report with this one particular farm I have hunted on many times is improving to a point where I am trusted enough by the owner for him to allow me to walk and stalk if I so choose. When I am confident that my fitness and hunting skills are up to it, I will use that opportunity. I am only really becoming confident in my bow shooting now... and it has taken me 4 years to get to this point...
    Good idea to build up a good hunting relationship with the farmer.

    I think many farmers dislike the idea(idea nothing more) of hunting with a bow because there are no audible signs of activity. If a hunter shoots with a rifle the shot can be heard far away, and the hunter can be questioned about what he shot at.

    But a bow, nobody will ever know. And just as there are fools hunting with rifles there will be fools hunting with bows, that will never disclose a wounded animal to the owner, causing trouble for the rest of the bow hunting community.

  7. #17
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    Default Re: Bowhunting-hide vs walk and stalk.

    My success rate shooting out of a blind or hide is so far 100%. My success rate while walk and stalking with a bow is probably about 10-15% if I had to guess.

    Granted the amount of times i have hunted out a blind can be counted on one hand, and the reason is because in my mind it isn't really hunting and is a really inefficient way for me to get meat. That said I enjoyed the quiet and rest and the ability to watch animals in front of the hide and their mannerisms up close which I don't get to see that close while walking.

    I also prefer walking and stalking with a bow purely because when I shoot an animal the level of excitement and feeling of accomplishment is far greater than when shooting from a hide.

    But to each their own. I shot 2 animals on Tuesday morning off the back of a bakkie because I needed meat and didn't have the luxury of time to actually hunt the animals, so who am I to judge.

  8. #18
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    Default Re: Bowhunting-hide vs walk and stalk.

    agreed. I have spent many hours in a hide, and in a tree stand. if you are quiet enough the birds come close. Hornbills are very inquisitive animals. had a wood pecker about 3 meteres away from my happily pecking at the wood to get whatever it was in there out. Spend a good 30 minutes about 5 meters away from a small group of Red Rheebuck last weekend, totally unaware of me. 4 ewes and a ram, with horns about 7.5". never had the opportunity to study their behavioour and anatomy so closely before. I was very tempted to take the ram, but decided to pass, as I was looking for meat, not a trophy. Same with Nyala, waterbuck and sable.

    So yes, a hide is NO the most 'out in the woods' type of hunting or shooting, but I still enjoy these up close and personal encounters, and that is how I get my day by. and if at the end of the day I managed to bag some biltong, for me it was a winning situation.

  9. #19
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    Default Re: Bowhunting-hide vs walk and stalk.

    Quote Originally Posted by pre 64 View Post
    fkritzinger....What put me off using a bow from a blind at a waterhole was the farmer who unbeknown to me closed off all water points on his enclosed farm so that my client could get a kudu bull at that particular place.
    Im curious, how is this any different than having a hunter at every open watering point ?

    I will say this again. All Game animals in SA, born or bought to be hunted, are canned. Its a simple matter of the size of the can.
    To maintain their worth to the farmer, they WILL be killed. This season by hunter A or B or next season My Hunter C or D. They will be killed !

    So kill them ethically and with respect. How you do it, is of no never mind to me

  10. #20
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    Default Re: Bowhunting-hide vs walk and stalk.

    Yeti..you are 100% correct in what you say,but lets have a look at 2 extremes.1] You and your 2 mates arrive on a farm to hunt and your wish list comprises of 2 kudu and 6 springbuck.100m from the house is a fenced camp of 100x100m and inside this camp are 2 kudu and 6 springbuck,waiting for you to shoot them. 2]you and your mates get dropped off at different places on a 300ha farm and by the end of the day you have managed to shoot 2 kudu and 6 springbuck. The results are the same....but....In the case i mentioned above,my client actually refused to pay for the kudu he shot when the farmer told him what he had done. unfortunately,you have looked at the situation in a very cynical way and even more unfortunately you are right.However we do not hunt,or should not hunt at waterholes where game is forced to drink but even if this is te case then the animals soon learn and start drinking only at night.We can only be guided by our own ethics and on most of the farms we hunt,the animals have a good chance to evade being shot.Will they evade being shot year after year,probably not.Are they going to evade death in itselfe,no. Game farming is a bussiness and each hunter must make a desiscion on what he will do. Another point you are spot on is that the least you can do is to ensure an ethical kill. I cannot argue with any of your statements but i can hunt in an ethical manner,which is also a debateable topic.

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