I've heard so much blow back-and-forth between the two sides it's almost getting to a ridiculous level, fortunately I haven't seen much of it here.

Now I'll preface this with the fact this may be a long read for some of us , but one I feel we all should read and rethink our feelings if we need to.

It isn't the weapon in the hunters hand, but in the mind we really need to be against!

With gun seasons in full swing almost everywhere, all bowhunters make a collective grown, the blame game is back on full fledge. "They'll sling lead everywhere till they drop a buck." "They'll shoot the first brown thing that moves and has any kind of headpiece." "It's no longer safe to enter the woods." Just a few of the things I've heard bow hunters say personally, and I'll admit in the past I was guilty of myself; more than likely will say it again too as I am man and make mistakes. The fact is though, those things aren't only happening during gun season, bow season has those occurances or situations as well....just not as many instances because not as many take to the woods.

We, and I use 'we' loosely, blame gun hunters for messed up herd ratios, unsafe woods, bad perceptions by the general public and for tainting the woods with their blue jeans and tobacco. So wait, just because they have guns in their hands these things happen? Come on my fellow brethen, realize that is not the case. I know countless bow hunters who have harvested bucks and been done with their hunting season....great herd management huh? I've also know many a bowhunter to shoot any size buck (disclaimer...this isn't to say only big bucks should be shot, I'm simply stating this one to fight the idea that gun hunters are the only ones who shoot anything...I say shoot what makes you happy). And just make things clear, not every gun toting hunter is un-educated, has a camo collection consisting of flannel and denim, and shoot every single thing that walks.

I understand though, many of us have only had bad experiences with gun hunters, however please hesitate to lump them all in the same boat. It's similar to the crossbow issues so many of us are dealing with. Some of us are 100% against them...however there are many cases where pulling a compound bow back is simply impossible and a crossbow allows hunters to do what they love throughout a longer time window; is that a bad thing? Is it such a bad thing that so many guys and gals take to the woods with guns each year? No it isn't. I mean they're adding to our brethren and sisthren(?) . Some are intimidated by the TIME it takes to get good with a bow, get a deer within range, and time spent in the stand. Doesn't make them any less of a hunter if they don't desire to put in all that time...and some do, but simply with a gun.

*WARNING: THE NEXT PART IS THE MOST IMPORTANT!

It is not gun hunters we need to be upset with and for lack of a better word "fight", it is the un-educated hunter or the moral/character-less hunter. That is the group it is okay to be against, not just gun hunters in general. I can't remember the exact number of us, but a poll revealed not to long ago that even on this board many of us will take to the woods this year (if we haven't already) with a firearm of somekind...does that make each of us one of the "crazies" "idiots" or "stupid" hunters some of us have coined gun hunters to be?

The fact is each hunter is at their own level, and have their own definition of a succussful hunt or harvest. We, and I mean every single hunter, cannot pass judgement or blame them for any wrong doing if what they've done is legal and made them happy. The only hunters we can tag with the "crazy hunter" or "parisitic hunter" stamp are the ones who go about things illegally or with total disregard for fellow hunters, agreements or the animal they're "hunting".

So the next time you start discussing the never ending debate of bow vs. gun, just remember not all the bad apples are found in the same basket...each bushel has some and we need to pick the bad ones OUT instead of throwing the whole bushel away.

K...done venting. Good luck all as you take to the woods.