Sage, if you don't mind, I would like to address this subject and set the record straight in what I have seen and observed through the years. It's much different than your take!
I was born and raised in Wyoming and started hunting as a very young kid. I shot ground squirrels almost daily as a young boy and I was around guns from an early age. I began big game hunting at 14 and have hunted every single year since that time, and for many years it was with a rifle. In 1971 I gave up rifle hunting and have strictly bow hunted since that time.
I tell you that so you can see where I am coming from. I am a die hard bowhunter, no doubt about that, but I try hard to look at all segments of hunting in a fair way and this has been my observation through the years.
Bowhunter?s do wound and lose critters, there is no doubt about that. But so do muzzleloaders and rifle hunters and I truly believe at a rate that is greater than that of the bowhunter.
Bowhunting takes a bad rap, because in many cases, when you find a dead critter, you can also see an arrow in the animal. That gives bowhunting a black eye. The same can not be said for animals that die from bullets or slugs. If a boy darts a duck, it hits the news, because its something that is so visible, but a duck suffering a wound from a BB or pellet gun will never be seen on the screen. There is a huge difference in perception just because a dart or an arrow is so visible where as bullet isn't.
Most bowhunter?s know when they hit a deer, because in most cases the shot is taken within a close range. (60 yards or less) Many rifle hunters don't have a clue they even hit an animal unless the animal falls within their sight, thus wounding far more animals than do bow hunter?s percentage wise. Bow hunters look for their arrow, whereas rifle and muzzy hunters, who take longer shots, many times don't check a thing unless they see the critter go down or unless they are absolutely sure they hit the animal.
With today?s rifles and scopes 400 to 800 yards shots are quite common and many animals are hit and lost without a clue to the hunter. So before anyone gets too carried away on the bow hunters, it might be best to understand the other side of the coin. Don?t cast a stone when you reside in a glass house.
I happened to take an antelope in Wyoming with my bow this year, during the rifle season. He was limping on one of his front legs. I assumed it was from an injury he obtained through a fight with another buck, but after I arrowed him and walked up to him, and I could plainly see the bullet groove right below his front knee joint. I am sure he was running hard when shot at, and I bet the hunter never even had an idea he was hit. This happens far more than most rifle hunters realize.
Long shots, at running critters will always equal hit and lost game and that principle relates to bows, muzzle loaders and rifles. But we all know that a much larger percentage of rifle hunters shoot at moving animals at long distances, than do the other two weapon choices.
So Sage, just study the facts more and I think you might end up having a different take than your present opinion.
Have a great hunt. BB