Want Deer Hunting to be Less Stressful and More Fun? Pick Up a Rifle

Hear me out, I’m not saying it’s not exciting to arrow a big buck (obviously it is) or that you can’t be surprised during bow season. I spend most of my deer season with bow in hand, but I’m just as thrilled to pick up my rifle. Whenever I break a gun out of the safe, two things happen: my expectations lower, and my optimism increases. It might just be a bit of nostalgia from my early days of hunting, but it makes hunting exciting—and that keeps me in the woods.

Unlike bowhunting, you don’t have to be on top of the “X” with a rifle. Yes, you should still rifle hunt like a bowhunter, but you have some wiggle room. Instead of a 30-yard range, you might have a 75- to 150-yard range. There’s a lot less stress involved when your theoretical kill zone exponentially increases and you don’t have to worry about timing your draw.

You can also get away with more when it comes to the wind. No, you can’t completely beat a deer’s nose, but you can hunt with less favorable winds when you don’t have to set up 20 yards off the trail. Having that extra room for error isn’t a license to get sloppy. Instead, it should allow you to get aggressive without the added pressures of bowhunting. Deer the author took in the big woods. Photo by Adam Moore.

Deer hunting in the big woods is hard. Putting any deer, let alone mature bucks, within archery range can be a feat in itself. That difficulty also makes it incredibly rewarding when you do kill a deer in the big woods. There’s something almost mythical about watching a buck, regardless of size, stroll through vast and monotonous timber. Deer can, and do, come from almost anywhere. That range of possibilities adds mystery to deer hunting. When you bowhunt specific whitetails or even a specific area, deer movement can become somewhat predictable. Not in the big woods.

The allure of any deer coming from anywhere can rekindle those hopeful, maybe even naive, expectations that you probably experienced as a young hunter. While the chances of shooting a big buck might be really low, that doesn’t stop them from existing. Rifle hunting the big woods can make it feel like more of a reality than trying to get one within bow range.

Sure, this point goes for bowhunting, too, but the extended range of a rifle makes still-hunting one of the most exciting ways to gun hunt. Again, the restrictions that bowhunting imposes on hunters make it rewarding in its own right. But, rifles were made for still-hunting.

This is why lever actions still rule the deer woods. You can make quick, offhand shots in the timber. And just because the deer spots you first doesn’t mean it’s over. You want exciting? Try keeping your composure while you take aim at a spooked deer. I’ve killed a few after having them blow at me. Good luck doing that with a bow.

It’s probably because my expectations are low when I’m still hunting, but those are some of the hunts I look forward to the most throughout the season. Even if I’m just using them to scout, still-hunts with a rifle can be surprisingly fun, especially during the rut. Yes, you can do this with a bow, but your odds of success greatly increase with a rifle.

Even if you’re a dedicated bowhunter, gun hunting can give you a much-needed change of pace. Instead of lone-wolfing it, plan a rifle hunt with a few of your buddies. Or use it as an opportunity to fill a doe tag or scout a new area. You might just surprise yourself.