What is the hardest/difficult animal to hunt with a bow?

[stoneramhunter]

I'm not a bow hunter but the reason i ask is that i just read that a mature high country mule deer is one of the most formidable challenges to a bow hunter. i would of thought it would have been perhaps a coyote, mountain goat or sheep. Just to be clear im not a bow hunter or pretend to know the difficulties of it.

[HarryToolips]

I would've thought same as you, and I'd add wolf to that list, they'd be very hard to harvest with a bow, considering how savvy and aware of their surroundings they are...

[stoneramhunter]

I would've thought same as you, and I'd add wolf to that list, they'd be very hard to harvest with a bow, considering how savvy and aware of their surroundings they are...

I have had 2 sheep hunting buddies who have taken sheep with a bow. one needed 20 days to get his stone and in the end he staked out a mineral lick and stayed there for 3 days and it worked for him. the other took 14 days and harvested it on the last day i helped him get the ram. distances matter -with a rifle you can kiss out past 500 yards but with a bow your limited to a very short distance. He took the ram at 40 feet. WE had seen several legal rams but a few were not possible to get within bow distance and a few when he stalked got busted well before he was within range. Got to take my hat off to sheep hunter who do it with a bow.

[Blockcaver]

My experience as a dedicated and successful bowhunter:

—-sheep were tough…took eight backpack trips over a 6 year period with over 60 hunting days to arrow a Stone. Similar amount of days over 5 seasons for a Bighorn. Got lucky on the NR NV tag and got one the 8th day. Guided Dalls in the the NWT were the easiest….arrowed one on day 7.

—-mountain caribou took me 60 some days and 8 hunts to arrow one. Not many legal bulls seen in BC over those hunts.

—-Grizzly took a similar amount of time, over 60 hunting days but sure was a rush to arrow one at 13 yards and have him bound past at 2 yards!

—-the remainder of the Archery Super Slam came a bit easier, and 20 of the 29 were on hunts without guides.

—-I’ve yet to arrow a wolf, but have missed 3. None were chip shots. Wolves are smart and elusive. Coyotes..arrowed a half a dozen.

[IronNoggin]

Mulies are easy IMO. Taken a hell of a lot with a pointy stick.

May others are MUCH more difficult.

[stoneramhunter]

Mulies are easy IMO. Taken a hell of a lot with a pointy stick.

May others are MUCH more difficult.

I found the attached article an interesting read. top 29 animals ranked in difficulty to hunt with a bow.

https://www.bowhunter.com/editorial/...to-hunt/384789

[stoneramhunter]

I found the attached article an interesting read. top 29 animals ranked in difficulty to hunt with a bow.

https://www.bowhunter.com/editorial/...to-hunt/384789

The author is the first, and only, bowhunter to have achieved two archery Super Slams of North American big game.

Ranking The 29

See Photo Gallery
You might be surprised to see the mature whitetail at the top of my list, but it is deserving. This is my 2019 Kansas buck. Ultimately, the most difficult species to hunt is the one that gives you the most trouble. Some bowhunters are successful on their first attempt at a particular species, while the next bowhunter has to hunt several times to get it done. For example, the Dall sheep was the last of the four sheep species that I killed. It was my “nemesis” animal. To make matters worse, and even harder to explain, I am an Alaska resident and I fly my own Super Cub, and it still took me several tries to get my first Dall ram. After I arrowed that first one, I tagged seven more Dall rams over the following nine years.
As mentioned earlier, Gary Martin had to hunt Roosevelt elk several times to get one, while I only went twice and took two Pope and Young bulls. Same with cougars: I went twice and took two toms, while friends of mine went on multiple cougar hunts before they got their cat. The late Dwight Schuh’s nemesis animal was the brown bear, and Curt Wells struggled to cross moose off his list. This is precisely why there can be no definitive list that rates the difficulty level of all 29 species of big game in North America. Yes, each species possesses varying levels of wariness, adaptability, and intelligence, even among individuals of the same species, so all rankings are open to debate. Acknowledging that, here is the best list I can come up with based on my own personal experiences. It was a difficult task, but if you analyze it by thirds (top, middle, and bottom), it may be easier to find common ground. We bowhunters love to debate everything from camo patterns to broadheads, so have at it.

1. Whitetail Deer – Has it all, wariness, intelligence, adaptability + a “sixth sense”
2. Mule Deer – Solitary, extremely alert, beds carefully, giants are almost unkillable
3. Roosevelt Elk – Perfectly suited to habitat, not as vocal, elusive by nature
4. Coues Deer – Whitetails on caffeine, constant predation makes them extra wary
5. Columbian Blacktail Deer – Like Roosevelt elk; live in steep, thick, wet country
6. Grizzly Bear – Mature boars are old, wise, and nocturnal, with exceptional noses
7. Alaska Brown Bear – Same as above
8. Black Bear – Same as above
9. Cougar – Pure intelligence, experts at evading, almost unkillable without dogs
10. Bighorn Sheep – Not so intelligent, but nervous and intolerant of intruders
11. Desert Bighorn Sheep – Same as above
12. Stone Sheep – Same as above
13. Dall Sheep – Same as above
14. Rocky Mountain Goat – Not as intelligent as sheep, live in dangerous terrain
15. Bison – Wary and easily spooked, more elusive than moose
16. American Elk – Vocal and callable, can be stalked when sounding off
17. Tule Elk – Same as above
18. Shiras Moose – Responds to calling, decoys, great nose but poor vision
19. Canada Moose – Same as above
20. Alaska Yukon Moose – Same as above
21. Sitka Blacktail Deer – Still a deer, but can be stalked with some ease
22. Quebec/Labrador Caribou – Not sharp, unsure of human threat, stops if you’re not a predator
23. Central Canada Barren Ground Caribou – Same as above
24. Barren Ground Caribou – Same as above
25. Mountain Caribou – Same as above
26. Woodland Caribou – Same as above
27. Polar bear – Has little fear of man, which makes him vulnerable.
28. Pronghorn Antelope – Easy access, easy to kill P&Y at water; would be much higher on list if being stalked
29. Muskox – Instinctive defense posture of forming a circle doesn’t work well with humans
Read The Next Art

[Bubbacanuck]

Curious why wolves wouldn't be considered part of the 29 N. American big game

[Blockcaver]

Bubba, wolves can be used to replace Quebec Labrador caribou (season closed for them in 2017) for Grand Slam’s NA29. But there is no P&Y category for them, probably why Frank Noska does not mention them. And Frank is almost to a third Archery Super Slam! He is one dedicated and super successful Bowhunter! He and Chuck Adams lead P&Y with around 200 record book animals each with Chuck still in the lead last I knew.

[stoneramhunter]

it appears if im not mistaken that only 176 hunters worldwide have accomplished the super slam na29 thats speaks volumes