all WVHillbilly's fault

[Rockn H]

The key to making a humane kill with a bow or gun is knowing your shooting limits.  Or rather the distance you can consistantly put the arrow where it needs to go.  This means a lot of practice from the elevation you intend to be hunting.  That's why I mentioned the modern gun for people that are just starting to enjoy hunting.
If you just want to keep'em out of the garden....lots and lots of electric fence at different distances and heights.    Some of the old timers used to put hair from the barber shop in panty hose or net bags and hang them around the garden.  The scent was suppose to keep the deer out.  Them deer are smart though.

[Buzz-sawyer]

Bow hunting is like anything else.....some people pick it up quickly and shoot dead on the first time they shoot a bow, others never get it.
You need to go to a trarget rannge and use a loaner and see if it is your bag.
My daughter at 17 picked it up and was shooting in the kill zone in an hour or two...........

[Engineer]

I was just commenting to my wife this afternoon that it was high time I took up deer hunting again.  Last time I was hunting, I was in high school.    Anyway, those long-legged yard rats ate my tomatoes back so badly that they never came back.  I pulled four plants this afternoon that had no chance of survival.  Four out of twelve, but they gnawed on all twelve.   

I much prefer a gun, because I know I can hit what I aim at.  I am not so confident with a bow, maybe it's because I am only used to a recurve bow and not a compound bow.  No point in making the investment either.  I have the rifles and gear for hunting, now it's just a matter of camping out in the yard until the varmints come around to get shot.

[WV_hillbilly]

  Guilty as charged .   

 I hunt them with any means legally possible , pistol , rifle , shotgun , muzzleloader , and bow . The pistol and bow are my favorites cause you need to be in smelling distance of them so it is more of a challenge .  West Virginia has very a very liberal season on deer , I think you can legally get 12 deer a year and they are still a problem . 

  Maybe there is a local sporting club near you  that has seminars for women . A couple around here have women mentors to ask questions and talk shop  to.  Another place would be the local gun/sporting goods businesses they seem to have a more knowlegdable staff than the  big chain stores .I would try out all of them and then make an informed choice about which method you would like to pursue .

[Buzz-sawyer]

Dan.we missed you last weekend bud!

[WV_hillbilly]

  I missed you fine people too.  I won't  hijack this thread but , wasn't happy about not being able to attend due to the pesky job thing .

[Tamiam]

Thanks for all the advice.  I have a friend who hunts with both.  He will come over and we will practice before I purchase anything.

As for my gardens, it is too late this year but I will be ready for next year!

Yes Pete we still have an abundance of tomatoes but nothing else!