Sorry..I didn't see the question before. The argument is that with bow-hunting a hit is seldom quickly fatal. It takes some time for the animal to bleed out, and the animal suffers for some time, and the game is not always found by the hunter. Is that argument valid?

No it isn't valid. That isn't to say there aren't animals that aren't found or animals that don't suffer. A bow, especially modern compound bows, are as deadly as a 30-06 at reasonable ranges. The goal of a shot on a deer with a bow is the same with a gun. A heart or double lung shot. Both of which will result in a dead animal. One thing I've learned is anything less then one of these two could result in a lost animal. That goes for any weapon. In a case where a good shot was made on an animal but the animal was never recovered usually is a result of either hunter error in tracking or laziness in tracking. I think the misconception by a lot of non hunters is that if you make a good shot on an animal it should drop in it's tracks. That just isn't the case. I've shot deer with a bow, muzzle loader, 30-06 and a .270. I've never had one drop in it's tracks.

No it isn't valid. That isn't to say there aren't animals that aren't found or animals that don't suffer. A bow, especially modern compound bows, are as deadly as a 30-06 at reasonable ranges. The goal of a shot on a deer with a bow is the same with a gun. A heart or double lung shot. Both of which will result in a dead animal. One thing I've learned is anything less then one of these two could result in a lost animal. That goes for any weapon. In a case where a good shot was made on an animal but the animal was never recovered usually is a result of either hunter error in tracking or laziness in tracking. I think the misconception by a lot of non hunters is that if you make a good shot on an animal it should drop in it's tracks. That just isn't the case. I've shot deer with a bow, muzzle loader, 30-06 and a .270. I've never had one drop in it's tracks.

 

Good points....thanks.