Nearly 79,000 Minnesota bowhunters took to the woods last year, harvesting 24,161 deer. Photo by Windigo Images.

There's something about archery hunting that just gets into your blood. Oh sure, hunting with firearms and muzzleloaders is enjoyable, but nothing is quite like archery.

Almost a half million hunters pursue deer every fall and about 40 percent successfully take a buck or doe. Break down those numbers by types of hunting and archers are at the bottom of the list. Last year, only 24 percent of all archers -- one in four -- successfully harvested a deer. Why then is archery a growing sport?

Perhaps it's something primeval. Archers must wait for a deer to get close. Archers must be stealthier as they draw to shoot and even though the arrow is flying at 300 feet per second, a simple flinch by a whitetail can turn a sure kill into a miss. Once an archer's arrow finds its mark, the art of tracking must be undertaken to find the fallen deer.

While hunters using firearms and muzzleloaders have more success, ask any hunter who has tried archery which hunting method they prefer and archery is the answer nearly every time. Most archers also use firearms and muzzleloaders, but they hunt with the mindset of an archer.

Having spent the first 18 years of my deer hunting experience as a firearms hunter, I didn't get it until I tried bowhunting myself. I purchased a high-quality compound bow several years ago, put in plenty of practice until I was a proficient shot and took to the woods. It didn't feel any different until a deer came into range.

I told myself that since it was my first bowhunting experience, I'd take the first deer that I had a clean shot at. When that first deer came into range, it still felt similar to firearms hunting but I began to realize that I wasn't just going to put the gun to my shoulder and squeeze gently. I had to raise my bow, draw back, make sure my path was clear, and then carefully release the arrow.

As the deer came into range, I drew my arrow and realized how loud carbon rubbing on metal can be in a quiet woods. It's not a noise you notice in the back yard, but when a whitetail is 18 yards away and staring into your eyes because of the racket you made, you take notice and your heart suddenly quickens in your throat.

I made sure of my target and released the arrow. When you fire a gun, you're often so focused that you don't notice the muzzle blast, but when you release an arrow, it's just the opposite because you're watching the arrow fly, and then connect with the deer.

That was the moment when I fully understood the allure of archery hunting.

BY THE NUMBERS
The 2007 deer archery season was the second best on record -- the record was set in 2006. Nearly 79,000 archers took to the woods last year harvesting 24,161 deer, 7,500 of them bucks. The fact that archers arrowed twice as many does as bucks reflects the fact that many archers consider themselves meat hunters and tend to be particular about the bucks they shoot.