4 week rifle season or 7 week bow?

[limited686]

I'm in Oregon and this year I'm debating rifle vs bow tag for deer. Both are OTC tags.

Rifle buck season here is a month long, whereas bow is the entire month before rifle (concurrent with bow elk) plus 3 more weeks during the rut in late November.

With the goal of meat in the freezer and not a trophy on the wall, what would you pick?

This is probably a stupid question with an obvious answer, but I wasn't raised hunting and have had to figure it all out solo the past few years without help. My thought is rifle seems the obvious choice with the reasoning that I'm almost certainly going to have more opportunities reaching to 450yds vs the 60yds with my bow, plus I get more days to hunt since rifle buck doesn't overlap any elk seasons.

Any thoughts are appreciated, and I apologize for such a newb question.

 

[IrkedCitizen]

Whatever will bring you more joy.

 

[Shadow Walker]

Good problem to have. Do the one that you’ll enjoy the most. You probably have better odds filling your freezer with the rifle in your hands. Good luck.

 

[elkguide]

Tough choice as both are so enjoyable. Since you are newer to hunting if your main goal is to get meat in the freezer, go with the one that gives you the best odds, (likely with a rifle). But don't overlook the joy of just being out there too.

 

[limited686]

I really appreciate everyone's input! Given that elk season here is 4x longer with a bow, and also coincides with deer archery season, I'll get more time in the field (more fun) plus higher odds of feeding the family if I split my seasons, 4 weeks bow elk followed by 4 weeks rifle deer. Worst case I get 8 weeks of hunting and enjoying the woods up here.

Thanks again to all who replied and good luck punching your tags this year!