Silly stuff you hear while at a hunter safety course

[Tom Leemans]

Said by 2 instructors...
"If you're thinking of taking up bow hunting, go to a pro shop and have them set you up with a bow that fits you, and they can help you get it all sighted in."

"You'll  never see sights on a recurve" (apparently he's never seen Olympic shooting)

"There are three basic bow types; compounds, recurves, and stickbows,"

"All of the developments in bows over the centuries has been to gain more speed, which makes your arrow fly more accurately."

"Now a long time ago, in Asia, there were warriors on horseback, and they shot recurves, because they were shorter."

"One of the reasons they don't use wood for arrows much anymore is that they absorb moisture and warp. Always store wood arrows flat!"

"Nowadays, alot of people use mechanical broadheads because they fly just like a field point. (one blade flips out while he's talking) Oh, I'm gonna have to tighten that up."

"They call this type of point a field point. I really have no idea why."


There were more, but I kept my mouth shut because these gentlemen were kind enough to volunteer their time so young kids can go hunting. I did hear the following from a couple of dads...

"Boy!, that new (Super extreme zappo deluxe kill-o-matic) bow is fast! I believe I'd go ahead and set up a 50 yard pin on that one."

I mentioned that I've never seen a reason to hunt past 25 yards in the kind of cover we have here in Illinois and Iowa.

"Well, there's quite a bit of open area where  I hunt."

(Hmmm, he must be set up out in a beanfield or something)

So I say "Well, personally I enjoy seeing how close I can get." (C'mon say something witty back to me now)

"Well yeah, I mean if he's coming right in to me, I'll let him get close, but if he's going to hang out there 40 to 50 yards, you have to be able to shoot that far."

Oh brother  :rolleyes:

[ChuckC]

Tom
We in Wisconsin are trying to standardize the cadre and the lessons, but as you have seen, there are far to many war stories etc.  Our own group had our fair share of this years ago and I must say, it has been recognized, reviewed and we as a group are working hard to correct it.  

Another thing I hate, and we are really working on, is everybody talking over each other cause they also have some words of wit to say.

Wisconsin has been putting on an "Academy" where the DNR trains a cadre of "trainers"  Their mission is to go home and pass on to the others, the training wants, goals and desires of the State DNR.  That is, to teach the course that they mandate, to standardize it so "my" course is VERY similar to the next guys course and all newbies receive a good, solid, BASIC training that teaches them expectations in terms of being safe for yourself and everyone around you, being lawful, and doing the best we can toward the animals we pursue.   All the rest of the course is extra add on and in reality, is not always neccesary.  Remember...Hunter Safety, or whatever your state calls it, is a BASIC hunting course, designed to teach SAFETY.

Hope your course did that much .
Later
ChuckC

[Roger Norris]

Any time you have volunteers doing the teaching, you can expect some opinion, maybe misguided, to come out. Really, nothing they said is all that horrible, it just sounds odd to us because we are enthusiasts of traditional archery. I have no problem with a compound shooter, and don't expect him to understand every minutea of our sport.

To be very honest, the WORST thing, in my opinion, would be to try and convince a bunch of 12 year olds, who expect to hunt this fall, that they should do it with a traditional bow. The LAST thing we need is more folks hunting with traditional gear because it's "cool".

[John Scifres]

I am like you Tom and have learned the lesson to never, ever shoot a volunteer.  But...I have sat through Hunter's Ed twice in the past 2 years with my kids and it is BAD.  In Emily's, we were fortunate to have a trad archer do the bowhunting part.  In fact, he was a guy I knew, Perry Smith, and he let me do 30 minutes on wooden bows.  He also have a Bill McNeil selfbow there for me to use as a prop.

I understand the need for Hunter's Ed and I suppose some things are learned but, in essence, it is a rumber stamp formality for the things my Dad taught me before he handed me a gun.  Basically, it should go like this:  

 

Here's a gun.  Don't shoot no one!

James and I did the 12 hour marathon course a couple weeks ago.  It was brutal for me and pure torture for a 10 year old.

In Indiana, anyone over 12 can do it online now.  That is better since it allows those folks who are serious about teaching kids to do it at the proper pace and with a customized approach.

I really appreciate the time the folks put into it though.  For the one James and I did, they were there for at least 14 hours on a Saturday.  4 guys who really had an interest in teaching kids.  They just did not have the tools.

John

[Tom Leemans]

For the most part Chuck, they did a great job, although I would like to hear fewer of those "war stories". They were all working from notes, some from flip charts, etc. You could tell who's been at this a long time and who was getting lost along the way. I may get certified at some point and help with the course, because it is important to the safety and future of hunting. I just found myself, on a few occasions, thinking "Don't say that! Stick to the facts and the plan."

I volunteered as a counselor for the day, to help keep everyone together and paying attention. There were a few times that I had to shush some people, because each unit only has so much time to cover everything. We had about 250 kids and several adults taking the course. They may have been better served to limit the number of students, but they hate to turn anyone away.

[Tom Leemans]

P.S.
Please note that I said  silly and not  stupid. I didn't feel any instructor was stupid, just possibly a little uninformed.

Oh yeah, I chuckled to myself when the instructor said. "Those stickbows (he never once used the term "longbow") they shot in the old days were 8 and 9 feet long."

That would have been a bit cumbersome!

[Roger Norris]

Oh man....the "war stories"...I'm with you on that. I have see a few instructors who take the opportunity to tell the young crowd all about their hunting prowess.

The worst situation I ever saw was actually at a traditional shoot, and there was a youth range, with safety instructors on hand. One of the instructors took the opportunity to play Drill Sgt. I caught him literally dressing down an 8 year old for not knowing if he was right or left handed...and thoroughly belittling him about the "wind feather" the kid had tied to his bow(probably, juts like Dad's). I knew the young mans parents pretty well, so I removed him from the range, and took him back to his campsite. I later saw the "instructor", and privately let him know what I thought.