Hunting ethics

[FORKS]

I want to know when one pulls the trigger on going out hunting with a traditional bow. When you allowed oneself to go hunting with all the rigorous practice.

What is the accuracy of your practice before you allow yourself to go hunt with the stick?

3 arrows per paper plate or 5 paper plate? (Venison vitals) per shoot.

When does one allow himself/herself to go hunting with the good ol' dental floss and toothpick?   

[Pine]

When you know you're own personal limits.

[FORKS]

Sure. Pine. Although, my question is ethics of the traditional archery?

When are you satisfied with your shots?

[McDave]

Once you learn proper form, in whatever style of archery you fancy, there's no question that you should be able to put 10 shots out of 10 in a six inch circle at 10-15 yards.  If you can't do that, then repeat until you can.  At the point where you can do that, you're qualified to take a shot at a deer from 10-15 yards.  Before you all start moaning and groaning, I have a friend, who most of you know by his Tradgang name, who never takes a shot beyond 15 yards and has been fabulously successful in taking deer over the years.

When you can put 10/10 in a six inch circle at 10-15 yards, you have to realize that the 11th shot may still miss.  If you can honestly put 10/10 shots in, and the 11th one misses, don't beat yourself up about it too much.  That's why they call it hunting and not shopping.

[Pine]

Only you can know your own confidence.
I know people that will shoot up to 40 yards and some will limit to under 15 yards.
You seem to understand the kill zone so that is a big plus.
Just trust your instinct and don't second guess yourself.
You seem to be on the right track.   

[FORKS]

I need,  an want rough standards. The dental floss and toothpick ain't no joke. I would relish in a harvest of a nice buck or doe with those tasty backstraps.

Ultimately, I don't want to chance it for the romance factor traditionally hunting with a recurve or longbow.

I will never submit to a crossbow, ever!

[Maclean]

At what yardage are you grouping? 15 yards with that group is different than 30 yards. What I think Pine was saying was you know what distance your groups start falling apart, and do you think that you can get that close to an animal without spooking it? If not, practice more, until you can.
Once you have that squared away, forget taking multiple shots on your target. Shoot one arrow, when you're  not warmed up, because that's what you have to do when you're hunting. Work on your one shot drills until you can put that one arrow in the vitals every time at your max distance for the animal you're hunting.
I hunt elk mainly. My self imposed shot limit is 20 yards. I can hit a 4 inch circle on one shot drills every time. That's my ethical limit. I practice at much longer distances, and much shorter, but 20 is my limit when hunting elk. You have to find your own limits.

[FORKS]

I want and need standards of ethical hunters, simple self requirements.

Simply put, when are you ok with your killa shot?

[Terry Green]

You lost me at organically.

[FORKS]

Thank you Maclean and McDave !'m hunting for honest ethical shots like your answer.

Bullseye

[FORKS]

Organically, traditionally, state of nature and, raw cut. The good stuff 

[Hill Style]

Anyone that has hunted much will tell you there is no set distance. Because every single hunting situation is going to be different and no two people can handle each situation the same.

Your personal shooting abilities or lack of dictates your effective range. And shooting a stationary foam deer in the back yard is not the same as real life.

I shoot every single day. I’ve killed more than a hundred deer hogs and assorted small game etc. In some situations a 20 yard shot would be my limit other times I may pass a deer that’s 15 yards because of the deers alertness etc. I have killed deer beyond 25 yards. You have to learn your own limits and stick to them.

You cannot buy experience you can not borrow abilities you have to earn them yourself.

[FORKS]

"every single hunting situation is going to be different and no two people can handle each situation the same."

"You cannot buy experience you can not borrow abilities you have to earn them yourself"

Virtues

[Friend]

I can say, in good conscience, that I consistently work towards only loosing an arrow when my mind is completely set and completely confident on nailing the mark. If the slightest sense of doubt suddenly emerges, I let down or never draw the majority of the time.

Certainly, the outcome may not be the expected, however the most positive outcome is so often predicated on state of mind.

Hunting well within your effective range is all important and the actual hunting effective range is situational and may be varying constantly depending on numerous factors. We must always be aware of the current conditions and our quarries behavior. We must acknowledge and abide. Have had several opportunities at desirable bucks and longbeards, within 10 yards, that the conditions and/or animal behavior signaled a compromised confidence level. The quarry, we pursue, deserves nothing short of our best.

My personal effective range is 35 yards on a good year. My deer setups are 18 yards and in…I have taken one shot at 18 yards over the past 800 plus hunts. On deer, I prefer 12 to 14 yards and on turkeys, I prefer 8 to 12 yards….Hunt with confidence which will be w/i your own personal comfort zone.

[Gordon Jabben]

Go small game hunting.  I don't think anyone would have a problem with you shooting at small game regardless of your target accuracy.  Once you take some small game, you will have a good idea if you're ready for larger animals. 

[durp]

So u want to know when I allowed myself to hunt with a stick and string...correct?

1967...didn't come from a wheely back ground...didn't shoot paper plates...have no idea what my effective range was...but I did kill my first elk that year and no i dont  know how far it was.

I just went hunting...maybe that's unethical or maybe not 

[Terry Green]

Perfect. Just perfect. 

Anyone that has hunted much will tell you there is no set distance. Because every single hunting situation is going to be different and no two people can handle each situation the same.

Your personal shooting abilities or lack of dictates your effective range. And shooting a stationary foam deer in the back yard is not the same as real life.

I shoot every single day. I’ve killed more than a hundred deer hogs and assorted small game etc. In some situations a 20 yard shot would be my limit other times I may pass a deer that’s 15 yards because of the deers alertness etc. I have killed deer beyond 25 yards. You have to learn your own limits and stick to them.

You cannot buy experience you can not borrow abilities you have to earn them yourself.

[FORKS]

It appears I was drinking, reading, and posting stuff last evening.
All the information was well received.

I certainly have more practice to do to get where I want to be. Some times I can pick up the bow and arrow and hit centers right away. Then next minute im all over the place with my shot placement.

[BAK]

No way to tell since I started out that way back in the 60's.  Just got a bow and started shooting.

[STICKBENDER98]

I'm going to venture into a grey area here, hopefully it doesn't get pulled.  2019, the first time I was going to hunt elk, I was 51 years old. I was shooting my Timberhawk Talon Supreme recurve since it was a 3 piece take down and would be easy to pack into the mountains. I was shooting every night after work and was shooting lights out with it. About a month, month and a half before my brother and I were going to head out, self doubt crept in, mind you, I started shooting traditional in 1992.  As I said self doubt crept in, as I had never been out west with a bow, and started to doubt myself and my equipment, I dusted off my wheel bow and went with that.  Fast forward to the start of the second week of our hunt, things started heating up, we split up one morning, bulls were very vocal, and I was able to call one in, 33 yards according to my range finder, I had a broadside shot......my only problem being I couldn't tell if he was a legal bull.. They had to have 4 on a side or a 5" brow tine. He was standing in front of a big blue spruce and I couldn't for the life of me tell how bid he was.  I kept telling myself he was legal...but I had my Dad's voice in the back of my head when I was on my first hunt at 14 years old telling me, you make sure what you're shooting at is a legal animal.  So after roughly 5-6 minutes the bull decided to leave, he just turned and walked off.  After about an hour I went and checked a trail camera I had put out where he had come from....he was a 5x5 with a brow tine that was turned down that we had gotten pictures of on my brothers trail cam earlier in the hunt. I made up my mind then and there if I was going to shoot an elk it will be with my trad bow, we've been twice more since then with similar results, close but no cigar. So short story long, ethics are what you make of it, you have to make your choices and practice at distances you are comfortable with. I could have shot that elk on a wing and a prayer, but I have zero regrets on that hunt, I have the memories. 

Fast forward to 2022, I had a nice 8 point come in here in Michigan, mid to late October, he came in on my left side and was 6-8 yards by best guestement, I wasn't ready, he worked around behind me, and I was able to get my bow, I had a white cedar between him and me, and he slowly worked his was around to my right side, and I was able to get turned and was ready for him.  I was shooting my Northern Mist Skanee this time, as he came around he stopped in a small opening and I thought about shooting, but he only needed 2-3 more steps to be in the wide open roughly 20-22 yards, he was very accommodating and took those steps and stopped broadside, perfect well within what I had been practicing. I drew, anchored and released a good 6" above his back, I never picked a spot, he spun and took 4-5 bounds and stopped and looked around and slowly walked off, leaving me shaking my head at myself.  All this being said, just keep practicing start close and get your groups tight, then slowly work back, when your groups start opening up move back in, keep at it. As said in above posts, everyone's comfort zone is different, you just need to shoot to find where yours is.


Jason