Let me know what you think !!PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!

[crossstickspro]

Is There diferent levels of bow hunter?    I worked for a major hunting retailor as a bowpro (hunt,fish,camp)and I thought the worst about some. Help me out?What do you Think

[Shaun]

Just different levels of our personal tolerance for our fellow hunters. Mine varies a lot.

[Kenny Henderson]

As a part-time taxidermist I have met all kinds, some of these guys could'nt kill a deer or any other animal if someone else did'nt put them on it. And these where some of the guys who had the biggest game rooms. I've met guys wuth big egos and I've met guys who were great and down to earth good hunters. Whether there are different levels of hunters I say yes.

[Keuka]

I beleive there are different levels in hunting, at least for me there have been.
I have been very fortunate to live my entire life, 43 years bow hunting, with exceptional hunting and fishing right outside my door.
I was also very fortunate to grow up hunting with very proficient, ethical, old-time value mentors that taught me the difference between fair chase and shoot it any way you can before someone else does.
I believe with each level a hunter matures and becomes more proficient at hunting and respectful of what we have and what we hunt.
I believe each level has it's own value and reward. I know of no real hunter who believes he or she has reached or is near the top level. A wise old buck or doe can beat any of us and they're only a few years old.  
I hope this doesn't sound smug or self righteous but I think maybe traditional bowhunting may be a different level. I don't look down on other styles but I honestly think it takes more skill to get close and proficient with a stick and string. That alone tends to value the hunt more than just taking game.
What's the top level? I have no idea but when you can catch em by the tail, your close.

[bowhunterfrompast]

Yes, there are several levels. Sad to say, there are many who never truly become bowhunters, no matter what bow they carry. Killing animals does not make a bowhunter, it is the end result of bowhunting.

[ozy clint]

i grew up hunting with a rifle. six years ago i started hunting with a crossbow. six months ago i started hunting with a recurve. i have discovered a new world of hunting experiences. i shoot less game now but i gain twice as much pleasure and have a newfound respect for the game i hunt. the idea of the game having a greater chance to evade me gives me a greater sense of achievement after a successful hunt. to take an animal now with anything else wont feel the same. i think i've fallen for trad bowhunting!

[buckeye_hunter]

Definitely. There are lots of people out there with different ideas on hunting and what constitutes hunting.

Some just go and sit where ever in the woods and hope.

Some study from books and maps and then go hunt.

Some study the maps, books and scout the land on foot before hunting.

Some do all of that and then add modern technology.

Some use every single edge they can get and are ethical while others throw ethics out the window.

Then, there are those that have had woodsmanship passed down to them by their fathers and hunt with only stick and string relying on woodsmanship, skill and shooting prowess.
_________________________________________________
For me the evolution went something like this;

1.Someone told me where to go sit and where to expect the deer to be.  I used a shotgun at this point.  
2.Then I started scouting, looking at maps and hunting new areas(getting lost often). I still used a shotgun.
3.Then I became a land owner and just muzzle loader hunted deer on my property.
4.From that, I went on to hunting with a traditional bow, scouting new areas and using lots of maps.  Now I don't get lost as often, but still do sometimes.
5.We sold our farm several years back and now I hunt public land with my recurve for the most part.  I am hoping to get better at that, but I'm having lots of fun trying!

And I still do hunt with a few friends that gun hunt, but not as often and we do that as a group.

Many levels of hunters, types of hunting and that didn't even include small game hunting.

-Charlie

[Bonebuster]

Working at such a place as you did, you probably got to see some real winners.

The most skilled bowhunters are the ones who have learned to enjoy everything involved in bowhunting. The ones who enjoy it the most are often the ones with the shortest, reddest, bloodtrails. When they release the string, game usually falls. When they don`t, they travel home with a happy heart, because they are "bowhunters".

There are MANY different levels of people who hunt with a bow, just as there are for other weapons of choice.

Unfortunately, the bowhunters you would WANT to meet, and would think highly of, don`t need help
at finding what they want. They walk into the store KNOWING what they want.

[Lewis Brookshire III]

I think there is a legal hunter and a poacher.

If they are hunting legally then there is no reason anyone should judge that person (Or think worse of them) for how they hunt. You like your style and others prefer their's. There are tons of circumstances that dictate the differences. Locale, handicaps, lack of time, lifestyle vs. hobby, profession vs. lifestyle, thrill of the hunt, thrill of the size of animal, etc.

If we tear each other apart from the inside then we will be even weaker for the people to tear us down completely from the outside.

Just my opinion.

[WidowEater]

Originally posted by Bonebuster:
 

Unfortunately, the bowhunters you would WANT to meet, and would think highly of, don`t need help at finding what they want. They walk into the store KNOWING what they want.

Even though the point has already been made, I thought this bore some repeating.

On another note: There is a big difference in the person that engages in fair chase and one who sits where the guide tells him to on game ranch.  Both are hunters, both may be good hunters, but at that place and that time right there and right now those are two hunters on two totally different levels.

Yet another note:  Hunters who are willing to make an incredible miles long stalk and then to release the string on that elusive target and load it up into their truck and go home and show their kids the awesome DOE they just shot.  That is another level.

[Jedimaster]

Yes there are most definitely different levels of bowhunter.  The best I know is a guy that is a taxidermist and trapper by trade.  He spends some amount of time in the woods 365 days/year.  He has access to some of the most prime places to hunt anywhere (great taxidermist have great contacts).  He usually takes a few inferior bucks a year off his own place.  That's it.  He finds no pleasure in anything other than pursuing game with a BBO of his own make and without anyone's help. No fences, no tower stands, no bait, no food plot, no scents.  He needs no advantage, he is pure hunter.  I wish I could say as much.

[Don Stokes]

Ortega's work on the several stages a hunter goes through is worth reading. A classic. Poorly paraphrased, it goes from the "whack 'em and stack 'em" mentality, to the point where the hunt is the destination, and the kill is no longer necessary. I'm about there. I think I've killed three in the last 5 years, but have passed many that I would have put down in past years, including some good bucks. I hunt now for the table or the wall, nothing in between.

Don

[TNstickn]

I hope the evolution never stops for me because it only seems to get better,year after year.  Last year was the first year in many years that I did not take a deer. My older two of three children took 4 deer (2 each). That was plenty of meat for the freezer and to give to people that sometimes ask for some. Hopefuly,I'm putting ethical hunters of the future out there, and not someone that will miss represent us and our sport. I tried to give my kids the best chance I could at taking a mature buck. This season will be much the same. Teaching outdoor ethics to my children is more important to me than leaving them at home to chase wall hangers. What level does that put me on? What ever level it is, I have never been more happy with the feelings it gives me. I think I enjoy the hunt and the kill is just the end result. I could be wrong though, because all this deer talk has made me hungry!! I'm goin to the freezer!!  -Greg

[DeerSpotter]

I have always looked at it like there are lazy hunters, that want everyone else to do the work for them, they asked questions, and want the answers without the labor, they want to hunt from their lazyboy and have the thrill of the trophy.

And then there are those that work hard and do all the right things and sometimes come up empty-handed and they still enjoy the journey.

But I find in society today that it mingles over into hunters as they talk with others.  We have lost character, integrity, and personal pride in the accomplishment of doing what is right.

Having said that, I also realize I'm not talking about a large amount of hunters, there are good many hunters, that are just so busy they don't have the time, or they don't think they have the time to do what is necessary to claim the game at the end of the journey.

I think it's also a part of the marketing strategies of the big stores and chains, they make it look so easy that it's expected by those that shop for that " perfect" piece of equipment to give them the opportunity, with the new fancy equipment and gizmos, they expect to walk in the woods set down in their lazy boy, that is the bigger and fancier tree stands, ladder stands, and dance platforms, the only reason the blinds are getting bigger, is that people that buy them are bigger.  So I think it's not just hunters fault.  It's also the mindset that has been established by all the marketing around him or her.

Just remember, that every man that goes hunting really wants to do it the right way, but somewhere along the line he or she sees someone else doing it

"easier"

I think if every hunter would have the attitude
 
" this is for my table, if I don't succeed the family gos hungry"

You would find a whole different mindset, men and women that walk in woods would think
 
" with a purpose"

But also you have the opportunity because of where you work, to influence that attitude in the future !

Just my thoughts,

Carl

[SilverTip]

I agree with Lewis,we are all in the same boat. take legal hunters as they are.

[crossstickspro]

WOW!  Thanks for the replys. Im not to old in hunting years and it really helps to hear every bodys opinions.

larry