For me, 3D is nothing like hunting exactly because there is no pressure. When a *real* deer walks out in front of me, I'm nothing but a quivering mass of protoplasm. I made the grave mistake of thinking that 3D was like hunting.
I did well at shoots, therefore I took it for granted that if I just got within range of a deer, "it was all over." Haha! Riiiiiiiight. Poor, naive tamure. I can't believe now that I actually thought that. So don't do that. :lecture:
But, 3D is still a kick in the pants. I do keep score and I like to compete. Even if the kill zones aren't anatomically correct, I will try to put the arrow in the 12 ring. That's what it's all about: putting the arrow where you want it to go, where ever that happens to be. A score is my best quantitative feedback on well I am doing that (I'm not anal to the point of scoring during practice).
For hunting, I like that 3D helps you learn to estimate yardage, and the focus is on the first shot. So it is relevant to hunting in some respects. Plus, it's just plain fun!