My father has shaped a great deal of my values.....I have spun off in one direction or the other on my own as I mature through life but have rarely strayed too far from that foundation......what he taught me was right so there is no need to stray.

I had no option as a child (which is the way it should be).........I did things right, or I didn't get to do them. If I could not shoot accurately, I did not get to hunt. If I didn't know the hunting laws, I did not get to hunt. If I didn't practice proper gun safety I got my ass kicked......and then I didn't get to shoot or hunt. When doe permits were scarce you didn't pull the trigger on a small deer........and if you shoot at a deer you can be sure that your shot placement would be critiqued by everyone back at the truck. You shoot it, you dress it, and you drag it (with help of course) An animal was NEVER disrespected.....NEVER!!!!

Now there are certain things that are personal and no one can help but you. For example, I am more effected by the death of an animal then my dad. I just can't help but feel a twinge of sadness when I kneel down beside a deer I have killed.........I don't think it effects my dad in that way at all........and a lot of other guys........just my personal feelings. I have never hesitated to pull the trigger even for a second but when I kneel down I get a wave of empathy for the life I just took. I make my peace with the animal and that feeling quickly gets washed away by excitement, satisfaction and the fact that my work has just begun. It may fade quickly........but it's there every time.

I guess that isn't really an ethics thing but it's just what came to mind.


Just like the old saying goes.........your ethics are what you do when no one is looking.

Ethics speak to what kind of person you REALLY are.........not an act that you pretend to be because you know someone is judging you.

Ethics are the right thing to do.

Everyone knows the right thing to do...........it's just a matter of if you talk the talk.......or walk the walk.