ORIGINAL: silentassassin
How do you prove you are ready to make a kill shot under hunting circumstances? Being able to shoot and being able to kill game are two completely different things.
You don't........there is only one way to know that and that is to do it.......however, if you can't even hit a target at a respectable range then you can bet that you aren't gonna be able to hit a deer unless you get lucky. Shooting should not be a variable........if you are sitting in the woods "hoping" that you will make a good shot when the time comes then you are not prepared to be there. If you are a good reliable accurate shot going into the woods.........that's all you can ask for........whether or not you can keep your cool when the time comes is something no one can help you with..........it is also something no one would ever get upset over if it was the reason behind a bad situation. People get excited........always have and always will.......you can't help that. What CAN be helped is people not being prepared to get the job done in the woods and/or not caring enough to do the right thing after the release is tripped.
Even seasoned hunters sometimes make mistakes and take shots they wish they could take back. It's all part of the learning process and the maturing process. Mistakes are a part of human nature in every aspect of life.
I have not seen people get blasted here for something beyond their control or an honest mistake.
I hardy think that the threads most people get worked up over qualify as "mistakes"...........more like carelessness.
There is so much information available at people's fingertips these days that their is no way anyone should plead ignorance as a reason they screwed up. Reading the STICKY notes on this forum and an hour with the search engine is enough to give anyone a good foundation to work from.
To say "I didn't know" today is just BS............if you really "didn't know" then you should have........and going out in the woods with "I didn't know" as your guide is not a "mistake"..........misjudging yardage is a mistake, hitting a twig is a mistake, not bending at the waist is a mistake.
Shooting a deer and not even looking for it is not even close to the same thing.
There is no doubt that we should try everything within our power to limit the number of them that we make but there will inevitably be mistakes made by all of us at some time or another.
I think everyone agrees on this..........it just seems that people differ in how to approach it. I personally would never tell someone "Oh well kid"........"It happens"........."Learn as you go"..........."That's hunting"..........."Get 'em next time" To me that just prolongs the poor actions that resulted in the bad situation by passing it off as "bad luck" or saying "it happens to everyone kid" BS..........get your head on straight and know what you are doing or stay home until you do.
JMO