I think this is a good thread, not another "toot my own horn" or "QDM" thread. I agree with alot that has been said, and especially what Mowtown said.

I don't consider myself to really be a"good" hunter. I am average at best. The best I can account, I have taken somewhere between 30-35 deer with my bow in 18yrs of bowhunting, and never what I would consider a good one. No great feat by any means, and I haven't really kept track since numbers don't mean anything to me. I do know that I haven't taken a buck with my bow in the last 7yrs, because of my own personal goals. I have passed a ton of bucks and does over that timeframe though, and have learned alot by doing so. If I shot half of the deer I have had an opportunity at, I would have tripled my kills with a bow, but it really wouldn't have made me a "good" hunter, just one with many more kills.

I think being "good" is going to vary widely since it is really an opinion. Are you good because you killed 100 deer with a bow? Are you good because you have 5 or 6 good bucks on the wall? What really makes us good? Good to one, may be getting a deer with a bow each year. Good to another may be taking the best buck on the land they hunt, and only that buck. Good to yet another may be hunting a particular animal and harvesting him or her that season. And still another may be setting some other type of goal and achieving it...whatever it may be. And all those things may not mean squat to another person.

I know guys that kill small bucks every year with a bow, and in their mind they are "good", but in reality, those immature bucks are very easy to kill. No real accomplishment there. I also know guys that have some very nice bucks on the wall, and can't even spell hunting. They have been lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. One buddy of mine, has been dubbed "the golden horseshoe" because he has an uncanny amount of luck. He basically hunts with a rifle 99% of the time, and no matter where he goes, or whose property he hunts on, a nice buck seems to stroll by. He never scouts, hardly knows anything about the nuts and bolts of hunting, but has lots of luck. Is he "good"? You might think so by looking at his wall. I also have another buddy that I grew up hunting with. He moved to Montana 6yrs ago, and has since proceeded to kill 6 P&Y bucks in a row. All are very nice deer (125-140 class), but not the big ones for where he hunts. Is he "good"? IMO he is a better hunter than I am, but he also has a great spot and much more opportunity at P&Y class animals, he sees alot of them each season. When he hunted here, he never killed much more than a basket rack.

Which leads to another factor of "good". Location. Yes, some places are definitely better than others. Hunting in an area that holds numerous P&Y class animals, obviously ups your chances at getting one. The areas I hunt, if you took a P&Y, it would be quite a feat...they are very rare. However, just because someone may live in the midwest and have more numbers of nicer bucks, doesn't mean mature bucks are easy to kill. I believe they are still tough anywhere outside of the pens and pet-a-pets. Your odds are just a little better in those areas, because more of them exist.

I will agree however, that the guys that invest alot of time and effort year in and out, and consistently shoottop enddeer for where they hunt, would be considered "good", no doubt. My goal is to someday have enough time to apply what I have learned over the years, and really put the effort out to becomea "good" hunter. For now, I just enjoy spending time in God's great outdoors, hopefully learning something new on each trip out, and hope to achieve my personal goals for the season. Does that make me "good" ??? I guess "good" is really in the eye of the beholder.