Steve F.in MD:

The 1st hunter did me the grace of inviting me to this hunting ground to hunt deer my first deer season and show me around the property, indicating good places to hunt. Additionally, he is my niece's husband. So, I feel some obligations and family connection to him. I would no doubt make other use of this trip of 250 miles other than to visit the rifle range with him -- visit my in-laws, visit some old friends, maybe do some advance scouting on the hunting ground, so I would not be doing such a pure act of altruism as it might have seemed. Also, to the extent the 1st hunter would actually learn and grow from the trip to the range, this would be satisfying to me. I'm 49 years old and a father of three. Much of my satisfaction in life now comes from passing on my knowledge to younger people and teaching them some of the nuggets of understanding I have acquired through my life. In the case of this 1st hunter, I think he has some ill-founded ideas about shooting, such as that it is an attribute of one's character. Either you can shoot or you can't shoot, and you can't do anything about it if youj can't shoot. Well, it certainly isn't my experience that it is a matter of genetics but rather of proper technique and practice. Additionally, I don't think he has any appreciation for the random variation involved in shooting -- from one cartridge to another, from one manufacturer's loading to another, and just shooting in the same rifle there is some variation -- and hence the way to evaluate one's shooting is by firing groups.

Anyway, I would like to help the guy out if I can, and especially I would feel better if he wounded fewer animals.