Great replies. Some of you are really expanding on experience relating to bowhunting in general. I don't have enough time to type all those thoughts.

As stated already, there is no clear line when one becomes experienced, however I really feel that it takes a bit more than a few years to do so. An experienced hunter is going to be able to make the shot under pressure and his nerves will not affect him. A rookie is more likely to blow the shot regardless of how many times he kills his foam buck. An experienced hunter is going to know how to track a wounded deer. This is probably the single most important factor in bowhunting besides actually putting an arrow thru the lungs.

While I feel that neither new or seasoned bowhunters have the right to be wreckless in thier shot selection there is a HUGE difference in the probability of killing and finding a deer with a "less than ideal" shooting opportunity between a rookie and a veteran.