ORIGINAL: GMMAT
SO,to summarize,IMO,one should learn what a good shot is.They should be competent with their equipment.They should know what shots they feel they can make and take an animal quickly and humanely and stick only to shots they feel the odds are stacked in their favor to take an animal quickly and humanely.Then and only then are you an ethical hunter.
Good post...
Also....I think it's important to note that what's ethical for someone else.....may NOT be, for you....and vice-versa (in the shot selection world). Just because "I" can't pulll off a 60yd shot on a deer.....doesn't mean someone else can't. Some people can pull off that shot with completely ethical accuracy. Just because YOU don't feel comfortable.....or YOU can't fathom taking a certain type of shot......don't assume everyone is in the same boat.
I agree, Jeff, but there are so many folks who seem to think that for one reason or another, (their longevity in the sport, their total number of kills, number of trophies on the wall) that someone who doesn't see things thier way simply has to be wrong.
I've always stayed out of the "shot ethics" threads. I'll shoot the shot I'm comfortable with and I'm certain I can make, and I personally don't care howanyone else feels about it. I've not yet hit an animal that I didn't recover, and hopefully I wont.
As to the 60 yard shot; if I had a deer standing still, unaware of me, no obstructions and no significant wind... I could take it, and I know I could kill it.Will I? Depends on the situation. Probably not, but that's not the point. This may only be my second year bowhunting, but I've practiced hard practically every day since I got my bow in February 2007. I may be new, butI'm also a pretty darned good shot.
eth·ics
(
th
ks)
n.
1.
a. A set of principles of right conduct.
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b. A theory or a system of moral values
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[/align]Who is to say that it's notRIGHT or it's MORALLY WRONG for me or someone else to take a 60 yard shot or a neck shot at 10 yards? No-one on this site has even met me. No-one has the foggiest idea of how good or bad I am with my bow. All anyone can do is try do judge me by their own capabilities, and that's just wrong.
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[/align]It baffles me how sothat many of the same folks that will cry "ethical foul" and call for the crucifixion of someone who would take a 60 yard shot, a quartering to shot or a neck shot will come right out and say that they'll cross a posted property line against the known wishes of the property owner to retrieve an animal, which for one is downright illegal in most states, and secondly is clearly unethical under definition a. above.
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