I've seen this discussed back and forth, and been involved with it myself. One fellow in particular I can think of is Steve Hohensee--he used to make White Bison longbows. Steve will tell you he stinks on targets, especially in front of people--but his hunting record is amazing. He's killed gobs of big game/dangerous game.

I forget who it was, but there was a fellow on television some years ago who was an Olympic archer, and he missed a "gimme" shot on a deer--nerves got him.

I have a good friend who is one of the best shots you'll ever meet, when he's shooting with friends on familiar territory. Get him to a big tournament, he blows up. Another guy I used to shoot with a lot was the same way. I literally watched him out-shoot factory sponsored compound shooters using an old Bear "Black Bear" recurve--but when the heat was on in a big tournament, he generally fell apart. He'd start out like a house on fire, but around half-way through he'd start adding up scored and blow it.

I agree that accuracy is accuracy--fur or foam--but nerves are a totally different story. Also, one of the things about hunting is taking the shot you are comfortable and confident with, vs. someone else telling you where and when to shoot at a tournament.

Like most everything else in this sport, there's a ton of variables to consider. It sure doesn't hurt anything to be a good tournament shooter, and there's nothing that says you can't be good at both.

Chad