Furync

right on.

rather_be_huntin

Like others of said being a good hunter includes obeying the laws and respect for the game, land and other hunters. A good hunter doesn't waste meat and hunts for the right reasons.

But......there is more to it to me than just those things if someone is to be considered a good hunter. I think a good hunter can find the game he/she is seeking very well and make one shot kills when a shot is taken. So in addition to the above things I would also say:

A good hunter must be very knowlegeable about the game he/she hunts. If the animal calls be proficient with those calls and know what each sound means and when to use it. The better you are with the calls the better the hunter you are going to be. You need to know where to find the animal. What does it eat? Will it be in heavy timber or quaking aspen? What time of day is it most active? What are it's rutting habits? Where will it go when pressured? The more knowledge you have the more successful you'll be.

I think a good hunter is very accurate with the tool he/she is using to take an animal. You should practice all year long with your bow, rifle or whatever it is you are using.

A good hunter knows when to take the shot and when not to. You know the biology of the animal so you know where to aim when broadside, quartering away or to you.

A good hunter scouts. Gets to know the land and the animals that live there.

I think all these factors contribute to being a good hunter. If you can master all of these things (which I have not) then I think you'll have hanging on the wall what ever you feel like or as much meat in freezer as you can handle and you'll be well respected in the process.

manboy

rather-be- huntin... thats is alot of how i feel, i am sure not there yet! but i do scout as much as i can, that is what tool i used to harvest my last 3 elk(scouting). it didn't matter where i was hunting, high country, plains, or just the foothills, what mattered was the simple fact, that i did all of the learning i could about the animal and where it lives,eats, sleeps, and waters. how they respond to calls, hunting pressure. i have learned this area for over 10 years. that is what i call being a good hunter, not because i shot a 339 5/8 6x6 or i have a 66% harvest rate. i work hard to be succesfull in the field, not always do i fill a tag. but there is something special about having kids with you, that some may never get to understand.

thanks for all the replys!

justhuntitall

I think this means diffrent things to diffrent people such as SpyroAndes I get from you you are a competive person not of that human to human but human to animal one such of age and size that it has cleverly escaped others to become unbeaten by every preditor but you. I dont mean this in a bad way I have much respect for this man againts animal desire.

Myself on the other hand I hunt for that reason sometimes but mainly I hunt to get away from this mind set of everyday mental burden to escape to a place that the everyday does not get thought about .

So to me what makes a good hunter he who can loose himself entirely to hunting!

K2SOCO

I could not have said this better!

A good hunter enjoys teaching others new to the sport (young and old) everything they have learned through the years of hunting!

dayna0306

In my case it's a good and devoted wife

rick_reno

Someone who is safe and makes clean, quick kills on game in season.

Red Hawk

I think everyone said it well. I'll just add on to respect the animals we hunt ..that is what my dad taught me

RandyA

Good as in succesful? Patience, patience, patience! And some luck!

ShatoDavis

I think that hunting shows have reduced hunting to a measuring game. Too many folks are after "record book" animals. Too few hunters nowadays know that killing is a very small part of what hunting really should be.