RE: Skyline Shots any thoughts?
 

I don't speed. You are the one who admitted to speeding. One of my best friends and his wife were killed my a Dumb$$s who was in a big hurry and tried to pass a truck and ran them off the road. You go ahead and speed if you want and blast at the sky for that matter. I was taught better. Your right. ENOUGH ALREADY. GEEEEEEEZZZZZ To you too.:D

RE: Skyline Shots any thoughts?
 

that is right... so read EKM's post...

Not to pick a fight but why do you assume that you were "taught better" rather than "taught differently"?

In fact, in this very statement, you more than substantiate another poster's theory regarding what I would call "Holier Than Thou" syndrome...

I don't know... maybe it is the entire free will and the freedom to make one's own decissions that many have issues with... I just find it somewhate amusing that people that have screamed for state's right and personal rights the loudest have such issues dealing with another's personal decission.

Maybe it is that you are all for free will and the right of people to make their own choices... as long as they come to the same choice as you.

I tend to trust my own judgement and make a decission for each shot while you tend to abide by a rule that you decided upon before hand...

RE: Skyline Shots any thoughts?
 

Sorry but skyline shots are against every rule of common sense. Like I said If some choose to do it, I hope its not me they kill. Good luck and it sounds as if I will need it to.

RE: Skyline Shots any thoughts?
 

I know that you are not to shoot on the skyline and you are supposed to be sure of a back stop. I think, however, you might consider the area. Where I hunt deer, there are several farms around within a 2 mile radius of my hunting spot. Out in the west, for example maybe where your televised Coues deer hunt took place, you might not have a similiar density of population. It is a matter of probabilities. Just because there is a "backstop" behind your bullet doesn't mean there isn't a rock just below the dirt, your bullet won't ricchocet off that rock, fly over the hill and kill a child in a farmer's front yard, at an angle nearly perpendicular to your line of fire -- this is just a low probability event. People take off in airplanes all the time with some probability of firey death -- maybe one in 10 million, one in one million? Odds of death in a car are probably substantially greater. While I don't shoot at skylined deer where I hunt, I probably would not get too excited seeing them shoot Coues deer on the skyline. There are graver ethical and safety lapses that hunters make than this particular example.

RE: Skyline Shots any thoughts?
 

Every year there are people killed in hunting "accidents" I have a problem with the accident portion of that. Most if not all could be avoided with a little common sense. So If someone kills someone else through there own negligence is that an accident? In your example you state that its ok to shoot skylined deer if your in a remote enough area. I say BS. A safety conscious hunter would not take that shot anywhere. It just goes against every safety rule and common sense. It doesn't matter how remote the area. How can you be sure that there isn't another hunter over the rise on the far ridge? You can't, so you shouldn't take the shot. The fact that this is even being debated is disgusting.

RE: Skyline Shots any thoughts?
 

shatodavis,
i dont condone skyline shooting, but from what ive seen that is the least of our worries in the woods. way too many hunters shoot with no consideration of their background when it isnt a skyline situation. further, in some areas where public land is limited there will be hoards of hunters trapsing all over these little sections. once in nebraska when i was going to school, i was driving around in rifle season when i noticed a face of a hill that i knew was public. i wish i would have counted how many orange dots were on that hillside, id say at least 10. small hill too. if a deer would have jumped up anywhere on that hillside, i hesitate to think of what would have happened. from talking to the locals, thats just how they hunt there. wow.
i dont think skyline shots are even HALF as dangerous as that kind of crap.

i dont take skyline shots, but i dont rifle hunt nebraska either:)

RE: Skyline Shots any thoughts?
 

Muleys
I agree there are many things much more dangerous. But, You can not dismiss the skyline debate because of other more dangerous things happening. thats paramount to not putting oil in your truck because gas is more important.

I sat in on a "hunter education" class this last fall. What a joke. If anyone thinks there kid is a safe hunter because of one of these classes, you're wrong. they spent nearly one of the three classes on crossing a fence. It was wholey inadequate. I guess its better than nothing. Too many would be hunters with out the "raising". the way I was raised and the way I raise my own is hunting is much like an apprenticeship. You have to tag along with your "mentor" long enough to learn the ropes, then you can hunt a little under supervision until the point where you prove your skill/ safety.

RE: Skyline Shots any thoughts?
 

hunter safety classes are a great thing, but i think the most important outdoor lessons are better learned outdoors, with people who have been there.

when i took the class, it was a lot of fun. the videos were cool, and of course i found the topics interesting. it was super easy though, my dad had already taught me all of that, and tons more. its unfortunate that some hunters did not have that gift growing up.

im not dismissing the skyline debate. those shots should not happen. neither should those who heard the animal call, so they shot and killed there buddy, or any of these other examples on this thread. i think the sad part is that people need to read this on here to understand it. somewhere in all of this common sense should take over.

RE: Skyline Shots any thoughts?
 

I have read back over some of the other replies and find ElKampMaster's reply pretty cogent and articulate. This thread is a tempest in a teapot, an argument of how many angels may dance on the head of a pin. Safety is a relative concept. If you think you are safe in your car, in an airplane, in your workplace, in your home, in the woods hunting you are deluding yourself. Risk is always present.

Again, I don't shoot at skylined deer where I hunt. Partly because there are farms within two miles or closer to the hunting ground. Also partly because I just don't have to. There will be other shooting opportunities so no necessity to take an undesirable skyline shot. On the other hand, I do persist in this claim that it is a matter of probability and risk. If I spin the dial and randomly shoot at a 45 degree angle, my bullet is going to come down somewhere. In a more densely populated area, there is a greater risk that the bullet may encounter a human being. When I'm in a remote area, the risk is diminished and may be ridiculously small. What are the chances I can hit a deer that I aim at which is two miles distant? Pretty slim and all the slimmer when I'm shooting blind and not directing my shot. From what I've heard, Coues deer is generally hunted in pretty remote country. I just can't get too excited over the cited lapse in shooting protocol.

RE: Skyline Shots any thoughts?
 

I don't know where hunter safty courses come in. I learned no skyline shots long before there were hunter safty courses. To me it as ignorant a thing as a man with a gun can do. Some things don't need to be done. Its hunting not killing at any cost. If a man makes an exception anywhere then in my mind they will probanly do it anywhere, if it means missing a chance for a kill. I have seen it before. I will leave it at that let your own judgement guide you and take the chance that the worse may happen. My rules have worked well for me and there have been a few times when I had to continue the stalk or wait until a clear safe background was present. And yes. A few times I had to pass up the shot and wait for another. Score one pouint for the animal.