i have to chuckle a little at new hunters like that... we have to hope they have good teachers/influencers, but we don't always get what we want... and guess what, I'd be willing to bet that even the most ethical of hunters will have other hunters disagree with their ethics (look at the tag it or not thread from a few weeks back for a perfect example)... all you can do is plant a few "seeds" and hope they grow... these guys will learn over time what to do, not everyone has the benefit of knowing experienced hunters, so they learn a lot on their own... i wouldn't hold it against them in any way, we've all had to learn some stuff the hard way thru our hunting lives... of course, if i had been the newbie at the counter and someone started preachin at me about ethics and blah blah blah i woulda gotten defensive and probably shouted back at the guy and stormed out of there thinkin he was a major league pr!ck...

imho, better to have said nothing than to have alienated a new hunter...

A perfect example of why I think stores should refuse to sell bows the day before or during season, unless the hunter can prove proficiency.

If this guy didn't think he needed to practice he wasn't a hunter and won't see anything more than likely. And if he does he will draw at the wrong times and the deer gets away.

The song Simple Man comes to mind. Dont worry, if he is that blind to the sport, he will probably not even see a deer, much less get a shot at one. I hope.

from a biz point of view, I can't get behind this... why? because shops that do this, while admirable, won't stay in biz long after that sale attempt... someone else is GOING to sell that gear to 'em regardless... now, if you had to prove profieciency based on a state wide scale (kinda like IL's FOID program where you have to be registered to purchase a gun or ammo) then it becomes fair for every shop... having one or two principled owners will lead them outta biz quick though...

I agree with you. It would have to be a statewide scale. I know its not the shops' fault that they are selling new bows the day before season. That is their job. These "bowhunters" need to take the initiative and make their purchases and practice sessions well before the start of season. Good point Seven!

i come across that a lot and i stand there stund as i can't believe the amount of people that just grab a bow and go hunting the next day . I had one guy that his peep was hanging off the bow not in the string ,probably from being dry fired, and when i told him it was as if it didn't matter . totaly clueless as to shooting a bow

Well it is sad,

but you just gotta hope that Davidmil is right - how the hell is a guy that is that unprepared going to
be into position and have the skills to get a deer close, much less hit it. One thing I've learned is
bowhunting whitetails is not easy. These guys think it's like a rifle - point and shoot.

I got a picture in my head of this guy drawing back from the sky with a grunt as the deer scatter, he lets
one fly and due to his bad form, the string catches his jacket and nearly jerks him over the side of his stand.
One can hope.

i can't disagree with this except to say that unless they had/have a decent teacher then they may think this is ok... kinda like kids that don't know not to touch the hot iron, will learn a lesson from it when they do... its unfortunate, but it is what it is... ya do what ya can, but when you know the other person isn't gonna take the advice you give, what's the point of pissing them off in some kind of confrontation... certainly some well chosen words would help the situation, but it seems that MANY MANY people lack the tact to breach a topic like hunters ethics in a polite and inoffenssive manner...

personally, I think it would go a long way for the sport if Gander, Bass Pro, Cabella's and etc. would really start pushing hunter education classes... surely the local hunting clubs (both gun and bow) would gladly donate some time to teach and help organize these classes... i think if the big box stores would start doing things like this on a large scale it might get the word out better... like the local gander gives you a free year of indoor practice if you buy your bow from them... maybe couple that with a training class that covers other non-shooting related topics like shot placement, ethics, land mgmt, etc...

I'm thinkin out loud here...

When they are ready they will show up at a proshop to ask questions about it. When I worked in a proshop I had people come in and buy a new bow before and only buy one cheap arrow to shoot a deer with, but they always came back to buy more arrows and they are ready to ask than. At first they have read things and had a buddy tell them things and think they know all there is to know about it and if you try to correct them all they do is get mad and never come back to learn it right.