LOL! There's an older guy that hunts some public land where I occasionally hunt. He hunts the same 2 stands at least 4 times a week for the entire season. I've learned to use him as a 'bumper' and position myself to intercept the deer that sneak around him. :D

I don't think anybody is saying the guy should never hunt, but he should make an effort to be sure he's ready to make accurate, ethical shots.

As for passing tests...we all pass informal tests of our own. You say you shoot for a month before season. First of all, you're already an experienced shooter so a month is probably good enough to keep you up to speed, but this guy is brand new. Second, if you shoot for a few weeks and have a poor, wild-ass grouping on your arrows, would you still allow yourself to hunt? Or would you straighten out your form, tune your bow, etc first? That's mostly what people are talking about re: passing tests. I test myself every year to make sure I haven't changed my form, gotten my bow out of whack, etc.

It's the ethical thing to do. If this guy is shooting well and knows what shots he can and can't take, he's probably ready. We all know, however, that you can't take Joe Blow off the street, stick a bow in his hands for the first time, and think he's going to be ready to bow hunt. It's those types of hunters that give the rest of us a bad name.

you are VERY wrong and here is why

#1 he's LEGAL to pick up a bow and go hunt - proficiency is not a law
#2 compounds are made to be shot and within 10 minutes be shooting really good groups


sorry - you're wrong

no it isn't

Yeah, you're right. Non-hunters and anti-hunters are sure to make a distinction between an inexperienced hunter that (poorly) sticks and wounds the first animal to run by and a hunter that has practiced a bit more and tries his best to get good shot placement.

BTW, there's a distinct difference between what's legal and what's ethical. Legally, I can take aim at the head of a deer with a 40# bow and let fly. Doesn't mean it's the most ethical shot, however.

do you know HOW MANY animals are shot and wounded/lost by great shooters?

do you want to talk about the fact that rifle hunters by far and away would/lose more animals?


this is true - but with the modern compound bow, very good accuracy can be attained in just a very short time

compounds are DESIGNED to be easy to shoot - c'mon, you know this

the guy could easily shoot accurate in 30 minutes with a good tuned bow, and he could easily kill 3 for 3 deer and someone who's been bowhunting 10 years could go 0 for 3 losing 3 deer

Being accurate with a bow and being a good Bow Hunter are 2 completely different things.

Yes, it's easy to become proficient with todays compound bows. I hit the bullseye from 20 yds the first time someone put one in my hands, but that didn't mean I was ready to go bowhunting. Just meant that I knew what a sight picture was.

Well, given the above examples of new bow hunters not really knowing about good shot placement, it stands to reason that they had better at least learn about that. You make it sound like everyone is saying the new guy in question can't hunt...ever. Nobody is saying that. Rather, they're just saying he needs to take a little time (i.e. more than a week) to become familiar with what it takes to be accurate and take ethical shots.

As for rifle hunters vs. bow hunters losing more animals...it stands to reason that in absolute numbers, more are lost to rifle hunters because, er, there are far more rifle hunters than bow hunters. As a %, however, I've seen statistics showing that on a per-hunter basis, more are lost to bow hunters. It doesn't take a leap of faith (or much reading on this forum) to realize that a large number of those are likely due to poor shot placement. You can get away with a lot error more when shooting a 30.06 into a deer than an arrow.

Sorry Ranger77 but in this instance you are wrong. As plainly stated the newby wants to hunt his setups, which is the OP's decision to make. I wont' allow my son to step into the woods to hunt, even thought he is legal, without proving to me that he is proficient every year. He's 15 and out shot me and a buddy the other night, ended up busting his own nocks (yea I am proud of him!) The OP sets the rules, unless it's family land, if it was aquired by him. The newby can legally hunt public grounds.

And to say that not being proficient with a bow is not what gives bowhunters a bad name is wrong. Here in NC, where I live, there are stories on the news and such about deer being seen with arrows in them. Being a taxidermist, I have skinned out deer with arrows in them, just last year had one that had a broadhead in it's head, healed over. Shot down through the head stopped in the back of it's throat, how the thing survived IDK.

LMFAO!!:happy0157:

The hunt always starts at the end of the season. After almost a year of preparing, scouting and doing all the work involved, I understand your feelings.

I have a buddy that got his first bow this year. I have been trying to get him to get ready. He never did. At least he was smart enough to wait until next year to hunt.