Bowhunting Ethics
 

Lets discuss hunting ethics, specifically what guidelines do you go by when deciding to take game with a bow?

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

Define guidelines....I need to make sure I am confident with the shot, and I can make a humane kill. I also need to have confidence in my gear.

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

by the sound of your name...you have read or at least heard of the book the deerslayer and the rest of the series written by james finemore cooper?

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

Oh, the load I could dump on this topic. Can I resist the urge?!?

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

each hunter has to make his/her own desisions on ethical hunting.

Basically once you get past the " rules" set by the state that you hunt in the shot is up to you. What is considered ethical on one hunt may be downright ugly in another.

some say it' s unethical to hunt over bait, some say it' s OK,
some say it' s unethical to take a shot over XX distance. ;)
some say it' s ethical to take a small buck some say it' s not.
Some say,
Some say,

It doesn' t matter really. You have to sleep with your mistakes. And you will make them no matter how saintly you think you are. You will rush a shot, flinch, lose your composure, whatever and wound an animal.

Sorry but that' s life. Maybe just try to stay within your lines of acceptable behavior and hunt like the game warden was with you in the tree. you should have no problems sleeping at night.

Also Ethics are situational and only apply to the example at hand, maybe you want to talk about Hunting Morals which are more absolute.

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

Yes, I' m familiar with J.F. Cooper. Liked his work and picked up on the username.

Perhaps " morals" would better characterize what I' m getting at. They are the grounds that undergird our actions. Not sue I would agree that ethics are situational though. Right and wrong must be more than just what feels right or wrong at the time.

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

Ethics are what you do when nobody is watching you! I try my best to hunt as though I have a game warden over my shoulder!

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

MacDaddy, good post.

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

Don' t " force" your shot...if it' s not a claen shot, don' t take it.

Respect others who may be hunting in the same general area.

Other than that, Macdaddy hit it pretty much in the 10 ring.

One GENERAL rule when out in the field....don' t litter! Man, I just hate it when I see crap laying in the woods, such as beer/soda cans, candy wrappers, etc. Bring it in, take it out. Fortunately the area I hunt is not very populated and I don' t have to worry about this, for the most part. As long as I' m on my little pedestal for a minute :-) another absolute pet peeve is the abuse of ATV' s. What ever happed to hoovin it back in. Keep em on the trails, no problem.

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

Still resisting, but I am intrigued by this concept of No Fault ethics, where all things are relative. Very liberal concept! I' m also wondering what the difference is between hunting ethics and hunting morals. Shouldn' t they be one and the same????

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

Game Wardens need to have ethics. My first deer ,after years of hunting was an 189 lb 8 pointer. wich was shot at 10 yards from my stand. It was 4:20 pm. I had shot through the center of the heart with a 58 cal. B.P. The deer bleed I guess internailly. My partner and I could not find any blood trail. It was dark. we went back to camp..what a long night. We found it right away at first light. At the check-in station the game wardern" Marty" who is now known as ...well lets not go there.....[X(] .. He interigated us and we did not even realized it til we left. He tried to say we " Jacked the deer." THIS WAS my FIRST deer and this idiot tried to rain on MY DAY. I know they have a job to do but..you should of seen this fool try to measure the eyeball with this little pocket flashlight .His regular light was " not working" ...How can you do ANY Legal test with out the right eqpt. and knowalage. I guess he got the same story from both of us and had no further comments. I am so proud of my LEGAL 8 pointer Chestmount in my Living room.

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

a liberal hunter?? You trying to make me laugh Arthur P?

I' ll make my morals easy for you. I hunt because it' s magnificent. The thrill when you have a deer walk close to you. The joy of my first and only kill last year. years of effort finally realized. Meat I put on the table for my family.
I killed a medium sized doe. I have no problem with killing does. I think we have too many deer in VA right now. I think the heard needs to be thinned. It would be great to shoot an 8 pointer. But a 4 pointer or a 6 pointer is fine for me too. The more I hear the logic of trophey management the more it bothers me. What is the point of hunting? is it to put artificial sources of food out there and basicly give a safe pass so the antlers grow nice and big like cultivating a prize flower? WELL.....for some it is. For me it isn' t and my reasons might not stand up for many of you. I don' t have control of a large piece of land. My hunting takes place where I can find a small semi isolated spot on public land, or a small piece of private land that I can talk my way onto. I have the spot behind my house for only 2 weeks, then I have to take the stand down. If it' s a medium sized or better deer and I can make a clean kill, I' m going to put it down.
If it' s legal and you are comfortable with it, take the shot. And I hope you hit your mark.

David

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

Care to enlighten everyone with Arthur P' s rendition of " hunting ethics and or morals" ?

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

David..I hear ya..The hunt..the food..its all good...There is posted land everywhere here in New Hampshire. I have permission to hunt on land that is posted by a docter. he is very nice. I have hunted there for a few years now. My first bow harvest was a button buck, and it was a very exciting hunt. I got lucky with my first deer. would of taken a doe if one came by..but the large scrape yeiled a nice 8 pointer @ 189 lb dressed... we no not have much land here for ' growing antlers" you have to " HUNT" for the big boys.

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

dpv....man u sure hit the nail on the head.... for most hunters who don' t have the land or money..... any deer is a trophy! everyone sees the pics of huge deer...and some go into the woods looking for these trophys...some find em some don' t...those that do is mostly luck... so what are the rest of us AVERAGE hunters supposed to do...well we' re gonna take a small, medium, or large doe...maybe we' ll get lucky and take a nice buck... well good for u if u do... i feel sorry for you!... because that nice buck you shot is gonna raise your standards and you' re gonna start passing on those little bucks and all the does that come by.... then when that NICE buck comes by and doesn' t give you the shot you want...you' re still gonna take it... who knows maybe you' ll lose your deer...no blood trail or maybe it' ll be gut shot and coyotes will get it...i don' t know...but for those of you average hunters.... good luck this season....i hope you have the best of luck... and get the CLEAN kill that you' re looking for...thats what hunting ethics are....enjoying the time in the woods and making a clean humane kill...thanks for listening!:eek:

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

I hunt to feed my family. I follow all the rules set down by the state. I' m pround of any deer I take. As long as you do it legally. Otherwise it' s not hunting.

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

Why would I want to give you another opportunity to ridicule me like you' ve done often enough in the past, BF? Suffice it to say my ethics/morals are old fashioned, a throwback to the old days and go a good bit further than meeting the minimum requirements set out in the hunting regs.

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

outdoorsman09,
You jump to a lot of conclusions pal.

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

Arthur P:

You must not be a real Texan if' n yar goin' to let some " greenhorns" intimidate you and cause you to wimp out. :) ....I have never known you to hold back. :)

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

Amen wimp!

Hunting ethics/morals....well IMO, each has to set their own standards, and live with the decisions they make. Same as in life.

Oh, and if you want to hear more about this, ....just wait until about Oct 1st, when most seasons are open. The ethics police will be all over the board....then it will get fun [:-]

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

Bowhunting ethics.....I believe hunting ethics are hunting ethics, no matter what you hunt with.

We owe it to these animals to our our bows, shotguns, rifles, crossbows, muzzleloader, etc all sited in and ready to shoot. A good clean humane kill. Speaking of a clean kill....I' m not taking shots I' m not comfortable with. I' m not taking shots I THINK I can make. I' m not putting the fate of that deer in the hand of my dumb luck. Thats just not fair to the animal.

Ethics goes byond just you and other animals. It' s also not leaving my junk all over someone elses land. Leave the land in better condition when you leave. Ethics is staying where you are allowed to hunt. Don' t trustpass. One...it' s illegal. It' s illegal for a reason, it' s just not right.

Ethics is following the rules and regulations of the state you are hunting in. Ignorance is no excuse. Every state puts out a hunting guide every year. Read it.

I could go on an on, but I have to get to work.


j

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

Here are some examples of Ethical questions and Moral questions.

Ethics apply to a situation for that person. Take the shooting distance question. If my ability is such that I cannot make a confidant shot past 20 yards then taking a 30 yard shot would be unethical because it was beyond my abilities. But If I am confidant that my abilities are not at the limit for a 30 yard shot and I take it I am hunting within my abilities and considered ethical. Another Ex. I' m hunting with some friends and I have filled my only " buck" tag for the year but am hunting does. A MONSTER 190 class buck walks out and stands broadside, 15 yards, and looks away. The hunting regs say it' s OK for me to use another persons tag if we are hunting together. Do I take the shot and use my bud' s tag? Now what if I put in that it' s the last day of the season and my friends all agreed that we will split the meat we get today so shoot anything and we have 3 buck tags between the 4 of us. The situation changed. The " Question" remains the same but the ethical solution is different.

Morals are more absolute. Ex. you should always track a wounded animal until you have exhausted all possibility of recovery. You see there are is no situation that would make that statement false. Ex. You should always know your target and what is beyond. Again there is not a situation that would change that to a false statement.

So when someone asks an ethics question make sure you present all the facts so that the " group" can make an informed suggestion to your question.:)

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

Macdaddy...are you a hunters safety course instructor? You said what I was thinking but could not put into words. In my opinion you hit the nail square on the head.;);)

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

Was that so hard Arthur? That' s a very good answer to the question![:-] In fact it probably best describes the expectations I put on myself and my children.
I dont go out of my way to ridicule you unless you post something stupid!:D;)


Who you calling a greenhorn sparky?[8D]

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

Hey Arthur.... let me stir the pot. ;) If you don' t shoot.... you ain' t going to hit him. If you don' t hit him.... you ain' t going to get him.[>:] OK... how about a little more pot stirring. In some circles the buggers are vermin. If you think you can do it...... Just do it. IF you don' t want to... well start a thread on hunting ethics.(OH Arthur.... that was a nice touch wasn' t it... that last sentence)

Anyway, some people place them on a Godly pedistal and insist on instant death and only guaranteed shots. No such thing..... so Arthur and I just take the shot when it feels good. OPs, I' m speaking out of turn... I don' t have Arthurs permission to say such things. Sure I don' t like to have a bad result from a shot.... it means more work and possibly a lost 100 pounds of meat and a broken $10 arrow. I have my own restrictions and they' ve served me well. Practice makes ALMOST perfect.... the rest is luck.

What you think Arthur.... will that start it off?

Incidently... ethics are people specific. Mine are different than yours. What' s ethical for me isn' t always necessarily ethical for you. That' s the trouble... people interchange ETHICAL as a politically correct way of saying push the envelope. Well I want a big envelope. I know people that have a bigger one than me. Ethics is NOT the law.... it' s a personnal standard. Don' t try to force yours on me or I' ll fight you everytime. That' s why I hate ethical standard debates on the internet or for that matter in the classroom. It' s got nothing to do with the law. It' s a matter of standards, upbringing, goals etc. I' m hear to say the guy that cheats on his wife is far more a rascal than the guy who shoots a deer in the butt because he took a risky shot. But hey, that' s me. I wouldn' t cheat on my wife with the classiest hollywood dollywood gal. Yet, there are womanizers out there that will tell me it' s UNETHICAL to shoot beyond 20 yards or at a walking deer. Give me a break.

RE: Bowhunting Ethics
 

Nah! I dont see anything to disagree with!