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

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.

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?

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

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.

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.

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!

MacDaddy, good post.

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.

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????