I think the shooting proficiency helps keep some people out of the woods, but I don' t like the fact that it is only targeted (no pun intended) at bowhunters. Why isn' t there a mandatory shooting exam for rifle hunters that are required to take hunters ed in certain areas of Alaska?

I think it needs to be across the board or not at all personally.

But, fact is that things are the way they are right now. That being said, I would rather see the IBEP have the shooting proficiency as part of the program to pass the course, as well as the NBEF. Alaska is the only state that requires the shooting portion of the class, unless you get the IBEP in another state, then you don' t need it.

In Matt' s case, I like the idea of inviting him over to shoot one afternoon. Show him up and teach him something. Then we' ll all chip in and buy you a cupcake for your deed of the day.

Matt / PA, If the guy is lucky when he shoots at a deer he might hit a tree rat,or a passing duck, like the 3 stooges

It' s the same story every year. Day before bow season and some dude buying a new bow so he can go out " tomorrow" . Unfortunately, there isn' t a whole heck of a lot we can do about these things. Saying something isn' t going to work. You' ll just be listening to yourself. There will always be people like this. Unfortunate but true.

Scariest place to be is walmart, night or 2 before archery. Wow do you see some characters there that are headed out the next morning.

As far as buying a bow a week before the season, if its a guy who' s been shooting for years, what' s the big deal? You guys all know you could pick up a bow and have it shooting comfortable enough in 2 days to go hunting. Like someone else said, its the guys who can' t hit a barn that still venture out that are the ones you really worry about.

OlMossy,

If I bought a new bow and had a week to practice with it and tune it for my broadheads, I guarantee you, anything within 20 yards is dead if I decide to shoot. I would definitely be angry if someone who didn' t know me, came up and made a judgement like that.

Who knows why a guy might be buying the new bow. Maybe his old one broke after tons of practice that season, and he needs a new one to hunt this season. He may be proficient and a long time archer. It certainly doesn' t take more than a couple days to get a new bow shooting good, in most instances.

I use to work in a archery shop and you would not believe the number of people that cannot hit a 2' x2' target. When I would ask them about this the number one answer was " a deer is bigger than that target" .

Needless to say I gave up the archery job,number one it made me crazy the number of people hunting that could not shoot. The other reason was that I had to work all through bow season.

I try to help anyone that I can by inviting them out to shoot but some people just dont get it.

I hope that some day all hunters will have to take a test in order to get a archery license. I think that would make hunters take the time to learn about archery and learn how to shoot. Those that did not want to do this could just stay home.

Oh well just my 2 cents worth!

Although I couldn' t image not getting ready to bow hunt atleast three months before the season and having stands hung in May or June for a mid-Sept. opener and scouting already done so I' m out of the woods, there is one thing to all of this. These people probably have no clue about scent elimation, hunting the wind, stand placement, scouting, hunting the right times/areas that would allow them to see many deer...much less get shots at one. They might get lucky and have a deer come up to them and we just have to hope that a little buck fever runs crazy and they can' t even pull back. These aren' t people that hike a mile back in timber either. The ones that walk 50 feet off a main path or trail cause it' s easy to get to. LOL

As one gentleman posted....Try inviting him out on a shoot with you. Hopefully he' ll see how good you shoot and might think that he may not be ready to go and hunt.

I shot my father-in-law' s Patriot at 30 yards and hit right on the money. I am right handed, and he is left handed. If one can shoot, I don' t have a problem with someone getting a new bow only a few days before season. Beginners shouldn' t do it though.

Yup! There are some in every crowd. However, there are also new hunters in that crowd who are just starting out and we should be respectful of that. For instance, my neighbor has seen me go hunting almost every Saturday during the fall and winter for the past few years. He' s decided he now wants to become part of this great hunting experience and has been over at my house asking questions and watching me practice. He' s at the point now of buying a bow so that he can take the state certification test next spring. Therefore, he' s not part of these last-minute hunters, but simply a sportsman who has gotten bitten by the ' bug' and now is the time for him to gear up and get ready for next season.

But I hear ya. Probably 85% of those people at the local pro shop are just slackers and procrastinators!

i' ve tried that and sometimes it doesn' t work. some people just don' t care if they give bowhunting or hunting for that matter a bad name , it makes me sick that people think they can go and buy a bow and learn how to properly shoot it in a couple days ,i should have said accurately! thats just plain old irresponseable!