hey squirrel, congrats on the kill. at first i thought it was sick (leave out the gore, im not a sissy but have some respect), but when you said that they were eating your garden, thats ok, i have a garden too, and will kill gophers and such if the eat it. I'll kill coyotes if they are killing calves, and wont eat them, might skin them but wont eat, and i see both sides, but you all probably dont have a problem with killin coyotes for no reason, its the same thing on a smaller scale. but still i agree with virginia about the antis, and they do visit these sites just to catch any little thing.

ps im only fifteen and started bowhunting when i was 12, congrats, try for a deer, and keep up the practice

who the hell said that i was spinning its "crumpled body" on an arrow? and everyone looks at me a different way bc i am 12 years old. i am a hunter, you are a hunter. nuf said. killing isnt funny unless it is an iraqi terrorist. how the hell was i supposed to kill it? i owe it to the animal to make its death as fast as possible. so i did. i crushed the skull. my buddy was laughing because he calls me a crazy mother (you know the rest). and who said i dont respect nature?dammit it is a varmint, it eats my plants in the summer and it is just a pain in my @$$ all summer long. so are you saying that a farmer that kills gophers or groundhogs on HIS LAND, just like i did, is wrong? matt, when you have YOUR LAND you do what you want to the animals. i dont care. i dont mean to sound cocky but, this was my first bow kill and i am damn proud of it. so you have no say what so ever in what i do, what i shoot, what i eat and anything that involves me.

Congrads on you first kill. You probablly don't want it from me because I haven't made many freinds on this board.

Joe,
But you must also understand that when you come onto a public forum in any manner, I have every right to question ,criticize or offer any opinion about your actions in any manner I see fit. You don't have to like them any more than I have to like your comments........but expect that not everyone is going to view things through a kid's eyes.

No it's not "nuf said" I am an adult......you are not. THAT is the difference.
First of all, When I was 12 yrs old I had a touch more respect for the people that have been on this earth a little longer than I was. If I didn't, I knew about it in a hurry. Lose the attitude, you're 12yrs old and have basically seen NOTHING yet......try listening a little bit on these forums.

My problem with your story is not in your sense of pride at taking your first animal, I said that at least you are feeling a sense of trophy with regards to your kill. I think it's good that you are so proud of possessing that first bow killed animal. It's the lack of regard in the actual killing. I couldn't care less if you make chipmunk shish-ka-bob out of the little things. Killing is not funny, and you need to seperate killing and target practice.
When you looked at that chipmunk still alive on the end of your arrow, what did you feel?Anything?
It scares me a little bit to think of a young hunter viewing hunting from an "Extermination" angle.
Hunting and being a hunter means more than just feeling like you have the right to kill as you see fit.

Hunting can and does involve killing, but killing isn't always hunting.

Think about it Joe before you go off on a defensive 12 yr old response.

Very well said Matt / PA. Congrats on your kill but next time take more time to plan your attack.

ya man chipmunks are fun to kill...whenever im out squirrel hunting, i blast at em with my .22..it's great..ur just usin field tips with em i assume right?

Does anyone else feel like they might as well be talking to a wall sometimes?

Big........fat.........SIGH.

Absolutely Matt. Just about every time I try to give constructive criticism to my 8 year old boy. Hopefully by the time he is 12, it will start to sink in a little.

Although i give my congrats on such a nice shot , i have to agree with some ...

I am 16 , and it may seem funny at the time , but try laying in bed tonight and thinking about the kill , what that animal was thinkin as it saw your foot come down to slay it.. you wont think it is so funny then , as for your friend , try to talk some sense in him , in respecting the animals ..

MATT as a fellow teen , i can see how his adrenaline , or whatever you want to call it has taken over , he feels threatened by your negitiveness , and YES it is wrong to talk to an adult , especially a member of the forum and friend like that , but i have done it , sometimes we kids get carried away , like i have been known to give a referee that is 40 years old a piece of my mind and some pretty harsh vocab when he makes what i think is a BS call , or even an adult that just i feel is tryin to be a hardass ... but when fiving advice or an opinion , Squirrel should realize you are only trying to teach him .....

So congrats on the shot , i think it is perfectly ethical in the sense that it is either let it destroy your food , or kill it , as for the ahrvest issue , yes i say KILL , i dont pick animals as crops so therefore they aretn being harvested... but it is also perfectly legal to fire a weapon on your property , concidering your location... and how your nieghbors feelabout shooting gun off ..

SH91...congrats on your kill. I'm glad that you are excited about bowhunting. However, I tend to agree with Matt. Theres alot of good advice in what he said.
The other thing I would add....if you were my 12 yr old son, you probalby wouldn't be a very happy camper right now. With a mouth and attitude like that....the last thing you'd be allowed to do would be surf message boards, trying to act like an adult. I know, your almost a teen, that means you just about know it all. Straighten up son, you've got alot of growing up to do.