This topic could fit just about anywhere so I'll post it here since this forum gets more people visiting it.


I got to thinking in my tree stand today[8D] about different hunting ethics for different animals.

Birds.... Why is it only considered ethical to shoot a bird in flight. How many birds get wounded each year due to bad shooting? I know I have done it and we see it all the time on TV when a bird gets hit but keeps flying. Seems to me the more ethical thing would be to shoot a phesant, grouse, goose, duck or what ever when it was sitting motionless on the ground or water.

Big game and turkey.... Why is it not considered unethical to take standing shots on unaware big game animals and turkey. Seems to me that taking a turkey strutting in front of you it isn't any different than taking a duck on the water or a phesant in the grass.

So why the contradiction?

I might get ripped for this,,, but when duck hunting and decoying if its a realy good day and the ducks are comming in like mad. I like to let half the flock land, with the other half still in the air wings cupped. I then cut loose with my first shot and I try to only head shoot a close (10 yards or under) standing/swimming duck so the BB's just hit the head and neck. I love to eat a good malard but I hate plucking feathers when their full of hoes throughout the breast and body. I of course shoot my other two shots at flying ducks. If your fast and accurate you'll catch them in the air, with that back pedal motion for a few seconds. And kill two more ducks before they get out of range. As long as a duck is not hit too bad I still pluck it, but if its full of holes I just breast it out and make jerkey out of it. I don't worry about if its considered ethical or not when I am eating a duck that doesn't have a hole in its body. Yum now I am hungry for some good malard duck!

Never thought of it like that before? You make a good point BigBull!

I don't know. I was watching American Chopper last night thinking about esentially the same thing? Maybe we're not suppose to ask.

You guys out there are still hunting??....Lucky ducks!!

I'm sure plenty of them do get shot on the ground. Two years ago I was in Western Colorado looking for elk. I was behind a jeep with two fellas in it driving on a dirt road on a mountain ridge. Suddenly they stopped, jumped out, pulled out their 12 gauge pumps, loaded them and began blasting a group of young grouse that were feeding by the road. For whatever reason it took the grouse a while to figure out they were being assaulted with deadly force [] and these two guys wiped out more than half of the covey. I must say though even though the birds were on the ground these two guys didn't get very good hits.

As far as shooting the birds on the wing goes....First, especially on birds like pheasants it just isn't that practical. You are not presented that many shots on standing pheasants. Also there are some safety issues that could be associated with shooting ducks/geese on water. Second, when a bird stretches out in flight, its vitals are exposed for better penetration. Lastly, it has to do with giving the quarry a sporting chance. In the old days when supper could hinge on the success or failure of the shot, they were happy to get those standing shots. Commercial hunters using the old bunt guns took out thousands of ducks while they sat on the water. Times change and practices with it. There are now wing shooters out there that if a person in the group would shoot a bird (especially a grouse) on the ground, they would be royally scolded. If that ground shooting behavior didn't change, they would no longer hunt with that person.

I do think that a wing shooter should practice at sharpening his skills with a shotgun just like most of us do with a bow. Further, range and discipline are just as important when shooting a shotgun as it is with a bow...is the quarry close enough to make a killing shot, and/or can I make that shot without the result being a wounded bird? Sporting clays is an excellent way to develop a smooth swing and a good "shooting eye".

Actually there is a huge difference. The shear bulk of a turkey shields its vitals more than most people realize. Even in flight it would be very difficult to penetrate the vitals even at moderate ranges. Though a goose is a good sized bird, it cannot compare to a turkey in this department. While cleaning, I have found buckshot (illegal where I was huntng) in some toms that could not penetrate through the breast meat to get to the vitals. In many states the largest size shot that is allowed is No. 4 (of course there are some states that allowed them to be taken with a rifle which would not apply to our discussion). Geese can be taken with BBs and in some cases larger shot. All things considered, the turkeys size, and the firearms restrictions by law, the only real ethical shot is one that is close range to the head.

I guess the bottom line is, I don't see a contradiction. A shotgun was designed to take down moving game. If there is a problem, it is with the hunter not being proficient with his weapon or purely undisciplined. No different than what we sometimes run across in bowhunting.

I don't know but I was thinking about the same thing the other day. I think the simple is answer is that we don't put as much value on the smaller animals, possibly because there are so many of them. I don't really know for sure though but I agree with your interpretation.

Guys need to do your homework, wing shooting started in England. It is a gentlemans game. You stand in a spot and have your servant load while you shoot driven birds. Then it progressed into following your best bird dog. The better the dog the more prestige. Then we come to the good old USA. We didn't have enough birds with all the Prairie Grouse, no we had to bring in the Chinese Chicken[Pheasant/ Ditch Parrot] and the Red Leg Partridge[Chukar] into the game so we have something to chase. Take the gentleman out of it. Covey birds will hold for a pointing dog, gentleman again see. So the ethics of this game started this way. Shooting them on the ground is no challenge, shooting them in the air is, hence the game.
Gselkhunter

Excellent question!
I pondered this question a while before answering it as I've never really thought about it before. IMO it likely stems from "old school sportsman". I can certainly understand why is would be considered "poor sport" for shooting a bird on the ground or water. It essentially takes 0 skill to shoot a bird with bird shot that isn't moving. It increases the odds however and makes sence that it should be the "ethical shot". I guess in this sence it's not "sporting" to take the "ethical"shot.

For big game and turkey it is much harder to get close to the animal. I agree with Silent that there is more "vaule" put on the life of a big game animal, not that I agree that this is how it should be. I think that the sport in shooting an unexpecting big game animal comes for getting the opportunity at a clean shot. Wether or not you choose to shoot the animal is second to getting a good high percentage clean shot. This is were the sport is as well as it being the ethical shot.

As I see it the diffrence between the two is where sportsmanship and ethics overlap. With birds the ethical shot dosn't overlap with the ideals of the sportsman and with turkey and big game there is a clear overlap between what is considered good sportsmanship and what is ethical. Why this is is the million dollar question though.

I guess I looked at it more as being unethical to take a lot of the shoots that are taken considering how many probaly fly off and die that aren't found. That would never be acceptable with deer or turkey.

Silent, that's the exact same thing I was thinking when I posted this question.

If we took similar shots at deer, elk, turkey, etc... etc... we wouldn't be able to show our face around here or anywhere for that matter. If we did it while hunting with a big game outfitter we certainly would not be allowed to return to hunt with _______ outfitter.


Like you said, I think it has a lot to do with the value we humans put on these animals and also a big part is the "gentlemens" sport thing. We looked at it, and still do, like wing shooting is a sport simply for our pleasure rather than sustinance.

Granted it's all fun and it should be but it we just contradict ourselves with this.