mr.mc54

I'm with ya, however (ethical) can be interpited by some hunters diferently. All don't see it the same way, so to each his own.

Night Crawler

sick as in disgusted, not throwing up sick.

sprintflyer

I've been a member of this forum for several years and, like most I guess, I log on and read/post mostly around the hunting season. One ofthe things I can count on is the great "after the shot thread" and a few of these that divide the hunters. What may or may not be a good shot to me might be a "chip shot" to you.

I practice at 50 yards with my bow. Do I shoot it at game? No, I can shoot 6 inch groups at a block but a deer has to much time to move even with my fast bow. Is it ethical? We must decide that ourselves. For me, practice at 50 turns my typical 15 yard shot into a more confident endevor.

Bottom line is this. Even if I don't feel like I should take a headshot it dosen't give me the right to tell you not to. We must police ourselves in order to not give PETA any more ammo than we already have. If we have a problem with whatever our fellow hunter is doing, IMHO only, we should discuss it with them in private. We all need an open exchange of ideas but let's keep the personal attacks against hunters private.

I know I'll probally get bashed myself but had to get this off my chest. Off my soapbox now.
Shane

kswild

Bashed? Hell no! Sound wisdom. More should at least try to see things like this.
Live it up! Doug

sprintflyer

Thanks Doug. By the way, just re- read my post and need to clarify something. The "after the shot thread is one of the best and is NOT one that seperates us. Didn't mean it that way. Just wanted to make sure that was clear.

SavageArms

I agree that a head shot is a lethal shot but, ethical wrong i do believe would be the case these are games animals take them the right way or let them be they did nothing wrong and they provide needed food to a lot of people and sport for others Hunting is a sport if you can not take the animal the way it was intended to be taken the Ethical way i believe you should not take the animal. Head shot are very dangerous and with a very precise, heavy caliber gun taking this shot shows a complete lack of sportsmanship. You have a big enough target with broadside or quartering toward or away take the heart shot put the animal down morally and ethically. People who shoot animals in the head other than for personal protection and or to end the animals suffering at close range should not have a sportsman license to hunt with anybody can drop a lead bullet in the bread basket before hitting the head of an animal i do not agree with the practice of head shots and agree they should be illegal except for cases of personal safety. You wanna shoot something in the head play a freaking video game, player. Leave the hunting to sportsmen. Except on big game or lethal game then you can use a rocket launchers for all I care. Personal safety above all else. Just don't be putting your self in harms way and then expect nothing other than lethal force by animals that can display such.

UPHunter08

I think what throws gas on the fire in these discussions is the use of the term 'ethical'. I'm guessing that a lot of guys have different definitions of what that word means. I use it in the sense of knowing what is the risk of wounding the deer as opposed to outright killing it. If there is a high risk of wounding, then it's not an ethical shot.

With that in mind, it's obvious that some shots will have a higher risk of wounding for hunters that are not as skilled at taking that type of shot. Running targets, long range shots, having a weapon you're not that familiar with, aspect of the target (especially with a bow) all increase the difficulty of the shot. Therefore, every hunter has to know his limits and only take those shots that you feel have a high probability of killing the deer (and conversely, a low probability of wounding it). If you can routinely hit a small, moving target like a deer's head, it's ethical; for hunters that only shoot a few times before season, however, it's probably beyond their skill level.

In other words, it's unethical to fire off shots you know are very highly likely to just wound the animal (e.g. unloading unaimed shots across a field at a running deer); if you're confident in your ability to limit the risk, it's ethical.

In the end, it's up to each hunter to know where he stands on that skill gradient.