Ethical bowhunting

[rock]

First time I ever shot a bow it was quite exciting, had trouble with hitting the target, but with help from a experianced bowhunter I learned the proper way to shoot. Distance is the hardest thing for most bowhunters a range finder is so handy, specially in the field . I never shot my first deer until I had been hunting for 3 yrs missed a few in those years hitting branches or small shooting lanes. But gained experiance from those years
which we as hunters never forget. Even set up my own 3d shoot in my back yard that was great for shooting, practice, practice, lots of it a great past time for myself as well as my son to practice. Most times our shots are pretty close within 30 yds or less good range for myself just a distance that I'm accurate at. I do more shooting in the spring than any other time of the year and thoroughly enjoy every minute or hour I get.

[J_T]

My question is what do we do to make sure hunters know what they are doing when they enter the bush with a Xbow, compound or traditional gear,

What I've read suggests that most people believe the answer lies within each of us. Is that the answer? Onesocks questions is "what do 'we' do to make sure...."

If we don't have bowhunting seasons, no one will bowhunt.
If we don't address issues pertaining to the eductation of each other, we risk the loss of any season (rifle or bow)
If bowhunters don't pursue bowhunting opportunities, no one will do it on their behalf.

We should attend shoots. There is no question, if you hunt with a bow, 3d shoots are a must. They are not a hunting situation in all cases, but they certainly do help.

If we know of others that are hunting with a bow, then we should encourage them to attend shoots as well. We should not shy away from taking our families to shoots. Kids learn early and well. Shooting becomes instinctive.

We should work with youth, volunteer time with scouts, schools and begin the education early. And we should support local and provincial bowhunting organizations. Through these associations we learn from talking, we learn from reading magazines, newsletters and websites.

primer on bowhunting in the Synopsis

This is a great idea. I know that if bowhunters where to contribute something like this, it would likely be published. It is up to bowhunters.

some kind of course on bowhunting should be required. Something sort of like the Firearm's course

Here we are back to an IBEP course. Most, jurisdictions require this (mandatory) to hunt with a bow. I am not a proponent for mandatory IBEP, however, if... to hunt with a bow, one did not have to take their CORE or Firearm safety, I would be willing to bet many would accept a mandatory IBEP.


JT

[oldtimer]

[quote=brotherjack]. We don't let people run around in the bush with rifles until they've shown some competence with the weapon, why should bows/crossbows be any different

Where in any of the CORE program do the students have to go out in the bush and show competence with their rifle ??????
All rookie hunters make mistakes. Period
the majority of hunters I have met over the last millenium have learned from their parents and their peers and we will continue to teach. In my case I taught my son rifle hunting and he taught me Bow Hunting. Good trade!!
Under no circumstances do we need any interference from our government. MIKE

[Onesock]

Oldtimer: The lot of us learned the same way, from fathers,uncles,older brothers,buddy's dad, you get the point. The way hunting is going our ranks are decreasing every year, soon there will be no "oldtimers" to teach the few who want to hunt. We, as hunters, are scrutinized on a far greater scale than we have ever been. If someone finds a wounded deer running around with an arrow in its head it will be on the front page of most newspapers. Like you say all rookie hunters make mistakes. I think we have try and stop new bowhunters from making these mistakes. I have found being pro-active is better than being re-active. I think if we as hunters can find someway to police our own ranks we will be in a better position to bargain with the govy for more bowhunting opportunity. From this forum so far, I assume mandatory IBEP, is not wanted.

[brotherjack]

Where in any of the CORE program do the students have to go out in the bush and show competence with their rifle ??????

Ummm... we don't make them run around in the bush (though there is quite a bit about running around in the bush in the CORE), but in either the CORE or the Firearms course, we DO make people prove they know which end of the gun the bullets come out of, how to keep from shooting themselves or others, and generally speaking; the basic rules for not being an idiot with a gun. While I am not at all fond of government involvement in my affairs (I am an ex-American after all!), I think this is a Good Thing (tm).

[oldtimer]

Ummm... we don't make them run around in the bush (though there is quite a bit about running around in the bush in the CORE), but in either the CORE or the Firearms course, we DO make people prove they know which end of the gun the bullets come out of, how to keep from shooting themselves or others, and generally speaking; the basic rules for not being an idiot with a gun. While I am not at all fond of government involvement in my affairs (I am an ex-American after all!), I think this is a Good Thing (tm).

Well brotherjack when we introduce people to archery we do teach them which end of the stick is the sharp one.Even with target and 3D arrows.Go to a JOP program and see how safety is stressed. No need for any outside regulatory involvement. Mike

[brotherjack]

Here we are back to an IBEP course. Most, jurisdictions require this (mandatory) to hunt with a bow. I am not a proponent for mandatory IBEP, however, if... to hunt with a bow, one did not have to take their CORE or Firearm safety, I would be willing to bet many would accept a mandatory IBEP.

Just curious - what are the arguments against having mandantory IBEP? I understand the whole government involvement thing. But, it seems to me like the most direct, straghtforward way to make sure EVERY guy in the bush with a bow has at least a baseline of knowledge about what they're doing there?

Or how about we bypass the whole idea of a course, and have a setup where it's a just a 'read this booklet, and then take this test' kind of thing. Could be taken care of in an hour or so, and at minimal cost. I think the main goal for this kind of effort, is not to make all the new guys know everything; it is just reach the point that EVERY guy in the bush with a bow has some reasonable baseline of knowledge. We're not talking really complicated stuff, just the the kinds of basics we wish everyone out there knew (ie: 80 yard shots are a Bad Idea (tm)).

Suggestions? Counter-thoughts?

Thoughts?

[brotherjack]

Well brotherjack when we introduce people to archery we do teach them which end of the stick is the sharp one.Even with target and 3D arrows.Go to a JOP program and see how safety is stressed. No need for any outside regulatory involvement. Mike

But I don't think that the people introduced to archery the way you're describing are by and large the problem audience we're wanting to get at here. Guys who are doing to 3D shoots and being mentored by Oldtimers such as yourself are probably not the same guys that are out there takeing 80 yard shots at quartering-towards animals and giving us all a bad name, you know what I mean?

[Onesock]

You are right BJ. The problem guys aren't the ones attending 3D shoots, learning to judge distance, what constitutes a good shot, and how to blood trail. The problem guys are the ones just picking up their weapon of choice a couple of weeks before the season, shooting a couple of bulls eyes at 50 yards and figuring there is nothing to this bowhunting. These are the guys we have need of teaching the ethics of bowhunting to. While you are in the minority, most of the uneducated bow hunters are crossbow shooters. Obviously most people don't want the mandatory IBEP, no matter how good it is. Finding a government body to run this test as you have described would be impossible. The simplest solution would be to put crossbows in the GOS and 99% of the problems would go away. And if the responsible crossbow shooter still wanted to hunt in the bow only season, of which you are probably one, you would pickup a compound bow.
Just out a matter of interest how many of us have ever seen a crossbow shooter practising his or her skills at a 3D shoot?

[brotherjack]

most of the uneducated bow hunters are crossbow shooters.

Hard to make judgements on what we've personally seen - but as I've commented before, all the crossbow hunters I've ever met simply don't fit that stereotype at all. That's ALL of the crossbow hunters I've ever met. I've never met this mythical moron with a crossbow that so many people talk about on these forums. I don't doubt that there are some yahoo's out there with crossbows, but honestly the only bowhunting yahoo's I've ever met were compound bow shooters.

Just out a matter of interest how many of us have ever seen a crossbow shooter practising his or her skills at a 3D shoot?

I would be pretty surprised if many/any crossbow guys wanted to do 3D shoots or join bowhunting clubs or any of those kinds of things; given the degree of anti-crossbow sentiment that seems pretty common amongst archery folks. From bowhunting magazines, on down to forums like this one, there is a tremendous amount of negativity directed at crossbows and crossbow shooters. When people don't feel welcome, they don't come. I wouldn't.