MOTOWNHONKEY

I agree nice post.

BigJ71

Well I have a completely different take on what makes a "good hunter"

To me, if all you do is shoot deer with a bow then you arenot even close to being a "good hunter", you're just a"part time" hunter or a "bow hunter". Nothing wrong with that, but you will never qualify as a "good hunter" to me.In my eyesa"good hunter" possessesskills and is adaptwith all types of weapons and hunts may types of quary. He/she is equally skilled with a bow as with a rifle, handgun, shot gun or muzzleloader. He/she can wing shoot as well as spot shoot. He/she can call in geese or ducks or coyotes.

Some of you guys are too narrow minded. I know this is a bow hunting forum but the the topic is about what makes a "good hunter" not a "good bow hunter" and I'm giving my opinion.I don't care if you kill P&Y bucks every year while letting the smaller bucks pass or just kill does only. If you can't/don't upland bird hunt or call in a drake to your decoys or take a hog with your pistol or kill a fast movingquail that just busted out of it's coveyor a dove at full speed with your 20ga or any other combination of weapon/quary your not even close to a "good hunter" your just some guy with a bow. Skilled with a bowyes, but very one dimensional.

I'm not trying to be an a$$ here justtrying to get some of you to think outside the box. Sometimes thingsneed to be put into perspective

Sylvan

BigJ12...Although I commented with just bow hunting in mind I agree with you 100%. Especially the part about a good hunter possesing "skills" in many areas. That was my entire point. I don't understand how passing on animalsis an indication that you areagood hunter. Like I said before,IMO it is knowlege and skill that makes a good hunter and it requires zero skill and zero knowledge to sit on stand and watch a deer pass by. Absolutely anybody can do it. It also takes far less knowledge and skill to be only a good bow hunter than it does to posses these attributes for all types of hunting. I'm much more impressed with the guy who can do it all. And the world of hunting is far bigger than just bow hunting. If we limit the discussion to only bow hunting I still maintain that it matters little what you take or pass it is your skill level that makes you good at what you do. If you possess the knowledge and skill than what you take is simply a decision you have earned the right to make.

buckeye

Being this is the "Bowhunting" forum I would have assumed the discussion would have been and revolved around hunting with a bow and arrow.Perhaps I should have specified my intentions better, my bad.

I do agree with many of the points that have been posted here. A lot of things I never really thought about were brought up and made me think.

I am pretty happy with how this thread has evolved. I think it has opened a lot of minds andshowed us many different views. I really enjoyed WV Hunters post.

In my eyes you are partially correct. It takes virtually no prior knowledge to watch a deer pass by but the knowledge attained by doing so is immense IMO.
[/align]

BigJ71

You opened the door and asked what makes a good "hunter" and I'm just trying to open some eyes around here.

buckeye

Absolutly. I can see your stance and point 100%. I can also agree with alot of what you said.

I was"out of sight, out of mind" and not thinking aboutthe over all intricacies of an all around"good hunter", but rather archery tackle and whitetails.

BigJ71

Buckeye,

I knewyou meant bowhunting, I guessI kinda hijacked this thread in a way....sorry

stoneman

Just rename the thread "Thought Provacative...Good whitetail deer bow hunter"

Talondale

Interesting thread. It's fun to see the different personality types revealed in such threads. I can tell which hunter's I would probably prefer to hunt with and which ones I wouldn't. Not that one type is wrong and one is right, just some better suited to my temprament and some not. Some guys are poetic and introspective and others are no-nonsense just the facts ma'am types. Isn't variety wonderful? I'm glad we're all not like one another.

I think the problem with this sort of thread is you use adjectives like "good" and people see it as a judgement call and get defensive. I think buckeye did set it up that he accepts that this will be subjective and expects differing opinions. The way I see it this thread suffers from trying to define too many different things. Some are describing "proficient" hunters, others "ethical", "successful", and some are describing woodsmanship rather than hunter (although it should be a part of a "good" hunter), while others are describing all-star athlete hunters if not prodigies. It would probably be easier to define a "bad" hunter than a "good" one....then again maybe not. I think we can all (or mostly) agree on what is a basic, decent, hunter: Someone who follows the regulations and is able to kill game in an efficient manner without endangering other people/property. From there I guess it depends on what you consider a "good" hunt for you to define what you feel is a "good" hunter. I don't mean to be touchy-feely here but we do have a greater amount of leisure to define our own objectives in hunting these days than in days of old. At one time a "good" hunter was a man (and only a man) who could put the meat in the pot and that was it. Whether he was a "good" companion was a whole different story. (Festus is a good hunter, but I wouldn't want my scalp dependant on him.) Today we have all types of hunters. There's hunters that only have a practical view of seeking meat, some hunters enjoy being outdoors and the companionship/nature/solitude that it brings andthe kill is incidental if not a downright interuption,some are trophy rack hunters (as defined by their area or "what would go on the wall."), some are strictlyrecord book hunters, some are challenge seekers that live for the most difficult type of hunt they can conceive within certain parameters (this may be defined by hunting a specific animal, a certain age group, or any other sort of self imposed limitations ie. recurve only) for them the challenge is what appeals to them, some are more casual in their approach in that if they go out and see a deer, or even better, kill one than they've had a good hunt. All of these types of hunters can be "good" hunters. It doesn't mean that you'd want them as YOUR hunting partner, but I'd still give them my respect. Very few of us can hunt with people thatshare the same view of hunting as closely to ours as we would like. I have a preference to a style of hunting and my ego/self-esteem/manhood is not so caught up in it that I have to prove my way is better or that I'm better at it than anyone else. I will say I am a "Better" hunter...."better" than I used to be, and hopefully one day "better" than I am.

Sylvan

Excellent post Talondale!