Idiots, Idiots, Idiots
11-05-2002, 05:33 PM
#11
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Plano TX USA
Posts: 66
RE: Idiots, Idiots, Idiots
in texas you have to take the bowhunter safety course to hunt public land, and for a lot of the draw hunts on the wildlife preserves and such, you have to qualify on a 3-d range, but im not sure exactly what score u have to have. i think u have to average 8s.
i took the bowhunter safety course at the end of summer, and i think it was the biggest waste of time ever. the instructor was more than incompetent, and at the end, he didnt even give us the test because he had wasted 8 hours of our day already. some of the people that were taking the course scared me too, and i would hate to be in the woods with them. one guy was talking about shooting deer with a rifle on his 2 acre plot, down a valley towards someone elses house. he was asking "is this a good shot? it was about 200 yds away, and it was downhill towards my neighbors house." that scared me...
i took the bowhunter safety course at the end of summer, and i think it was the biggest waste of time ever. the instructor was more than incompetent, and at the end, he didnt even give us the test because he had wasted 8 hours of our day already. some of the people that were taking the course scared me too, and i would hate to be in the woods with them. one guy was talking about shooting deer with a rifle on his 2 acre plot, down a valley towards someone elses house. he was asking "is this a good shot? it was about 200 yds away, and it was downhill towards my neighbors house." that scared me...
11-05-2002, 06:11 PM
#14
Spike
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Lees Summit MO
Posts: 46
RE: Idiots, Idiots, Idiots
wolfen68 - that's quite the store isn't it? I still just like going to Earl's. At least Earl makes sure you're sighted in and setup properly. I was out at Cabela's last weekend and was amazed at how many future archer's I get to share the field with. Kinda scary really. Especially since KC has such an agressive harvest plan. I forget the numbers, but KC, MO archers can take something like 5-7 deer within city limits.
It won't be long before we do have to take some competency test. Hopefully the DNR does it and not Cabelas. No offence to them, but I'd bet if you bought your bow from them, you'd pass that test...
Edited by - Merit on 11/05/2002 18:13:10
It won't be long before we do have to take some competency test. Hopefully the DNR does it and not Cabelas. No offence to them, but I'd bet if you bought your bow from them, you'd pass that test...
Edited by - Merit on 11/05/2002 18:13:10
11-05-2002, 06:56 PM
#16
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Tecumseh MI USA
Posts: 18
RE: Idiots, Idiots, Idiots
This is my first year to bow hunting and yes, I got myself set through our local Cabela's store in Dundee, Michigan. However, I have the utmost respect for the deer in the area I hunt. I am learning as much as I can and not try to do some of the things I see that other people on this forum have said not to do. I also know enough not to take a shot with my bow unless I have a clear and accurate shot.
I consider hunting a privilege and enjoyment within the wild. I own a business and getting into the woods is relaxation to me. In my humble opinion, when you are a beginning hunter, no question is a dumb question and I always respect the hunter who has more experience than me. Even though there is a a lot of BS out there, you are always learning.
I consider hunting a privilege and enjoyment within the wild. I own a business and getting into the woods is relaxation to me. In my humble opinion, when you are a beginning hunter, no question is a dumb question and I always respect the hunter who has more experience than me. Even though there is a a lot of BS out there, you are always learning.
11-05-2002, 07:00 PM
#17
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Pa
Posts: 4,647
RE: Idiots, Idiots, Idiots
I think it's worse on public land. I have to deal with half the non hunting idiots from Md with there 30-30's and there beer cans!!!! They go to walmart the day before deer season to get there hunting license.....
11-05-2002, 07:06 PM
#18
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Palmyra PA USA
Posts: 292
RE: Idiots, Idiots, Idiots
I think calling uneducated newcomers "idiots" is harsh. When I started at age 14, I knew very little about bowhunting, shot selection, tracking, equipment setup and usage, etc... and that was even AFTER I had taken a bowhunter's education course. For the first four years, my hunting skills were so poor that I posed no threat to deer. <img src=icon_smile_blush.gif border=0 align=middle> It wasn't until I gained experience that I began to understand how to hunt and to take game cleanly and routinely.
Most of these newcomers aren't idiots, they're just suckered in by slick marketing, promises of guaranteed kills, and big bucks. Pick up any magazine, watch any hunting show, talk to any pro shop clerk about how to get started in bowhunting, and the bowhunting intro is always the same. "So ya want to be a bowhunter, huh? Well if you're "serious" (the requisite buzzword), you'll need to this $800 MQ0U812 rocket bow, these $100 carbon arrows, this $100 scope, this $100 nifty flip-down rest, this $300 laser rangefinder, this $200 no-stink camo, this $200 treestand, this $20 call, these super $30 spring-open broadheads, these $10 bottles of urine, this $20 bottle of blood trail finder spray..." Barely is there any mention of equipment matching, tuning, or shooting, animal routines, locating game, hunting methods, shot selection, tracking, field dressing, or care for meat. Good Lord, the poor newcomer leaves the store with 3 months less mortgage payments, but feeling he's equipped like Arnold Schwartzenegger. As far as he is concerned, he's already paid for his deer and all that's left is to go shoot it. He does have a bow that shoots 300 fps afterall and broadheads that will open up and cut a deer in half, right?
The sad truth is that the newcomer would be better off owning just 1/4 the crap he just bought in a much simpler form and get himself better educated as to shooting, equipment tuning and limitations, and to hunting. Like me, the newcomer will learn with time and his own experience...faster if he has another hunter teaching him the ropes. Fortunately, I do see many newcomers posing questions on these boards. Though I am not for "mandatory" ANYTHING (we have enough "mandatories" in our lives), I think all would be well "advised" to take a bowhunter's course. That would help them along a little anyway. The rest will have to come on their own or under personal guidance.
I suppose the biggest part of why I answer alot of questions on these boards is because I enjoy being able to offer advise that could help someone in bowhunting. I'll even answer the sincere "is a butt shot OK"-type threads, wincing perhaps, but not blasting the questioner for what he simply does not know.
Most of these newcomers aren't idiots, they're just suckered in by slick marketing, promises of guaranteed kills, and big bucks. Pick up any magazine, watch any hunting show, talk to any pro shop clerk about how to get started in bowhunting, and the bowhunting intro is always the same. "So ya want to be a bowhunter, huh? Well if you're "serious" (the requisite buzzword), you'll need to this $800 MQ0U812 rocket bow, these $100 carbon arrows, this $100 scope, this $100 nifty flip-down rest, this $300 laser rangefinder, this $200 no-stink camo, this $200 treestand, this $20 call, these super $30 spring-open broadheads, these $10 bottles of urine, this $20 bottle of blood trail finder spray..." Barely is there any mention of equipment matching, tuning, or shooting, animal routines, locating game, hunting methods, shot selection, tracking, field dressing, or care for meat. Good Lord, the poor newcomer leaves the store with 3 months less mortgage payments, but feeling he's equipped like Arnold Schwartzenegger. As far as he is concerned, he's already paid for his deer and all that's left is to go shoot it. He does have a bow that shoots 300 fps afterall and broadheads that will open up and cut a deer in half, right?
The sad truth is that the newcomer would be better off owning just 1/4 the crap he just bought in a much simpler form and get himself better educated as to shooting, equipment tuning and limitations, and to hunting. Like me, the newcomer will learn with time and his own experience...faster if he has another hunter teaching him the ropes. Fortunately, I do see many newcomers posing questions on these boards. Though I am not for "mandatory" ANYTHING (we have enough "mandatories" in our lives), I think all would be well "advised" to take a bowhunter's course. That would help them along a little anyway. The rest will have to come on their own or under personal guidance.
I suppose the biggest part of why I answer alot of questions on these boards is because I enjoy being able to offer advise that could help someone in bowhunting. I'll even answer the sincere "is a butt shot OK"-type threads, wincing perhaps, but not blasting the questioner for what he simply does not know.
11-05-2002, 07:11 PM
#19
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 6,006
RE: Idiots, Idiots, Idiots
Hey yall, I dont mean to be the annoying english teacher here, but it always annoys me when someone says something like "Gun hunting" or "bow saftey class"... I just want to know why can't we say Archery, or Modern Firearms? <img src=icon_smile_question.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>
11-05-2002, 07:42 PM
#20
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: IL USA
Posts: 135
RE: Idiots, Idiots, Idiots
I cant agree more with you wolfman. Im only 16 years old right now and i hunt by myself. I got a great deal of knowledge from my dad. He didnt let me hunt with a bow or shotgun until i had gone out with him for 2 years and watched. So i think i got started off the right way. But i think way to many people are just going out and shooting animals for the fun of it these days. Granted field dressing isnt the easiest thing in the world to do b/c i just got my first field dressing job last sunday evening and its pretty tough the first time but ill get the hang of it. But i think everyone should be required to take a safety course of some sort before they take up the sport. And another thing i really hate poachers!!!
Forever Hunter
Forever Hunter