huntingson

Well, since I have been hunting for more than a year like some (JK SB)...

Every hunter knows their own abilities and should be well informed on the anatomy of their prey. The ethics comes in when you go against what you know to be good for you and the animal you hunt. Yes, that sounds rediculous because killing an animal isn't usually what is good for it but you know what I mean... I hope.

Germ

Yes Teejay, but some learn faster and adapt better. I think what Jeff is asking is "When does one become experience" What is the time frame? Who sets it? Do you have to have a certain numbers of kills?

My Uncle(trigger) will shoot a deer running, walking, sideways you name it. He has been hunting for 30+ years. By defination I would say he is "experience", but I would also say he does notmake the best choices, because he fails to learn from hisexperience.

I think what Jeff is asking is there a "timeline"? I would say no, what Jeff did and should be a model for all is he tried to learn from our experience here on HNI. He read books, and he listen to all of us. Some may think he didn't, but he did listen.

Would I call Jeff experience hunter, NO, I would say he is really smart first year hunter. Would I rate him better then some of guys I know at my club with 25+ years experience, YES

quiksilver

I think I would trust an experienced bowhunter to make the right decisions when it comes to making a good shot in the field. Huge difference, IMO between a plastic target and a live deer 22' below you.

Also, I would think it's fair to say that an experienced bowhunter has a better chance of recovery if indeed he does make a questionable shot, given his expertise as a tracker and knowing the habits of his herd.

I know a lot of people who spend thousands every year on high-end competition bows, IBO entry fees, traveling to state shoots, hundreds of hours at the range.Most of 'emcouldn't kill a deer in a zoo, but they can hit the 10 ring on a plastic turkey at 90 meters.

Conversely, I know a lot of guys who can barely hit a pie-plate at 20 yards, but they know how to hunt. You can bet the farm that when the season ends, there will be meat in the freezer.

I just think there's a big difference between "hunters" and "shooters." Some people are both, but they're the exception to the rule.Most are one or the other.

petasux

A few years back I took one of my best bucks to date with whats been called an "unethical shot" by many on here.I crawled down a fenceline in a wide open bean field, to keep a long story short he wound up about 5 yrds from me facing directly at me while I was already at full draw.I put the arrow in right below where his neck and chest come together.It was a shot Ive passed up on many deer, so why did I take it this time?I knew it would kill him, the fenceline was the only cover around for over 3/4 of a mile, any other direction he ran there was no cover for him to get into for over 1 1/2 miles.There was simply no place he could go and get out of sight from me in the time it would take him to die.

I shot, 20+ inches of arrow penetrated his chest, he was down within 150 yrds of where I shot him.I let him lay for 2 hours to make sure and went and picked him up.There was massive damage inside the deer, lungs, liver, guts, the arrow stopped by the rear hindquarter.He was dead in seconds.

I dont know if experience played any role in it, I had the state of mind to realize there wasnt any place for him to get away if a shot presented itself, earlier in my bowhunting career I never would have payed attention to anything but the deer.He was quite relaxed when I shot him actually, the wind was blowing about 40 mph towards me and he had no idea what was kneeling in the fenceline behind the weeds.Ive practiced shooting from kneeling positions for years now and was comfortable with the shot.Had he been tensed up and ready to run I never would have shot, had I not practiced from that position it would have been a pretty awkward way to shoot.Earlier in my bowhunting I never payed attention to body language or thought much about having to shoot not standing up.

Its easy to sit back on the computer and criticize people, escpecially when you have no knowledge of the circumstances surrounding a shot or been faced with that shot yourself.Would I recomend a head on shot, certainly not to anyone else.Put in the exact same situation would I take the shot again, more then likely.

Rob/PA Bowyer

I've been following this thread. Now I'll admit to not reading every single post/reply.

Experienced?

1 a : direct observation of or participation in events as a basis of knowledge
b : the fact or state of having been affected by or gained knowledge through direct observation or participation

2 a : practical knowledge, skill, or practice derived from direct observation of or participation in events or in a particular activity
b : the length of such participation <has 10 years' experience in the job>

3 a : the conscious events that make up an individual life
b : the events that make up the conscious past of a community or nation or humankind generally

4 : something personally encountered, undergone, or lived through

5 : the act or process of directly perceiving events or reality

There are hunters here that may have hunted all their lives yet have no "experience". They may never have, they don't get it, they are just out there.

There are others and since Jeff is a topic of conversation I'll use him because I had the honor of hunting with him. I say Jeff is very experienced, sorry Germ. He not only defines experience, he's still learning from his experiences. He's learned his herd, how they travel, where they go, the bedding areas, the funnels, the food sources and more. He has read books with willing enthusiasm, he asks questions here, he's called me to ask a question to further his experience/knowledge. He asks this forum questions, he's humble enough to admit his novice time in the woods and his, experience hower his experience thus far has put 5 whitetails in the freezer and sure, luck has alot to do with it, I'll take as much luck as I can muster every year. I wish I had his opportunities for knowledge when I was starting out. I learned from mistakes that's he's fortunate enough not to have to make, at least all of them from some of our previous experiences.

I've been bowhunting 25 years, I'd say Jeff has as much experience as I do on his herd vs me and my herd. I've learned mine, 25 years of experience "learning" put my treestands where they are.

1.5 years of experience put Jeff's stands where they are.

Like Germ said, we cannot connect experience with number of years. If you hunt every year and learn nothing regardless of a time line, you are not experienced. Being experienced is having the ability to learn, take something away from each hunt.

I love GregH'.s signature,
" I learn something new about
the game I hunt every season.
That's what makes it so fun."

Just when you think you know the whitetail , they teach you something new. I'll never stop learning about hunting this magnificient animal. I guess I could be inexperieinced because there are experiences I have yet to learn from.

Experience, that's a strange word to explain.

Germ

Hey I can be wrong, look at my head[&:]

There is no cookie cutter answer, no timeline, no "you need this many kills" to be Experienced.

We all have our own defination of "Good" shot or "Bad" shot.

HuntinGUS

I have read most of the responses and I really think this is a tough one to call.

To me experience gives you an edge before and after the shot. Meaning, as a deer approaches you have if you have a lot experience in deer behavior, you have a better understanding and a better chance of knowing what he might do next based on his actions and behavior. This experience tells you if you need to prepare for a shot NOW, or prepare for a shot later......

After the shot, an experienced hunter knows what to look and listen for as he/she has done it before. Also the behavior of the deer as he exits your area after the hit. How was he acting? What did he do upon impact? Was his tail riased or lowered? Did he run or trot off? Did he run up hill or down hill? The answers to these questions are normally answered easily by an experienced hunter because he has seen the cause and effect before.


Making the shot? There are so many variables that have to be considered, but if a new hunter is proficient I say it's all the same.

Rob/PA Bowyer

The other thing we have to look at is, there is a difference in hunting and shooting.

A guy who has hunted his entire life might be a very bad shot and has no business shooting over 15 yards where there could be a "exerienced" shooter who has never hunted but knows deer anatomy. He clearly can shoot 30 yards.

So, hunting years does not dictate shot selection, ability does and abilities are different in each person, some are just better than others regardless of equipment.

It comes down to ethics, honor, ability, confidence, love, humility, knowledge and that has little to do with years in the woods.

txmarshmonkey

This is one of the best threads I've seen on here in a long time.

Lots of different points of view and no bashing.

Thanks fellas!

davidmil

Experience seems to mean a lot of different things to folks around here. Who would have "thunk it".[8D] Let's see, does a guy that learns his local herd inside and out have the same experience as say someone that's hunted under a variety of situations, places, habitats and weather. Does the guy that's hunted mountain deer, hill country deer, swamp deer from the South, deer from the food belt, public landsetc have to learn all those herds inside and out tobe considered competant. I think experience has to have a test of time to it. Get thrown from your honey hole and you have to start all over, or do you. An experienced hunter will hit the new woods with excitement and knowledge from years past. It's NOT necessary to "Learn everything about a herd" to be successful. To me I enjoy much more walking into a new woods for the first time, taking a quick cruise through, finding some sign and setting up and being successful. Some will say it's luck, but luck doesn't happen year after year. That's experience. Knowing your animal where ever he is comes only over a test of time. The whitetail deer in say a food plot in the South is a different animal than the ridge running cedar swamp dweller in the Adirondacks. They don't even act the same. It's quite easy to learn a local herd on a small parcel of land. I dare say much of it can be learned from the deck of your house overlooking some fields. Does that make you experienced enough to cross a few state lines and hit a big chunk of woods for the first time and to be successful. I really don't think so. If you can do it time after time you have experience. With todays internet, magazines, videos, TV shows etc it's become easy for people to parrott what they've heard and seen. It's quite another to walk into a strange woods and put it to use on your own. First you have to sort out all the bull doo doo in these things, and there is a lot of that out there due to marketing.

Experience to one person may be "Hunting a Food Plot". Experience to another may be walking 3 miles back in a swamp. A lot can be learned of a persons hunting style just by listening to what they say. "I went to MY stand today". 90 percent of the time that's what he mean, MY and he hunts no where else. One or two others maybe. Is he experienced, not to my way of thinking, but that's me. Experience must have a test of time to it, but it doesn't guarantee you learned a thing.

As far as the shot selection. I'll take any shots I have a notion too and feel good about it. When ever I draw on a deer I honestly expect it's all over, he's dead. It hasn't always happened, but I'm experienced enough to expect the next one I draw on will die. I've known some really good target punchers that just can't calm down in the woods. How you react at the moment of truth over and over does allow you some latitude. You just have to know your limitations. There is an autopilot. It works great. I never think of actually drawing it seems. I'm watching the critter and looking for the right moment to draw. The rest happens. I see the deer, the others around, the hole, the hair and TWACK. If you can do that and remember everything about the sight picture, before and after, and follow the deer as he flees, you can have some latitude. IF you're a shaking timber but shot 300 in the spot league, I'll help you track your critter.[8D]