rybohunter

Simple question. Do you feel a more experienced bowhunter should have more latitude when considering shot selection than a new bowhunter?

Assuming both persons are of equal shooting ability at the range.

GMMAT

I first said yes.

Now I say i don't know.

If they both have equal shooting abilities....then NO.

Jeff

dukemichaels

That's a tough question. A good one too. I think I'd like to see everyone's answers first. This one may draw a little friction..

Germ

To be honest my "experience" has cost me on some shots!

I judge each shot when I am live primetime, I can not guess what I would do.

I will take some pictures of the hole I shot porky through, At 35 years old
and knowing how my bow shoots I did not have ounce of doubt.

One of my youth hunters ask me how I keep my cool in these situations. He said "You're looking at the rack, deer is moving, trying to pick a spot through a 4 in dia hole, how do you keep all that straight" I told himif I had all those thoughtsI would never shoot a deer again, LOL.

I haveone thought,Put an arrow in the kill zone. Everything else is on auto pilot these days.

I guess I should answer, each of us has to make the choice to shoot based on our own experience. I do not need any justifiaction from my peers onmy shot choice. I have to live with it.

So my answers is I do not want any latitude from anyone.

John Deer

I would say that each and every one of us have our limits, and it's our job as ethical hunters to know what our individual limits are. I think reguardless of years spent bowhunting, you need to know about shot placement before you attempt any shot at a deer. It's a fact of life that if you hunt long enough, you'll make a bad shot, loose a deer, and hopefully learn from your mistakes. I wouldn't say that the more experienced bowhunter should have more latitude when shooting, but I do believe that heshould have more experience with making the shot on the critter and therefore, more confidence in making it. But this should not give anyone, regardless of experience level, the right to take an unethical shot.

I also want to add that the problem with shot selection isthat there is so much discrepincy between what is anethical shotand what isn't. Quartering to, quartering away, severity of angle, distance, etc....An experienced bowhunter that has many years and many animals under his belt should feel more confident in the knowledge he's gained over the years than the guy who is doing it for the first time. He's made this shot on a live animal many times before, or maybe he'spassed on this shot before because he know's itexcedes his ability and this time is no different.We become experienced by learning from both good and bad experiences. You can only learn your limits by exceding them and learning from it. If you don't feel as though you can confidently make the shot, don't take it, regardless of your experience level.

monsterbucks2011

i would say yes because they are really exited.

Doubled 150

Here's what I think...

With equal shooting abilities, the factor is shot placement. If the new bowhunter understands where thearrow should be placed to achieve a "kill" shot, he should be able to make the same shot as the experienced hunter. An experienced hunter may have a better understanding of the deer's anatomy thatoffers him more latitude in shot selection.

Trembow

I'll answer you with two questions:

What makes an experienced hunter experienced?

How does experience help a poor shot decision kill a deer?

goherd1111

I believe the more experienced bowhunter learns not to take the extra lattitude. Those kind of decisions during the moment of truth is what qualifies them as more experienced. Just my .02.

shed33

The same shooting abilities at the rangewillrarelyequate tothe same abilities with a live animal in the field. A completely differentset ofunpredicable variablesare involved in the hunt equation. Targets allow for correction, rarely do hunting scenarios. I have never shot a target thatbehaved like a living breathingwhitetail. jm2c