Sylvan

I guess what I'm trying to say is that we are all incompetent at some distance. The distance is of course different depending on the skill of the archer but at some point we all stink! For some 20 yards may be a low percentage shot, for others it may be 50 but but if the 20 yard guy has the ethics and discipline to keep within that range and the 50 yard guy will risk shots over 50 then the 50 yard guy who is arguably the "more competent" will wind up wounding more deer.

SwampCollie

No.

Greg / MO

Good point about staying within your effective range, Sylvan.

buckeye

Just an idea.... As I said I have no dog in this fight and am just throwing some ideas out.

What do you think about having each bowhunterparticipate inone 3D shoot per year.... having to average an 8 (largest vital ring) to secure their proficiency license? Perhaps allow them to shoot as many shoots as needed to pass the test?

Heck instead of every year maybe the proficiency license could be good for 2 or 3 years......
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mobow

That's not a bad idea.....I just had another thought....Should we be testing proficiency, or competency??

I dunno man......Bad shots are gonna happen.....We can test until we're blue in the face, but until it's in an ACTUAL hunting situation, complete with adrenaline, elevated positions, expectations, weather, small limbs, state of mind, and everything else that goes into one single shot on a live animal.........I just don't think it's ever going to be accurate. There is simply no way of knowing how a shot will go on a target range....We haven't even gotten into the deer's frame of mind yet....I've seen perfect shots go bad from jumping the string or the deer taking a step forward RIGHT the moment of release.......I just feel there are simply too many variables that cannot be accounted for.

And even with all of that......We're people, and not perfect. Everyone's gonna flub a shot at some point in their life, of that I'm MOST certain.

GMMAT

Last thing I want a hunter thinking about is a scoring ring on a deer.

Been there.....done that. I blew a chance at a really good deer thinkng about placing my shot right behind the shoulder.....instead of thinking about the path my arrow needed to take through that deer.

Put a prospective hunte rin a treestand during a bowhunter's education class.....and explain to him the theory of "aiming for the exit hole". That would go further to aid in proficiency in my opinion.

buckeye

Very nice..... I agree. My main reason fro bringing this up in the first place was as I mentioned my step dad and all his buddies..... It drives me nuts how terrible of shooters they are. Every year I have to hear the stories of the deer they shot and did not recover. I have been on more than one unsuccessful tracking job with them.

Don't get me wrong my step dad is a great guy, he is just from PA and has the "old school" PA mentality.

Francis_Qc

Like you know, I'm living in Quebec. July 15th, I'll pass the exam to have the rights to bowhunt. I'm having a theory class, and the exam at the end, after i'm going to shoot 5 arrows (10,15,20,25,30 meters) I need to take 3 in the vital zone.

It's only that. After I can hunt with my bow during the bowhunting season

Francis

buckeye

That would not aid shooting proficiency at all, it would however aid in the understanding of an anatomically correct aiming point.

SwampCollie

I understand your point here buckeye, and I like the way you are thinking, but here is the issue with that.

In order to make that sort of thing viable, it would have to be uniform. I don't think I have ever shot two 3D tournys exactly alike. Even at the clubs I shoot at every month, the stakes are always moved, even if the targets never are. Then you get the oh so fun aspect of the weather. Make it cold, make it raining....and your scores will drop an average of 20 points (in bowhunter class).

I'll bounce this off you too....an average of 8 makes a 30 target score of 240. the tournament I shot last week had 80+ shooters in bowhunter class...and only 30 or so of those shooters had over 240. Weather was as perfect as can be...hardly any wind. No bugs to speak of. Now, there are times when dang near everybody shoots above 240...and the winner will have around 315 (which is pretty dang hot shooting). But here is the kicker....if you completely MISS a target (which in my mind is a best case scenario in hunting for a bad shot), you get a score of zero....you have toshoot tens on the next four targets in order to get back on par. And even if you clip a couple of fives, it still takes a pair of tens to get back to one up.

I digress. I don't want to discourage anyone from hunting. I don't think anyone does. Hunter Education is a good thing. We can teach and educate there. Leave the shooting skills for personal improvement. Just like driving tests, its all a test on knowing the laws, safe practices, and procedures....there is no part of the driving test where you have to run a pole setting qualifying lap. They don't care how fast you can drive, as long as you can drive safely and follow the laws.Same applies with hunting.