vermont bowhunter

i think its kind of dirty on your part,,,,are you sure your not jellous of him already...hey we all had to learn at one time,,,make him pass a test,,what a joke,,how mwny of you passed any kind of test,,,i only shoot for a mo or so befor season and i would like to see you thumb your nose at me from 30 yards,,,,,,let the man hunt or are you afraid hell show you up again,,plus to use him to push deer your way is rotten to the core,,,if i was related to you and got wind of this you would never go with me again,,i would find my own spot and you could use yours for whatever...

fingerz42

LOL. ^--- That cracks me up.

I, too, would not let him sit in MY setups if he isnt going to prepare himself properly.

richwrench

We used to drive blocks of woods to push deer to waiting hunters, so I think you're pretty smart to set him up wind of you. I'm glad he had some beginner's luck because we need to keep the number of hunters up, but he needs to pay some dues. Let him wind you some deer & fling a few arrows to see how hard it really is, & I think he'll learn a lot about hunting. Don't exclude him - let him hunt in YOUR favor to pay some dues for all your hard work of training him. Some day he'll thank you for it. A bad day hunting is better than a good day at work.

nysmoker

yes about the other guy....


but wow ... using your father as a scent blocker so you can get deer ..... tooo freaking funny .... wrong ... but funny

blakefrautschi

well i don't know why people are saying things like "if it takes three shots with a gun, theres no way i would let him hunt with a bow! its a completely different game!"

IMO start him shooting ASAP! i personally used to be a terrible shot with a rifle, but a great shot with a bow (not to sound full of myself..)
i'm not proficient with a rifle and bow

but they are two different sports, get him practicing and see how he is doing, i doubt he would be ready for the opener, but maybe in october he would be prepared.

i also think thats a great idea to use him as a "funnel" to push deer to you.

JMO

peakrut

If he don't want to follow common sense rules he out of there!

V8Ranger

I think the biggest hurdle with bow hunting is being able to judge yardage. That is something you need to teach him also. He could be a great shot, but if he can get the yardage right, his shooting ability wont get him crap... Its also allot tougher to judge the yardage 15 feet up a tree. He has to be able to overcome. IMO

Whitetailaddict13

nope! not wrong one bit. even if he proves himself ready, give him an area and say, scout it and hang a stand where you think youll get a chance at a deer...its a part of hunting we all must do. im like you, freak about the little things, my brother...not so much! so i understand. i wouldnt want my stands blown either.

stabnslab_WI

Actually he has showed me up twice and Im pretty proud of him. I would be lying if I said its not a big competition between me my father and my brother in law. A lot of smack talking goes on two three weeks before the opener of gun and a lot of beer is drank and a lot of stories are told. My brother in law sits at the table, listens and says "I cant thank you guys enough". He is the first up and has all his gear on an hour before departure (and he wonders why he gets cold). How couldn't you be happy to see someone get a buck when he's that excited. But bowhunting is serious and totally different story! Its nothing like gun hunting. In fact if I get one with the bow, Im not shooting anything unless it looks like a moose or elk walking through the woods with a gun. Am I jealous, not one bit. The land has been in the family forever and always will be. Call it what you want but I cant stomach wounded deer and believe me I have hung my bow up many times in my bowhunting career.

UPHunter08

Ask him this: when he was playing hockey, would he take on a completely new player that had never even skated, much less handle a puck, a week before a major tournament? Well, this is the same thing. Just about anyone can learn to shoot a gun with a scope and hit somewhat accurately in a short amount of time, but bow hunting requires an entirely different level of skill. You have to make that point to him.

I have a relative that did much the same as your B-in-law is suggesting. He wanted to pick up bow hunting, so he went out, bought a bow, and shot it a few times. As we were talking about bow hunting, I mentioned how I had seen a great buck last season, but it was never closer than 50-60 yards from me. He was incredulous that I didn't attempt a shot at it. :slaps forehead: I immediately told him that if he even considered taking a shot at that range, especially as a brand new bow hunter, he still had a lot to learn before taking to the woods.

So my advice is to drill the point re: the skill required into his head. Then question him about some basic points (e.g. acceptable range, shot choice, etc) to see if he has at least the basic knowledge down. Even if he can hit a target (also a good test) if he has no idea about what an acceptable shot is, he's still not ready. And make that point known to him. I think too many new bow hunters that started as gun hunters make the mistake of thinking they can apply everything they 'know' from gun hunting to bow hunting. The last thing you want is this guy taking a shot at a running deer 50 yards out!