Ethical Shots

Rusty · Sep 30, 2009

It should be every hunter’s top priority to make quick clean kills on the game that we shoot. That’s why we teach new hunters to stop a deer before taking the shot.

What’s the double standard with pheasants and ducks?

Shooting pheasants on the ground is going to produce a much greater percentage of quick clean kills than shooting them when they are flying. So why is it considered unsportsmanlike to shoot them on the ground, where you know you will make a quick clean kill? Isn’t purposely making them fly before you shoot, so that there’s a greater likelihood of not making a good hit, unethical?

bloodtrails · Sep 30, 2009

Ethics are are individual personal choice.

LilKoBear · Sep 30, 2009

shoot them on the ground

you dont give them the advantage of flying away from danger. but at the same time do you spook a deer so it runs before you shoot to give it a more fair chance?

you can make a quick clean kill as the animal is flying as well. [smirk]

this is a touchy topic

njgunner · Sep 30, 2009

Shooting pheasants on the ground is going to produce a much greater percentage of quick clean kills than shooting them when they are flying. So why is it considered unsportsmanlike to shoot them on the ground, where you know you will make a quick clean kill? Isn’t purposely making them fly before you shoot, so that there’s a greater likelihood of not making a good hit, unethical?

Many dogs get shot when people try to take a pheasant from the ground...besides an arrow and big pattern of pellets are two different things.

LilKoBear · Sep 30, 2009

Ethics are are individual personal choice.

very true. if you believe you will make a better shot on the ground or in the air, its all up to the hunter and what he feels more comfortable doing. take the shot that you know will harvest the game cleanly. [up]

chris n · Sep 30, 2009

ethics in 2009? oh I didnt get that memo LOL

NJBOWHUNTER · Sep 30, 2009

Many dogs get shot when people try to take a pheasant from the ground...besides an arrow and big pattern of pellets are two different things.

my first dog was shot becasue someone shot a bird on the ground. now please understand i dont feel there is anything wrong with it just be wise with your shot.

maximus · Sep 30, 2009

ethics in 2009? oh I didnt get that memo

[rofl]

DropTine249 · Sep 30, 2009

Ethics are are individual personal choice.

Ethics !! A very ambiguous topic.

I agree with bloodtrails, to a degree.

Everyone knows not to take a quatering-too shot.

Everyone knows not to shoot drastic angles.

Everyone knows not to shoot at a hyper-alert deer.

Most importantly, everyone knows to PRACTICE to the point of near perfection with their weapon..You dont need to be an olympis shooter, and, I dont need to be able to slap shafts at 60yards, but, I do because I want very little "user-doubt" factor..

However, these are not rules, they are simply ethical quidelines- recommendations, if you will.

Some people express no hesitation shooting through brush. I have passed 2 very big bucks, because of brush. Too many variables.

Some people will lob an arrow 60 yards while in the timber. I have NO issues with taking a 60yard shot in a field, however, in the timber- too many variables.

I think it comes down to selfishness and respect for the animal. I'd rather watch a deer walk out of my life, in good health, to enjoy another day of life, than to have taken a bad shot and injured that deer.

The thought of a deer suffering a miserable death or negatively impacted life because of a decision and action I made- would devistate me.

On the other hand- I know people who just dont care about animals. They simply dont care. I have little respect for those people.

njgunner · Sep 30, 2009

my first dog was shot becasue someone shot a bird on the ground. now please understand i dont feel there is anything wrong with it just be wise with your shot.

i agree...I hunt pheasants without a dog and have seen some birds that are smart enough not to fly and once they hit thick cover they are gone...trust me if ive been walking for 2 hours and i see a bird on the ground im taking it but i am 110% sure of my shot and that no other hunters/dogs are around

hunter115522 · Sep 30, 2009

I almost had my EAB doe just the other day, it was only my 2nd time out so far this year, 25 yrd broadside shot at a doe.. but I didn't take the shot. Just as I was getting ready to draw, a 2nd doe shows up, feeding right behind the one I was ready to shoot. I knew if I shot the 1st, I would most likely get a pass-thru, and the 2nd doe would be wounded. Oh well, I passed on the shot, they walked away, and I still don't have my doe. Yeah it sucks, but I'm happy I didn't take a risky shot.

rayneboo · Sep 30, 2009

So why is it considered unsportsmanlike to shoot them on the ground, where you know you will make a quick clean kill? Isn’t purposely making them fly before you shoot, so

Because alot get away when you let them fly.Makes it alot more challenging.

GVS · Sep 30, 2009

I wouldnt shoot at something I thought was a stump 70 yards away....

DropTine249 · Sep 30, 2009

I wouldnt shoot at something I thought was a stump 70 yards away....

Haha...

But you were almost definitly maybe certain that it could have possible been something that resembled stump-like features ?!?!?![rofl]

I'm not going to judge, but, ya know.......

GVS · Sep 30, 2009

were almost definitly maybe certain that it could have possible been something that resembled stump

yeah but it wasnt movin so ya know quick kill and all, what the hey!

DropTine249 · Sep 30, 2009

yeah but it wasnt movin so ya know quick kill and all, what the hey!

You make an impressive arguement..

Agreed

Rusty · Sep 30, 2009

Ethics are are individual personal choice.

So as long as I feel its ok then it’s the right thing to do? If that’s true then there's no such thing as an unethical shot. Any shot I take is ok because it’s my personal choice. [confused]

Wow, that’s a scary thought. Germany had similar feelings a few years back.

rackmaster · Sep 30, 2009

Ethics are are individual personal choice.

I agree. What is ethical to a guy that needs the meat may not seem ethical to someone that hunts for trophies.

When I took my son (then about 15 years old) pheasant hunting (stocked birds) to the club I blonged to in Hunterdon County. His reaction was," dad, this isn't hunting." Yet to some members it was a fall ritual.

For the record I shot one deer quartering toward me on a hard angle with a bow, it went about 40 yards and dropped. It was my first deer in two years and after a year long battle with throat cancer. I took the shot not out of desperation but because I knew I could make it.

jmvbucks · Sep 30, 2009

Morals and fair-chase

DropTine249 · Sep 30, 2009

So as long as I feel its ok then it’s the right thing to do? If that’s true then there's no such thing as an unethical shot. Any shot I take is ok because it’s my personal choice.

I'm with ya...People making excuses..

Like I said before. Ethics are ethics.

There is such a thing as an unethical shot, however, there is a range of ethicism. Whats highly unethical to one, may not be "so bad" to another.

However, both recognize, appreciate and employ some degree of 'ethics'...

Today, I would never make any excuse for taking a quartering-to shot. Sorry.

Either way. These shots are legal and entirely up to the hunter. Sometimes they work out, sometimes they dont.

I'll keep my respect for those who hunt and feel as I do.

Ethical Shots

Rusty

bloodtrails

LilKoBear

njgunner

LilKoBear

chris n

NJBOWHUNTER

maximus

DropTine249

njgunner

hunter115522

rayneboo

GVS

DropTine249

GVS

DropTine249

Rusty

rackmaster

jmvbucks

DropTine249

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