<\/a>Ethics in the field are ultimately a personal matter. I teach “good ethical behavior” to my students (NBEF, coaching, etc.) but\u00a0individuals will ultimately need to decide for themselves, in the field, how they will conduct themselves. I don’t promote shooting at big game on the move, even walking, but have taken animals at close range at a slow walk. We all choose our shots based on our own experience and confidence level.\u00a0 However, it is much better to stop game with a soft cow call, deer grunt, or even a quick “hey”<\/em> when you’re literally ready to release an arrow. Most animals will stop and look, providing a stationary target, which increases the odds of an arrow finding vitals.<\/p>\n

Pushing the limits and taking shots at alert animals that have you pegged or that begin to run off is always risky. Ethical? One can argue either side of that coin. In the field, there a many variables that can affect your shot. You can only control yourself, your bow, and when you release an arrow. Reading the situation – wind, weather, distance, etc. – and determining whether or not you have a viable shot opportunity with high odds of a quick humane kill takes experience. A rookie bowhunter may take a “risky” shot opportunity out of innocent ignorance. Is he\/she a bad person? In my opinion, no. But an experienced mentor could eliminate these situations.\u00a0 Now, an experienced bowhunter taking a 80 yard shot at a walking deer hoping for the best, well\u00a0I would deem this act unethical in any instance. Get a gun if these shots are the best you can achieve with archery tackle.<\/p>\n

Aldo Leopold wrote in A Sand County Almanac<\/strong>, “A peculiar virtue in wildlife ethics is that the hunter ordinarily has no gallery to applaud or disapprove of his conduct. Whatever his acts, they are dictated by his own conscience, rather than by a mob of onlookers. It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of this fact.”<\/em><\/p>\n

I couldn’t agree more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ethics in the field are ultimately a personal matter. I teach “good ethical behavior” to my students (NBEF, coaching, etc.) but\u00a0individuals will ultimately need to decide for themselves, in the field, how they will conduct themselves. I don’t promote shooting at big game on the move, even walking, but have taken animals at close range […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[147,15],"tags":[277],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n