WICanner wrote: One can argue specifics on individuals, but the trends in ‘bowhunting’ are undeniable.

My bowhunting experience is less than a decade old so there will be many here who have a better idea of trends than I do. I recently read ‘Hunting With the Bow and Arrow’ by Saxton Pope. He and his hunting companions seemed to regularly take shots at animals at the limits of their range. Is it possible that hunting ethics is a never ending battle against the risk taking, glory hungry drives of young men? Particularly young men who have come from a non-hunting family, so have had no childhood education in the matter?

I introduced myself to bowhunting (and hunting in general) when I was about 20, after watching ‘Deliverence’ of all things. I took some wildly unethical shots with my shiny new compound bow. The virtue of being a terrible shot was the only thing that saved me and my prey from having to live with the results. I wouldn’t characterise my younger self as generally unethical or risk taking. Just an ignorant young man who had spent a childhood reading about Robin Hood splitting shafts at 100 yards.

I’ll tell you the real flaw in the character of that younger man though. He thought rather than investing time into developing woodcraft and talent with a simple new tool, he could invest money and buy talent and craft with a fancy new tool. That there is probably the moral failure underpinning the later unethical practices.

Apologies for my wandering mind, but perhaps a slightly different perspective to that normally found here?