Bow hunting

[BWALKER77]

Both are good points. Just some cursory study of wounding loss should be enough to make hunters think more about what shots they do take. One study out of the Madison Valley on archery elk estimated 50% of animals hit were not recovered. One conversation I had with a biologist several years ago told me he basically doubled the hunting harvest as actual to accommodate for hunting loss. Then he said double that again for poaching.

One way to manage bowhunting wounding rates is to shorten the season and make it aonitndoesnt fall during the rut.

 

[TheTone]

I’ll add:

For trad hunters being more responsible/whatever I formally worked with a couple people well respected in the trad bow community that are now making a living off their hunting exploits. I was happy when they quit so I no longer had to hear them talk about missing and wounding a bunch of critters each year while they looked down their nose at me for hunting with a compound.

Additionally I’ve found a bunch of dead critters over the year both working and shed hunting. The number I believe were shot and lost with a rifle far outnumbers the archery ones

 

[Cheesehead]

On the poaching front, we already ‘Plug’ horns for sheep. I wonder whether in a few decades, this won’t become standard practice for all horned and antlered game. At some point, any halfway recent untagged game would immediately be flagged as poached. Manpower (cough, ‘human power’?) is the major obstacle, but seems like it could quickly become faster with better technology (some sort of RFID tag?). Tbh, it’s weird that this doesn’t happen already

 

[BWALKER77]

I’ll add:

For trad hunters being more responsible/whatever I formally worked with a couple people well respected in the trad bow community that are now making a living off their hunting exploits. I was happy when they quit so I no longer had to hear them talk about missing and wounding a bunch of critters each year while they looked down their nose at me for hunting with a compound.

Additionally I’ve found a bunch of dead critters over the year both working and shed hunting. The number I believe were shot and lost with a rifle far outnumbers the archery ones

Your beliefs do not match the actual done on the subject.

 

[BuzzH]

For those that have a hard time believing poaching can equal or exceed legal harvest...from a couple days ago: One guy, 60 deer (that they know of).

Kansas Man Faces Jail Time for Poaching 60 Deer

John Blick Jr. of Sharon, Kansas, has been sentenced to 14 months in prison and ordered to pay $327,641 in restitution for poaching 60 whitetail and mule deer. The bust is the result of a multi-year investigation leading to a 139-count indictment. Additionally, the 28-year-old will lose hunting...

www.themeateater.com

 

[TheJason]

I have two gripes with the article.

#1- the immediate assumption that someone took a 70, 80, or 90 yard shot. Very well could have been the guy that isn’t proficient at 30 yards but everyone just loves to jump on the “bash the long range guys” train

#2- His comment about guys using traditional equipment being “real hunters”. I get tired of traditional guys automatically getting a pass as “real hunters”. After hanging out in the traditional community for the 5 years or so, I’ve come to the realization that many of them are lucky more states don’t have a proficiency test....

I agree with both points. Completely.

Shit happens, pull a shot, string hits your binos, cam clips a tree branch, you name it.

I've found a broadhead in one bull I killed, and I've found bullets in two deer. Poor shot selection is not limited to any single user group.

 

[EKYHunter]

I agree with both points. Completely.

Shit happens, pull a shot, string hits your binos, cam clips a tree branch, you name it.

I've found a broadhead in one bull I killed, and I've found bullets in two deer. Poor shot selection is not limited to any single user group.

Truth right there.

 

[Valley1320]

Poor shot selection is not limited to any single user group.

Well said!!! Working in a butcher shop and seeing what I see. I totally agree with that