I see it every year.

Hardly anybody at the range until Labor Day.

Then the two weeks leading up to the season bowhunters show up and make sure their equipment is still working and shoot a few shots practice. Next stop is deer season.

My future son-in-law is one of these folks. He comes over in late August and sights his bow in with a few shots on my 3-D targets. He shoots really well and in just a few minutes he is more accurate than I am even though I shoot daily almost the entire year.

He kills a couple deer each year and is happy as a clam. I have offered to set him up with traditional gear and he has no interest.

I am constantly reminded that my values as a bowhunter are not the same as the values of the next bowhunter. And in the end being of the "big tent" philosophy, I am fine with that.

I just shot my first real practice yesterday. Thanks to a cortisone shot I finally was able to receive on Monday. Not because of laziness but rather a bone spur. I am now able to for the first time in several months draw my bow. I shot again today and my shooting is not at the level it normally is at this time of year. I am however consistently making kill shots over and over at 15 yards or less. 90% of my shots are taken in this range so I still plan on being in the woods when the season opens on Monday. Ethics have nothing to do with how much practice you've had, it's about knowing what you can do and having the discipline to limit yourself to those shots.

With just over 7 billion people in the world its hard to find time to worry about what they are all doing.


Rob

HMMMMMM,
Why would the rest of the hunting world lable trad bowhunters ELITESTS?
Maybe threads like this?????????

Some people are naturally better at some things than others.  Math, chess, painting, even archery!  After 45 years of shooting I don't have to shoot everyday to be spot on.  I can go months without shooting my recurve and be back into it in a short afternoon.  I have the punched tags to prove it.

Others, apparently quite a few of them on this forum require daily practice.  That's a problem.  Maybe you shouldn't even be out in the woods with a stick bow?  This isn't all that hard to perfect.  Proper form, fitted gear, and a real understanding of what is going on.  It shouldn't takes weeks upon weeks to get back into it after a few months hiatus.  If it does maybe that wheel bow or crossgun is a better choice?

It comes in all walks of life these days.

It is unfair, and very inaccurate to place those labels on any single entity. The slobs, and nare do wells are among us all. Even among the ranks of our beloved stickbow shooters.

We are reaping what we have sewn for the last 50 years of instant gratification, and allowing our children to live lives laced in fantasy.

It can be changed, but people are going to have to step up, speak up, and be willing to take it on the chin, and stand their ground while being ridiculed for it. Even then it will take a while.

Pat

Lots of compound bashing and that's a no no!