I suspect what people say and what people do in the woods when nobody is there to witness it are quite different.
Define "lost" game.
Define "lost" game.
If you shoot a deer and it runs off and dies and you can't find it I really hope you would feel bad for killing that animal for nothing.
Not sure if everyone would stop hunting or not but just because you have a tag in your pocket doesn't mean you can go around and kill things. What if it happens a second or third time?
I'd hope most hunters would have respect for animals but with the way the world is going I dont rely heavily on people having good ethics anymore.
Actually a tag in your pocket does mean you can go around killing things(in a legal manner).
If you have hunted long enough there will be a time that you are someone you know hits and animal that isn't/can't be recovered, it happens.You didn't kill that animal for nothing , that is a very shrewd statement to make.Even by law you must make every reasonable attempt to retrieve it and are not at fault if you fail to recover the animal.
You should have a little more faith in people, also, if you are sensitive maybe those folks shouldn't hunt, after all you are killing an animal.
Sometimes things out of our control can happen , you cannot with 100% certainty say what is going to happen once that bullet leaves the end of the barrel, yes you can mitigate the factors but nothing is for sure.
So, if you can't handle the possibility of wounding or not recovering game, stick to paper targets.
Yes, this is turning into an "I'm better than you" thread.
So just because you have a tag you can kill multiple deer?
Mistakes happen, bad shots happen, I get it but if people know they can't hit the side of a barn door at 300 yards and take the shot anyway then you are not a responsible hunter. If you think someone is "sensitive" for feeling bad for wounding an animal then maybe you are the irresponsible hunter.
So just because you have a tag you can kill multiple deer?
Mistakes happen, bad shots happen, I get it but if people know they can't hit the side of a barn door at 300 yards and take the shot anyway then you are not a responsible hunter. If you think someone is "sensitive" for feeling bad for wounding an animal then maybe you are the irresponsible hunter.
Did I say that? You are projecting and taking words out of context.
Did you read anything I typed?
You totally missed the point of what I wrote and now you are adding factors of shooting ability to fit your narrative.
I did not say just keeping shooting until you get one you like.
Potentially losing game is part of hunting , if you can't handle that aspect , then maybe hunting isn't for you.
You are starting to troll looking for a reaction.
Just to derail this thread a bit more....... Talking about being sensitive........I always feel bad when I kill an animal...... be it a deer or a coyote.... but I also feel good about it too.... It's mixed emotions for me and I suspect for most as well.....
Knowing I hit something with a poor shot makes me feel only one way........................and that's..................bad/sh##ty........
Just to derail this thread a bit more....... Talking about being sensitive........I always feel bad when I kill an animal...... be it a deer or a coyote.... but I also feel good about it too.... It's mixed emotions for me and I suspect for most as well.....
Knowing I hit something with a poor shot makes me feel only one way........................and that's..................bad/sh##ty........
Quite easy to determine when birds drop dead. Sometimes birds are lost because they can be difficult to see where they have fallen, sometimes in heavy cover or sometimes in a swamp. It can be difficult to locate a grouse or woodcock without the aid of a dog. Birds that fall into snow can also be challenging to find at times if they fall through said snow. Also hard to find waterfowl that fall in weed beds with thick cover. Dogs certainly improve your chance of recovery, but not all bird hunters hunt with dogs.
Also easy to see when waterfowl has been badly winged, which may not be immediately fatal, but a migratory bird with a broken wing(s) is as good as dead in my opinion
I said what if it happens two or three times, just because you have a tag in your pocket doesn't mean you can just kill things.
You said yes it does. Then said people are "sensitive" and if they "can't handle it" and said it was turning into "I'm better than you" thread. So who's trolling?
I've been lucky, I guess, because I've never shot a big game animal that got away. That could be because I've never taken a shot at one that was over 100 yds.
Birds are another matter. Before I got my dog, I'd estimate that I lost probably one out of every eight or so upland birds that I shot. Those that hit the ground running are particularly hard to find. After getting the dog, it was more like one out of a hundred. I only hunted migratory birds for one season in my 20's and I don't recall losing any. That was primarily because our spot allowed us to shoot them as they came off the water and they fell on land.
Regardless of how many I or anyone else lost, I agree with the previous poster who pointed out that the law (here, at least) reads "possession" limit. There are also laws about how the carcass is treated and the use of the meat. So, my interpretation of these laws is that a hunter must make reasonable efforts to locate and retrieve any game he/she has shot. If those efforts fail to even find the animal, you are not at fault. Any bending of those laws, because the hunter wanted a more desirable animal for example, could and should (IMO) result in charges.
That's the legal side of things. Then, there's ethics. When we can't all agree on what's legal, we're not likely to agree on what's ethical. My personal standard is that I won't shoot anything I don't eat afterwards. That is, in fact, why I don't hunt migratory - don't want to have to eat them. If it were just a shooting exercise, I'd blast away at 'em. But it isn't. This may sound corny, but I see hunting as a survival skill. And, to me survival doesn't include killing for fun.
The poll isn't limited to winged animals,




























