Mr Ethical, Have or would you?

I did shoot a bear that was up a tree. I shot it with my bow, the first big game animal I shot with bow and arrow.
And, I was definetely not proud of myself. I was alone, the bear ran up the tree and I put an arrow through him. To me, this is unethical. I didn't tell the other guys the circumstances of how the bear died, and as I remeber, most didn't find out.
Ethics is something each person either has, or has not, or to what degree do they have ethics. I am not telling anybody what they should, or shouldn't do, but I did not feel good about shooting the bear in a tree and my mind has never changed on it.
No, I wouldn't do it again.
To me, hunting is all about pitting my witts against the hunted. Thus, fair chase is everything. I have jumped out of a vehicle and shot moose, too. But I was not proud of myself for it.
I can think of two different years that I picked up a moose track in the snow, first thing in the morning, followed it all day, after determining in both cases that it was a bull, then shooting the animal about 3:00 in the afternoon.
A moose is one of the hardest animals there is to track down like that, and yes, I was, still am, very proud of getting those moose.
 
Bear in a tree? No problem, I'd shoot him.

What about hunting a seal in saskatchewan? Seems a little unethical to me. I wouldn't do it yet your name and location seem to suggest this is possible. No form of escape for the seal, my friend. :rolleyes:
 
Wouldn't want to bruise all that good meat. I wonder if the trauma of the fall and quick stop would effect the quality eating wise. Other than that give er.
 
Hmmm I thought the idea when hunting as far as ethics were concerned were a good clean killing shot. Given there are no big limbs in the way to deflect the shot and there is no chance should I miss my bullet isnt going to end up on someones porch I see no problem with it. I have shot a number of treed coons, alot of grey and black squirrels as a youngster growing up in the Niagara region and countless grouse from tree branches as well as the odd pheasant so sorry don't see the difference if it's a bird,a bear or anything else for that matter.:cool:
 
H4831 said:
I did shoot a bear that was up a tree. I shot it with my bow, the first big game animal I shot with bow and arrow.
And, I was definetely not proud of myself. I was alone, the bear ran up the tree and I put an arrow through him. To me, this is unethical. I didn't tell the other guys the circumstances of how the bear died, and as I remeber, most didn't find out.
Ethics is something each person either has, or has not, or to what degree do they have ethics. I am not telling anybody what they should, or shouldn't do, but I did not feel good about shooting the bear in a tree and my mind has never changed on it.
No, I wouldn't do it again.
To me, hunting is all about pitting my witts against the hunted. Thus, fair chase is everything. I have jumped out of a vehicle and shot moose, too. But I was not proud of myself for it.
I can think of two different years that I picked up a moose track in the snow, first thing in the morning, followed it all day, after determining in both cases that it was a bull, then shooting the animal about 3:00 in the afternoon.
A moose is one of the hardest animals there is to track down like that, and yes, I was, still am, very proud of getting those moose.
Click to expand...

H, I think your confusing your own enjoyment in practicing the skills of hunting with ethics. IMHO, you should always take the most reliable shot. Bear in a tree or a duck swimming toward the dekes, if the best shot presents itself, kill quickly and harvest.
However, I can respect those that see these practices in their own mind as questionable. :)

Edit: Of course I understand that guys passing up a bear in a tree are not later going to take a shot at a bear on the ground that they have doubts about.
 
Legal for the most part is ethical , as far as what kind of moral compass you have inside you , only you know, so all I have to say on this issue is , stop evaluate,re-evaluate proceed.
Here is how you can do checks and balances on yourself.
Your actions in the company of others, is it the same when alone?
If your friends actions raise a red flag , do you follow , or make your own decisions?:)
 
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I also think there's a confusing between sport hunting & just hunting.
Those that hunt for sport I can absolutly agree, shoot when YOU think it's fair & makes you feel good. There is also hunting for other reasons, as in meat in which case if it's legal it's on the table & also for pest control. If any of you have apple orchards you will know what kind of damage a bear can do & now that the seasons are limited & there's more bears than ever before, I shoot them for one reason only, in a tree, under a table, in the bush on the road:sniper:
 
Another good thread with a variety of good input and reasoning. Reguardless of our basic stance in hunting, be it as a 'deep freeze' hunter or trophy, we assess and either opt to take the shot or to pass based on our personal preferences or reasoning. One no more correct than the other, merely the choice we have as an individual.
 
It depends on whether I am shooting the bear to feed myself and my family or if it's just for sport. Do you think the farmer's cow gets a chance to run off in a fair chase game down on the back 40 before he puts it down?
 
sealhunter said:
I'm not making the call on ethical or not,..I'm just putting it out there...
'From the bears that I have treed, I wouldn't.
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I'm curious as to how you treed said bears? I've been in on over two dozen bear kills so I've hunted them a bit. The only bears I've seen in a tree were cubs, and not very darn many of them, and I wasn't the cause of them being in the tree.
 
I have seen at least 30 balck bears treed.

I'm not sure where you are hunting so I can't comment on the stands of trees...

Most times it has been cubs, sometimes sows with cubs, and maybe 5 or 7 times, a sow or boar alone..

It usually happens in my experience in valleys, high sides and a river,...with extremely easy walking terrain..
 
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