[/quote] Of course, you do actually have to know how to stalk and hunt- you can't just shoot out of your truck window at 300 yards. [/quote]


Tacky as it is, even that requires some skill.

Another article - http://www.detnews.com/article/20101012/METRO/10120357/Bear-injures-northern-Michigan-hunter

You can find them here;

http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/hunting/2010/10/teen-first-woman-bag-bear-oklahoma

That's nuts...the crossbow makes a big difference but it's still crazy.

OK, now I know to use KFC for bear lure.

There are many areas up here that are designated "bow only" for deer. Usually whitetail, since their populations can get out of hand, and the only other way to thin them out is with people's cars (ouch). And usually in areas with a somewhat dense population, such as acreage developments or near the edges of cities, where hunting with a rifle is deemed too much of a public hazard.

The KFC is optional.

That is one of the reasons that hunters in Washington state
are allowed to carry a sidearm if they have a (shall issue)
concealed permit. This includes bow hunters.

Some of the most skilled and conscientious hunters I know use a bow. A well-shot arrow can be every bit as deadly as a bullet. When firearms overtook bows in warfare and hunting it was because it's so much easier and quicker to teach a rifleman than a bowman.

Oh I know, I was just exaggerating. But as you said, its much easier to learn to shoot, and most people don't even bother to practice that. So my point was for all the unskilled bow hunters, which unfortunately seems to be a large majority of them.

Of course, you do actually have to know how to stalk and hunt- you can't just shoot out of your truck window at 300 yards. [/quote]


Tacky as it is, even that requires some skill. [/quote]

Haha, true. But if you're a reasonable shot it's not too hard to keep your shot in the kill zone of a deer at 300 yards with a rest. If you consider that about 18" for a deer, you're talking about 6 MOA. If you can't do that off a rest you probably shouldn't be out there hunting, and certainly shouldn't take a shot beyone a 150 or so yards. Of course, the tricky part will be judging the range accurately. Growing up on the plains I find that most people are pretty poor judges of distance. On the ranch where I grew my dad had measured out most of the distances on our place with surveying gear, and put flags at some of them. While hunting we'd often ask on of our companions how far away they thought the deer were, and it wasn't unusual for guys to be off by half again or more. Deer that were 300 yards out were commonly thought to be at 500 or more. You especially see this with people that don't really understand the actual size of a deer. It's funny to see guys with newfangled magnums shooting six feet over a deer's back!