New Hunter Dilema

So I need some advice and I want to find out if I am being unreasonable.

A very good friend of mine wants to bow hunt. He hears me talking about it all the time and he keeps bugging me to take him (specifically bow hunting) out. He doesn’t have a bow and has never shot one.

So last week he buys a bow and now he wants me to take him. He went to the range and is getting good groups out to only 20yds. He tells me he will kill a deer within 20 yards if the opportunity presents itself. I keep telling him to slow down there is more to hunting than buying a bow and shooting a deer.

So today he sends me a text and says he is off 4 days next week and he wants to go kill a deer.

My thoughts are this. I am not going to take someone bow hunting just because they want to kill a deer. I am also not going to take someone into my woods and give them the chance to shoot at a live animal after shooting a bow for a week. I don’t care how much you shot in that week or how good you are after a WEEK of shooting you are not coming into my woods. I also am not taking someone that is not educated in whitetail deer.

Its just frustrating to me. I hunt for much more than the kill like I assume the rest of you do. I want anyone that comes with me or into my woods to share the respect for the animal that I do. I don’t want blood thirsty killers that just want the kill. Believe me.. I am right there but there is so much more and I want someone new to the sport to invest the time and actually care more.

Am I being unreasonable?? Or should I just let him get in the woods and get a feel for it? I don’t want to discourage him.

Thoughts?

So what is he, a very good friend or someone who is putting you out and forcing you to make tough decisions? Sounds like fun teaching a friend the magic of bow hunting……..just don’t put him in your best stand

There are 2 ways for him to get educated and learn the true love of the outdoors. You can teach and share your experiences or you can let him learn most of his lessons the hard way and see if he sticks with it.
If it were a close friend of mine I would wait until after the rut (which I am barely seeing) when things slow down and sit with him for a weekend. If it is somebody you sort of know I would teach them the value of topo maps, google earth and plat books for the current season.
Just my $.02

That’s a tough one! I would hold off until late season….right when that mercury reads low teens or single digits haha. Shooting a deer late season is the ultimate experience in my opinion.

Or find some larger tracts of public land after the gun season and help him throw up a stand, and maybe a trail camera. See what’s out there and sit a few times.

A week seems like a short amount of time to be proficient, shooting out of a tree stand awkward angles, cold, clothes on is all something I would have him practice a lot before he hits the woods.

Tough situation!

everyone has to start somewhere. Im as blood thirsty as anyone but good ol Dad showed me the ropes on how to do it right and enjoy the experiance. If he really is a good friend show him how to do it right. If he’s not that good of friend help him find a place of his own and show him how to do it right.

Does he have a place to hunt? Maybe offer to help him where he has permission? Plus, it might be an “in” for you to hunt a new property as well. Because I don’t own any property, I couldn’t have a newbie hunting on property that I have permission, it’s not my place to allow it. Plus, the landowners know that I’m ethical and not just flinging arrows at every deer that walks by.

You’re situation is definitely a grey area. I know when I started bow hunting, I was like a sponge and dove in head first, similar to your buddy. However, I hunted public land after the gun season to feed my new passion and didn’t have a buddy to help. Some lessons we are better off learning on our own through trial and error.

Or there is one other thing you could do….

Put your knee high rubber boots on and have him go with you to a stand where you will be crossing water. Make sure he doesn’t have any rubber boots and walk through an area where his feet will get wet. After an hour or so, his feet will be so soaked and cold that he won’t want to go back out and 2nd guess his decision to start right in the middle of November. I learned this from a buddies dad who said his wife always wanted to go hunting. So he brought her through the nastiest stuff he could and she didn’t ever ask to go again.

Evaluate his skills first hand. Take him to a stand with all his bulky clothing on, teach him treestand safety first! Once in the stand have him shoot at a life size deer target with the vitals marked. If he misses the vitals at 20 yards, which he will, tell him to practice more and when he is ready he can take the test again. Don’t mention to him that when shooting downward at such a steep angle of 20 yards his shots will be high.
I think he thinks this is a piece of cake and doesn’t realize we bowhunt for a bunch of reasons other than just killing something.

Update:

This is a great buddy of mine and we spend a lot of time together. He was just so damn kill hungry it wasn’t giving me a good feeling. He does not have his own land and knows nothing about hunting. Has no interest in deer just killing one.

He called me a few days after getting the bow and said that he went out and bought broadheads and a license. So I asked if he had shot yet… Nope. He said he had no one to shoot with.

I then just told him that the only way i’d let him come to my properties is if he could show me a good group at 40 yards. I want 10 arrows in a paper plate. Ever since that convo I haven’t heard a peep out of him about it.

I had a feeling from the start that this would not work. He still claims he is going to a buddies cabin this weekend to hunt. I asked him if he shot or what his plan is? He said that when he got up north he would shoot a few arrows and build some confidence.

Oh well….

Thanks for reading. Nice reading some responses to get me brainstorming.

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I think he thinks this is a piece of cake and doesn’t realize we bowhunt for a bunch of reasons other than just killing something.

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Thats exactly it. I started bow hunting in 1999. My first bow was a PSE Nova that my Dad bought me. I wanted more of a hunt and loved deer hunting. I remember when I got that bow I was shooting as much as I could and then when I wasn’t out shooting I was out scouting the land and finding the best spot for a bow stand. My energy and passion was on my sleeve. I was really hoping to see that in my good buddy but it just wasn’t there.

First day of the season I shot a small doe. I was hooked. That same year, October 26th, I shot a small 8 pointer. Some of the best memories of my hunting career!

One of the highest honors that I have had as a hunter has been the opportunity to mentor others on the sport. I think that you have a chance to do that but that doesn’t mean you have to mentor him in your woods. There is nothing wrong with having him cut his teeth on public ground. If he can be successful there then he will have probably earned it, and either way he will learn whether he’s in it for the hunt or for the kill.