Toad
Active member
I tried to field a question from the novice hunter in our group. He's been hunting with us for a few years now, but pretty much only goes out once a year with our group... He only got one quail for the weekend, and didn't shoot much, in spite of being sent in to flush on many of the points.
We asked him why he wasn't shooting, and in addition to being pretty slow on the trigger for quail, he said that he also was passing up shots because he was told it was proper etiquette in hunters ed class. He said they told him that if the bird flies left, it should be shot by the guy to his left, and vice versa for birds that fly towards the right. He was just trying to be polite and courteous.
I said, when I send you in to flush my dog's point, it's because I want you to shoot the bird. Anything that flushes in front of you is "your" bird in my book. If it flies to the left or right and presents a good shot to a companion, then they should feel free to take the shot, but technically it is still "your" bird and you should not defer to anyone else as long as you have a safe shot. If I'm on your right and it flies to the right, then it is fine for me to shoot also.
To me, the only shots that are bad etiquette would be an unsafe shot, or trying to beat someone to a bird if you are farther away but quicker on the trigger.
What sort of rules of etiquette do you have when hunting with others?
We asked him why he wasn't shooting, and in addition to being pretty slow on the trigger for quail, he said that he also was passing up shots because he was told it was proper etiquette in hunters ed class. He said they told him that if the bird flies left, it should be shot by the guy to his left, and vice versa for birds that fly towards the right. He was just trying to be polite and courteous.
I said, when I send you in to flush my dog's point, it's because I want you to shoot the bird. Anything that flushes in front of you is "your" bird in my book. If it flies to the left or right and presents a good shot to a companion, then they should feel free to take the shot, but technically it is still "your" bird and you should not defer to anyone else as long as you have a safe shot. If I'm on your right and it flies to the right, then it is fine for me to shoot also.
To me, the only shots that are bad etiquette would be an unsafe shot, or trying to beat someone to a bird if you are farther away but quicker on the trigger.
What sort of rules of etiquette do you have when hunting with others?