I wanted to follow up on my post on Aug. 24 in which I complained that the vice president of the South Carolina Bowhunters Association said that bowhunters were the “true” hunters in a local newspaper article.

On Sept. 9, Dewey Jones, the president of the South Carolina Bowhunters Association, responded with an email to me. It is reprinted below:

Mr. Hunt,
Have you read a book written in 1877 by Maurice Thompson, “The Witchery of Archery”?
Over one hundred years ago Maurice stated, (on page 14)”necessity invented fire-arms–that terrible source of slaughter which has reduced shooting to less than a sport.”
Mr. Kearse is not the first to be displease with persons hunting with guns.
Mr. Kearse is entitled to his personal opinions.
This is one of those fine Constitutional Ammendments.
My question to you is, if this displeases you why do you place it on a blog?
Respectfully,
SCBA President
Dewey Jones
I would like to thank Mr. Jones for responding, and I apologize for not putting his response up sooner. However I wanted more time to decide how I would handle this as well as all future disagreements on this blog.

Except for covering the anti-gun/anti-hunting nazis, I have decided to only focus on what our different hunting groups agree on. There are enough people out there that would like to stop all hunting and shooting, regardless of weapon used, that I hate to waste any time or energy fighting those that we should be working with, not against.

And while I do not agree that bowhunting is superior, I can certainly understand Mr. Jones and Mr. Kearse’s attitude. Bad apples always ruin great things for everyone, and it is unfortunate that so many (but certainly not all) gun hunters tend to fall in to that category by using the advantages of a gun to mask their sloppy hunting and shooting skills. And due to the demands of bowhunting, that group tends to have the most proficient hunters so they often see themselves as setting a higher standard.

I do not see myself, or anyone else, as more of a “true” hunter because of what weapon they use any more than I think those who shoot only big bucks are “true” hunters – However I know some hunters that have that mentality too.

My take is that I am the same TRUE HUNTER with a gun that I am with a bow, shooting trophy deer or does. I work very hard to take only high-percentage shots, obey all laws, respect the land and landowner, follow QDM practices and promote hunting by introducing others to our sport.

I understand that everyone is looking to take different things away from their time outdoors – and that is what makes this such a great sport. My personal feeling is that if you obey all laws and hunt ethically, you are a true hunter. And that is what I want to focus on in this blog – true hunters hunting.

Jeff

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