Learning To Make Wise Choices As a Hunter

The difference between the novice hunter and the true sportsman is wisdom, which is acquired by the experience gained from making decisions, acting on them, and then seeing the consequences of your actions. This experience and wisdom will help you navigate the gray areas mentioned earlier.

• During your development as a hunter, there are good rules to guide your decision-making. When in doubt, ask yourself:
  
  • Is it legal?
  • Is it safe?
  • Is it ethical?
• Sometimes, the choice isn’t between right and wrong—it’s between right and right. These are the more difficult choices.
• As a hunter, always make the ethical choice—even though unethical behavior may be legal. If you do this, it will be easier to live with knowing you did the right thing, even though the results may not have been what you wanted.

Practicing Making Wise Decisions

Choosing between two correct options, neither of which may be particularly desirable, is known as a dilemma. A dilemma arises when you must choose between two values that are important to you.

These exercises will help you develop your decision-making skills in a more cool-headed environment. Practice the exercises with a friend or parent. Discussion enriches the experience.

Follow these steps as you work through the exercises.

1. Decide whether the dilemma has a right answer and a wrong answer, or two right answers.
2. If it is a “right vs. right” dilemma, determine whether one option is more ethical than the other.
3. If both options are ethical, give at least three possible ways to proceed.
4. Circle the best course of action. If you’re in doubt, imagine that a television news reporter was filming your choice. What would you like to see on the evening news?
5. Try to create a third solution that is preferable to the choices you were offered.
   
   Note: It is in this step that you may learn the most. Consider the choice that had to be made in the story as a result of certain actions. Could different behavior earlier on have prevented reaching the difficult dilemma? This will help you learn to act while considering difficult consequences that could result.

Find Ethical Hunting Partners

• You may feel pressure from others to bend or break the law.
• Restate to your “friend” what they are asking you to do. For instance, “You are asking me to break the law by putting my tag on your deer.”
  • Does the person continue to try to persuade you? Do they show contempt for your ethics by belittling your choice?
  • If so, that person is probably not your friend and is definitely not a good hunting partner.
• The same rule of thumb works for ethical dilemmas. If a hunting partner asks you to participate in unethical behavior, consider whether the person is a good partner for you.
• The difference between an act being legal and an act being ethical is simply the difference between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. Responsible hunters always follow the spirit of the law.