I think the discussion using emotive words like "trick" hunting and "Baby Sitting" is unhelpful!

I hunt with a bow as well as rifles from 22 cal to 375 Weatherby. I have spent alot of time in Bow hunting camps as well as Rifle camps and have found most bow hunters to have magnificent hunting skills. If they do not they are rarely successful.

This is not always the case with the rifle people where some are shooters rather than hunters and sometimes not as skilled as they might be with their chosen firearms.

Of the bow hunters I have met who have hunted DG (in Australia this means Buff). All of them have been very experienced bow men looking for an extra challenge. The concept is to 'hunt' the Buff. That is stalk the buff to 20 yds such that the buff is unaware that you are there. If you are sprung you don't shoot. If you are not sprung, the Buff does not know where you are, you do not make any noise with the bow and the Buff has no way to charge you, except by bad luck or accident.

The concepts are not dis-similar with a single shot. You must be prepared to walk or stalk away from a situation where a bolt or double man might not have to.

With regard to the 'baby-sitter', I always consider my guide or PH as a partner. I discuss all aspects of the hunt with him for his approval, so that we have an accepted plan of action and an alternative if things go pear-shaped. I do not consider this to be baby-sitting but a highly professional process to get close to DG.

If all the danger is taken out of DG hunting, what's the point!

This post is not intended to disparage other hunters or shooters who choose to travel by another path but suggestions that what I do is somehow "trick" or requiring of a "baby-sitter" is a little harsh.

Regards,
The Professor.