# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Hunting & Trapping >  Rubber Tip Bowhunting

## Beo

Found this in the newest issue of Traditional Bowhunter (Love this Mag)
so tell me what you think.

By Dennis Kamstra (Staff Writer Traditional Bowhunter Magazine-Tips from the Old Timer-Aug-Sept 2008)
   It is with trepidation that I approach the subject of "hunting" with rubber blunts. I can already see the hate mail regarding animal cruelty & harrassment. I openly admit to the love of smacking animals with rubber blunts. At the same time, I strongly believe that certain guidelines should be followed. Having said that, I also believe that there is no better practice than to shoot rubber blunts at live animals. It is ablsolutely the closest you can get to the real thing. Most bowhunters will only get a few chances all year to take a shot at a live animal (with broadheads). This type of non action is simply not enough to hone your hunting skills. But if one is to use rubber blunts on live animals, he must excerise some responsible thinking. Never shoot at thin skinned game this includes deer, antelope, coyote, etc, thinking that the blunt will do no harm. You can easily crack a rib bone of a deer, even big mule deer, with a rubber blunt. When I lived on a farm I used to routinely blunt our cattle and I am convinced that I never hurt any of them. Just think about roping or bull dogging yearling calves in a rodeo. That has got to produce more trauma than getting whacked with a rubber blunt. Hogs, wild or domestic, are fair game in my book, same goes for bear, elk, and moose. 

Then it goes on blah blah blah about his friends who prefer to use rubber blunts on bears instead of broadheads, even during hunting season and how he shot girraffe and rhino's too and how it makes better confidence for the bowhunter. After the stories of his and his friends prowess it continues to say:

Notice how I keep refering to "rubber" blunts and not just blunts, never practice shooting at any animal with steel blunts or Judo Heads (which were made for small game and stump shooting and we do here in Ohio) You can definitely cause severe injury or even death with these heads, and there are also some no-no's with rubber blunting hunting. do not taper the business end of a wooden shaft as it can poke through the rubber and cause injury, same goes for mounting rubber over an aluminium broadhead adopter. My favorited way is to use aluminium or carbon shafts with screw in adapters thread a 100 grain steel blunt on the shaft and then slip a rubber blunt over the steel blunt, also use the big rubber blunts not the smaller ones intended for 5/16 shafts.
End of Article...

Me personally I 'd like to actually see him or his friends go out and whack a bear with the rubber blunt and pizz it off so it mauls them, or stand them out in a field and whack them with a rubber blunt so they know how it feels, while it may not do damage it has to hurt, annoy the animal and general is a load of crap on needing to do this to be a good shot.
I hunt with a custom made longbow and practice shooting it for hunting season and have taken my share of deer, wild pig, rabbit, and coyote with it after shooting only at a target. The confidence thing is a load of bull and if you don't have the confidence to it on a target you shouldn't be trying it on anything live.
What's your thoughts?
Beo

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## Catfish

> Me personally I 'd like to actually see him or his friends go out and whack a bear with the rubber blunt and pizz it off so it mauls them, or stand them out in a field and whack them with a rubber blunt so they know how it feels, while it may not do damage it has to hurt, annoy the animal and general is a load of crap on needing to do this to be a good shot.


With you all the way Beo.  

My personal philosophy is "Only shoot to kill.  Only kill to eat."  Yes, I suppose there are exceptions to the second one when it comes to vermin or self-defense, but that's not what the author is talking about here.  I don't have a whole lot of time for those who think animals are just there for our entertainment, and shooting them "for practice", even without the intent to kill, falls into that category.

If you want to work on your stalking skills, buy a camera without a zoom lens.  If you want to practice hitting a moving target, rig up a target so that it moves.  But if you're going to be shooting at live animals, then I'd suggest you:

a)  Intend to kill it.
b)  Have a valid reason for killing it.
c)  Be confident you _can_ kill it.

c) Is the main reason why I haven't yet gone hunting.  I'm a passable shot on the trap range, but I'm not ready to be blamming away at living creatures.

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## crashdive123

Beo - I'm not a bow hunter.  I've never heard of using rubber blunts.  Is that a widespread practice?  (I know you said you didn't do it)  It just seems wrong on several levels.

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## grateful_fred

> Then it goes on blah blah blah about his friends who prefer to use rubber blunts on bears instead of broadheads.


This is some twisted stuff here. I think some one is smoking blunts!!

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## nell67

> This is some twisted stuff here. I think some one is smoking blunts!!


Not Beo,LOL,he would lose his job (cop) for sure!

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## gourdhead1997

I agree with Catfish and Beo. There is no valid reason for this practice. I too have taken several animals with a bow and did not have to practice on live animals. Stalking practice with a camera or just to see how close you can really get (close enough to reach out and touch) and lots and lots of target practice is sufficient. I think the most excitement I have ever had in the woods is when you become "invisible" to the every day inhabitants. It's really something to have a bird land on or next to you in a tree stand or be close enough on the ground to reach out and touch a deer.

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## Riverrat

I am not a bow hunter, yet, but I am an avid hunter, I have let a shot pass because I was not sure off a one shot kill. Can't see doing this at all.

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## Beo

Crash,
Bro i do not believe this is a wide spread practice as I know a ton of bow hunters and we have never even thought of doing this, it lends a bad taste to the already flak ridden hobby and sport of hunting, I for one would never do this and as said earlier practice makes perfect, they make deer like targets that one can buy from $60.00 on up to shoot at from the ground or tree stands, its protable and you can set it up anywhere so I see no need for practicing out of season or during hunting season by thumping a live animal with a rubber blunt. Which I know hurts like hell, it has to. My PSE compound shoots 360fps (feet per second) and has a 70lbs draw weight at 31 inches, it a frig'n streak and does a clean pass through when I'm hunting and I've not had a deer run more than 5 or 10 yards after a shot with most dropping almost right away. My longbow is 62 pounds at 30 inches and does about the same, so I don't see how this guy can say it doesn't hurt the animal when you hit. Doesn't matter if its a hog, bear, moose, or elk getting smacked with a rubber blunt would still hurt. It may not break a bone but it will bruise a rib or the soft spot where you hit and to me that is uncalled for if your not putting the game down quickly with a well placed shot.
In my 21 years of hunting I have never heard of this and it seems this guy finds nothing wrong with it. To say its just an animal is wrong in my book as is this practice, I let the editor of Traditional Bowhunter know how I felt about this practice and one of his staff writers codoning it. It just hurts the hunters and the hunting world.

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## crashdive123

Good to hear it isn't wide spread.  It'll be interesting to see if you get a response from the editor.

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## smokelessfire

just ask that guy if you can shoot him with a rubber blunt arrow, or will he have you arrested for assault and battery. case closed.

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## Rick

I thought it would be sort of cool if one of those bears picked up one of the blunts he had used and thrashed him about the head a few times with it. Wonder how he'd feel about blunts then?

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## Beo

I'd like to see the guy shoot the bear and the look at him and then chase him down and swat him with his big azz paw and say: I was only practicing for when I take these claws and rip ya a new azz.

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## Beo

Crash and others, I got this reply from Don Thomas of Traditional Bowhunter, I happen to respect it.

As it happens, I agree with you and neither blunt animals nor  
endorse doing so. Our contributors have different opinions on a great  
many subjects and this happens to be one of them. I do appreciate your  
concerns. Best and thanks for writing. 
Don Thomas
Co-editor
Traditional Bowhunter Magazine

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## Rick

Interesting they published an article the editor doesn't endorse. That's pretty open.

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## crashdive123

Being a traditional bow hunting mag, you'd think they'd publish a disclaimer following the article so as to raise the ire of many of the readers.

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## Beo

True they are pretty open to what you can submit and print it even if they disagree because there are those who will agree with what they do, I give them a big thumbs up for that. And it is a great mag, the article on snaking a bow is great. About putting rattle snake skin over the limbs for a different and nice look, its imformative and well written with basic easy to follow instructions and pics. This mag is a must for any of our longbow or recurve hunters in my book.

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## Ameriborn

I shoot a longbow that my grandpa made for me all the time, and it has taken many animals. However, I believe the use of rubber tips very cruel to the animal that is being shot. If you shoot at an animal with no intent on it dying, with anything you should be ashamed of yourself. 

In the mean time, I looked for this mag at the nearest stores and they didn't seem to have it. Where do you get it? Or do you have it ordered?

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## Beo

I pick it up at Krogers grocery store, bookstores will have it on mag racks, as well as Wall Mart. Its a bi monthly mag so the last one was Aug/Sept. but you should be able to find it. Hunting stores should carry it too.

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## Ameriborn

I will check Bass Pro when I go later today. If they don't have it I will stop by the Wal Mart.

Thanks  :Smile:

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## danmc

beowulf, I've heard of people using blunts to shoot to kill small game although my one attempt at this made me decide it was a bad idea.  Just not enough to kill as effectively as I would have liked.

I simply can't see using something living as a target for practice.  Well, throwing a water balloon at ones brother is ok.  If I'm going to take a shot at an animal it is intended to produce a meal.

If they want to practice on a more realistic target, thats what those 3-d archery targets are for.

-Dan

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## crashdive123

> ...beowulf, I simply can't see using something living as a target for practice....  -Dan


Wish my older brother would have had that same thought growing up.

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## Jericho117

I used to use plastic blunts, they're really effective. Iv'e never used rubber blunts. Its got enough power to kill small game easily without suffering, I don't know why people are complaining.

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## Beo

> If they want to practice on a more realistic target, thats what those 3-d archery targets are for.


I agree totally.

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## crashdive123

> I used to use plastic blunts, they're really effective. Iv'e never used rubber blunts. Its got enough power to kill small game easily without suffering, I don't know why people are complaining.


The whole point of the original article was to shoot to practice, not to kill.  So, if they have enough power to kill, they have enough power to injure.  If you're going to take an animal to provide food, do it.  Making them suffer so that you can become more proficient at taking them shows a total lack of respect for the animals (the author, not you Jericho).

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