I feel that I have come far enough along in my hunting experience to begin to firm up some of my convictions. I will list these among my own 'Fair Chase' doctrine and personalize them.
1) I will only take a shot when I am at least 90% sure that I can make it. This would mean that I have practiced the shot ahead of time and can consistently (at least 9/10 times) hit the target. My current limitations would look something like this (given normal conditions - ie. no major wind, normal heart rate, etc.) for a 20cm x 20cm target:
Standing: 25m
Kneeling: 75m
Sitting: 100m
Prone: 125 - 150m
2) I will do everything in my ability to track down an animal that I, or one of my fellow hunters, may have wounded. This will include immediately stopping my hunting. I will commit to at least 45min of looking for a sign that the animal was hit and a much longer period of time if there is evidence that the animal was wounded.
3) During antlerless season, I will do my best to make certain that my target is full grown.
4) I will butcher my own deer.
5) I will only hunt with those I trust, like and share similar 'Fair Chase' attitudes.
6) I will do my best to be a role model for hunters among non-hunters.
7) I will try to help out new hunters in any way I can.
8) I will make muzzle control the most important safety consideration and demand the same of my hunting partners.
9) I will always keep myself open to learning new things about my quarry at all times. In the summer I will go looking for deer and learn from their movements and behaviours. During hunting I will learn from my success and more importantly, from my mistakes. I will always be a student.
10) I will do my best to be an ambassador for hunting. I will be open to debating and explaining why I hunt and will do my best to be open to engage in the spirit of discourse anyone who wishes to discuss hunting.
