please help me settle this fight me and my dad are having.?

Question

I had just gotten a compound bow and taken hunters safety course. My compound bow is used and my bow sights at the time of the incident the were not perfectly adjusted. So I was shooting a target in my backyard. Now a few days later a guy who lives behind me says that I shot an arrow into his house. My dad got mad at me and took my bow away. He said I was being "careless". But I told him because I am new with this bow some bad things could happen. The damages are not major and we probally won't have to pay anything. So please settle this, should I be held responsible for this even though it was out of my control?

Answer 1

I'm sorry babe, but Hunting and weapons ARE a really big responsibility. You HAVE to be held accountable and you should KNOW that, especially after taking the hunters safety course.

Sure it was an accident.............but you HAVE to know how many people have been killed or seriously HURT because of an "accident"..............you can't blame the scope...........

Be VERY THANKFUL that no one was injured........LEARN FROM IT............AND .... talk to your father about this......and eventually He will work with you and "hunt" with you......
but you HAVE TO take this accident SERIOUSLY... and realize that this is NOT A TOY...........(I know that you know this) but with a weapon............accidents are irreversable..........and you KNOW that you don't want something bad to happen.......

.........Good luck to you and when you DO go hunting; Good luck there too...........

I have my 'first kill' on my wall right now..........9pt Buck!
(would have been a 10 but a tyne was broken...........)

Answer 2

A bow is no different than a gun. You MUST be sure of your backstop, just in case you miss the target. You MUST know what that projectile, whether it is an arrow or a bullet, is possibly going to hit if you miss.

That your sights were not adjusted is not your fault. What you are responsible for, however, is knowing that fact, and taking the proper precautions to have a safe area to shoot your bow, so that no matter how far off adjustment they are, that arrow will not damage anything or anybody. Personally, I think you are making excuses. Even if your sights were very, very, very off center, you shouldn't be able to shoot over or around a proper backstop.

I am 100% certain that the topic of knowing what is behind your target before you shoot was covered in the courses you took. I'm sure your father knows this too.

My vote goes for dad. Just admit your error, know and understand how to ensure that it won't happen again, and in time, I bet you will get your bow back.

Answer 3

Any parent would be angry, because who wants to be placed in that sort of situation? I know that this was not directly your fault, but the one who used that bow was you. Of course, you are new to it and I understand, but still, the responsibility is on you when you use the bow, especially because you could not only potentially damage your surrounding, but also because you might wind up actually hurting someone. It could have been a ball, and I doubt your father would have gotten as angry. But it was a bow and arrow. Don't take it too personally. Talk to your father and apologize <-- yes, apologize for what happened. But also EXPLAIN without making excuses that you were new to it and you didn't mean for it to happen, obviously. Try to see it from his point of view. He was worried something bad would happen, ok? =)

Answer 4

My husband shoots a compound bow and he has had similiar things happen.......BUT he always held himself responsible for any damages that happened as a result of his shooting. I think that you should be able to still shoot your bow, but you need to find place where you can practice safely. BOWS ARE NOT TOYS! They are deadly weapons, that can cause a lot of damage and even fatal wounds. I encourage you to keep up with it, but make sure you are extremely safe and cautious.

Also, My husband has been shooting for over 20 years and last year one of his carbon arrows broke in half when he shot it, the back piece went into his hand and he was in surgery for over 4 hours while they tried to get all of the carbon material out of his hand. So, remember that even when you think you are being safe, the unexpected can always happen and you need to be able to pay the consequences of your actions.

Answer 5

Yes, you are responsible if you let the arrow loose.

You violated what I call my third rule (applies to guns, slingshots, catapults, etc.), which is "Always know where your projectile will go if you miss (or go through) your target." Or in short, always use a backstop.

The first rule, of course, is "Treat EVERY gun (bow, slingshot, etc.) as if it's loaded." The second is "Never point your bow (gun, slingshot, etc.) at anything unless you're prepared to pay the price if you kill it."

There's no such thing as "out of my control" when you pick up a weapon. I stressed that with all my kids from the time they got their first BB gun -- don't even pick it up if you're not willing to think about the consequences of ANYTHING that happens.

You're clearly concerned about doing the right thing by taking the hunter's safety course, but it's time to face the music on this one. If it's any consolation, my dad used to say (after he cooled down), "Well, this is why they call them accidents." You didn't do it on purpose -- but you did it, and you need to learn the lesson.

And be thankful for one thing -- at least the guy didn't come out of his house with an arrow sticking out of him... or under a sheet.

Now, if you were my kid, I'd come up with some kind of community service for you to do, doing some kind of good deed for the neighbor whose house ended up with your arrow in it, and then I'd give you the bow back, but with restrictions for the first couple weeks. When your dad cools off, you might propose something like this. I've found that owning up to your misdeed and then taking the initiative about how to make it right REALLY impresses parents with how responsible you are -- it worked for me when I was a kid and it works for my kids with me. :-)

Oh, and P.S.: I made up the third rule after teaching my oldest daughter to use a bow when she was about eight years old, and we were shooting at a cardboard box -- properly backstopped but NOT properly investigated internally. Imagine my surprise when we found that it had a heart-shaped cake pan inside it, which now had a neat round arrow-hole in it. My wife has never let me forget it. Or as my son says, "Wow, Dad, you sure learned a lot of things the hard way."

Answer 6

YES .. we are all responsible for our actions regardless of our intent .. think of you bow as a loaded gun .. maybe your backyard is not the best place to be shooting a gun .. ask your dad to take you to an archery range or to an open field where it will be safe .. I think your dad although it seems like he was being mean , was actually looking out for your best interest ..what if the arrow had hit the neighbor and killed him , are you ready to live with that ?

Answer 7

do you realize that your arrow could have hit a person instead of his house? it could of hurt or killed someone? Its not a toy and shouldnt be used if you dont know how to properly. It was in your control... you should think about what else you could hit if it doesnt hit the target. Your father was right for taking it away. Actually you probably never should have had it in the first place. Dont think that im against guns or weapons because i have been shooting guns since i was five years old.... but i know how to do it safely and correctly.

Answer 8

The hunter safety course should have taught you to know where your arrow will end up and ensure you are firing into a safe area. Did you not notice that one arrow was not in the target after you shot it? Did you have to have your neighbour come over and point this out to you? Sounds like your dad is justified. Lucky it didn't end up in the guys chest.

Answer 9

If you were holding the bow when the arrow was fired, you should have been in control. If you can't understand that, then you obviously aren't mature enough to handle the responsibility of having such a potentially dangerous weapon at your disposal.

Answer 10

You are responsible for this - it was completely in your control and I hate to say it but your Dad is right - the problem lies not in that you probably won't have to pay anything but you've seriously p*ss*ed off your neighbour and what if you'd actually hit a person? Practising as a beginner where there are people who could potentially get hurt is a VERY bad idea.

Sorry I know this is not the answer you wanted but sometimes that's how it goes.