In every Hunter Education class that I deliver, I always include a discussion on what defines being "sure of your target". While it may seem like a simple matter, hunters can fall into that trap that goes with having an overwhelming desire to kill a deer and end up using very poor judgement. As more experienced deer hunters know well, the mind can be fooled into making many images "appear" to be part of the head, body, or legs of a deer. Mix in the deep desire to kill a deer along with hunter fatigue and you have an accident waiting to happen. Obviously, no parent is going to purposely shoot their child. But when it does happen, it proves that the shooter must have actually believed they were shooting at a deer. But somewhere in that thought process a clear mistake had been made.
To start the discussion, I use a photo in which a tripod stand is almost hidden in the image. I ask everyone to see if they can find it. Most cannot, so I end up showing it to them. Then I ask them to find the deer in the photo. There has never been a class in which someone does not "take the bait" and admit they see a deer. Of course there is no deer in the photo. And from that point, the discussion begins. How do you know when you're sure of your target or that your mind is just fooling you.
For those HE instructors who might wish to include this same exercise and discussion in their own classes, I have included the photo below.
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