Dear CBS,

First, allow me to say that I am a big fan of your Hawaii Five-0 series. I recently watched your Hawaii Five-0 – Palekaiko episode (Air Date: 12/06/10) and I have some complaints regarding the hunting practices you aired. As you are aware, in the first few minutes, you show two islanders bow hunting wild boar. You can imagine my excitement as a bow hunter who also hunts for wild boar. After the hunter shoots his arrow at the boar is when you aired some major safety issues and incredibly poor hunting behavior. I wonder how many hunter education instructors saw this episode.

Right after the man shoots, he watches the boar run off, looks at his partner and they take off after the boar.

1. Anyone who has hunted boar knows that this is a HUGE mistake and can cost you some serious bodily harm and even death if the boar turns on you. After the shot you wait for the animal to bed down and die before tracking it. When you do track it you do it with caution. You have to give the animal ample time to bleed out. [This part was added after I sent the letter: You also showed the arrow sticking out of a tree with no blood on it. The hunters didn’t even attempt to get the arrow out of the tree. Why would they run after an animal they had no chance of catching up with if they hadn’t actually hit the animal?]

2. You didn’t even show these guys tracking the wild hog. I know that islanders take pride in their hunting skills and I can only imagine they would be offended by this. Not only do they not track it, they run haphazardly after it, through thick vegetation…

3. with their bows armed!! Did you catch that? They RAN AFTER IT with an ARROW NOCKED and ready to shoot! One hunter was right behind the other and earlier this fall a hunter was killed when he accidentally ran into his friend like this.
   

   Partner’s arrow kills bowhunter in freak accident
   Associated Press The Spokesman-Review 

   TOUTLE, Wash. – A 50-year-old Kelso man is dead after what authorities are calling a freak bowhunting accident and the first archery hunting fatality since 1995. 

   The Daily News of Longview reported that Benny White and his hunting partner left their pickup truck about three miles east of Toutle after spotting an elk Friday morning.

   Cowlitz County Coroner Tim Davidson said White apparently stopped abruptly, and his partner ran into him from behind. The partner’s arrow was in position in his bow, and it pierced White’s torso.

   The partner drove White to meet aid crews, but White was pronounced dead at the scene.

   
   

4. When the hunters stop because they see the vegetation moving, they draw (which is not uncommon) and then the woman appears. Immediately they should have let down and swung their bows out of the way. Any hunter ed instructor will tell you that.

I believe that you [aired] some very bad examples of how bow hunting should be done. The hunting community suffers when you air poor safety and poor hunting practices. Please be aware of this if you would like to respond, please do so. I will be posting this letter to my blog (https://faithfulsportsman.com) so other can be made aware that this is NOT the proper way to hunt any animal.

Sincerely,
Al Quackenbush
The SoCal Bowhunter

 If any of you saw the episode or just want to comment regarding what I have written, please do.