My opinions, and that is all they are...
I have zero issue with DG with a bow (or crossbow).
It totally comes down to the hunter and his/her preparation.
All hunting comes with risk.
It does involve choices, on behalf of everyone involved.
It is a sadness this video is "out there."
This fool should never have been allowed a lion or anything else.
I don't understand the mindset that all types of DG hunting that make use of a something less than a large caliber rifle are "stunts." Frankly, if that's truly your mindset I'd argue any sort of hunting on any level is nothing more than a stunt. Do some folks turn such a pursuit into a stunt? Yes. That doesn't make the act itself one. Motives, preparation, and other elements come into play, just as they would with a rifle.
Two from my own life: when I shot my cow buff with a .45-70 two years ago, I had a couple of people tell me they thought it was something like a stunt. From my perspective, it was nothing of the sort. I spent a LOT of time talking to my PH, seeking out the advice of others, untold hours load testing, and then finally a lot of practice, before I ever had the chance to hunt. I listened to EVERYTHING my PH said. He had input during the process of me seeking the right load, and I would not have gone against anything he said on the hunt. If I'd have come home without a shot, that would have been fine. No one would have known. I wasn't trying to impress anyone. The other example has yet to happen: one of my remaining bucket list items is brown bear with a bow. I have spent a lot of years practicing, and doing my research. I have been on several hunts and it just didn't quite come together, and so I'll keep trying. I do not think of it as a stunt. I know it's something a lot of dedicated hunters have accomplished, and it's one I want to say I have. No videos, no YouTube... just me proving to myself I can.
there are rules here where if you wound an animal with a bow, you cannot “finish” it with the handgun you might carry for bear protection.
I think if that rule were applied for DG there would be a lot fewer folks going after dangerous game with a bow.
does not being able to shoot yourself out of what you shot yourself into border on a “stunt?” It might. I would extend this to personal capability - meaning if your skill with a rifle is to pot one in the ass so your PH can finish up, it’s no better.
For the record, this lion should not be considered a bow/crossbow killed lion anymore than had he thrown a rock at it it would have been considered a rock-killed lion.
but in general I think we are more on the same side than not. Merely working the dialectic.