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Q:
I believe we have taken the hunt out of hunting!
With all of the gadgets out there, (decoys, battery operated sent spreaders, etc. It has gotten to the point a lb of venison cost you $1500.00. Now days you park your truck, walk to the stand, sit, and a 6:45 your take your deer. The art of scouting your area, stocking the deer and taking him has gone, and the true form of hunting is lost. I can remember the day when hunting was to provide food for your family, not just the size of the rack.
from treestand on 10.31.09 Answer Question |
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Answers (10)
I often look at old pictures of hunt camps and see people with plaid coats and some of the most antiquated conditions.I also see smiles and individuals who have come together to share a yearly ritual.I do not believe that gadgets can make up for knowledge and education about the animal or the area which you are hunting in.I had the opportunity to meet an old trapper some twenty-five years ago and his knowledge of an area was astounding.He recounted many tales of seasons past and I learned a great deal.Particularly how he observed the deer and some of the traditional runways that over my years have not failed to disappoint even me.Yes,I agree that there is a very commercial presence in the hunting industry today.An afternoon on a special hardwood ridge( that my old friend told me about) in deer season really is not something you can buy.
FYI I am STILL a sustenance hunter and not a horn hunter. I kill the first legal animal I see that is healthy and looks like it has lots of meat on it. I have all those fancy gadgets that everybody else has, and I don't use them either. My family hunts as a means to get the meat we most enjoy and because it is a practice that keeps us close to the land. I remember plenty of family hunts that the women went on too, and killed animals too, that were some of my last memories of particular relatives. The only commercial presence most of us are aware of in hunting is the gun maker and ammo type.
Visit us for hunting fitness information at http://CreatingTheLuck.com!
That is a commercial plug by the way! :)
Good luck in the field!
I recall a poster of Charlie Chaplin goes to war in which he has everything including the kitchen sink strapped to his person..as you say the sport of hunting has amassed a pile of accessories. You can pack so many of the extras into your pickup truck that you could forget to take your rifle. Hunting is big business - this forum and the magazine and their many advertisers make money from your interest in the sport of hunting. If hunters stop buying fancy toys, the toys and those who profit from the toys will go away. Hunting would revert to the kind of activity you long to see again. What are the chances of that happening??? Nil!
I would argue the claim that you simply walk into the bush with all your futuristic accessories shoot the deer and head home in time for a late breakfast. Hunting has evolved from the days of sustenance hunters. Yes, hunters eat what they shoot but the purely sustenance hunter is a rare breed today. Hunters hunt for sport and it is inevitable that they start to measure success in ways beyond filling the freezer. Sure you tell people you hunt for the meat, but you can't help but yearn to shoot the buck with the huge rack. Besides, if you add up the costs of fuel, licences, ammo, etc the honest accounting says you should have gone to Safeway's meat department. The market for toys that claim to give you an advantage in the field has grown from the hunter desire to get that trophy of his dreams - that dream could range from the spike buck to the Boone and Crockett buck. Big game animals outsmart hunters regularly. While there is no substitute for knowledge in the field some of those toys work - not necessarily enough to make for an easy kill but certainly enough to better the odds. I hunted two trophy deer for entire seasons on land I know well. My only opportunity to get the rifle to my shoulder for a shot came on the last day of the season for each of these bucks. I had some of those fancy toys and a deadly accurate rifle but it was my determination and LUCK that put those racks on my wall. You can do 'everything' right and use every commercial advantage available and not succeed. If it wasn't challenging most hunters would lose interest! I'm still interested and I watch the new innovations with interest on the pages of Outdoor Life.
Let me second Kody. I will also mention that the stuff I carry into the field today is mighty small compared to what I carried into the field when I was in the Army, back in the very early 70's. I don't carry a lot of toys, I have a blind, it is a portable one, and other than that, I carry a fanny pack with a compass, 5 ways to start a fire, a first aid kit, several knives, ammo and my guns. Oh, and a pair of 3x3 Mule deer antlers from a deer an uncle of mine killed before I was born. I dress for the weather and until recently when I tore a pair of my favorite hunting pants, bought from Cabela's about 25 years ago, I haven't bought anything new in close to 10 years.
The deer in the picture I killed on the last day of season and was the first legal deer I saw. If it had been a doe, I would have shot it. I will only kill the first legal deer I see. I am not one to say, I will wait for something better. When I used to do that, I went home many times with nothing.
I have killed deer on opening morning, but those have been few and far between. I will hunt long hours and many days to take a deer. I don't look for trophies, but if one comes into my sights, I will take it. I have been in the position where I could have waited for the big one to come into range or take one that was not a wallhanger, but was a sure thing. I chose the sure thing. I don't use many toys, they get in my way.
Always great to hear your comments Bo! It would seem from what I have read that we come from very different backgrounds, are at odds in some matters and on the same page on others. We are both opinionated characters who are willing to listen to the other guy's point of view. I enjoy and value your observations. Thank You.
Side bar ...Bo commented on the picture of the deer by his name tag. My picture is of my female Golden Retriever as a pup. I have a male Golden pup peeking through that same stair way these days. They are great companions and are greeting the Halloween Trick or Treaters at the door this evening. That is the great thing about having hunting dogs that are great pets as well. In terms of accessories for the hunt I'll take the living and breathing kind who lick your hand any day before the mechanized decoy flapping its wings.
New things are no damned good!
Thank you, Kody. I am always glad to see your comments. We probably are similar in many respects despite our different backgrounds. We have some of the same viewpoints, but I think our age has something to do with that. I admit it, I have been called an old fart for some time. Oh and congrats on keeping your wife for 30 plus years, re another post.
My favorite hunting spot were I had to walk for at least a mile is now a shopping center!
Clay Cooper, remember the Joni Mitchell lyric, 'they took paradise and put up a parking lot'? Even farm land where I use to only worry about 2 or 3 point on the compass where the rifle should not be pointed are now too dangerous to hunt with a flat shooting rifle. In Alberta, where there is still plenty of space, I predict that we will be using nothing but muzzleloader and shotgun slugs in the not too distant future in these rural farm settings. It is inevitable as there will be bullets striking farm equipment, buildings, passing vehicles and perhaps worse as more and more people take to the country for a slower pace of life. Gizmos and gadgets don't threaten the fundamentals of hunting as much as population spreading into rural areas.
Post an Answer (200 characters or less)
Side bar ...Bo commented on the picture of the deer by his name tag. My picture is of my female Golden Retriever as a pup. I have a male Golden pup peeking through that same stair way these days. They are great companions and are greeting the Halloween Trick or Treaters at the door this evening. That is the great thing about having hunting dogs that are great pets as well. In terms of accessories for the hunt I'll take the living and breathing kind who lick your hand any day before the mechanized decoy flapping its wings.
I recall a poster of Charlie Chaplin goes to war in which he has everything including the kitchen sink strapped to his person..as you say the sport of hunting has amassed a pile of accessories. You can pack so many of the extras into your pickup truck that you could forget to take your rifle. Hunting is big business - this forum and the magazine and their many advertisers make money from your interest in the sport of hunting. If hunters stop buying fancy toys, the toys and those who profit from the toys will go away. Hunting would revert to the kind of activity you long to see again. What are the chances of that happening??? Nil!
I would argue the claim that you simply walk into the bush with all your futuristic accessories shoot the deer and head home in time for a late breakfast. Hunting has evolved from the days of sustenance hunters. Yes, hunters eat what they shoot but the purely sustenance hunter is a rare breed today. Hunters hunt for sport and it is inevitable that they start to measure success in ways beyond filling the freezer. Sure you tell people you hunt for the meat, but you can't help but yearn to shoot the buck with the huge rack. Besides, if you add up the costs of fuel, licences, ammo, etc the honest accounting says you should have gone to Safeway's meat department. The market for toys that claim to give you an advantage in the field has grown from the hunter desire to get that trophy of his dreams - that dream could range from the spike buck to the Boone and Crockett buck. Big game animals outsmart hunters regularly. While there is no substitute for knowledge in the field some of those toys work - not necessarily enough to make for an easy kill but certainly enough to better the odds. I hunted two trophy deer for entire seasons on land I know well. My only opportunity to get the rifle to my shoulder for a shot came on the last day of the season for each of these bucks. I had some of those fancy toys and a deadly accurate rifle but it was my determination and LUCK that put those racks on my wall. You can do 'everything' right and use every commercial advantage available and not succeed. If it wasn't challenging most hunters would lose interest! I'm still interested and I watch the new innovations with interest on the pages of Outdoor Life.
Let me second Kody. I will also mention that the stuff I carry into the field today is mighty small compared to what I carried into the field when I was in the Army, back in the very early 70's. I don't carry a lot of toys, I have a blind, it is a portable one, and other than that, I carry a fanny pack with a compass, 5 ways to start a fire, a first aid kit, several knives, ammo and my guns. Oh, and a pair of 3x3 Mule deer antlers from a deer an uncle of mine killed before I was born. I dress for the weather and until recently when I tore a pair of my favorite hunting pants, bought from Cabela's about 25 years ago, I haven't bought anything new in close to 10 years.
The deer in the picture I killed on the last day of season and was the first legal deer I saw. If it had been a doe, I would have shot it. I will only kill the first legal deer I see. I am not one to say, I will wait for something better. When I used to do that, I went home many times with nothing.
I have killed deer on opening morning, but those have been few and far between. I will hunt long hours and many days to take a deer. I don't look for trophies, but if one comes into my sights, I will take it. I have been in the position where I could have waited for the big one to come into range or take one that was not a wallhanger, but was a sure thing. I chose the sure thing. I don't use many toys, they get in my way.
Always great to hear your comments Bo! It would seem from what I have read that we come from very different backgrounds, are at odds in some matters and on the same page on others. We are both opinionated characters who are willing to listen to the other guy's point of view. I enjoy and value your observations. Thank You.
I often look at old pictures of hunt camps and see people with plaid coats and some of the most antiquated conditions.I also see smiles and individuals who have come together to share a yearly ritual.I do not believe that gadgets can make up for knowledge and education about the animal or the area which you are hunting in.I had the opportunity to meet an old trapper some twenty-five years ago and his knowledge of an area was astounding.He recounted many tales of seasons past and I learned a great deal.Particularly how he observed the deer and some of the traditional runways that over my years have not failed to disappoint even me.Yes,I agree that there is a very commercial presence in the hunting industry today.An afternoon on a special hardwood ridge( that my old friend told me about) in deer season really is not something you can buy.
FYI I am STILL a sustenance hunter and not a horn hunter. I kill the first legal animal I see that is healthy and looks like it has lots of meat on it. I have all those fancy gadgets that everybody else has, and I don't use them either. My family hunts as a means to get the meat we most enjoy and because it is a practice that keeps us close to the land. I remember plenty of family hunts that the women went on too, and killed animals too, that were some of my last memories of particular relatives. The only commercial presence most of us are aware of in hunting is the gun maker and ammo type.
Visit us for hunting fitness information at http://CreatingTheLuck.com!
That is a commercial plug by the way! :)
Good luck in the field!
New things are no damned good!
Thank you, Kody. I am always glad to see your comments. We probably are similar in many respects despite our different backgrounds. We have some of the same viewpoints, but I think our age has something to do with that. I admit it, I have been called an old fart for some time. Oh and congrats on keeping your wife for 30 plus years, re another post.
My favorite hunting spot were I had to walk for at least a mile is now a shopping center!
Clay Cooper, remember the Joni Mitchell lyric, 'they took paradise and put up a parking lot'? Even farm land where I use to only worry about 2 or 3 point on the compass where the rifle should not be pointed are now too dangerous to hunt with a flat shooting rifle. In Alberta, where there is still plenty of space, I predict that we will be using nothing but muzzleloader and shotgun slugs in the not too distant future in these rural farm settings. It is inevitable as there will be bullets striking farm equipment, buildings, passing vehicles and perhaps worse as more and more people take to the country for a slower pace of life. Gizmos and gadgets don't threaten the fundamentals of hunting as much as population spreading into rural areas.
Post an Answer (200 characters or less)