There always seem to be some who think that private land hunts, even those that involve no high fences and are fair chase ranches, are not really "hunts" and anyone who lowers themselves to hunt private land should not be thought of as a real hunter.
I guess they think that the private land hunt is too "easy" so it is not really hunting. This kind of hunting "snobbery" has been going on forever, and I suspect that it will continue to occur, but I hope that the vast majority of hunters see through the hypocracy. As stated too many times to count on threads like this in the past, if you use this logic to say that only the kind of hunting YOU do is REALLY hunting, think again unless:
You hunt only in animal skins using homemade clothing/footwear (no synthetic longjohns, no goretex jackets, and certainly no hunting boots!
Hunt with spears, knives, and bow and arrows (longbows only) CERTAINLY NO GUNS ALLOWED: TOO EASY!!!
No binoculars. Gives the hunter an unfair advantage.
Certainly no hunts should EVER be allowed during the rut of any animal. To easy!
Don't every hunt over a water hole or wallow. Then it is not hunting, just waiting.
Be sure and stop all "quality" public land hunts too. Less hunters in the woods and the "stockpiling" of trophy animals in those units makes the hunting too easy too.
And while we are at it, better not leave the house in a truck. Better just have a horse available. Don't want to have the advantage driving 50+ miles to a better hunting area.
Oh, and by the way, if you are driving to your hunting area and a big buck or bull runs across the road in front of you and stops and gives you time to get out, go off the road right of way, and legally take a shot, no, no no. Can't do that. You have to pass on that one and hike at least a mile or more from the truck before it is really "hunting"
There are some forms of hunting that are illegal (night hunting with a spotlight, etc) and there are some forms that we should work to make illlegal (shooting animals in a pen, canned hunts). There are a lot of grey areas that we can disscuss, but to I believe to condem others in that dissussion is wrong. Those that choose to condem others lose my respect and any chance they have of convincing me that they have a valid point.
I don't think they will ever get very far trying to outlaw hunts on private land or making it a law that anyone can hunt all private ranches. Not usless those people would agree to let me come in their home property at any time I choose. Maybe I should be at least able to pitch a tent or park my camper on their property when I go hunting near their home?
I get tired of people claiming that only THEIR form of hunting is really hunting, because of some macho self-determined "standard" that they set for themselves and others. If I want to set a particular standard for myself, and hold to that, so be it, but I do not presume to tell other people that they are not really hunters if they choose to hunt differently. They are not beneath me if I choose to hunt only with a bow, but they hunt with a telescoped rifle. As long as it is illegal, power to them.
When I was a boy, I felt I knew it all, and it was mostly black and white. When I became a man, I realize that there are lots of shades of grey and I don't condem anyone who hunts in a manner that is legal and respects the game he pursues and the land on which it pursures it.
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Venor ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)
Well spoken TX. I have noticed that too. I remember not too long ago, one person made a comment about a mule deer that was shot on a 30,000 something acre working cattle ranch. No high fences, just field 3 string barbed wire fence. But that deer was not hard earned. I have no problems with hunting on private ranches, especially working cattle ranches where the area is wide open, and deer, elk, or antelope can still easily outrun and outwit their oppenent (namely US). I hunt water holes on public land, I don't hesitate to take the first opportunity at an animal (ie, if it is standing next to the road in season). Its not my fault it presented itself that way, lol. I think this mentality comes mainly from people in the more populated areas where there are a larger amount of high fenced ranches, and less room between towns. I know of some ranches out here that are larger than the space between most towns back east!! Now if that isn't a barrier, I don't know what is, lol.
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mmm i own private land almost next door too a state wild life area it is fenced my land isn't so it is wrong of me or my trophy shouldn't go into the record books but if i hunt on the state wildlife area that is fenced it is alright do I have this straight LMAO
i think there are two types of private land, or maybe two thought processes on them.
in the prairie area i hunt, i hunt some public, some private. a lot of it isnt even fenced, so unless your really accurate on the map, ya may not be where ya think ya are. the deer are just as not easy for me to get within bow range of on both the private and public. a lot of the private i hunt is like that, and some is private, but basically unregulated, where the landowner pretty much lets everybody hunt. easy? not a chance. in that prairie area i was talking of, i have not shot a buck onthe private side, all of my kills have been on the public. maybe private is tougher???
then there is the private where the farmer has a huge spread, and allows no hunting, except for his family. of course there are much bigger bucks than on the public, only a handful of deer every year are taken. in those instances, that private land hunt is maybe not easier, but the trophy potential is much better there than where everybody else gets to hunt.
i dont think there should be a different record book for public and private, but i will say this, one local bowhunter (self proclaimed expert) i know has killed 3 or 4 really nice muley bucks, in that 160-170 range. these were all on private land that he married into, and had exclusive rights to. now he hunts where the rest of us do, i guess the family sold the property maybe, not sure. anyway, i dont think he has killed a mature buck since. now in this case obviously the private land helped him a ton. but by the same token, he was the one that made the sneak and the shot. were the deer less spooky? probably. better trophy quailty due to little pressure? probably. would i have shot any of these deer if i had the chance? for sure.
like i said, i think there are 2 ways of looking at this
brad
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You are right of course Colorado Bob, it probably isn't worth the effort, but when someone starts running down an elk shot by a 12 year old cancer survivor, it just puts me over the top and I can't ignore it.
By the way, we are heading up to your neck of the woods on July 1st, so I still hope to get a chance to meet you. We are going to me heading over north of Dolores to do some camping, fishing and of course scouting, but we are flying into and out of Durango, so I will give you a shout when the time gets closer.
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Venor ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)
I agree totally! I think only fair chase hunting is true hunting. Now whether that is on private or public land doesn't matter. I know of public land that is land locked by private. The only way to get to it is through private land, to do that you must ask permission and most likely pay a fee to drive across a man's land. Should animals killed on that public land be excluded from the P&Y or B&C record books as well manboy? No this argument is pointless. I am totally opposed to high fence or canned hunts. I am oppossed to Hunting shows on TV that hunt on high fence ranches. But, hunting free ranging animals on private land is in no way different from hunting on national forest land.
Also, while we're at it I would like to make a request. When someone asks a question about a specific gun or caliber, lets answer the question not tell them our personal preference on calibers. It must be aggrevating for someone to ask if he should buy a 300 wsm or a 7 mag and have everybody argue that the 270 is enough, or that the 30-06 is best or hey buy a 338 already. Those are our preferences.
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private land hunts vs. public land hunts
