RE: WV Hunters
you seem like you really have some hard feelings Rem1100 and I hope I haven't caused any of them by what I've written. I'm sure that it is tiresome to be in areas (eastern Panhandle) where there is such of influx of orange coats during rifle season and I'm sure there are a lot of "goobers" out there. I hope you have some place where you can get away from the maddening crowds and enjoy some of the good lords treasures.
I don't recall anybody in this thread talking about "quick hunts", "easy hunts", "guarantee kills". I find it kind of ironic that you seem to be complaining about these things and yet are for opening gun season in the bow counties. If you feel that this would alleviate some of the "pressure" you see during the season, it might, but only temporarily. Then when it became known that most of the nicer bucks in thoses bow-only counties were gone, most hunters would go back to their former spots probably. I think your area suffers because I believe that most non res hunters that come into the state are from The East or North, which makes it easier for them to stop near you then go any further into the state maybe. I've never been one that was a proponent of quick or easy hunts. I started deer hunting when I was 10 and did not pull the trigger until I was 14. I did get to cover a lot of country though as one of the principal "deer dogs" on drives (as was customary for young hunters when I grew up as a type of "paying their dues") I'm 35 now and have had hundreds and hundreds of days in the field and not too many easy ones...thank god.
Most of the things you are referring to disparaging new hunters might be accurate for some but definately not all. Although I don't have any of kids of my own (yet) I enjoy watching the children of some my friends with their hunting exploits and they seem to portray the good natured, ol'fashioned, country boy, workmanlike, hunting attitudes. They want to have fun but are also responsible enough to respect their quarry and be safe.They are still headstrong and sometimes need a little kick but we probably all didat their age ( I think the older a person gets, the harder it is for them to remember how it was to be young). Basically though, it's how they're raised.
I am still a little confused about how the things you were talking about related to what I thought was being discussed here. I thought we were talkin' about WV DNR policies and what they need to do to improve their performance (in part anyway), which we should demand be at it's optimum level. After all, we pay for it. If you think they are doing good then I would welcome examples, but you can't just say "well the hunters today, what do ya expect" as a valid point.
good luck and good hunting
hb