Alsatian

tangozulu:

There are a lot of things to consider in your question. One thing that is different and is "worse" than formerly is how many more people there are today than formerly. I was born in 1956. I don't know what the population of the US was at that time, but maybe 1/2 what it is today? This greater number of people puts greater pressure on natural resources.

On the other hand, back about the time I was born Illinois, my home state, did not have a deer hunting season because there weren't enough deer. I wager there weren't nearly as many pronghorn antelope back then as there are now. So it is with other species, though I can't recite the specific statistics on these other species.

I think some things have improved and other things have worsened. Of course, the answer about all the products that you deem unnecessary is to not buy them. Do you really need anything other than a .30-06 to hunt big game if you leave the Grizzly and Brown Bears out of the game bag? Do you need camo to hunt? Etc., etc.

I too lament that hunting has become commercialized. I particularly lament that hunting has become, in many circumstances, a competition of horn/antler size. This seems to me silly and a diversion from the pure essence of hunting. But it is not for me to tell others how to hunt. I see a logical link, however, between the commercialization of hunting and the emphasis on horn/antler size. In competition you do not neglect anything that can give you an edge -- including the commercial products. This leads to paying guides to take you to the most productive ground -- expensive, commercialized -- and to buying as much gadgetry as possible. If you are hunting cow elk do you need all that frou-frou?