RE: Are we really better off as hunters today?
Are we better off?? Yes and no-[/align][/align]When I first started hunting I had a hand-me-down 30-30 and an old compound bow. Hunting for us was about getting meat. We didn't have a lot material wise, and every animal we got went to feed the family. It was always "neat" when one of the family members bagged a nice mature buck or big ol' six point bull, but we were just as happy with atwo pointand a spike or cow. Generally we prefered them spikes and cows cuz they were always better eating than some nasy old rutted out bull elk. Hunting season was also a time for family. It was a time for father to pass on knowledge to his sons. It was a time we all enjoyed with family hunting camps and road trips. Every aspect was family oriented, even the meat cutting time when uncles and aunts would show up to help carve and package the meat.[/align][/align]Today hunting for me has remained the way it was. I only have one rifle, a 30-06, onecompound bow, and a traditional Hawkin muzzleloader that is in my hunting arsenal. It is still a time for family and commodery. The only difference is it is no longer a neccesity. For me, hunting is a way to escape the concrete and asphalt jungle and return to the woods. It has become more of the experiance of the hunt, not something I need to do to provide for the family.[/align][/align]Tecnology has allowed me to get the gear to make the experience a bit more enjoyable (gortex),or give me an edge(scent-loc), but itstill the thrill of huntingfree-range, no-fence game animals that keeps me coming back for more.[/align][/align]I have to confess, I have been bitten by the trophy bug a time or two. Opting to pass on that spike elk 20 yards broadside because the big 6-point herd bull is almost in range. But, I am more excited for the guy who shoots a small fork-in-horn buck on public land over some guy who just shot a monster mulie on some high fence hunting ranch. The guy that got the small free rangebuck, to me, is ten time the hunter than Mr. Richy Rich on his hunting show who sets his coffee down in his blind to take aim at that big ranch buck.[/align][/align]So, has the face of hunting changed from the "good ol' days"? Yes, and probably for the worse. But it is how you approach it as an individual that makes the biggest difference.[/align]