ORIGINAL: MA Jay
Tangozulu-
I agree with you, somehow I know I can not win this fight either.
On the Bowhunting forum, this guy "mexhuntr" created a postcalled "Great HuntingTripPics". In the post he shows off his large whitetail deer rack he found 2 days after he shot it, a goat and a Red Stag. All shot on a farm, ranchor high fenced operation (whatever name you want it togo by) and he recieved 100 attaboys from guys congratulating him on his "hunt". A few resented him calling it hunting, but the majority thought it actually was hunting.
I believe the mindset has already been well established and many "hunters" have lost touch with what, in myhumble and personal opinion, make ourpassionsuch awonderful pursuit. Those guysdidn't care if "mexhuntr" hunted the game... they only cared about the size of theantlers he harvested. Sad.....
I see your point MA Jay. I was one that gave mexhuntr a congratulations. That said, I was not deliberately expressing my approval for high fenced or any other type of hunt. I was just glad to see that he was out having fun and I was kind of welcoming him as a new member by just saying "nice buck". Much the same as I would do for a young 'en who had shot some "exotic" on a texas ranch and was proud about it.
I am still not sure if that specific incident is the same as a "holstein hunt" or not. There is a large gray line between totally wild (low or no fence), indigenous game and a "holstein hunt" in the collective mind of hunters as a group.That line contains all the high-fenced ranchesin the world along with baiting and crossbows andany thingelse that is the subject of much discussion around here. That's the problem. Hunting is an individual pursuit and therefore each individual must choose "how" they hunt. I personally would never hunt any game that is fenced in. Obviously some would. Texas boys are adamant that if the parcel of land is big enough it is "hunting".
I wouldn't have even said "nice buck" to mexhunter (not that I care, I just wouldn't have bothered)if there weren't already people giving him hell when all he did was post some pictures of himself and some friends having fun and a little story. One of the main antagonists of that particular post has posted several times about his African hunts (high fenced probably as well)--what right did he have to say anything negative (that controversey was also about shot placement on a deer (which is a whole nother topic)).
Anyway, the type of hunting that an individual chooses to participate in reflects the character of that individual. A guy that mounts an elk shot on a game farm probably has some flaws if he portrays it as a past "hunting" experience. However,if a guy shoots a buffalo on one of those ranches, mainly for the cheap source of meat etc, then whats the problem? Even if he chose to mount the head to decorate his fishing cabin (or restaurant)as a way ofjust adding somecharacter to the place and did not claim it was from some AZ public land, then again, I see no problem.
Hunting is more than a sport, it's a way of life or religion and with all things involving a human element, your going to have gray areas(thatmany see as black and white but with different and overlapping boundaries)