ORIGINAL: stealthycatapithicus
atlasman - you and I and the very few like us that remain are in a minority. You have a feel for the hunt itsself, and everything that goes into making that hunt from the long hours of practicing with your equipment to the ones spent scouting and sitting in the stand etc.
But thats not what today's hunters want, understand that. Its all about what we can buy to make the hunt pass by more quickly, easier, without any of the work and still get results.
Thats why preserve "hunts" are so popular. Thats why compounds dominate the bowhunting ranks. Thats why the entire sports industry caters to making products that make everything easier, with less work and yet, "better"
Hunting and what hunting is ......... its changing. Few hunters today have the love of the hunt. They have a strong desire for big antlers ......... and yet they'll bypass what makes up 99% of the "hunt" to get them. They'll bypass the scouting, the practice, the challenges of hunting public lands or "wild" deer, the challenges of doing it on their own - think about it, its true.
Sad.........................but true.
Caught 10 minutes of a show on the Outdoor Channel tonight and saw a guy freak out like he just arrowed Bigfoot or something after he stuck a big buck and then a few minutes later the same guy drops a doe with a gun right in it's tracks and looks at the camera and says in a calm voice "Gotta shoot a doe every once in awhile" like he was embarrassed about it and had to explain himself. When will these morons learn that in a few minutes of film they just showed every kid out there watching that if it isn't a huge buck it's not exciting and shooting a doe is more "work" then hunting.
Amazing how much damage can be done in 10 minutes of video.