Well said, LCG
ORIGINAL: stealthycatasaurus
The thread is aboutthe obsession some have with shooting big bucks being harmfull to the sport so as far as I'm concerned your supossed analogy with sex and pornographyis just nuts! You seem to want to take this down an ethics path.
Isn't that what this discussion is about ? What is and isn't hunting ?
Actually it was my understanding that this was a discussion about one particularaspect of the hunting industryhaving a beneficial or detrimental impact on the sport of bowhunting. Or am I reading the thread topic wrong?
Guys like this always want to make mountains over molehills. Reminds me of the guy that called us all hypocrits for boycotting sponsors of the WHA but not boycotting HNI when it was "outed" that they had a sponsor with highfences.
I would like to shoot a big buck, sure. But I know I'll never be in the P&Y or B&C books because of where I hunt. I could spend little to no more money to hunt somewhere that does have those kind of bucks, but I choose to have a sentimentally richer experience by partaking of the family traditions and family heritage that goes with hunting on family land. But I still hold out for at least a nice 8 point. I let the young ones walk. Am I corrupting bowhunting? Of course not.
Do I preach from the all-holy-QDM-Bible, no. Do I abscribe to some of their more logical concepts, yes. Do I brow-beat other forum members for disagreeing with my views on the world, NO.
However, if you're a guest on our place, you follow the rules, 8's or better, spikes or barren does. If for no other reason than respect for the property owner and their rules. But that's just the way I was raised, to respect the land, its owner(s),the animals, your neighbors, and yourself.
Hunting is hunting. We're not debating that here. Is Trophy Hunting corrupting bowhunting? I don't think so. Is it driving bowhunting farther and farther into an elitist, my D!@& is bigger than yours, commercialized industry? Yes. But that began long before crossbows during archery season became a debate. While the everyman hunted for meat, the social elite in nearly all cultures, based their manliness on the size of horns on whatever animal's head. This goes back to B.C. Times, and probably started with the cavemen.
I can hear it now... "oog... ug ug ahg... ahhhhh *smack* oog oog oog!? hahahahaha"
Your concern for the sport is admirable, and I agree in theory. But in all practicality, trophy hunting is here to stay wether you or I like it, or not. The only thing we can do is teach ournew hunters and childrenbetter. Enstill in them, a self-awareness and a self-confidence in the things we teach them that they will not be "shock-n-awed" into the horn porn culture.