This time of year usually gets me thinking about this topic because the forum gets riddled with threads of the "dead deer walking" pictures and all the technology and gadgets that go along with them.

My question is where do you draw the line on what you consider "fair chase" hunting?

I don't see the logic in people crying about "fair chase" and preaching the ills of the WHA........or crossbows......or some other flavor of the week topic. To cry about those things.........and then come on here and post 100 pics from your game cam with a time stamp and a pile of corn in the picture and say how pumped you are to go out and use your $5,000 worth of electronics and equipment to sneak into the woods and smoke an arrow through him at 30-40 yards doing 320 fps at 80% letoff is so beyond rediculous it is amazing.

"Fair chase" is a myth.

What about the situation that I described above is "fair"?? The fact that there is no fence?? If there is a 10lb pile of cracked corn in the same spot of the same field corner for weeks on end then you don't need a fence.........the deer will not wander far........and even if they do they will surely come back to nibble day after day. This is evidenced by all the guys posting pics of deer that they have caught on their cameras multiple times.

Why do we continually harp on hunting having to be "fair chase".........and then go out and hypocritically hunt in an absolutely unfair manner??

I just don't understand why so many people get horrified by stories of game farms that turn on the feeders and wait for the deer to come out so they can shoot one. Isn't laying a full bag of corn in the same spot for weeks and then going hunting over it one day just another way of "turning on the feeders"??

We get what we deserve..............we are all in the uncomfortable position of being caught in the middle of the slippery slope. We jumped on voluntarily becasue we want SOME of the perks...........but get upset because we didn't read the fine print.


Game farms, the WHA, canned hunts, charging for antlers by the inch, 400 fps crossbows, 80% letoff, food plots, game cams, WSSM, Laser rangefinders and so on............are all in the same boat. Sure, they have different degrees of severity and significance but how can so many people be so adamant in favor of some of those things.........yet so adamantly against other parts??


The future is already here for those who haven't seen them yet. Video camera surveillance placed in the woods to observe the deer 24/7.


So, let me get this straight..........you can sit at home or at your job and have pics or video sent directly to your computer or cell phone from your spy cameras you set up at your surveillance compound (hunting land) showing you where, when, how many, and which deer are coming to your pre farmed food plot and grab your laser rangefinder, GPS, and high powered binoculars........throw on your 2000 gram Thinsulate water proof boots and state of the art camo.......take your 320 fps 80% letoff compound or your 400 fps crossbow or your high powered WSM rifle with equally high powered scope..........jump on your ATV and ride over to your pre set stand of choice (based on the time stamped deer pics) and wait. When the deer you have been spying on for 2 months 24 hrs a day makes his scheduled appearence anywhere from 40 to 300 yards away (which you used your laser to judge)..........you kill him.


That is "fair chase"???





"Fair chase" went Bye-Bye a LONG time ago fellas. I think we are only kidding ourselves and also doing the whole sport a disservice if this is continually used as a rallying cry. We need to focus on doing things simply because it is the right thing to do. Saying we want it a certain way because it is "fair" is laughable. Think about it........if hunting was really "fair" would anyone even think of bear hunting? That is about as silly as calling shark fishing "fair".


I always cringe when I hear another hunter preaching about "fair chase". Think how silly that must sound to the people who don't know anything about hunting other then seeing an army of guys in orange with big guns going out after what amounts to a giant rabbit with antlers.


I think it's time to realize that ship has sailed and focus our efforts on things still within our control.