GMMAT give it a rest! I personally THINK I know where atlas is coming from and I see it as an interesting topic of discussion IF people will be honest and open and not jump down everyone's throat.

Shed33 has some interesting perspectives and seems to understand that a lot of his opinions are based on the type of hunting that is most effective for his area. For example: His comment about deer drives. If I hunted a section where the deer per sq mile was 0.X I certainly wouldn't try a push on any deer I found. But where I hunt I can push a deer (or five) out of just about every clump of cover I can find, especially in agriculture areas.

I wonder how many people who profess disdain for fenced hunts have ever hunted in one? This is not an attack. I think what gives them that feeling is their perception of what a fenced area is, and what that hunt is like. I think we all have knee-jerk reactions when we think of fenced hunts of an image of a Jimmy Houston type hunt. I had to realize that I've actually hunted a fenced area; an army base. I didn't think of it as fenced because I could drive 20 - 30 minutes without even seeing a fence. Technically the deer probably could escape through the "gates" (road openings with guard houses) or by swimming but it was fenced all the same. The deer certainly weren't hindered in their movement except in the broadest interpretation. I had no qualms about hunting there (except for the danger presented by other hunters) but I admit if you shrunk the the area fenced, at some point I'd feel it wasn't "fair". I'm not sure what point that is and I'm not really trying to find out. True small fenced areas are just out of my price range and not worth the expense, to me.

Another point I seem to differ from most here is that I don't rate my experience by difficulty, at least not exclusively. I think other things come into play too. Mostly the uniqueness of the experience. If elk out west were as thick as fleas on a hound, and as easy to shoot as park deer Iwould still enjoy going on an elk hunt because it's a new experience for me and therefore unique. IfI constantly hunted them I'm sure I would tire of the ease with which I am able to bag them. I personally enjoy an easy hunt occassionally, as long as it's the exception rather than the norm. It's like fly-fishing bluegill with poppers, they're fun because they are easy, especially after trying to get a brook trout to rise on a fly. I caught artic greyling inAK just as easily and they were fun because they were new to me and the whole experience of fishing in AK with a bald eagle flying over head and a moose across the creek from me was just awesome. Sometimes I'll hunt some spots that IKNOW have a low chance of seeing a deerjust because I like the looks of the area and enjoy sitting there. I enjoy stalking even though it isn't as successful a technique, for me, as tree standing (which I also do). The whole idea of a long shot on a deer has a certain appeal to me specifically because I usually hunt inside thick cover and the longest shot I've ever taken on a deer was 80 yards with open sight 30-30. A long 200+ yard shot with a scoped rifle has a kind of romantic appeal to me. I may tire of it quickly if I had many opportunities but I can't think of many times I'd have that around here unless it's late season and I'm shooting across a mountain ravine to the other side.

I guess it all boils down, for me, to what I enjoy. I think the show-stopper for me is if I don't think it's fair to the game, which would be mostly illegal methods anyway (spotlighting, penned deer, etc) Food plots and such don't bother me although baiting, HERE (which is illegal), seems like useless effort.

edited for spelling, punctuation, and other short comings. : )