BowElkDown,

Probably the first observation worth making would be that this thread has even fewer "right" answers than that 30-30 thread a while ago - only the passage of 10, 20, 30, or more years and how the fate of hunting unfolds will give the final answers who was right and who was less than right. And here's the real kicker -- as with all things political, and this issue is politcial -- you can be right and still lose, and that's a tough pill to swallow as a prudent course is charted.

Second, I noticed you used the terms, "classification" "category" and "comparing." These words are tools of logical analysis and normally will serve you well on these boards and you are right in your analysis of what I said. If you are talking within our group of hunters here such a disjointed, tenuous association would be illogical. However, it's important to recognize that the "target audience" we are talking about here isn't our own cadre of hunters but rather the non-hunting public.

The majority of the non-hunting public reside in metropolitain areas and haven't experienced farm or hunting "facts of life." Most of these fine folks eat Big Macs, but if you were to take them on a 20 minute tour of the "kill floor" of their local "large volume" slaughter house many would return home guilt ridden with "Auchwitz Syndrome" even though DOWN DEEP THEY KNEW that Big Macs didn't grow on a vine! They chose not to come to grips with the realities of it even though it was right in front of their face (Billions and Billions served!) So it isn't all logic on this one, a big part is just plain, warped, illogical human nature and "arguing them straight" is unlikely to succeed. Kind of like swimming upstream against a current - it's hard to make head way. Which brings us around to.......

Third, the more we can "bring it around" (hunting death) to a presentation that runs parallel to something they are familiar with (human death) then the more easily they will accept it, not by logic but by human nature (swimming downstream with the current).

And now to quote Forest Gump -- "That's about all I have to say about that."

On a totally seperate note: You and your dad are a long ways apart in distance. Don't let the next two decades deny you your time together, keep it rich, enjoy time together, don't let yourself get taken away. Life tends to put some ugly things on your plate before you exit your forties and make you wish for things done different.

EKM

Good judgment comes from bad experience! Half of elk hunting is knowing what NOT to do!