I have to say I find this post interesting. I never really thought about the negative impact of the big chain stores and their "ready to hunt packages". I do alot of hunting on public land in MD and I have to say my feelings are mixed. On one hand, I like the idea of new blood coming into hunting. I know the more hunters we have, the bigger the voice we have in protecting our rights. And of course I see the other side of the arguement about new hunters not being courteous and ruining spots that have been good producing spots for years. The only thing I can say about that is this,a guy who doesn't scout, comes in in new clothes with a new, unsighted gun after first light, he's probably not hunting far from the parking lot. All that is going to make me do is scout harder, find those out of the way spots that aren't easy to get to and let those slob hunters push the deer to me. Sure, it takes more time to walk into an out of the way spot and it creates more work getting a deer out a spot that takes you 1/2 hour to walk to, but it is what it is. There's a piece of public land that I hunt a good bit that gets pounded, but with some scouting, looking over maps and comparing notes with other guys I know who hunt the area, it is very much possible to get away from the pumpkin patch.