RE: Shoot ourself in our own feet. No offense rob.
I agree and wrote an article kind of like this:
In my world I can categorize all people into four categories.
First you have the Hunter. This is a person who respects his or her game, the game laws, and all resources available to him or her. This person strives to make good ethical decisions in all aspects of hunting. This person will ask permission to use land; ensure to keep his or her hunting area cleaner than it was when they arrived. This person respects the laws and understands that the laws are there to help keep our heritage alive and well. This person despises poaching, wasting meat, unethical ‘hunters’, and does their best to prevent such acts. A hunter will in someway give back to the future generations of hunters. This is exhibited by obeying laws and making good decisions, becoming a mentor, or by teaching their own children our ways.
Second you have Slob Hunters. These are mostly the weekend warriors. They take out their rifles during bow season. They spot light. They poach. They kill more than they are allowed. They trespass. They steal. They kill anything that walks out. Generally the Motto and mentality during hunting is: “If it’s brown, it’s down.” They lie. They cheat. They do not perfect their shots. They wound animals. They prefer not to read animal signs. They are often inexperienced trackers. They do not know what the art of hunting really is. They are slowing killing us!
Thirdly you have the Non-Hunters. These are the majority of people. They don’t hunt, but are not exactly against hunting. These are the fence riders. If we don’t do what we as Hunters are supposed to do when we encounter a Non-Hunter, we could push them to the other side. They could help us or hurt us. It all depends on how we treat them, act around them, maintain ourselves around them.
Lastly there are Anti-Hunters. They believe killing an animal is wrong. Murder even. They will never understand our passion, our heritage, or our rights. These people strive each and every day to end to the sport we love and minimize the number of hunters.
The Non-Hunter is the category we need to be very conscience about. We need to ensure we make good decisions always. I know when I take an animal I have a sense of pride about it. But there are a few things we can do to help ourselves when we exhibit our trophies. We should not display our harvests to people who do not want to see it. We need to be careful about what we allow to be seen. We also need to be careful about what we are seen doing.
Remember when the media reports about a poacher, they will and do, call him or her a Hunter. We know a poacher is NOT a hunter, but the Non-Hunters may not. This may influence them. How many “good” stories have you heard on the radio, TV, or read in the newspaper about a Hunter? Very few if any. However, we have all heard about the “hunter” who shot other hunters over an argument about a deer stand, or that local poacher that the media called a “hunter.”