Krockus

I am into the food for my plate and I will not pass up a deer for a bigger one.You can't eat the antlers can ya.And in the real world who has time to hunt8 or nine hours everyday with jobs and a family to support?I take what I can to get somediscount meat for the table after the price of hunting tags.But,over the years I see many new regulation on what size of a rack an adult may shoot during buck season.I don't think they should put a size on the racks for an avid joe like me who doesn't get much time to hunt and not be able to actually see a buck of that size.Like I said,for me its the food and the thrill of the hunt to bag even a brocken 3 point.Just think what this will be like in 10 years if we are still here.Propaganda of your silver screen full time hunters and their huge steroid fed deerzillas.

whitewolf393

Well, here's my 2 cents based on limited lifetime hunting experience, folks:

Better off? Yes - for the technology that has granted us the freedom to better our hunting experience, should we choose it. If not, there's no crime in that, certainly. I don't have much hunting experience yet at age 39, but I have to say that, to me, the best hunters are still the ones who have their woodsmanship, tracking and stalking down, and don't rely on technologyto get them close to the game for the shot. I have one rifle, a 30-06 FN Mauser that was built by my father, and I don't feel the need for another one anytime soon, as well as the one shotgun I have.

Better off? No - Most hunting magazines you pick up nowadays are filled with ads for gear and guides to God knows where, and they're about possession, plain and simple. They appeal to the most basic element of human nature in all of us. There are rare exceptions, but hunting does seem to be a billion dollar plus industry, selling to stay alive and thrive, trying to convince you that you need a closetful of gadgets and special clothingand what not to "bag" a "trophy" deer. I personally enjoy the experience of hunting, withou or without the kill, and when I'm in the woods, I take comfort in the serenity, and if I take game, I'll eat it and give thanks totheGreat Spirit that it was provided to me. I don't need to provide for myself by taking game, since I grew up near a Safeway and have lived neara grocery store nearly my whole life, but, I take pride in the fact that I can take responsibility some of the food on at least my own table now and again.

I don't prefer to hunt private land, but public land, since, hey, it's free, and we're paying for it anyway, right?

tangozulu

thanks for the comments everyone,

to whitewolf I say, if hunting is getting to be all about competion, then public land is the great equallizer I believe.
Cherish public land not because its free but because its yours. Public landrepresents free men (and women). Before people left Europe to colonize the new continent they could be hung for hunting as all the land and all the fish and wildlife on the land belonged to the king.

whitewolf393

Tangozulu - thanks for your comments and starting this thread. I happen to like public land as well, and will continue to hunt it as long as I can!

hossofadoc

I would say that we are better off, of course I am a young hunter of the age of 24 but, hearing stories and personal experience I think that we are better off. I remember where I'm from in Eastern Kentucky when we weren't allowed to hunt because we simply didn't have enough deer. We used to have to drive 2.5 hours to some place where we could hunt and then all that we were allowed to take was a buck during any of the seasons. Now, I'm able to get up and in 45 minutes be to my land and spot. In the last ten years KY has produced a great wild turkey and elk population which is something that no one would have thought about 15-20 years ago according to my elders.

I will say this, that I am a very simple person and I think that we have way to many devices to use. I think that we have replaced the true woodsman with devices, to make the experience easier/chances greater of bringing home a trophy. In turn I think that a lot of this is brought on by ourselves to help us spend less times in the woods and more time in our cubicals or the fact the we tend to want the easy way out for everything in today's time. Just my 2 cents.

The Hoss

ranger56528

Tanq
Thanks. I remember the late 60's early 70's when all I had to do was grab my 22 or 20gauge walk out my mom & dads house walk about 10 mn and I was in the woods, now thos woods are homes and then i had to walk about 40 mn to do the same but had to incase my rifle & 20 gauge.now older and living on a lake I thought I was in paridice,fishing hunting but not now,rich people buy up property,build big homes and thingk they can do anything,now its hard to have fun fishing off my dock,let alone going out in the boats. We call these people weekend warriers.they come on weekends and have very little respect for the people that live here year round.at least I still have my hunting property.Now i'll jump off the soap box. ABOUT HI-TECK agood pair of boots a warm jacket for when its cold a colman lantern for when it dark or to track that deer.a trusty bow or BP or rifle,and thats hi-teck for me.

dog1

Tang.,
I read your post and all that followed it. Same problems here in Ga. with posted land,all the gadgets, food plots, money, etc.

I just got back off an 8 day camp/deer hunt with my son-in-law. Did something I swore I would never do again, we hunted a WMA, haven't been on one since 1976. We went by boat and set up camp, only saw two boats with fisherman on our way to set up camp and never saw another sole the rest of the time. This was more of a learning the area deal than taking a deer.

We did not see a deer the entire trip, lots of signs. We scouted and hunted. I also did some squirrel hunting. We would hunt the mornings and fish the afternoons. We had a ball! On our last day the boat got swamped and we had a problem on our hands but delt with it.

Afterwe gotthe boat taken care of and got on some dry clothesmy son-in-law said he couldn't believe what happened and mixed us a drink and he doesn't even care for liqour. I told him yeah, but think what a story he would have to tell his grandkids one day.

My point is, other thanthe squirrels I shot and the fish we caught, I think we had a great time. We didn't take deer stands, hunted from the ground, all I took was my old 30-30, didn't take a newer scoped version. Didn't see another person for 8 days, couldn't even hear an automobile and all this was on state run land. We ate good, slept good, and hunted as we wished. Did we have to kill a deer to be successful, not at all. Now he wants' the two of usto go elk hunting somewhere out west. Will we be disappointed if we don't get an elk, don't think so. Geting back to basic hunting means a lot.

My basic two cents worth.
dog1

Elkcrazy8

Instead of looking back at the 50's 60's and 70's. Look back further to the turn of the century when many animals were almost hunted to extinction, and for what, for $. The driving factor is still there as it was way back when. I beleive that we are better off because we have developed management plans, refuges, etc. $ will be the driving factor behind everything that is done. That has and never will change. What happens now is the fact that hunters have become more interested in what happens to the wildlife. We have states that have rebounded their herds in the light of advertisement and promotions. That is a project in itself. I am glad that I can still hike into the mountains in my woolrich, cook on my colman stove, and not see anyone for days, and have a greater opportunity to harvest an animal than people did a century ago.