I realize this may seem like preaching to the choir, but I just want to take a moment of ya'lls time to point out there are some REAL dedicated people out there trying to take away your/my/our rights. Often times they are so ridiculous they are ignored. You have folks like Schumer, Hillary, B. Boxer, Ms. Brady's bunch all after your gun rights. They are not going to be satisfied w/ banning one or two types. You have Peta, Hsus, others joining forces and most importantly money to do many things not in your/my/our best interests. Look at the Assualt weapon ban. They got that thru because the duck hunters, bowmen, fly fishers, ect.didn't care. All the while that farce was in force, it was still legal to own a fully automatic machine gun, if you wanted to jump thru some hoops. Did any of ya'll ever hear of one of that crowd spraying a bunch down? Me neither. My point is that with all the sporting activities out there, no matter your particular field[s] of interest, we need to take the time to be concerned and alert enough to fire an email or two off even if the present proposed lunacy doesn't affect us personally. There's a quote I'm sure I've only got partially correct that goes something like this: "All it takes for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing." I've heard it attributed to several Revolutionary War figures but it holds true today. Thanks for your time.

Divide and conquer. It is a method that works all to well. I am possibly to quick to blurt out that I am a hunter but rather than sit back on my heels I want to at least provoke a disscussion. It seems as hunters we think that all those who don't hunt are " Anti-Hunting" but I believe it isa lack of exposure more than anything else. Don't defend your sport. Instead let them know how cool it feels to be out in the woods in the dark or to hear the crunch of leaves as achipmunk sneaks up behind your stand. If we hunted just for meat, I know there would be at least one hungry guy in here looking for a little deer burger

I should have read this thread before posting mine on canned hunts. I cant agree more with you. I feel hunters have done more damage to hunting than antis have.

Great Article NEW......I couldn't agree more with your thoughts. I think many people want to do something, but are not sure "what" that somethng is. You offer the obvious supports of joining organizations, mentoring new hunters, and promoting our sport/lifestyle, but your "real" question still has gone un-answered............"How can we do these things better?"


One suggestion would be for a push to implement the sport of archery in the school system. 28 states have it, including Virginia, but i have yet to see it in the Southeastern region of the state. Why is this? One reason could be because of the lifestyles of this region. Wouldn't you agree?

One way to gain more support, have an established mentoring program, and raise safety awareness(which would help with some of the negativity) could be to push for the implementation of archery in the Physical Education curriculum in the school system. The sad thing is.......only a small handful of individuals would actually write the school adminstrations for this cause.

Sorry but I don't see a die hard bowhunter remotely in the same league or class as a weekend warrior dog deer drivin' browner downer and that it is they who are "the enemy within" or "without" ...depends on how you look at it.

And I don't know if it's just me and where I'm from but I have personally never met a true "anti". I have had discussions with folks who say they couldn't do it and so on but none who vehemently opposed hunting. I know they are out there but I've never met one and just wonder where the hell they all live. Never say never but hunting is such big business these days that I see it only expanding in the near future.

Your absolutely right it depends on who you are and how you look at it. I do see a die hard bow-hunterin the same league as weekend warrior doghunter because I am both. During bow season, blackpowder, and gun season I like to bowhunt and am extremely dedicated. From my compounds to my stick bows I love it. But that doesn't mean if friends or family ask me todog hunt I that I don't do it. It is a huge thing in my area and I enjoy it very much the few weekendsI get to go. I think most people I hunt with are weekend warriors only because of work not because of choice.Most of the dog drivers Ihunt withhave loads of knowledge about the ways of the whitetail.Yes, we kill a lot of deer and nowe do not discriminate but we do follow the laws and only take legal deer, so I guess I am a"browner-downer". But I am O.K. with that. I kill deer, as many as I have tags for. I lovevenison, myfamily loves venison. We use it for everything deer burgers, tacos/burritos, spaghetti, lasagna,and everyones favorite Deerburger Helper!! I process my meat, vacuum seal it, andfreeze it for the whole year. That's five people in my home and several relatives within close proximity so how much meat doI need?? Skip the math, it is a lot.Jelen, I guess my point isit is easy to draw opinions and generalizations about people or groups of people from things you have seen or heard but until you actually get to knowsomeone and what motivates them your opinions might be a little off (when people are lumped into big, general groups you lose the ability to evaluate individuals).I also agree that hunting does have a great future, but just a word to the wise, there are people and groups who do oppose hunting and just because you have never met one doesn't mean they don't exist.
Anyway, good luck and good hunting(whatever kind you prefer).

N.E.W.,

I find it funny that we completely gotten of track in regards to your original post. Didn't you ask "how we could do these things better?"


I don't think debating over which style of hunting is at the top of the totem pole is the way to deal with "the enemy within."

What do you think is the better way to mentor, collaborate, and help provide this lifestyle with a more decorated future? Especially in the regions in which you live. After all, i would hate for Zach and Nate Frogg to have limitations that could cause your family traditions to become altered.

I am strong in my approach to deer hunting and the immense love I have of deer and the hunt of them. DNR's and the like are hugely lacking in their ability to sufficiently manage deer in most states and I feel they throw out tag limits as a means of a shot in the dark to appease mostly legislatures and beaurocrats but not to meet the actual needs of a deer herd and its' health...with that being so, to fill every single tag imaginable for every variety of weapon season it might be in my opinion could be potentially harmful. I'm quite sure you put the meat you harvest to good use no doubt whatsoever, but is that what is best for the future of the deer herd and best for the future deer hunters in your area? Just something to think of. I am of the opinion that if an individual has the intent of taking a deer out of the population, then that individual should know the ramifications of those acts by educated facts and not by a statewide mandate. They should have at least a broad based knowledge of buck-to-doe ratios, average buck population ages, and average fawn mortality in their area. Just my two cents. I appreciate the post and the discussion. Good luck to you as well.

I understand your reply as I was a little bit vague. Allow me to clarify. I hunt in several areas all across my state, encompassing thousands of acres. And in each area I have an intimate knowledge of the local herd and management concerns. When hunting on my private farm that is only about 100 acres I am extremely conservative about the amount of deer harvested and all guests are aware of what we try to do there. In contrast, when I am dog hunting the area we hunt is thousands of acres in extremely rural areas. These areas are made up of massive woodlots, swampland, marshland, and agriculture on top of agriculture. These areas have an extremely high carrying capacity for whitetails. We harvest lots of deer and still never meet the expected harvest total that the local DNR representatives recommend. We are issued DMAP stamps by the 100's to help reduce doe numbers and to assist local farmers. If we don't kill enough of them then the farmers are often issued DCAP tags to eliminate deer and they can do this any time of year, night or day and the deer are not to be used (meaning they leave them lay). I would certainly rather kill them during the season and have the venison used. Our club alone donated over 2500 lbs of venison to local people and to Hunters for the Hungry. I love deer hunting and the hunt is in me but I'm not sure that means I love deer. I respect my prey, I love my dog. Wait, I take that back I do love deer.....and potatoes.....and gravy....and biscuits.J/K

I agree in principle, but disagree with the application. To simply put a blanket of condonement on any and all types of 'hunting' is not th eanswer. Standardization, a common understanding of ethical practices, educated and well spoken representatives, and coopertion among any and all law enforcement, game management officials is the answer. There are things that go on in the hunting community that need to be regulated and controlled. To extend a carte blanche , 'whatever floats your boat' approach will accelerate and fule the antis. If they see us stepping to teh plate , and in solidarity voice our opinions and even better, take some action against these questionable practices, then it will confuse them and take away one of their greatest weapons against us. There is a pereption problem that needs remedying, and there are PR problems that need remedying, and there are practices that need to be stopped. It will take more of an effort to do this, but taking this acceptance of anything titled 'hunting' is ludicrous. We need to be leaders and strong men that are willing to take on the challenge of making some difficult steps to bring some honor and integrity to th eout of control and down spiraling effect that has seen hunting become a circus act on many of the outdoor channels, and such self correcting, self policing as I have seen take place among dog hunters, who admitted that there was a problem and have taken it upon themselves to form a group of responsible measures to clean up their act is what I am talking about. In S Ga, these guys were losing their rights due to irresponsible practices, and a disregard for the laws and people's properties as well as still hunters. It was putting a great deal of pressure on them, and they were losing county after county--until they got self regulated, and cleaned up their act. This is what we as hunters in general need to do--not bury our heads in the sand and sit around campfire singing kumbayah! Speak up and clean up!