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RE: Were has the sport of hunting/harvesting gone
"I guess your right Rick, if I only made $72,000 a year, I would be calling names and blaming people too." |
RE: Were has the sport of hunting/harvesting gone
Remember that old book, "The McDonaldization of America"? Hunting circles have been influenced in much the same way as every other part of todays society....people want more, bigger, and more of more bigger. That is how we judge each other. It is sad but true. I have NO problem with people hunting big bucks exclusively if they so choose. I focus on bucks these days but will shoot a doe if the time/shot opportunity is right. I have the tags and the discretion to hunt the way I choose.
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RE: Were has the sport of hunting/harvesting gone
I shoot lots of does. And if Im hunting a place that is being developed, which I hunt a lot of because im in suburbia, I will shoot a small buck. But that is only in places that will be parking lots in less than 6 months. Outside of a few does a year, I try to go after mature bucks, but noone should tell anyone what to shoot!!!!
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RE: Were has the sport of hunting/harvesting gone
The competition thing has me baffled. I have only been deer hunting for 3 seasons and already, sometimes I feel this weird pressure. I hear about these guys who have tagged out already or somebody killed a big buck. I catch myself and realize that some folks (one guy in particular), spend a couple thousand a year at least for a deer lease, drive a $4000 ATV, sit in a heated 6x6 box stand, hang 5 trail cams, keep as many feeders filled, and spend even more putting out food plots.
I just drive out, get out, and walk. I feed the deer that live behind my house and do my bowhunting back there. I spend maybe $150-200 a year including gasoline. Funny thing is, my first year hunting, I only went like 4 times, so no deer that year. Last year I killed a nice 6 point. This year I tried bowhunting, and killed a big doe. So, for a self-taught beginner, I think I'm doing fine. Why does that pressure sneak up on me like that? I know I can cave in to the pressure, spend the money, and have more success. Then I wouldn't have as much money, and my wife would give me hell, but I'd kill more deer. Or, I could just resolve this myself, keep my money, get along with my wife, and live with the fact that I'll kill fewer deer. I'll stick with the second option. |
RE: Were has the sport of hunting/harvesting gone
It is all in how much you desire. I think the way you going is fine, if your happy, as we say in the south, "keep gettin up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
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RE: Were has the sport of hunting/harvesting gone
i know some of people get offended when called a redneck but to me i dont know, (then again i am a kid) but when they say all you animal killer or you kill animals i just simply say you do to, the meat you eat from publix and walmart is killed just like i kill mine i just like to do it my self or i would say it is a tradition, like someone said you cant win with anti's so dont argue with them.
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RE: Were has the sport of hunting/harvesting gone
The thing that has really got me is the outfitting. It has gone nuts. When I was young, you could always find someone who would let you hunt their land. Now, the almighty dollar has come in to play, and every person on this planet who has land, leases it out to outfitters. The guys who will whore out the land for nothing more than a buck. The ones around me will go as far as plant animals out so that hunters can come in a shot them. It makes me sick.
so to answer your question; The sport has gone the same route that all sports do, to crap due to the all mighty dollar. Oh, and before someone calls me out on sour grapes due to my view of the value of sports, I was an NCAA All American and had my college paied for by athletics. I just am sickened by what has become of it all. |
RE: Were has the sport of hunting/harvesting gone
ORIGINAL: virginiashadow I came from a family where noone hunted. My ancestors hunted alot. For some reason noone continued the tradition for almost 30 years until I started hunting on my own 15 years ago. My mom and dad encouraged me to hunt because they knew I began hunting because I LOVED it. I was not out for record book bucks, I was just out to hunt/eat the meat. When I shot my first deer, I was hooked. I worked hard for years to be able to shoot even one deer. If all the power shut off in our country, and we had nothing but our own bare hands/minds to help us survive, then the hunters amongst us again would be raised to a high status. We are becoming obsolete. I am not a law breaking man, but if they outlawed my right to hunt, I would sneak into the woods with my bow and still hunt. I WOULD not care. That is one law I would break. Men need to be men. We are nothing more than intelligent animals and our hunting nature stirs inside of us, telling us that is is ok to hunt and kill animals. We are good people, not blood thirsty animals. At my job I am around teenagers and adults from all over the world. Most all of the kids from foreign countries, even gang members from third world countries ask me about hunting. They know I do it. They tell me that they used to eat what their dads and uncles killed from the environment. They do not judge me and they actually have alot of respect for me because of the environments they grew up in...they lived hard and any meat that they received from an animal was a blessing to their health. Our society has weakened to the point that grown men have to explain/justify their reasonings/needs for hunting. To me it is unbelievable. At work amongst the US born adults, I usually don't even talk about hunting because they get upset and think I am a blood thirsty killer, even though my actions of kindness on a daily basis are above what I believe most people exhibit. It is like all of the logical thought processes of modern day humans go out the windown when talking about hunting. It is disheartening to say the least. shadow |
RE: Were has the sport of hunting/harvesting gone
This is a very interesting topic. I agree with a lot of the posts, but the one thing that I see is that all hunters need to be united, not devisive. Wheather you are a gun hunter, bow or crossbow hunter, we are all hunters. We can all voice our concerns and that is great but we as hunters have to be united in our core cause. This is our sport, and in a lot of ways our traditions that we must protect. The one thing we are all fighting is the anti's, PETA and all the other animal rights groups. They are united in their cause, currently we are not. They primarily donot want people to kill or take animals. There is becoming more of them and unless hunters, sportsman or whatever name is attributed to us are able to cause influence to lawmakers we will become silenced. Laws and norms are primarily set by the majority of the population. It is our duty to defend our rights and educate our friends, coworkers and politicians in understanding what we do and why we do it. OK, I will get off my soap box.
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RE: Were has the sport of hunting/harvesting gone
ORIGINAL: davidmil The hunting tradition is alive and well in my world. We still kill, drive, and aren't all wrapped up in QDM, food plots, racks, baiting, or becoming TV stars. We don't act like an in your face jerk when we kill something and we call it what it is. We hunt, kill and eat. Ourcelebrations are a couple back slaps and we're back at it. We don't measure, pose for the cameras or feel a need to tell everyone "That's what I'm talkin' 'bout". There are no fist pumps or that attitude of "look at me... I am the greatest". We judge a deer by how much meat we get from it. I haven't seen a deer on top of a car in 10 years I suspect. If everyone thinks about it they haven't probably seen them either, or if they did, one or two. I really feel we as hunters areour own worst enemy at times. All these TV shows have made it a side show. Look at Drury's Dream season and the competitions and all that.And all the phony fist pumps and crap like you get from Stan POtts and the like. It became a circus and almost like a soap opera onday time TV. Give me a break. They've taken it about as far from the traditions of hunting as you can get. I don't have to apologize or explain to anyone that wants to give me some flak about it. I hunt, I kill, I eat it. If I can't eat it I don't shoot it. I've been doing it for 56 years in the woods alone. I'll do it as long as I can walk. It's more my tradition and heritage than it is that of a lot of todays Indians. You can't sway the minds of the antis. All you can do is support those with the knowledge and ability to fight them like the NRA, Sierra Club etc. Do what you can like teaching hunter safety classes etc to ensure those who join us do so with honor and with the future of hunting in mind. Go kill something. |
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