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RE: Jog your memory and then tell me....
In the early days a stick and a string was just that. There was some nostalgia to it howeverif you could get by the people thatchuckled silently shaking theirhead when you walked away. They no doubtwondered why you would freeze your butt off trying to bring down a deer such an ancient weapon when a gun would be so much easier. To this day there is something about traditional gear that holds a special place in my heart. I think it has to do with growing up as a kid making your own bows and arrows out of what you could find. Watching the twenty foot flight of those fish tailing arrows was mesmerizing.
Then came those new fangle "wheel bows" that were loud, ugly, and inefficient. I recall hitting a buck in the "sweet spot" with one and getting almost zero penetration. There was definitely plenty of room for impovement and with time it came. The modern compound may still be ugly to some but it is an efficient, fast, quiet (subjective to the listener of course) and powerful machine. The proverbial "dragon slayer" of the deer woods if you will. There are plenty more positives I could expound upon. They out weigh the negatives by far; and yes we are living in "the good old days" of deer hunting as we speak. It is the "under belly" of our pastime that troubles me... The monster that has been generated by media involvement may be self consuming. Who grabs their bow and justgoes deer hunting anymore? Why hunt anything but a giant mega-monster, you know the one, that double main beamed triple drop tined twenty point three hundred pound food plot fed thirty year old buck that we have six hundred and eighty two photos of from our one hundred and one scouting cameras placed in precisely the right spot on the lease we own! I am as guilty as anybodywhen it comes to the addiction to a large head gear, but "horn porn" has taken us to new levels of "debotchery" in the hunting industry. Fights both physical and legal over the size of antlers are not an uncommonstory anymore. Hero status and financial gain that can be achieved by either killing a big buck or giving one the chance to is mind boggling for me. We are not curing cancer here... I don't want my comments to turn into a fight about leasing or outfitters or the farmers making or not making money. We have turned a corner and I doubt very much we will go back. Land that was once accessible to my children and grand children is now unattainable. The bottom line is I know how much my life has been enriched through the experiences in the outdoors.There aremany youngmen and women today thatwon't get the opportunity to enjoy a similar fate.Perhaps that experience would keep them out of trouble and may even inspire them to be a more productive citizen, who knows. The question was asked "If you could bring something back from the early days... what would it be?" My answer: When hunting really was a pastime....anda big buck really was just that, nothing more nothing less... |
RE: Jog your memory and then tell me....
ORIGINAL: Antler Eater In the early days a stick and a string was just that. There was some nostalgia to it howeverif you could get by the people thatchuckled silently shaking theirhead when you walked away. They no doubtwondered why you would freeze your butt off trying to bring down a deer such an ancient weapon when a gun would be so much easier. To this day there is something about traditional gear that holds a special place in my heart. I think it has to do with growing up as a kid making your own bows and arrows out of what you could find. Watching the twenty foot flight of those fish tailing arrows was mesmerizing. Then came those new fangle "wheel bows" that were loud, ugly, and inefficient. I recall hitting a buck in the "sweet spot" with one and getting almost zero penetration. There was definitely plenty of room for impovement and with time it came. The modern compound may still be ugly to some but it is an efficient, fast, quiet (subjective to the listener of course) and powerful machine. The proverbial "dragon slayer" of the deer woods if you will. There are plenty more positives I could expound upon. They out weigh the negatives by far; and yes we are living in "the good old days" of deer hunting as we speak. It is the "under belly" of our pastime that troubles me... The monster that has been generated by media involvement may be self consuming. Who grabs their bow and justgoes deer hunting anymore? Why hunt anything but a giant mega-monster, you know the one, that double main beamed triple drop tined twenty point three hundred pound food plot fed thirty year old buck that we have six hundred and eighty two photos of from our one hundred and one scouting cameras placed in precisely the right spot on the lease we own! I am as guilty as anybodywhen it comes to the addiction to a large head gear, but "horn porn" has taken us to new levels of "debotchery" in the hunting industry. Fights both physical and legal over the size of antlers are not an uncommonstory anymore. Hero status and financial gain that can be achieved by either killing a big buck or giving one the chance to is mind boggling for me. We are not curing cancer here... I don't want my comments to turn into a fight about leasing or outfitters or the farmers making or not making money. We have turned a corner and I doubt very much we will go back. Land that was once accessible to my children and grand children is now unattainable. The bottom line is I know how much my life has been enriched through the experiences in the outdoors.There aremany youngmen and women today thatwon't get the opportunity to enjoy a similar fate.Perhaps that experience would keep them out of trouble and may even inspire them to be a more productive citizen, who knows. The question was asked "If you could bring something back from the early days... what would it be?" My answer: When hunting really was a pastime....anda big buck really was just that, nothing more nothing less... |
RE: Jog your memory and then tell me....
ORIGINAL: Antler Eater In the early days a stick and a string was just that. There was some nostalgia to it howeverif you could get by the people thatchuckled silently shaking theirhead when you walked away. They no doubtwondered why you would freeze your butt off trying to bring down a deer such an ancient weapon when a gun would be so much easier. To this day there is something about traditional gear that holds a special place in my heart. I think it has to do with growing up as a kid making your own bows and arrows out of what you could find. Watching the twenty foot flight of those fish tailing arrows was mesmerizing. Then came those new fangle "wheel bows" that were loud, ugly, and inefficient. I recall hitting a buck in the "sweet spot" with one and getting almost zero penetration. There was definitely plenty of room for impovement and with time it came. The modern compound may still be ugly to some but it is an efficient, fast, quiet (subjective to the listener of course) and powerful machine. The proverbial "dragon slayer" of the deer woods if you will. There are plenty more positives I could expound upon. They out weigh the negatives by far; and yes we are living in "the good old days" of deer hunting as we speak. It is the "under belly" of our pastime that troubles me... The monster that has been generated by media involvement may be self consuming. Who grabs their bow and justgoes deer hunting anymore? Why hunt anything but a giant mega-monster, you know the one, that double main beamed triple drop tined twenty point three hundred pound food plot fed thirty year old buck that we have six hundred and eighty two photos of from our one hundred and one scouting cameras placed in precisely the right spot on the lease we own! I am as guilty as anybodywhen it comes to the addiction to a large head gear, but "horn porn" has taken us to new levels of "debotchery" in the hunting industry. Fights both physical and legal over the size of antlers are not an uncommonstory anymore. Hero status and financial gain that can be achieved by either killing a big buck or giving one the chance to is mind boggling for me. We are not curing cancer here... I don't want my comments to turn into a fight about leasing or outfitters or the farmers making or not making money. We have turned a corner and I doubt very much we will go back. Land that was once accessible to my children and grand children is now unattainable. The bottom line is I know how much my life has been enriched through the experiences in the outdoors.There aremany youngmen and women today thatwon't get the opportunity to enjoy a similar fate.Perhaps that experience would keep them out of trouble and may even inspire them to be a more productive citizen, who knows. The question was asked "If you could bring something back from the early days... what would it be?" My answer: When hunting really was a pastime....anda big buck really was just that, nothing more nothing less... Man that was deep:) The question was asked "If you could bring something back from the early days... what would it be?" I would want to hunt with Gramps in his 30's like I am now. Boy would we have fun. When I started there was not the "pressure" of having to kill a deer. Hunting was hunting!! |
RE: Jog your memory and then tell me....
Ah, a typical November morning (long before I ever picked up a bow). I can smell Community coffee brewing in the kitchen. (Best Coffee ever.) I remember getting a bag of groceries together that would become our lunch. Spam, Potted Meat, Sardines, Saltine Crackers, Light Bread, maybe some fruit, some can Cokes. Then I would bundle up with Long Johns (thermals), 3 shirts, 2 pairs of pants and a suit of those old Walls Blizzard-proof dark green insulated coveralls, 2 pairs of socks, and a pair of those green lace-up knee high rubber boots. I would then stuff my pockets with matches and Copenhagen. Go to the dog pen and load up 6 to 8 Walker Hounds. Make sure I had plenty of Buckshot for the shotgun and then me, my brother and Dad were off. We would meet up at a planned spot with the group which consisted usually of my Grandpa Ray, grandpa Herbert, Kent, Ulyss, Dave, Leroy, and maybe a few others. The drive would be planned and the standers dropped off. Freezing my 10 yr old butt off. Frost everywhere. Then you could hear my Dad in the distance whoop to the hounds as the drive started. Not long after, one of the dogs would yelp. Once, twice. Then another would join. Then another, until they were hot on the trail. The race was on and expectations high, as you wondered, "will they run him by me this morning?" Man, those were the days. All but a few of those guys are gone now. Not many even use hounds here anymore since all the timber has become leased. Oh, but just to go back to those simple times for just one season. Man, I miss those days/guys.
Today, from what I see, it is usually all about the horns, with the exception of a few. Do I like the technology? Sure. Do I like the simplicity of the old way. For certain. Will I ever go to a more simple form of hunting. For sure. (Trad) What I hate more than anything is the lack of free places to hunt. When I was growing up, I could hunt almost anywhare I wanted within a 20 mile radius of my home. I miss those days. LT |
RE: Jog your memory and then tell me....
ORIGINAL: LouisianaTomkat Ah, a typical November morning (long before I ever picked up a bow). I can smell Community coffee brewing in the kitchen. (Best Coffee ever.) I remember getting a bag of groceries together that would become our lunch. Spam, Potted Meat, Sardines, Saltine Crackers, Light Bread, maybe some fruit, some can Cokes. Then I would bundle up with Long Johns (thermals), 3 shirts, 2 pairs of pants and a suit of those old Walls Blizzard-proof dark green insulated coveralls, 2 pairs of socks, and a pair of those green lace-up knee high rubber boots. I would then stuff my pockets with matches and Copenhagen. Go to the dog pen and load up 6 to 8 Walker Hounds. Make sure I had plenty of Buckshot for the shotgun and then me, my brother and Dad were off. We would meet up at a planned spot with the group which consisted usually of my Grandpa Ray, grandpa Herbert, Kent, Ulyss, Dave, Leroy, and maybe a few others. The drive would be planned and the standers dropped off. Freezing my 10 yr old butt off. Frost everywhere. Then you could hear my Dad in the distance whoop to the hounds as the drive started. Not long after, one of the dogs would yelp. Once, twice. Then another would join. Then another, until they were hot on the trail. The race was on and expectations high, as you wondered, "will they run him by me this morning?" Man, those were the days. All but a few of those guys are gone now. Not many even use hounds here anymore since all the timber has become leased. Oh, but just to go back to those simple times for just one season. Man, I miss those days/guys. Today, from what I see, it is usually all about the horns, with the exception of a few. Do I like the technology? Sure. Do I like the simplicity of the old way. For certain. Will I ever go to a more simple form of hunting. For sure. (Trad) What I hate more than anything is the lack of free places to hunt. When I was growing up, I could hunt almost anywhare I wanted within a 20 mile radius of my home. I miss those days. LT |
RE: Jog your memory and then tell me....
ORIGINAL: Antler Eater In the early days a stick and a string was just that. There was some nostalgia to it howeverif you could get by the people thatchuckled silently shaking theirhead when you walked away. They no doubtwondered why you would freeze your butt off trying to bring down a deer such an ancient weapon when a gun would be so much easier. To this day there is something about traditional gear that holds a special place in my heart. I think it has to do with growing up as a kid making your own bows and arrows out of what you could find. Watching the twenty foot flight of those fish tailing arrows was mesmerizing. Then came those new fangle "wheel bows" that were loud, ugly, and inefficient. I recall hitting a buck in the "sweet spot" with one and getting almost zero penetration. There was definitely plenty of room for impovement and with time it came. The modern compound may still be ugly to some but it is an efficient, fast, quiet (subjective to the listener of course) and powerful machine. The proverbial "dragon slayer" of the deer woods if you will. There are plenty more positives I could expound upon. They out weigh the negatives by far; and yes we are living in "the good old days" of deer hunting as we speak. It is the "under belly" of our pastime that troubles me... The monster that has been generated by media involvement may be self consuming. Who grabs their bow and justgoes deer hunting anymore? Why hunt anything but a giant mega-monster, you know the one, that double main beamed triple drop tined twenty point three hundred pound food plot fed thirty year old buck that we have six hundred and eighty two photos of from our one hundred and one scouting cameras placed in precisely the right spot on the lease we own! I am as guilty as anybodywhen it comes to the addiction to a large head gear, but "horn porn" has taken us to new levels of "debotchery" in the hunting industry. Fights both physical and legal over the size of antlers are not an uncommonstory anymore. Hero status and financial gain that can be achieved by either killing a big buck or giving one the chance to is mind boggling for me. We are not curing cancer here... I don't want my comments to turn into a fight about leasing or outfitters or the farmers making or not making money. We have turned a corner and I doubt very much we will go back. Land that was once accessible to my children and grand children is now unattainable. The bottom line is I know how much my life has been enriched through the experiences in the outdoors.There aremany youngmen and women today thatwon't get the opportunity to enjoy a similar fate.Perhaps that experience would keep them out of trouble and may even inspire them to be a more productive citizen, who knows. The question was asked "If you could bring something back from the early days... what would it be?" My answer: When hunting really was a pastime....anda big buck really was just that, nothing more nothing less...  |
RE: Jog your memory and then tell me....
ORIGINAL: LouisianaTomkat Ah, a typical November morning (long before I ever picked up a bow). I can smell Community coffee brewing in the kitchen. (Best Coffee ever.) I remember getting a bag of groceries together that would become our lunch. Spam, Potted Meat, Sardines, Saltine Crackers, Light Bread, maybe some fruit, some can Cokes. Then I would bundle up with Long Johns (thermals), 3 shirts, 2 pairs of pants and a suit of those old Walls Blizzard-proof dark green insulated coveralls, 2 pairs of socks, and a pair of those green lace-up knee high rubber boots. I would then stuff my pockets with matches and Copenhagen. Go to the dog pen and load up 6 to 8 Walker Hounds. Make sure I had plenty of Buckshot for the shotgun and then me, my brother and Dad were off. We would meet up at a planned spot with the group which consisted usually of my Grandpa Ray, grandpa Herbert, Kent, Ulyss, Dave, Leroy, and maybe a few others. The drive would be planned and the standers dropped off. Freezing my 10 yr old butt off. Frost everywhere. Then you could hear my Dad in the distance whoop to the hounds as the drive started. Not long after, one of the dogs would yelp. Once, twice. Then another would join. Then another, until they were hot on the trail. The race was on and expectations high, as you wondered, "will they run him by me this morning?" Man, those were the days. All but a few of those guys are gone now. Not many even use hounds here anymore since all the timber has become leased. Oh, but just to go back to those simple times for just one season. Man, I miss those days/guys. Today, from what I see, it is usually all about the horns, with the exception of a few. Do I like the technology? Sure. Do I like the simplicity of the old way. For certain. Will I ever go to a more simple form of hunting. For sure. (Trad) What I hate more than anything is the lack of free places to hunt. When I was growing up, I could hunt almost anywhare I wanted within a 20 mile radius of my home. I miss those days. LT Another great post!!! |
RE: Jog your memory and then tell me....
I love the safety devices. I remember hanging onto a dang limb 12 feet off the ground more than oncethinking I could pull off a shot with my recurve.[&:] I love the bows, straight arrows and some gadgets, like rangefinders. I too think it's gone too far. It's now deer farming and growing to so many and they describe it as the FUTURE of HUNTING. I call it the end of the hunting traditions that started it all. It's become a sport of the rich in many places. People paying $20,000 to say they shot a 175 inch rack of bones. I remember when the meat was important. When they have a TV show dedicated to deer farming and talk about food plots(another name for food lots for cattle) and talk about the same thing week after week. It's just mind boggling to me that people would spend that much time and moneyso they can shoot a big set of horns. It's not hunting as I'd like to see it. Soon if Someone wants to hunt, they'll have to take up roughed grouse or ducks or something like that.
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RE: Jog your memory and then tell me....
Magicman, when you started hunting I had been back from Vietnam a few years where they refered to me as The Old Man. Go figure, me, the old man. LOL I still have one of those phones that's hooked to the cord, it's the only kind that'll work when the power is out. Our cell service sucks here around the house. Cell phone, hell, I remember sending snail mail to tell people I shot a couple partridge.
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RE: Jog your memory and then tell me....
Straight arrows, fast and quiet bows, high tech clothing and equipment all make for some enjoyable times in the woods these days. High deer populations give us the ability to "pass" any number of deer during the season. In the old days, any deer that walked by was going down! Now I pass shots on more than a dozen occasions each season. As someone said earlier though, it would be great to hunt with my grandpa. He would have loved the opportunity to hunt the way we do today.
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