Are we losing sight?
06-26-2009, 06:54 AM
#31
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,262
RE: Are we losing sight?
I couldn't disagree more.I started hunting in 1980.Back then,you were allowed one deer.If you were a bowhunter and you killed a deer,you were done.If you were a flintlock hunter,you had to hunt ion SGL's.I never saw a bear all through the 80's and saw few turkeys.There were deer and while I neverhad a problem killing one,it was rare to see one bigger than a basket rack 6 point.
Let's see.Today,I have thousands and thousands of acres of public ground to hunt,with relatively little pressure.Over the past 7 years,I've been on hand when well over a dozen bears have been harvested.I've killed a gobbler ever year except this past spring since about 1993 as well as a bunch of fall birds.Every year I kill multiple deer on public landand get to pursuethem from the first week of october until January,including the rut.I've killed a buck every year since I was 12 except one but I haven't killed a 1.5 year old buck in about 10 years.
Yep it sure does suck.I guess it's all just a matter of perspective.
Let's see.Today,I have thousands and thousands of acres of public ground to hunt,with relatively little pressure.Over the past 7 years,I've been on hand when well over a dozen bears have been harvested.I've killed a gobbler ever year except this past spring since about 1993 as well as a bunch of fall birds.Every year I kill multiple deer on public landand get to pursuethem from the first week of october until January,including the rut.I've killed a buck every year since I was 12 except one but I haven't killed a 1.5 year old buck in about 10 years.
Yep it sure does suck.I guess it's all just a matter of perspective.
06-26-2009, 06:58 AM
#32
Typical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: 2G Gaines Pa
Posts: 524
RE: Are we losing sight?
MPH PA., For me the kill has always been very very important.
I spend all year in the woods, Feb thru April enjoying shed hunting every bit as much as hunting, From May thru Sept, I enjoy using my trail cams as much as hunting, from mid July thru Sept I enjoy sitting in my stands hunting deer with my bino's and video camera just as much as deer hunting, but from about the 3rd week in Sept thru the end of Jan. its all about the kill. I can enjoy everything else about hunting, nature ect. the other 9 months of the year. But the one thing I do not under stand is that I read on this site and others all the time about the kill isnt that important, but I rarely see any one else sitting in stands, glassing deer, shed hunting, and just taking walks thu the deer woods the other 9 months of the year. If they truely did enjoy all the other aspects of deer hunting as much or even more than the kill then you would think the same guys I see everywhere in the deer woods during the deer seasons, I would also run into in the woods the other 9 months of the year. Pike
I spend all year in the woods, Feb thru April enjoying shed hunting every bit as much as hunting, From May thru Sept, I enjoy using my trail cams as much as hunting, from mid July thru Sept I enjoy sitting in my stands hunting deer with my bino's and video camera just as much as deer hunting, but from about the 3rd week in Sept thru the end of Jan. its all about the kill. I can enjoy everything else about hunting, nature ect. the other 9 months of the year. But the one thing I do not under stand is that I read on this site and others all the time about the kill isnt that important, but I rarely see any one else sitting in stands, glassing deer, shed hunting, and just taking walks thu the deer woods the other 9 months of the year. If they truely did enjoy all the other aspects of deer hunting as much or even more than the kill then you would think the same guys I see everywhere in the deer woods during the deer seasons, I would also run into in the woods the other 9 months of the year. Pike
But anyway, I buy a tag to fill it. I don't buy a tag to take a walk in the woods. I don't buy a tag to go to deer camp. I don't buy a tag to make memories or pictures. I buy a tag to kill.
I spend a year from the close of one season to the opening of the next getting ready to fill my tag. It's not a 3 day adventure to the mountains. It's not about sharing a campfire with Uncle Jeb. It's not about putting pictures on the wall. The only memories that I retain are the memories that are etched in my mind between the animal that I harvest and me. It's all about a way of life thatculminates into a filled tag. An unfilled tag represents failure to me. And that ain't good.
I know and understand where the original poster is coming from. That's a cool thingwith me. I've been there to.
06-26-2009, 07:15 AM
#33
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: PA
Posts: 8,167
RE: Are we losing sight?
ORIGINAL: ManySpurs
Pike just about summed it up for me. I tried 3 times yesterday to post to this topic, and hit the wall each time when the board wouldn't take my post. I gave up.
But anyway, I buy a tag to fill it. I don't buy a tag to take a walk in the woods. I don't buy a tag to go to deer camp. I don't buy a tag to make memories or pictures. I buy a tag to kill.
I spend a year from the close of one season to the opening of the next getting ready to fill my tag. It's not a 3 day adventure to the mountains. It's not about sharing a campfire with Uncle Jeb. It's not about putting pictures on the wall. The only memories that I retain are the memories that are etched in my mind between the animal that I harvest and me. It's all about a way of life thatculminates into a filled tag. An unfilled tag represents failure to me. And that ain't good.
I know and understand where the original poster is coming from. That's a cool thingwith me. I've been there to.
MPH PA., For me the kill has always been very very important.
I spend all year in the woods, Feb thru April enjoying shed hunting every bit as much as hunting, From May thru Sept, I enjoy using my trail cams as much as hunting, from mid July thru Sept I enjoy sitting in my stands hunting deer with my bino's and video camera just as much as deer hunting, but from about the 3rd week in Sept thru the end of Jan. its all about the kill. I can enjoy everything else about hunting, nature ect. the other 9 months of the year. But the one thing I do not under stand is that I read on this site and others all the time about the kill isnt that important, but I rarely see any one else sitting in stands, glassing deer, shed hunting, and just taking walks thu the deer woods the other 9 months of the year. If they truely did enjoy all the other aspects of deer hunting as much or even more than the kill then you would think the same guys I see everywhere in the deer woods during the deer seasons, I would also run into in the woods the other 9 months of the year. Pike
I spend all year in the woods, Feb thru April enjoying shed hunting every bit as much as hunting, From May thru Sept, I enjoy using my trail cams as much as hunting, from mid July thru Sept I enjoy sitting in my stands hunting deer with my bino's and video camera just as much as deer hunting, but from about the 3rd week in Sept thru the end of Jan. its all about the kill. I can enjoy everything else about hunting, nature ect. the other 9 months of the year. But the one thing I do not under stand is that I read on this site and others all the time about the kill isnt that important, but I rarely see any one else sitting in stands, glassing deer, shed hunting, and just taking walks thu the deer woods the other 9 months of the year. If they truely did enjoy all the other aspects of deer hunting as much or even more than the kill then you would think the same guys I see everywhere in the deer woods during the deer seasons, I would also run into in the woods the other 9 months of the year. Pike
But anyway, I buy a tag to fill it. I don't buy a tag to take a walk in the woods. I don't buy a tag to go to deer camp. I don't buy a tag to make memories or pictures. I buy a tag to kill.
I spend a year from the close of one season to the opening of the next getting ready to fill my tag. It's not a 3 day adventure to the mountains. It's not about sharing a campfire with Uncle Jeb. It's not about putting pictures on the wall. The only memories that I retain are the memories that are etched in my mind between the animal that I harvest and me. It's all about a way of life thatculminates into a filled tag. An unfilled tag represents failure to me. And that ain't good.
I know and understand where the original poster is coming from. That's a cool thingwith me. I've been there to.
I've never given a second thought about giving up my hunting time to help another.The look in a kids eyes as you show him how to gut a deer is priceless Or to help a fellow hunter drag a deer to their truck in deep snow is a pleasure to me.
The discipline to pass on a buck thats heading to a youngster is something I take pride in. With the me, me, mentality of today I can see why many of you find hunting today so disappointing.
06-26-2009, 07:22 AM
#34
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location:
Posts: 2,621
RE: Are we losing sight?
ORIGINAL: fellas2
MGH PA , your original post says a lot about what the essence of hunting is all about and why so many people have enjoyed it for so long.It is a shame that you are not old enough to experience what "deer camp" was like in the big woods years ago like I am because it was something you looked forward to it from the day after the season closed the previous year.That being said,I have seen all of the change that has occured since then and the majority has not been good.For you younger guys,it is possible for you enjoy and be overwhelmed by the sucess of today not knowing what you have missed by 2 or 3 decades.I like to use the analogy of some one who has only eaten hot dogs ,even though they're great they don't really know what they're missing until they eat a piece of good prime rib.If you don't have a good camparison,it's hard to judge what you have.Guys that come on this forum and paint some rosey picture of the PGC,it's policies,and the state of hunting today are only playing the part of the ostrich and will never admit to the decline of was once a proud tradition for many generations in this state.Those who come on here and brag about not "needing" to kill a deer to enjoy hunting are often the same guys who promote AR in the hopes of hanging a bigger set of horns on the wall.If walking in the woods was that enjoyable,they wouldn't buy a license,wouldn't carry a gun,and would stay out of the woods during the season and do their walking other times of the year.After all,it's called hunting for a reason and even though a good day afield doesn't always mean coming home with game,it sure makes the experience a whole lot more enjoyable.It's hard to get excited today about the state of affairs when you look at the license increases,bag limit changes,lack of public land available,overwheliming amount of posted property,lack of game,rules and regulations that change from year to year,and the general attitude of some of our PGS's finest.Couple that with the state of the economy,lack of courtesy and consideration of a few,greed of others and a general feeling apathy and negativity it's not hard want to lash out when things aren't going well.I still love hunting,it's still my favorite pastime,but like many others I miss the days when you could sit on your back porch and hear bobwhite quail calling to each other.I miss the days when a trip afield with a good dog would produce dozens of "wild " pheasants,hours of listening to the howl of a beagle hot on the trail of a rabbit and never running into another hunter or a disgruntled landowner or posted property signs.There are less licensed hunters today than back then so please don't tell me it's not possible again.Somewhere along the line many hunters,landowners,and PGC have lost their focus on the real issues and have let the voices of groups like Peta,Audobon Society,and other tree hugging consevationist groups dictate policy and proceedures.Maybe,just maybe it's time to take hard look at how things were and try to return to times back then when life was cheaper, simpler,and more enjoyable.
MGH PA , your original post says a lot about what the essence of hunting is all about and why so many people have enjoyed it for so long.It is a shame that you are not old enough to experience what "deer camp" was like in the big woods years ago like I am because it was something you looked forward to it from the day after the season closed the previous year.That being said,I have seen all of the change that has occured since then and the majority has not been good.For you younger guys,it is possible for you enjoy and be overwhelmed by the sucess of today not knowing what you have missed by 2 or 3 decades.I like to use the analogy of some one who has only eaten hot dogs ,even though they're great they don't really know what they're missing until they eat a piece of good prime rib.If you don't have a good camparison,it's hard to judge what you have.Guys that come on this forum and paint some rosey picture of the PGC,it's policies,and the state of hunting today are only playing the part of the ostrich and will never admit to the decline of was once a proud tradition for many generations in this state.Those who come on here and brag about not "needing" to kill a deer to enjoy hunting are often the same guys who promote AR in the hopes of hanging a bigger set of horns on the wall.If walking in the woods was that enjoyable,they wouldn't buy a license,wouldn't carry a gun,and would stay out of the woods during the season and do their walking other times of the year.After all,it's called hunting for a reason and even though a good day afield doesn't always mean coming home with game,it sure makes the experience a whole lot more enjoyable.It's hard to get excited today about the state of affairs when you look at the license increases,bag limit changes,lack of public land available,overwheliming amount of posted property,lack of game,rules and regulations that change from year to year,and the general attitude of some of our PGS's finest.Couple that with the state of the economy,lack of courtesy and consideration of a few,greed of others and a general feeling apathy and negativity it's not hard want to lash out when things aren't going well.I still love hunting,it's still my favorite pastime,but like many others I miss the days when you could sit on your back porch and hear bobwhite quail calling to each other.I miss the days when a trip afield with a good dog would produce dozens of "wild " pheasants,hours of listening to the howl of a beagle hot on the trail of a rabbit and never running into another hunter or a disgruntled landowner or posted property signs.There are less licensed hunters today than back then so please don't tell me it's not possible again.Somewhere along the line many hunters,landowners,and PGC have lost their focus on the real issues and have let the voices of groups like Peta,Audobon Society,and other tree hugging consevationist groups dictate policy and proceedures.Maybe,just maybe it's time to take hard look at how things were and try to return to times back then when life was cheaper, simpler,and more enjoyable.
WOW! I think you just put into words, what many of us feel when comparing past to present.
Very good post!
All I ca say is, MGH, I wish you were around to see the way it use to be.
Rabbit hunting, pheasant hunting and deer hunting has changed so much.
I'm as guilty as anyone when it came to harvesting does. I guess I thought hunting would always be like it was then. Boy, was I wrong.
06-26-2009, 07:34 AM
#35
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location:
Posts: 2,621
RE: Are we losing sight?
ORIGINAL: bawanajim
Thank God I was brought up so much more differently. Don't get me wrong I love to fill my tags and usually do, but hunting is so much more to me.
I've never given a second thought about giving up my hunting time to help another.The look in a kids eyes as you show him how to gut a deer is priceless Or to help a fellow hunter drag a deer to their truck in deep snow is a pleasure to me.
The discipline to pass on a buck thats heading to a youngster is something I take pride in. With the me, me, mentality of today I can see why many of you find hunting today so disappointing.
ORIGINAL: ManySpurs
Pike just about summed it up for me. I tried 3 times yesterday to post to this topic, and hit the wall each time when the board wouldn't take my post. I gave up.
But anyway, I buy a tag to fill it. I don't buy a tag to take a walk in the woods. I don't buy a tag to go to deer camp. I don't buy a tag to make memories or pictures. I buy a tag to kill.
I spend a year from the close of one season to the opening of the next getting ready to fill my tag. It's not a 3 day adventure to the mountains. It's not about sharing a campfire with Uncle Jeb. It's not about putting pictures on the wall. The only memories that I retain are the memories that are etched in my mind between the animal that I harvest and me. It's all about a way of life thatculminates into a filled tag. An unfilled tag represents failure to me. And that ain't good.
I know and understand where the original poster is coming from. That's a cool thingwith me. I've been there to.
MPH PA., For me the kill has always been very very important.
I spend all year in the woods, Feb thru April enjoying shed hunting every bit as much as hunting, From May thru Sept, I enjoy using my trail cams as much as hunting, from mid July thru Sept I enjoy sitting in my stands hunting deer with my bino's and video camera just as much as deer hunting, but from about the 3rd week in Sept thru the end of Jan. its all about the kill. I can enjoy everything else about hunting, nature ect. the other 9 months of the year. But the one thing I do not under stand is that I read on this site and others all the time about the kill isnt that important, but I rarely see any one else sitting in stands, glassing deer, shed hunting, and just taking walks thu the deer woods the other 9 months of the year. If they truely did enjoy all the other aspects of deer hunting as much or even more than the kill then you would think the same guys I see everywhere in the deer woods during the deer seasons, I would also run into in the woods the other 9 months of the year. Pike
I spend all year in the woods, Feb thru April enjoying shed hunting every bit as much as hunting, From May thru Sept, I enjoy using my trail cams as much as hunting, from mid July thru Sept I enjoy sitting in my stands hunting deer with my bino's and video camera just as much as deer hunting, but from about the 3rd week in Sept thru the end of Jan. its all about the kill. I can enjoy everything else about hunting, nature ect. the other 9 months of the year. But the one thing I do not under stand is that I read on this site and others all the time about the kill isnt that important, but I rarely see any one else sitting in stands, glassing deer, shed hunting, and just taking walks thu the deer woods the other 9 months of the year. If they truely did enjoy all the other aspects of deer hunting as much or even more than the kill then you would think the same guys I see everywhere in the deer woods during the deer seasons, I would also run into in the woods the other 9 months of the year. Pike
But anyway, I buy a tag to fill it. I don't buy a tag to take a walk in the woods. I don't buy a tag to go to deer camp. I don't buy a tag to make memories or pictures. I buy a tag to kill.
I spend a year from the close of one season to the opening of the next getting ready to fill my tag. It's not a 3 day adventure to the mountains. It's not about sharing a campfire with Uncle Jeb. It's not about putting pictures on the wall. The only memories that I retain are the memories that are etched in my mind between the animal that I harvest and me. It's all about a way of life thatculminates into a filled tag. An unfilled tag represents failure to me. And that ain't good.
I know and understand where the original poster is coming from. That's a cool thingwith me. I've been there to.
I've never given a second thought about giving up my hunting time to help another.The look in a kids eyes as you show him how to gut a deer is priceless Or to help a fellow hunter drag a deer to their truck in deep snow is a pleasure to me.
The discipline to pass on a buck thats heading to a youngster is something I take pride in. With the me, me, mentality of today I can see why many of you find hunting today so disappointing.
You do realize, you can still have all of that, even if you never bought another hunting license.
Why not quit hunting and take up bird watching?
WHY? Because it really is about the kill isn't it.
I hate to sound so cold, but that's the truth or you would have given up long ago. You can still enjoy the camp atmosphere without buying a license. Just go along and be Camp Cook.
Take the bino's out and just watch deer on the first day. Guide a youth hunter. Don't pay for a license if you just enjoy everything that surrounds hunting and not the kill.
So many of you keep harping its not about the kill that makes a good hunt. If that were true, why buy a license. You can do all the things you like for free.
If you feel that by buying a license it is your good deed to support the PGC, then buy it and leave the bow or gun at home.
Better yet, sell your weapons and donate the moneyto the PGC.
You can still enjoy all that you like about hunting and never fire a shot, ever.
06-26-2009, 07:38 AM
#36
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 175
RE: Are we losing sight?
DougE, you're entitled to your opinion just like anyone else.Come down here to 2A or 2B and killing a turkey is about as difficult as going to WalMart and buying one.They're more of a nuisance than anything around here.It was a lot more challenging when there was less of them and they were limited to the northern counties.I would have no problem going back to the 1 deer a year system since I pretty much gave up killing multiple deer years ago,partly because the numbers plumeted over the last decade.I too have killed a buck every year but a few,but once again you go back to the reason I think the situation has become what it has,antler size ! Instead of focusing on the quality of the hunt,too many today focus strictly on the size of the horns they're carrying.Don't get me wrong,I think every hunter out there would like to kill that 150 B&C, but too many hunters define their sucess by those standards and thats a shame.
06-26-2009, 07:49 AM
#37
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: PA
Posts: 8,167
RE: Are we losing sight?
ORIGINAL: Windwalker7
You do realize, you can still have all of that, even if you never bought another hunting license.
Why not quit hunting and take up bird watching?
WHY? Because it really is about the kill isn't it.
I hate to sound so cold, but that's the truth or you would have given up long ago. You can still enjoy the camp atmosphere without buying a license. Just go along and be Camp Cook.
Take the bino's out and just watch deer on the first day. Guide a youth hunter. Don't pay for a license if you just enjoy everything that surrounds hunting and not the kill.
So many of you keep harping its not about the kill that makes a good hunt. If that were true, why buy a license. You can do all the things you like for free.
If you feel that by buying a license it is your good deed to support the PGC, then buy it and leave the bow or gun at home.
Better yet, sell your weapons and donate the moneyto the PGC.
You can still enjoy all that you like about hunting and never fire a shot, ever.
You do realize, you can still have all of that, even if you never bought another hunting license.
Why not quit hunting and take up bird watching?
WHY? Because it really is about the kill isn't it.
I hate to sound so cold, but that's the truth or you would have given up long ago. You can still enjoy the camp atmosphere without buying a license. Just go along and be Camp Cook.
Take the bino's out and just watch deer on the first day. Guide a youth hunter. Don't pay for a license if you just enjoy everything that surrounds hunting and not the kill.
So many of you keep harping its not about the kill that makes a good hunt. If that were true, why buy a license. You can do all the things you like for free.
If you feel that by buying a license it is your good deed to support the PGC, then buy it and leave the bow or gun at home.
Better yet, sell your weapons and donate the moneyto the PGC.
You can still enjoy all that you like about hunting and never fire a shot, ever.
I haven't figured out why those of you that have such a miserable time hunting continue to do so. Why not take up golf? You are guaranteed to see 18 holes every time your out.
06-26-2009, 09:01 AM
#38
Typical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: 2G Gaines Pa
Posts: 524
RE: Are we losing sight?
Thank God I was brought up so much more differently. Don't get me wrong I love to fill my tags and usually do, but hunting is so much more to me.
I've never given a second thought about giving up my hunting time to help another.The look in a kids eyes as you show him how to gut a deer is priceless Or to help a fellow hunter drag a deer to their truck in deep snow is a pleasure to me.
The discipline to pass on a buck thats heading to a youngster is something I take pride in. With the me, me, mentality of today I can see why many of you find hunting today so disappointing.
The discipline to pass on a buck thats heading to a youngster is something I take pride in. With the me, me, mentality of today I can see why many of you find hunting today so disappointing.
06-26-2009, 09:12 AM
#40
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: PA
Posts: 8,167
RE: Are we losing sight?
ORIGINAL: ManySpurs
Hasn't got a damned thing to do with the way I was brought up. I was raised by a non-hunting family.[:'(]
Thank God I was brought up so much more differently. Don't get me wrong I love to fill my tags and usually do, but hunting is so much more to me.
I was enjoying time in the woods with others long before I was old enough to hunt. In my preteen years I hadn't yet become the cold blooded killer you claim to be.