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What group of hunters would you fall under?

I think this description of hunters is right in the money. This was written by Stephen Trupe. He is a wildlife biologist, hunter and past president and director of the Pa. Deer Association.

"For the purpose of this discussion I’m going to identify 4 very broad factions of sportsmen based on their opinions on how our deer should be managed. Based upon my experience, I believe that the deer hunters in PA are roughly equally divided among these factions.

A DEER BEHIND EVERY TREE. These are mostly older hunters who experienced the strong revival of our deer herd through the 1940’s and ‘50’s; the overpopulation of the 60’s and ‘70’s and the "decline" of the last 2 decades. They want deer herds back to the levels of the forested regions in the late 1960’s with little regard for forest regeneration, crop damage, affect on non-game species, or the health of the deer herd itself. Of course, any predator that competes with them for the deer resource should be eliminated. They pay the bills (through hunting licenses) and they want to see lot’s of deer. This group is very steadfast in their opinions, won’t listen to facts or reason and will be nearly impossible to sway. It is also probably the most vocal faction.

SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT IS OK, BUT NOT WHERE I HUNT OR LIVE. Many of these hunters have strong economic or emotional ties to the Big Woods areas of the state. They own recreational property or their livelihood depends upon hunters and eco-tourists. They’ve experienced the deer herd fluctuations of the past four decades. Deep down inside, they may know that Scientific, habitat based deer management is right, but they don’t want to believe it, or allow it to affect them. This group may support protection of biodiversity in certain special areas, but it will take a strong "show and tell" effort to sway them to accept it where they live and /or play.

SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION OF BIODIVERSITY ARE THE RIGHT THING TO DO (AS LONG AS THEY DON’T AFFECT MY HUNTING). These are our present generation of hunters, those who did not experience deer hunting in big woods in the 1960’s or ‘70’s. They began hunting after the Game Commission began to get better control of the deer herd. They are a bit more environmentally aware and educated. They don’t expect to see 50 or more deer every time they go out, but still want to know that there are plenty around. Overall, they believe in the Game Commission’s deer management plan but get skeptical if they don’t see as many deer as they think they should -or would like to see. One of their biggest concerns is that under the current "County management unit plan" there is an over harvest of deer on public land and an under harvest on private land, and the problem gets compounded annually when more antlerless licenses are issued to address the overpopulation on private land, and end up being used on public land. This group knows that Scientific, habitat-based deer management and protection of Biodiversity are the right things to do, but they are not quite ready to jump in, in full support of it. They may be skeptical of the deer management goal numbers, or of some aspect of the overall management plan. This is the least vocal of all the factions. Publicly, they tend to accept things as they are; they don’t complain much, nor do they come out in numbers to support their stand. A good educational and PR effort could turn many of these hunters into strong supporters and members of the fourth group....

THE ENLIGHTENED DEER HUNTER. These folks have experienced and hunted well managed deer herds, possibly in other States or on intensely managed private land here in PA. They are very knowledgeable about deer, their biology and habits. They know that a healthy deer herd, in a healthy habitat is the best possible scenario for all concerned - hunters, non-hunters and environmentalists. Many support Quality Deer Management and more are joining that movement as they learn about it. They will support the protection of Biodiversity. They are quite vocal, but unfortunately, probably less numerous than the other factions."