Voodoo

I'm not talking about history, or really even the equipment, but something has come up that I would like to talk about a little bit...
I shoot winter "spot", although they aren't spots, they're paper animals with the spot target super-imposed on them, andI have shot with these same 30 fellas for three years now, last Monday was the first night.....and the two prevailing topics were Who shot the biggest deer followed by who shot the most, and this talk went on the whole shoot, even included pictures, well I have no problem with someone shooting a big deer, but this seemed to be the primaryfocus of nearly everyone there, they all were talking on how Indiana surpassed the other states in big deer this year,and about how good it was for the hunters here and how they would like to shout it from the rooftops so everyone would know, well I brought up Illinois, Kansas, Iowa and how good it has been for them, siting increased leasing,decreased hunting opportunities,increased license costs and the influx of out of state hunters and the effects that can happen because of it............ instant silence......glaring looks..... and cold shoulders, and then the topic changed to who shot the most... well, I found this even more sickning, these same fellas.. Good fellas for the most part, who couldn't shoot the biggest, now focused on shooting the most.. one fella shot 5 kept only the backstraps and gave the rest away, another shot 8, kept one and gave the rest away too.. now I do have a problem with that. I was always taught"eat what you shoot, and if you don't want to eat it don't shoot" ....I guess I'm old school, but what ever happened to these values? I have noticed them more prevalent in the trad community, but it seems these compound fellas beat to a different drummer, bigger is better, more is great, and my 3 year old bow is out dated, I need a new one.....with all new trimmings...... Is this what bowhunting has come to? Horn porn and waste?

And before anyone accuses me of being a compound hater,.. I'm not, I have 2, and I shot compounds for 25 years...... but never because I wanted bigger or more deer than we need, it was a tool to feed my family...Steve

Kanga

IMHO unfortunately yes

I lay the blame wholely and soley on the TV hunting shows.
If you don't kill a big buck then your not a hunter mentallity of the shows.

I gave up watching them years ago.

But it seemsunless you tag a big buck you don't have a pair. Me I would much rather hunt the matriarc (sp) doe of the herd as she would have to be the toughest deer of all to hunt, as the herd safety, food, water and to some extent bedding area falls directly on her shoulders.

As for me, well antlers take too long to cook are tougher then old boot leather and taste like crap

Pydpiper

I shoot a compound, was pretty sure it too was a bow until I read the definition in the last thread.
My compound has a grip as well as a trigger. Pretty sure I'm not the only guy who uses a release. Here is the trigger for my compound, very standard stuff, looks nicer than a lot of rifle triggers.
What do we debate next? What color an arrow flinging devicehas to be before it is considered a bow?

stealthycat II

very valid points on the opening post


I'll tell you this and be warned, its NOT going to be popular but its true - put down the compound, shoot a real bow and what defines "trophy" to you WILL change. it will no longer be measured in inches and it will redefine for each person what bowhunting is suppose to be

compounds have, IMO, destroyed what bowhunting is and with that destructions comes horn porn, lack of ethics and slob hunters

I am so, SO sick of threads on "is he old enough to shoot yet" or "is this buck big enough" ........ thats a mentality that shouldn't exist, and its generated because anyone can pick up a compound at 10 am and shoot it well enough by 10:30am to go hunting - that easy and all the easy that comes with compounds has degraded the quality of hunters in the bowhunting ranks.


Hows that for food for thought ?

burniegoeasily

As long as the meat is getting used, I dont let it bother me. But im the same way you are, shoot whatyou are going to eat. Your gripe is one of my biggest grips agianst trophy hunting (that is when the meat is not donated to a good cause). I know of guys who will shoot a buck, cut off the head, then leave the body. I got in a heated conversation once with a guy bragging about doing this. He said, "who wants a nasty buck to eat". That really pissed me off. I have found deer on my land that have been killed, and their heads cut off and nothing else. It would make the poaching a little less angering if they had at leasted claimed the animal. Not that the act of poaching on my land is tolerated, it just makes it that much worse whenyou find a dead animal with just its head or antlers cut off.[:@]

bowman15

I think that if it weren't for compounds, archery hunting wouldn't haveNEAR the following it has today.No matter how much you dislike compounds as a hunting tool, that's the truth of it. Man, no matter what country he lives in, wants everything faster and easier. Don't forget, hunting wasn't always considered a 'sport'; it was a way for most people to get the meat they ate. Now, with grocery stores and slaughter houses, hunting isn't as neccessary to get your meat as it used to be. And bowhunting was one of the hardest ways to get your meat. That's why alot of people didn't do it. They just used a rifle.

I can understand where you guys are coming from,being strong advocates foryour weapon of choice for hunting, and I agree with alot of your opinions on trophy hunting. I don't care for it much myself. But I wouldn't put down compound users as a whole. I can assure you, most of us don't care what sex the deer is, or how big the racks are on the bucks. Look at all the posts made here in a typical season. There's just as many pics of small bucks and does as there are of big bucks posted.

I know some of you are going to start flaming me for something I wrote, although I can't really see what it would be, so have at it. I'm just giving my .02.

And BTW, I have 9 bows, including 2 longbows and 2 recurves. I do hunt with the compound more, because I have more faith in myself making a good shot with it. I think I owe it to the animal to make as good a shot on it as I can. And that's why most compound users use a compound; it's easier to be accurate with it and make a lethal hit with one.

BowHuntingFool

Bowman, I'll start the flaming......... j/k.... but personally I don't consider hunting a sport, some do that's fine I guess for them, but I don't! This is a way I fill my freezer full of meat to eat the rest of the year! I love archery, love shooting my bows and love hunting with every weapon that's legal for me to use!

stealthycat II

traditional archery is doing it slower and harder - the whole concept of ARCHERY from Fred Bear's time and earlier when the very first lobby's for a seperate archery season were being cast ..... the whole thing revolved around we do it harder, a path less chosen, thus the extended seasons with minimal impact on game.

so no, bowhunting isn't faster and easier - compound hunting is

bigcountry

You and me are in complete agreement on this post. If someone comes up to me asks me to shoot them a deer, I will generally go into my own personal cut and give them meat. But there is a big difference in that, and these guys I see struggleing to find folks to give away a deer they shot and didn't want.

My view on this, if you need a deer, go hunting. Right now, I want to hunt some more. But I have killed 5 deer this year, freezer is full, so thats the way it goes.

burniegoeasily

I still have a compound and like shooting it. I hunt most of the time with tradbows, but a compound is a good thing to have. Ive had to use mine several times. Ive broke fingers as well as cut off fingers, which did not allow me to use a trad bow, but was still able to hunt with my compound. I kind of look at a compound the same way I look at a sport car. They are fun to use, like a sport car is fun to drive. Not much of a challenge driving fast with a sport car, kind of like its not much of a challenge to shoot a compound. But both are still fun.