CamoCop

are you considered a hunter if you pay or are invited to a ranch/deer farm where you dress in camo (i don't know why) and are ******ed to an enclosed condo stand where you sit and watch a food plot with a guide. while watching the food plot and numerous bucks, your "guide" tells you which deer to shoot. this depends on how much you paid for the "hunt". if you paid a bunch for a trophy hunt, you are allowed to pick a trophy deer, if you paid the minimum then you are only allowed a management buck (management buck = buck that is less desirable and needed to be shot off the property so the breeding can be done by the trophy bucks).

i guess they where the camo to "feel" like a hunter because being in the enclosed "condo" stand you are not seen by the deer. there is only a 6 to 8 inch window on all 4 sides to stick the rifle out and shoot. is this really hunting? i mean there is no scouting by the proclaimed hunter, all he does is pay and shoot which deer he basically paid for. if this is the only hunting someone does, are they still considered a hunter? i was just wondering this after watching todays "buckmasters" television show.

BJR224

lol...I have been ripping on shows like that for years. No they are not hunters, not in my eyes. I would classify it more as target practice. But who am I to judge...

Rebel Hog

To me hunting is, tracking, finding rubs, finding scrapes, finding funnels, beddingareas, but if it makes anyone feel like hunting out of a box any better, it's thier prerogative andIMO they did not work for it.

CamoCop

i feel the same way Rebel. however, alot of the t.v. hunting shows display what i have described above. is this the message we should be sending to new hunters?

bpjeep

if the only way for those people to go hunting is to pay the high dollars, and if they continue to hunt and spread a good word about hunting, then I say, just let them keep doing it, for its providing those guides jobs, states & wildlife program tax money, and revenue for towns along highways.

JagMagMan

I'm with you Bpjeep! If it supports hunting in general, its OK by me! If they are not wearing a collar, and its not just a total "canned hunt," I'm glad to see them enjoying hunting!
My type of "hunting," is much like RebelHog! I like and do everything from the scouting, to the processing! But, I'll not condemn legal hunting, thats just different from my style, just because its different!

Whether its really "hunting," is a highly speculative, and individual thing!
1. Some of these ranches cover 30,000 or more acres! Thats not exactly "canned hunting!"
2. Some folks don't have the time, orhealth, luxury to do all the things involved in hunting! Some just have the money! But it still benefits HUNTING!
3. Granted, some places are far easier to "hunt," than others! I suspect that many of our own "hunting," places, are easier than what our fore fathers considered "hunting!" After all, most of our hunting is not in life and death situations, with a starving family depending on us!
4. I love game animals! Especially Whitetails, big, or small! B&C, and P&Y do not recognize these "ranch" animals in their record books, so our trophy books are safe from "bought deer!"
5. A trophy IS, what a trophy IS TO YOU! Yes, there are record book standards! But for most of us, a trohpy is "an above average buck for your area," to some its even a freezer full of meat!
So what if someone has the money to travel a thousand miles to shoot a 180+ class buck! Good for them!

salty

How do you know they didn't put the time into tracking, finding rubs/scrapes, looking for funnels and bed areas.. searching for acorns or another food source and then quitely built a free standing 4x8 enclosed stand while the deer was at the mall, ran an extension cord with a heater out and waited for the buck of a lifetime to come by at exactly 4:08pm every day according to the "guide"..

just kidding..

I think they are complete canned hunts and the people that choose to attend these are nothing more than professional poachers

Ifly

Bout one step above Putt Putt Golf.

AP deer hunter

LOL Ifly. No I don't think so. It is legal but I don't think it is really hunting. There is to much missing to really enjoy it like someone who does all the work themselves.

bigcountry

Hunting is arelative thing. We sure can't push our personal definition on someone else and say its fact. Bottom line, your looking for something in particular to kill. Its really that easy. Some feel hunting is getting a bunch of guys in a line pushing deer, others think its sitting in the same ole hedgerow every year, others like to still hunt on new ground, some use dogs to hunt animals. Some don't consider even using a gun really hunting. I know myself, I killed almost all deer this year with a bow, but wouldnt agree with the statement that gun users ain't hunters. I mean this could go on and on. And describe what I see alot on here do including people posting in this post. And many could have an argument on why I don't consider it hunting whether it be right or wrong.

I myself, wouldn't enjoy hunts like you describe. And sure wouldn't rake out that kinda cash. But am going to Alberta next year.Why? To do something different. Get out and see some new terrain. Maybe kill me a big ole deer.Maybe not. Experience some new things in life and hopefully eat some good food.Some folks I notice are scared to try something like that. They likethier littlerut of doing the same thing every year. Sure I would love it if I lived in a place like that and would be able to hunt it like I do around my house. Scout it and plan it and all. Just don't work out that way. So you take from it what you can. Your gettingoff the couch, your looking over some beutiful forests and hopefully seeing some beutiful game.

I went to Newfoundland 3 years ago. It was 1 on 1 guided. I saw some wonderful land. Eaten some good food. met some different types of people, and shot some moose. Sure, afterwards I had this feeling like, I wish I could have stalked it on my own. But it just wasn't possible.