buckhunter14

They are the ones losing. Think about it. We learn more and more every hunt. They learn how to talk on t.v. We get more experience out of each hunt, they get 1,000 $$ bills handed to them. We get the essence of being in the trute out doors. They get fences.

I pay 15$ and get to shoot whatever the heck kind of deer I want. Sure, I would love to shoot a buck going 175+, but it will probably never happen. That isn't going to stop me from trying my hardest.

I would rather shoot a puny spike horn in the wild, that attempt to shoot a 200+ in a fence. I bet you they don't even get nervous when the bucks walk up to them because they know another is around the fence.

Right?

isatarak

Conversation in a box stand:

Hunter: That's a big buck, can I shoot him?

Guide: That one will cost you 5 grand.

Hunter: Wow, there's another, and he's even bigger, can I shoot him?

Guide: That one will be 10 grand.

Hunter: What about that one? He's not quite so big.

Guide: You can't shoot him, he'll be 20 grand next year.

Hunter: Oh. Wow, look at that monster! I've got to have that one!!!

Guide: 25 grand.

Hunter: Just a sec, I need to call my banker.

Hunter: Ok, bye. BOOM!! Did you get that on film!!?? What a deer!! What a hunt!!!

octhunter2

If somebody wants to burn their money on a deer like that its their business. But me personally I dont see why anybody would pay those prices.It seems that hunting deer has become a fortune 500 business.

Cleetus

I currently have the Outdoor Channel and like to watch the deer hunting shows to get me fired up, but lately I have been skipping them. Everyone has a hunting show, everyone is trying to get you to buy their product and every one of these shows hunt on a ranch.

When I started hunting we didn't have scent control (other than home made stuff), we didn't have but maybe a grunt call and we sat in stands that were not the most comfortable things in the world. We still hunted all day, saw deer and filled out tags. I do like the No scent srays and laundry detergent and the bows today are like shooting a gun, but all the other stuff that is on the market is money making stuff.

What ever happend to it being about spending time in the woods, enjoying nature, putting meet in the freezer and that personnel satisfaction of bagging that big boy you have been seeing all summer? I teach my boy that hunting is just that, hunting. You don't put up a 15ft fence to keep the deer in an area, you don't set up a blind or stand 30 feet away from a pile of corn or feed. You scout the area, see were the deer are moving and set up.

My opinion, not saying I am right and anyone else is wrong, but hunting has become a market like the NBA or NFL. I think Fred Bear would be upset with what it has become.

I am talking about on TV, not what we as hunters make it out to be!! PLEASE don't think I am saying all hunters are about paying two grand to go hunt a ranch. I know most of you all work hard to find your deer and take your game with much pride.

octhunter2

DIDO!

cnhntr

don't even get me started on this one boys

kevin1

Why not just go to the nearest farm and offer the farmer $1,000 to shoot one of his cattle ? The experience would be the same , and the meat yield would be so much higher ...







!@#$%^& pic n' shoots ! [:@]

AJ52

I don't agree with all that I see on the tube or the methods - But -

That's what makes this country what it is - Free to have some choice.

Some guys can't take 1-2 weeks off to hunt but they have lots of $$$$
They have no land to hunt - sooo they fly into places like S.Texas and hunt a ranch for 2-3 days - So What.

What's the differance in ranch hunting or leasing a large farm for tens of thousands of $$ - or - maybe paying local land owner/farmer few hundred bucks to shoot 1 deer over AG crops.

There are alot of hunting opportunities out there.We have hunters around here that fly in from all over the east coast.They pay big bucks to a giude and can barely load or fire there own weapon. Some of the stories are hilarious.

It all fuels the local economy - creates jobs - and its legal!

I can remember not to long ago that you would never see any of these hunting shows on the Boob - Toob. Hunters should feel lucky that we can watch these hunting shows irregardless that we agree with the methods as long as its legal.These shows for the most part help promote hunting for a future generation simply by its shere exposure.

Alsatian

Good thread. Since everyone is getting on their soapbox and decrying the decadent situation of deer hunting, let me join in too with my own lament. I think that trophy hunting is to blame for these issues we are complaining about. Who would pay thousands of dollars to harvest a middling doe? I hunt for high quality meat and for the satisfaction and pleasure of hunting. I will grant that a big buck is a greater challenge to bag than a small buck or a middling doe, but many hunters who are after the big buck, I suspect, are counting inches, keeping score, lusting after the rack which is going to be mounted on their wall rather than the "here and now, in the present" challenge of hunting a big buck. They are trophy hunting. Get that trophy hunting thing out of your head man! That is just a hook that the commercializers of hunting put out there to snag your pocket book! You want the big rack? This means you will want to get your checkbook out to pay the outfitter who has leased hunting rights to the best hunting properties. This means you will want to buy all the state-of-the-art hunting gear to secure every last micrometer or microgram of advantage over your wiley prey. Trophy hunting is a wonderful construct to line the pockets of the commercializers of hunting.

Just don't get pulled in. I'm happy taking a doe: three of my five deer have been does; my only pronghorn antelope kill was a doe. I'm happy taking small bucks if that is the opportunity that presents itself. Small bucks are better eating than bigger bucks.

Alsatian

AJ52: There is a difference between "hunting" and "killing." I know the difference when I see it. It isn't my place to pass judgment on others and I won't here, but I think this is the distinction at issue here. We disparage and frown on the killing masquerading as hunting. Also, it is sickening to see people commercialize killing and pass it off as hunting.