The good 'ol days yada yada...

[mozey]

Went to the Expo with my dad (in his 70's) and three brothers. It was a much good time and it's been awhile since the five of us have been able to get together. But when I first got there and I was walking around with one of my brothers, taking it all in, waiting for my dad and two other brothers to show up, my brother says to me, "When dad gets here, you just watch, he'll start going on about how he used to shoot deer like that all the time and then just toss the antlers out back behind the shed."

Sure enough, while we're all gawking at the Mossback wall, dad can't help himself and rips off almost word for word my brother's prophetic statement. And I sort of remember seeing a pile of chalky decayed antlers out behind my Grandfather's house when I was a reeeeeeeally little kid, but it was so long ago I'm not sure whether it was fact or now a figment of my imaginative memory. If they ever were there, they're long gone now.

If the good old days were today, would we even take notice?

 

[ICHABOD]

Maybe the good old days are here, and maybe we better start paying attention!
HEHE
Hey Mozey, you kill a Barbary this year yet?
------------------------------------------------------
"Yeah, I'll shoot him"

 

[mozey]

heheh...ICHABOD, I went out for a couple days, but been too busy playing bleeding heart to do much good yet:

http://www.monstermuleys.info/dcforum/DCForumID34/1062.html

But it's a long season and like nmelktrout said in that thread, my good karma should be about due... ;-)

How about you? You gonna to put your perfect record on the line and come down to our fine state again to make it two for two? This is the last year for the over-the-counter, so now is a good time to come. Next year it's going to be draw. Nothing like a good NM barbary hunt to cure those Feb/Mar cravings.

 

[Christian]

My uncles are the same way. If I showed them the world record, they'd say they threw antlers away bigger than that because "you can't eat antlers." Ironically, none of them have killed a decent buck in 20 years because they don't try.
The funny thing about guys from that era is that they talk about the good ol' days to the point they're too discouraged to get out and hunt now, yet there's a few that keep on hunting and do well. I think some use the good ol' days as an excuse.
Just my thoughts.




The Christian

 

[chewyman55]

The "glory days" question was posed to Jeff Foxworthy at the Expo and he basically said that we are in them. It really depends on where you are and what species. My father grew up in Utah during an era when you just didnt see elk. He still recalls the day he went out and saw a lone cow. Now they are one of, if not THE premiere elk state. Mule deer have slipped and because of numbers of people and development, probably never will be what they once were in terms of numbers. But, under the right management...we can still grow em just as big as the old timers. We can't fall into the rut of "all is lost" or we will not fight as hard for the cause.

 

[JGT]

The good ol' days are gone! I went with my gramps (he'll be 80 in March) this past year rifle hunt-southern unit. I heard all the stories of the many big 4 points he shot with his 30-40 Criag,open sights. It was a way of life,of survival. To collect meat for winter. That is what hunting is for. He didn't have a range finder, a gun that will shoot over 1000 yards,optics to look 5 miles, or seasons that don't end for 4 months. I think the deer herds will never be the same again. Sure some big bucks get killed every year, but usually with a guide service that has a "posse of spotters" looking from July 1st until the animal is taken by a "hunter" with the most money.

 

[huntandfish]

It depends what you think the Glory days are.If you are talking about getting drawn every year or not having to spend a lot of money on a hunt and over crowding,then the glory day's are behind us.If you want to spend a whole lot of money and put in for every state and hunt regardless of cost,then the Glory days are now.

 

[huntandfish]

Oh Yeah if you are Jeff Foxworthy then the glory day's are now.

 

[BUCKSPY]

If anybody thinks 20 years from now is going to be better than today, they are sadly mistaken. These are the good ole days of the future as is 20-40 years ago the good ole days for now.

We live in a window of time and are destroying what we love at an unbelievable rate. Enjoy it while its still there boys and thank your lucky stars we had a president like Teddy Roosevelt that had the forsight to help establish the public lands of the West.

 

[Ropinfool]

Depends on how old you are as to your take on the good ol days. For me it was being able to buy a tag over the counter every year and hunt with my family, running into lots of local friends and visiting. Nobody cared about what anything scored and how much they paid. Nobody knew any outfitters or even knew where to find one if they wanted. If you had a guide, everybody thought you were a city dude and too dumb to hunt by yourself.

And yeah there was an old shed at the ranch where everybody threw the heads on top. I do remember some huge racks cause my brother and I would cut them up and make slingshots out of them amoung other things.

 

[mozey]

Some of you are thinking along the same lines as I was thinking: most of those guys living in the "good 'ol days" of hunting didn't have a clue that a generation or two later we would all be so envious. They practically tossed the things away, most the time probably not even bothering to take a picture.

These days, I spend several days a year hunting sheds that my dad wouldn't have even bothered to pick up; and I consider almost every one I find to be a hard-earned prize, not to mention the hundreds of dollars I've spent just trying to restore one particular set. I'm sure he'd think I'm an idiot.

Whether it's checking the trailcams, hunting sheds, scouting, or actually hunting, I'm still getting in the field more than half my weekends. Given the current political climate, I'm thinking I'm currently living the "good 'ol days" from the perspective of the next generation or two, and I intend to make the most of it.

Life is too short and opportunities are too few to waste effort belittling someone else's trophies...

 

[SMELLYBUCK]

Christian,

It's not an excuse. My old man is the same way. He didn't even own a rifle growing up. He'd rent a surplus Springfield from the American Legion for a few bucks and go kill a 4 point (or two.) He rolls his eyes when I go scouting. No scouting, no fancy equipment, and he killed more nice deer before he quit hunting at age 25 than I'll kill in my life. Conversely he's killed one 2point in my 20 years of hunting. He only shot it because it was already limping.

My mom's dad use to hunt and I don't think he really even liked it. His lifetime hunting highlight isn't a big buck, its a Californian that paid him $50 for a 4 point. He sold it and went and shot another like it was nothing. Can't tell you how many times I heard that story. I guarantee he wasn't out scouting and practicing and plotting like the rest of us today.

If we trapped preditors like they did and if landowners gave permission like they once did we'd be all be killing more and bigger deer.

 

[crazeymaez]

Moz my grandpa told me back in the day.Their cattle were to precious.Mom would tell them.If they wanted meat in their potatoes you would have to kill a deer.

Gramps said some bucks were so large They wouuld cut off the
racks just to fit em in the trunk.

My buddies gramps said he would see monster bucks during the rut
but would never shoot em they were after the yearlings better eatin.

If they saw us chasing sheds they would think we were crazy
but i guess I am

 

[HighWidenHandsome]

This is a great question! But in my experience, I believe the old timers are living in a fantasy! I've been hunting deer for 49 years now! Mostly in Utah for the first 40 yrs, I can remember season's during the 60's (the great days) when our family and friends had a very tough time taking a buck and sometimes going empty on does as well. I tell my boy " if we were lucky enough to see a buck we'd better get him" I couldn't have imagined passing on any 3 point let alone nice 4X4's. I can remember driving home from a hunt with all the bucks heads hanging out the back of the truck and a load of 2 points with a small 3 point or two was an impressive sight for most onlookers!Yes... I too believe(I know there were) many more deer back then but remember, most hunters didn't have vacation time we have today! Most hunters just hunted the opening weekend,freeways were non-existent so traveling more than 50 miles was long and wearing (traveling from SLC to Fishlake was a 6 hour drive)4 wheel drives didn't come into their own until the 70's. Very few hunters used binoculars, I never owned a pair until the very late 80's.
We'd see lots of big bucks during the archery season but seldom did anyone kill one! We used the old recurves and filled the forest full of old cedar arrows! Yes... back then a big buck was probably about any 4 point. I can remember opening days of rifle season when it sounded like a war, shots ringing out from everywhere! Many of the shots being fired at antlerless deer as well as the bucks! Lots of guys hunted with open sights in those days and many hunters weren't so hot with their scope sights either!Lots of deer were shot at and missed some of the country still didn;t get penetrated and there was a reasonable survival of deer, some becoming giant bucks the next year!
I've been much more successful taking big bucks the last 20 yrs than back then but I'd trade my success in a heartbeat to go back to those yrs,it was a lot more fun!
You guys have to remember, you want it to be great hunting, you want for giant bucks but you also want to be able to get to the most remote locations (no sanctuary for carry over) you want (and have the best optics and precision firearms and archery equipment) you take plenty of hunting and scouting time, actually I'm surprised there's as many good bucks taken as there are but I can tell the survival is getting less all the time! I agree with BUCKSPY,you'd better enjoy and take care of what you have now because I see it continually declining!
Just 1 last memory to share..... I remember back in 86' Brian had his logo buck entered in the Sunset sporting goods contest and while we were waiting for it to be judged two young hunters were sharing thoughts with each other and we over heard one say to the other "yah! it's got so bad now I'll take anything over 30" That was in 1986 guys and I believe that's how most old timers remember! By the way, their buck being judged was about 19" wide 4X3

 

[mozey]

That was a good read, HWH. I've been kidding my dad all along that he must be living in a fantasy, but now I've got a witness!

And crazey, you know I know you're borderline certified and your gramps is right about you regardless of whether he was just trying to eat during the "good 'ol days"... ;-) Good luck this week man, tear those ibex up, but save a little for our shed stalking in April after we can't chase barbarys anymore...