LAST EDITED ON Jan-31-06 AT 10:05PM (MST)[p]BC,
I never said western hunting is the only real hunting. Stop putting words in my mouth. That makes me believe you have pegged me before you've listened to what I have to say. I've only complained about the Texas mentality of hunting. It is very different there than in other states - even heavily private states.
I'm not going to comment about sonora. I don't know much about hunting Mexico and I don't know Sonora.
Regarding the feeding of the Yellowstone herd. There is only one difference between hunting Yellowstone elk and Texas elk. In Texas you pay before you shoot. In Yellowstone you shoot and then you are charged. You'll never know the charge until after you shoot and there will be a lot of negotiations with a judge. The difficulty level for both hunts is low which is attributed to a lack of hunting pressure.
Limited entry hunts are also very similar to texas ranch hunting except (I'm only familiar with UT limited entry) the LE areas have an open spike season with tons of hunters and pressure, limited entry hunts are cheaper than Tx leases - even for non residents, anyone can put in, numerous cow tags are issued in these areas. Steep country is the rule - not the exception, and elk hunting in the Rocky's is much harder work than on a Tx. Ranch. I think we both agree that a 350 bull off an open area requires more talent than a 350 off LE.
Tx is more about $'s & killing than talent. You told an exeptional story about carrying a deer on your back through two canyons that were as big as where you hunt in CO. Enough of the Tx. bull. You know perfectly well that any Colorado-sized canyon in Texas is a remote exception to Texas geography. Yes, the very far western part of the state is rougher than the rest, but its not representative of the rest of the state and a lot of Colorado is a lot more rugged.
You also know that Tx success is much more a function of dollars spent than talent. Don't try to pretend otherwise.
I moved from No. Tx. to So. Utah when I was 15. I didn't know very many hunters before I moved. I knew a few kids whose "daddy" took them hunting. Everyone I knew who hunted there paid for a lease and got a deer. They all sat deer stands. One kid said his dad shot a big deer the day after the hunt closed. I asked if he was afraid he would get in trouble. He said no, only poor people have to worry about that; we'd just pay the fine if we got caught. Some other kids were a lot cooler though I must admit. When I moved to Utah everyone hunted. The school principal pulled the fire alarm at lunch the day before the opener, then sent everyone home. The following Monday was a holiday. I noticed after a few lousy years that while I had little success, others consistantly killed a lot of big deer. We hunted the same places. Everyone hunted - poor and rich, and the biggest determining factor regarding success was how good was the hunter. Some people never succeeded, others never failed. I sought these successful people out and have learned a lot from them. Some of them make very little money, but they have hunting talent. I'm still not as good as any of my mentors, but I'm a lot better than I used to be and I've been able to help others get some nice bucks. I'm just glad I moved here when I did because I saw a culture of hunters. That culture is fast disappearing. We are following the Texas roll and losing something very special. That is why I think Texas hunting is lame. I think I'll go cry now.
j/k
