B
bsneekee
Guest
I have noticed some complaints from a minority of the members here that most hunters are just sneaky, selfish, and unconcerned with promoting our sport. Yes, I understand that hunter numbers in the US are allegedly down. I don't want to sound too naive bc i know that decreased hunter numbers can mean there may not be enough of a voice to promote wildlife conservation and the pursuit of these majestic animals. However, I personally see no shortage of hunters in the field. In my eyes the sport still seems to be doing fine. Second of all, some of you have stated that hunters do a diservice to the sport by hording honey holes, and quality places to hunt. You feel that guys who get angry about people specifically telling others where to hunt are just selfish jerks. After all you feel that promotion of the sport and getting others involved is what its all about. And I'm all for that. However, with more of the west filling up with people, there are more people hunting. Maybe not per capita, like in the older days, but there are still more. This means more pessure on the animals. This pressure eventually leads wildlife agencies to restrict tags decreasing hunter opportunity. I don't know about you but in 15 years i don't want the entire west to be a draw where one may go years without drawing a deer tag for their home state. Moreover, I don't want to head into the fields and see tons of people hunting. I don't feel seeing crowds as "O wow isn't this great, what awesome enthusiasm for hunting, what great promotion for our sport. I'm glad everyone is out here. I feel this way because not everyone in the field are true hunters. There are many guys and new people being introduced to our sport that feel "o man i really like to hunt but we need better access." "They should really consider putting in more four wheeler trails so that we can ruin previously prestine hunting areas." "I really don't want to put any effort into killing my deer." "I just hunt for fun and humping it up a ridge doesnt sound very fun." "I'd rather just have them put in more atv access so that i can have my deer handed to me." My point is that many of these new hunters that are supposed to be "promoting our sport" will not respect the sport and its heritage. A more modernized/evolutionized/lazy hunter will emerge. Their guns will be laced with ultra high powered scopes and their atvs will have heated seats and satelite radio.
Furthermore, for these reasons I am "extremely selfish" and do not share good hunting areas. I want to preserve the quality hunting experience and not see lots of other guys afield, even if they are respectful hunters. I do not post pictures for I fear guys will recognize me or my family and having seen us, or our rigs, in the field and know where we hunt and then blab to their friends, hey look at this buck, it was shot just up no tellum creek etc.(Sidenote: someone recognized our truck this year at the butcher and knew where exactly where we hunted, too bad had a real nice buck in the back.) And yes i am somewhat paranoid so please feel free to take my opinion with a grain of salt.
There are too many yahoos in the field to justify telling anyone of your hunting spots. Just this deer season we had guys kicking all the deer out of the canyon by marching up the trail on a beautifully moonlit night with headlamps blazing, talking as if they were giving a speech. Then there was the crazy kid who was running and blasting trying to fill his doe tag with total disregard of the other hunters who had to take cover to avoid his lead, while his redneck dad watched proudly on.
So my question is is it really bad for the sport to keep things quite, and be secretive, and selfish? More importantly, does the sport need a hunter behind every tree? Do we need to be more open about quality spots? Do we need to increase the pressure on the animals by telling others where they are? I think not! You may view my opinion as way far right, but if everyone is "unselfish" and says where they hunt the animals will suffer, the habitat will suffer, and the quality experience of a hunt with limited pressure will disappear.
Furthermore, for these reasons I am "extremely selfish" and do not share good hunting areas. I want to preserve the quality hunting experience and not see lots of other guys afield, even if they are respectful hunters. I do not post pictures for I fear guys will recognize me or my family and having seen us, or our rigs, in the field and know where we hunt and then blab to their friends, hey look at this buck, it was shot just up no tellum creek etc.(Sidenote: someone recognized our truck this year at the butcher and knew where exactly where we hunted, too bad had a real nice buck in the back.) And yes i am somewhat paranoid so please feel free to take my opinion with a grain of salt.
There are too many yahoos in the field to justify telling anyone of your hunting spots. Just this deer season we had guys kicking all the deer out of the canyon by marching up the trail on a beautifully moonlit night with headlamps blazing, talking as if they were giving a speech. Then there was the crazy kid who was running and blasting trying to fill his doe tag with total disregard of the other hunters who had to take cover to avoid his lead, while his redneck dad watched proudly on.
So my question is is it really bad for the sport to keep things quite, and be secretive, and selfish? More importantly, does the sport need a hunter behind every tree? Do we need to be more open about quality spots? Do we need to increase the pressure on the animals by telling others where they are? I think not! You may view my opinion as way far right, but if everyone is "unselfish" and says where they hunt the animals will suffer, the habitat will suffer, and the quality experience of a hunt with limited pressure will disappear.