I could not disagee more with you on this and honestly it sounds quite condescending. I for one will not pay anyone to do anything I can do myself whether it be $5 or $1000. Just not the way I was raised or what I believe in.
They aren't asking to use my "stuff". They are asking for permission to hunt a piece of property because they can't afford their own. There is nothing wrong with that. Would I let them use my stuff or let them hunt? No, because I use the same things they are asking for. And I personally doubt that anybody outside of my family or close friends would ask to use any of my hunting items. Do I think they are scum for it? Absoulutely not, unless they turn out to be some *******s. Just because some people aren't fortunate enough to have the cash to buy land, which in my area is extremely expensive, I don't think they are lesser for it. It seems to me that you have had some bad experiences with people asking to hunt your property or trespassing on you. It doesn't mean that everybody is like that.
I'll probably regret this but I'll toss my hat in the thoughts. Every single hunter can better their hunting situation with effort. That effort could mean transforming the property if possible habitat wise, could mean scouting public land every spare minute, could mean offering farmers labor in return for hunting ability, could mean knocking on a ton of doors (enduring 100 no's for that 1 yes), could mean picking up tactical minded hunting books out there and learning what makes big buck tick, research hunting strategies and hunt smarter, could also mean getting realistic (maybe a solid 140 is cream of the crop in your area genetic wise...don't wait for the 170). Everything is situational...but EVERY SITUATION CAN BE BETTERED WITH EFFORT. Big bucks fall to un-knowingly un-educated guys every day of the season...you want to up your odds to be a consistent "big" buck hunter do as the article states and GET OFF YOUR A BUTT!
Remember how bad every year sucks scraping for a decent place to hunt and use it as motivation to get a place of your own someday if that is what you want.
The family down the street has a daughter who has terminal cancer and they can't afford to pay the medical bills, causing them to sell their land. The husband/wife still have a passion for hunting but they are not able to have the land they once had. Perfect example of a situation where they aren't fortunate enough to have money to own 350 acres.
So if you build a house next year are you going to dig the basement by hand or pay someone to do it with a backhoe??
I like ya atlas, I do, but this isn't your best work. You seem to be talking out of both sides of your mouth. You first said that prime ground was the secret to killing big bucks. Most seem to agree with that. Now you are argueing about a proper way to access said ground. Really? I don't care if someone buys, leases, trades work, or has to stoop to servicing the 90 year old widow to get access. You seem to feel differently.
"Now I own a home with 28 acres of my own and more I have sole access to plus we have 350 acres and a cabin in PRIME New York woods.........it's as good as it gets in our state without a fence." - So you are hunting places you do not own?
People accessing your land to hunt can't drive off with that land and steal it from you. Giving out $1000s worth of tangible goods to a stranger is in no way the same as saying sure go have fun hunting on the farm, lord knows I won't be back there hunting. Let's at least be reasonable in the comparisons... Atlas was it not you who advocates adamantly that everyone should butcher their own animals? I could be off base as you haven't posted much recently and it was a while back. If so, why butcher your own animals when it can be done for you for so cheap?
Your land isn't part of your "stuff"?? How is it different asking someone to use their land vs asking them to use their bow or boat or truck?? They are all things you had to buy and they are asking to use for free because they can't afford them. LOL......there's that word "fortunate" again.
Atlasman...enlighten us...you state you chose to go to college, who paid for it? Was your family wealthy growing up? I only ask this for more clarity on trying to understand your side more. You look down on a lot of people and their approaches...just curious if that is due to crawling out of it yourself or simply never having to climb very high due to your situation and what you were born into.
This is good, solid advice, but in other posts you have been putting down and insulting the 'scraping for a decent place to hunt'. It's just a reality that most hunters will have to scrape for a decent place to hunt, unless they were born into a family with wealth or hunting land. It's simple economics really; not every person is able to be rich.
Atlasman, why have you hunted on property that you did not own? And why do you still, but put other people down for it?
Nope.........dad can't handle the driving distance to state land and his weather tolerance is not good. The cabin gives him a warm place to hang out or sleep in should he choose. Hot meals and hot showers and his heated shooting house get him through the season. We bout four more heated blinds for him to get in the woods more this year as well. Sorry my dad's limitations bother you so much........we could have had another 50-60 acres instead but the cabin was more valuable to us because of what it means to him.
This thread has gone off on a tangent and I think we should all just agree to disagree. Now let's get this thread back on track by talking some tactics. Atlasman, could you share some of the tactics (other than being wealthy) that you're using to put down your slammer bucks?
