Sadly that even isn't an option anymore... otherwise I would be inviting my daughter's recent ex-boyfriend out for a drink. :D Tim
2011 will be my 5th season with a bow. Too poor to own top end junk. Not good enough to kill big bucks. Still learnin
Your so stuck on yourself you had to copy and paste your own thread :p. The King of Archery??? Give me a frigen break will ya? . Some of your points are right on while others wreak of idiocy . This coming from someone that is going into his 40th year of bowhunting, someone that hunted without seeing a deer for the first few years (72-75 or so) killing his first buck in year 5. Now you'd be hard pressed not to see a deer no matter where you hunt. It's called progress and I have no problem with it .
Not bashing you In the fricking least!!!!!! Just saying I've watched technology explode In bow hunting the last 30 years unlike people who are just getting Into bow hunting. I don't like certain parts of It. Where will It end?
"You said it all man." I find myself rarely posting much on the hunting forums, off season and water cooler type forums are still pretty interesting though. I try to stick to my signature these days and do my own thing but if I ever find myself around a group of hunters spouting off tips and insight I'm more inclined to listen to someone that says the least, or has the most faded camo, or most worn out boots (it's usually one guy with all three qualities).
... Look, it's not hunting that's changing, it's human technology. Technology infiltrates everything. Music, education, communication, clothing and yes hunting. Take a look at music. There are infinite ways of creating and enjoying music. Even using the narrow field of playing guitar. You can take a 100 year old classical guitar, hook it to a mic and mix machine and create a symphony's worth of sound (ie Howie Day or Tim Reynolds). Maybe you like Slash, or Plant, or BB King. This reminds me a lot of your post about how evil hunting was that you made a year or two ago. How hunting destroyed marriages, friendships and families. I think the same thing applies here. It comes down to the individuals Values & Character. Everyone's is different. Every one's determines what works for them. And no matter what, your choices will seem ridiculous to someone. Hunting wasn't the problem then, and new hunters & technology aren't the issues now. As for your reference to having to have a $50,000 truck... well the average new car today is $30K, in 1995 it was under $16K and in 1980 7.8K. People are driving 50K trucks because that's what they cost. Me? I drive a Jeep that's older than I am, it's just where my values & character lead me. Take what you like out of technology, leave the rest. Another this you seem to have a big issue with is the number of hunters. All data I've found has show a dramatic drop in the number of hunters. And "Private leases" isn't the main issue in hunting land loss, it's urbanization. If Joe Blow can afford to buy 200 acres to hunt on, good for him. Most likely you weren't hunting that land anyways. If you were, it's out of your control, might as well deal with it. Alight... rant off.... sorry, must have woke up on the wrong side this AM.
If you don't like it, don't use it. It will never end. Look at everything else in the world. To some it is progress to others a disgrace. Either way it is the future of our sport, life style is more the word I would like to use though. There is nothing anyone person or small group of people can do to stop it. It is what it is. I am sure everyone of us on here has at least one thing in their gear bag or on their bow that has been invented or at least improved on in the last thirty years. If you old school guys are seeing less deer maybe you should start using some of the new school products. I see deer quite often in my woods. They may not be in range every time or not old enough and right now not in season but, they are every where. Deer populations are higher than ever before due to the DECLINE in hunters versus population. Bottom line is we all enjoy the same thing. Our right as Americans to hunt. As long as we are not breaking the law then there is nothing wrong with it. You hunt your way I'll hunt mine. I won't argue your methods and you don't argue mine. We are all a group of elite minority. Only 10% of the population in America hunt. Less than half of that 10% are bow hunters. 10% of the American population are anti hunters and the other 80% do not care either way. I'll bet the 10% of anti Hunter's do not argue about how to be anti hunters.
95% of the hunters that would call themselves dedicated would recognize the 5% that are. That's not a cut, that's an observation.
Thought provoking indeed and interesting (or scary) to see a perspective that's from a little different angle than most. A lot of truth in what you say. In regards to hunter numbers, while on paper they may be decreasing, the huntable land available is decreasing at a much higher rate, so the competition for that land sky rockets. And certainly bowhunter numbers have HAD to increase. When I was a kid, almost nobody bowhunted. Now it seems like everyone bowhunts.
Glad to see you're still kick'en Fran. Hunting old school is not about the equipment we use, but about the memories we make. I would give it all up, all my gear , all my bucks, all my land(already did). To be that 9-12 year kid sitting next to a tree in Northen MI with Gramps. Family, Friends and the gret outdoors, that is what is it about. Without this forum I would have a let less friends to share my hunting with. So embrace tech when you can Fran, but keep making those memories As I have found out memories are great, but no way near the real deal.
lol!! Never said there was nothing wrong with how YOU hunt. I'll take my stick and leave this be. Ok then!!
Maybe some binoculars!! How bout some trail cams or just go back old school and get out and scout on foot. Put out some of these new minerals or attractants. If there are no deer where you are hunting, move to a different area all together. Go somewhere there is less hunting pressure. If you want different results, the inputs to the equation must change. Use all the resources you can find to change the results you are having. Even if that does mean using new school products. Maybe I am just lucky to have land to hunt and live on. Maybe I take it for granted and haven't been hunting long enough to have hard feelings toward new guys or maybe I am just normal and happy.
