Just like we used to boil it down in football when things got murky..."see ball hit ball". "See deer, kill deer".
Maybe you haven't mentioned anything "New School". Maybe your suggestions are kind of generic and have been written about for decades or maybe you haven't been hunting long enough to actually know what you're talking about. With this sentence...... If you old school guys are seeing less deer maybe you should start using some of the new school products. I thought that you might actually have some "New School" ideas that we could try.
Amen to that!!! "Hunting" really hasn't changed very much in my life time "25 years of chasing them with the bow". Hunter mentality has changed big time and its not for the good.
I think the challenge today is to choose the equipment that will help your hunt and weed out the gimics that don't. In the end tech. will aid your hunt but your hunting ability will be the deciding factor.
Ryan said it best for me. "Very thought provoking." Thanks for posting this Fran it gives everyone a little something or a whole lot of something to "think" about. Personally I agree with a whole lot of what you said.
If you don't know by now... !!! :D The King rules !!! He is your hero so quit fighting it. Unlike Lee/Tiffany, Waddel, Stan Potts and the Dury borthers of this day an age... Fran is a True Living Legend. Self proclaimed or not... he didn't need a camera to make him what he is. He has wore out more boot leather then most. Bad assed buck killing machine. He was the first to hit warp speed with his way the hell to light weight arrow shooting Iron Mace. Well known for his world's crappiest picures with his cell phone. He has a thing for Fuzzy Wuzzy Bunnies. The first to start polls with gay being a choice. Master of trash talk and hilarious, thought provoking polls. What more can be said... he is the King of Archery. Mark my words... Ted Nugent will record a song about him to honor him as he did the late Fred Bear. It is just a given. I am not saying this because he just sent me some morrels mushrooms out of kindness since they don't grow here. There were darn delicious by the way !!!! Ok maybe I am... they were just that darn good. Tim
Quicksilver - WHY do you hunt? If your goal is to shoot the biggest buck you see on one of your 18 trail cameras, IMO, you are missing the point. By the way, trail cameras are not old school. In order to preserve our hunting rights, we as hunters must be FOR each other, not against each other. We must bring new people into the sport. We must portray ourselves and our fellow hunters in a positive manner. Until you can be happy for one of your buddies, or God forgive, your neighbor, when they shoot one of the toads you were hoping to get, you will forever be seeking joy - but never finding it. A jealous hunter, or person for that matter, is a disgruntled hunter. When I started hunting, I threw a piece of camo with a hole in it over my head - that was my camo!!! A couple years later when my dad brought home camo coveralls, I was ecstatic. When he shot a ten-pointer out of MY tree stand (I was in high school and too tired to get up), I was happy for him. I lost him 10 years ago, I was 26 when he died. We never had much money to spend on hunting equipment, but what we did have was TIME to spend together. That's what hunting is about - spending time together with family and friends, whether in the woods, talking about hunting, or reliving memories. I'd be happy never shooting a deer again if it meant having him in the woods with me. My dad started bow hunting when I started hunting at age 12, 25 years ago. He was old school to me. He never had scent-lok, fancy sites, a release, food plot, or cameras. I absolutely use some of the new technology. We built our own tree stands. I believe scent-control products help bow hunters get closer to more deer, than just about anything out there. I remember 10 years ago when I began using scent control clothing, a British military chemical suit - I still use that type of clothes - picked one up last year at Salvation Army brand new for $12! I love the new technology in bows. I just bought a scar-face decoy to use this coming season. I am going to use 1 trail camera this year. You can't hate the commercialism and use it at the same time. The commercialism is what pays for these advancements. If you use it you are a perpetuating cog in the ever expanding machine you resent. Your definition of "old school" is what things were like when you got into hunting. Times are changing. "Old school" refers to the era one gets into hunting. Introducing new hunters is sometimes frustrating. You are going to lose some of your best hunting land. I lost some good hunting land because some hunters (who hunted a quarter mile from me), thought I lowered the quality of their deer hunting! I only shot one deer a year there, if that. Now nobody hunts that 52 acres of swampy woods. Life goes on. Be kind to people and talk to people. You'll find more places to hunt. Introducing new hunters is also rewarding. I finally got my brother to hunt - he only gun hunts. The time I get to spend with him and the memories we have is why I hunt. I do not get to shoot or see as many deer because of him....but who cares? His kids were so happy when he shot his biggest ever last year. I am getting my nephew into hunting also. I can help others be successful quicker than if they had to learn everything on their own. My dad did not know much about hunting. I have worked hard and learned a lot in 25 years. I can teach some one in a couple of years what it took me 25 years to acquire! I took a couple people out turkey hunting for their first time this year. What a great time - memories to be sure. For me, happiness comes from hunting by spending time with others you care about in the woods. Happiness doesn't come from a trail camera or new arrow rest. Happiness is shinning a flashlight on a white belly of a doe in the dark with your buddy. Happiness is hearing your 4 year old niece looking at a field dressed deer and exclaiming, "I want to eat the deer now". Happiness does not come by getting new property to hunt. Happiness comes from taking buddy out for the first time on that property. Happiness is time spent with others. I hope you find happiness.
The guy shooting close to 400 FPS is on here complaining about technology? You've always been a sort of snob about people that hunt, and it's funny I say that cause I agree 100% with your viewpoints on the mass of people who hunt. I just don't feel the need to publicize how silly people that no nothing about hunting make themselves look....a lot of times though they are just not smart when it comes to hunting know how, but they are still eat up with hunting. Think about it 24/7, etc. Who am I to knock them for putting stickers on their truck? 50K trucks is a completely different aspect of society that happens to be relevant with this same group of hunters you talk about, I just don't think they are all that related. We are talking about people with trucks worth 2-3X their house, and trust me their ways extend WAY past hunting. Land access is getting tight. Leases are bad in a lot of ways, but good as well. I recently just started my first lease, and did it for the sole reason of keeping out these nim wits you are constantly chastising on here. The guys with a 55 gallon barrel feeder and double ladder on a tree out in the open, who drive up 100 yards from the stand, smoke as they walk past my game cam, and later even steal it. Excuse me if I am selfish for not wanting to "share" a spot with a guy like this. I struggle with this topic, because I basically have the exact same mindset as you....I just try to be open minded that everyone doesn't approach things the same as me. And if they want to wear silly hunting slogan t shirts and slather their trucks with hunting related stickers, so be it. Not my cup of tea but doesn't automatically make them any less of a hunter or person than me. As far as equipment goes, I have all but stopped buying anything at all for hunting. I try and funnel my money 100% into making trips to hunt other places. Works out great, as I enjoy seeing/hunting new places 100x more than having a newer bow. I am making a purchase of about 5 trail cams this summer, and from then on I will only be buying clothing to replace ruined clothing, new strings/arrows and that stuff for bowhunting. I have every thing needed to be successful, no need to hoard anything else.
I made a couple of archery targets out of old round dog beds and stuffed them with beat up old clothes/rags this year. I also traded another forum member for some arrows this year. Total money spent on hunting stuff this year equals about $20 for some weighted inserts and feathers. KILL. That being said, I could care less about how people spend their money. If someone feels good putting hunting stickers on their truck ( I used to) that is cool with me. I used to think I was cursed to be hunting public land. Now I feel blessed to have 50,000 acres within 5-10 miles of my house to hunt.
Can't we all just get alone and help each other the best way we know how?? Is getting alone as hunters to much to ask?? You have your way I have mine and over time we all will change some in different ways than others but, change is what happens. We are all hunters or we wouldn't be on here. I know I have said some things that are probably ignorant due to lack of experience or knowledge and most was in fun and didn't mean to offend anyone if I did. I do know I am more knowledgeable than most hunters who have only one season under their belts but, that's because of people like all of you who have experience and knowledge. I couldn't be more thankful for forums similar to this one. I also enjoy every aspect of hunting including learning. Weather I fail at it or not I still learn one way or the other and weather a new product works or not. As a new hunter I feel it is important to have not only the help of older hunters but, also have an understanding that the older knowledge is something that has no price tag. The basics are still the same and the basics is what the older hunters know better than us new guys. I respect a man that can go out to the woods, track his butt off, and be successfully. Even though I like the "new school" products and would love to be able to afford them all, I still like to WALK around in the woods hunting for deer trails, food sources for deer, lay of the land to try to figure out travel patterns, look for old rub lines and scrapes, tracks after a good soaking rain and any other sign of deer. I will always WALK to my stand even if I do buy a $10k four wheeler or Bad Boy Buggy and am able to afford to drive a $50k truck. I do want to and will eventually spend up wards of $1500 on a new bow and have all the latest and greatest items on it but, it is because I want to make sure I make a clean kill. I will eventually be dressed in the latest Under Armor and be decked out in Mossy Oak Infinity but, it will be so I can spend more time in the stand comfortably. I won't be using any of the new fangled attractants other than Monster Raxx for the mineral stations. I learned my lesson with crap like Cmeer Deer and almost every brand of deer pee on the market. I spent a good $500-$600 last season on the mess and nothing. I enjoy hunting and every single aspect of it. I enjoy the memories I have made so far and the knowledge I have gained over the past eight months and can't wait to see what the future memories will become. Bottom line is we all enjoy the same thing; Hunting and there are very few people that have the passion for what we do. Like I said before we are part of only 10% of the American population that do what we do and even less that do it well. As for us new guys, for the most part we respect and look up to all the "old school" guys. Not only for advice but, for the reasons that we hope others will eventually look up to us. You know what you are doing due to you have done something for a long time that takes dedication and passion to continue to do over a long period of time. New guys come and go but, "old school" guys have been here and aren't going any where. Even if your thoughts of us new guys are somewhat twisted and polluted, we still respect you.
