#2109051 - 10/12/10 05:14 PM
Hunting Philosophy
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Poser
14 Point
Registered: 07/28/10
Posts: 8163
Loc: Tennessee
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Be extremely subtle, even to the point of
formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of
soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate.
-Sun Tzu
Think about that next time you fire up your ATV.
_________________________
It doesn't have to be fun to be fun. Wild & crazy, can't be stopped. Only the strong will survive. Keep your knife sharp and your skillet greasy. http://www.GoCarnivore.com
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#2109101 - 10/12/10 05:55 PM
Re: Hunting Philosophy
[Re: Poser]
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BSK
Jerkasourous of the non-typical kind
Non-Typical
Registered: 03/11/99
Posts: 59548
Loc: Nashville, TN
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I think Sun Tzu was talking about military strategy instead of hunting!
_________________________
"Know where you stand, and stand there" --Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan
"There is no reasoning someone out of a position he has not reasoned himself into." --Clive James
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#2109128 - 10/12/10 06:13 PM
Re: Hunting Philosophy
[Re: BSK]
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Bone Collector
12 Point
Registered: 09/09/09
Posts: 6124
Loc: Murfreesboro, TN
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That is from the "Art of War" isn't it?
_________________________
Don't let the screen name fool you spikes are made of bone too  Semper Fidelis! The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. - Thomas Jefferson
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#2109140 - 10/12/10 06:20 PM
Re: Hunting Philosophy
[Re: Bone Collector]
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bowriter
Non-Typical
Registered: 08/31/02
Posts: 40303
Loc: Lebanon,TN USA
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Here's my hunting philosophy.
When I stopped Trophy Hunting. Copyright John L. Sloan 10-2010
It was a still, frosty morning in Iowa. The sort of morning of which hunters dream. Visibility was good and the frosty, fallen leaves made it almost impossible for a deer to sneak up on you. I saw him coming from almost 200 yards.
One look told me he was not a monster buck but certainly a “shooter”. Back then, I considered myself a trophy hunter. I don’t know what day it was but the year was 2002. It was the last year I ever worried about “trophies”.
He kept right on course and when he passed me at 26 yards, I sent a broadhead through his ribs and heart. He ran about 40 yards and dropped. By the time, I had him on the ATV; it was just 7:45. By 8:15, I had him hanging in the garage. My IA tag was filled. However, I also had a Nebraska tag and could be in my NB stand in 30 minutes…and I was.
It was just after 11 when the three does came by at a trot and acting “hinky”. I let them pass then slowly stood up with my fingers on the bowstring. He came at a slow trot. I seldom try to stop a deer unless they are really moving. Back then, I was that good. At 12 yards, I put the pin on his shoulder and relaxed my fingers. He dropped inside 50 yards. He too would exceed record book minimums.
Two book bucks in two states in one morning.
Later that fall, I sat in the same NE tree with my muzzleloader. I counted 18 different does before I saw antlers. I knew he wasn’t a very big buck but for some reason, I did not much care. I dropped him in his tracks at 60-yards.
I checked him in at the sheriff’s office and had him hanging in the garage just about lunchtime. My friend, Rob then reminded me, I had a bow tag left in Missouri. I could be in one of those stands in 20 minutes.
I climbed the tree at just past three and for some reason it started getting foggy…I mean very foggy. I could barely see 30 yards even though the hardwoods were mostly open.
He came like a ghost, just drifting in and out of the fog. I could see he had antlers but I could not tell much about them. Just as it had been that morning, I didn’t care. I judged the distance to be 35-40 yards and held the pin for that. I heard the arrow hit “something” and the deer ran off. Then it got very quiet.
I waited about two minutes and climbed down to look for my arrow. I assumed I had hit a tree. While searching all the trees around I stumbled over the dead buck. To this day, I have not figured out what that arrow hit nor did I ever find it. I guess it hit something on the far side of the buck because the shot was perfect right behind the shoulder.
I had done it again, two bucks in one day in two different states. Since that year, I have killed one more big buck and have never worried about killing another “trophy”. To me, now, they are all trophies.
Funny thing is, I enjoy hunting so much more now than I did when I was so serious about it. I am just as likely to shoot a spike or a doe, as I am to sit all day waiting for “Big Daddy”.
There is a lot of discussion today about trophy hunting. Some hunters are “eat up” with it and look down up anyone who would shoot a small buck and some hunters, like I am now, just go for the enjoyment of the woods and wildlife and are happy to shoot whatever is legal and will taste good.
For me, during those years I “trophy” hunted it never occurred to me that every deer I had ever killed was a trophy. They still are. Antlers do not define trophy. Due to my job, I was forced to hunt for big antlers. Sometimes the pressure to kill a big buck was tremendous. That pressure is now gone.
My office is full of mounted heads and bear rugs etc. However of the animals I have killed that would qualify for one record book or another, not a single one has been sent in. Many actually hang in various hunting lodges and other people’s homes.
I have seen so many young hunters swayed by the trash on television outdoor programming it almost makes me sick. I have seen hunters who are crushed if they do not kill a big deer every year. In my opinion, that is not what hunting is about.
I still let a lot of deer walk because I just don’t want to shoot them. Given the choice between a fat doe and young buck, I’ll take the doe every time. But if a young buck walks by me and I feel like shooting him, I will. The last deer I killed was a monster, 3-pt, trophy. I wanted some meat, he was fat, and I knew I could make clean, humane kill.
What a trophy!
###
Cutlines:
#1- These two were both killed with archery equipment on the same morning in two different states.
# 2- These two were killed the same day in two different states, one with a muzzleloader and one with a bow. The one on top is the bow kill.
_________________________
Constipation has ruined many a good day. Not as many as stupidity, though.
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#2109215 - 10/12/10 07:03 PM
Re: Hunting Philosophy
[Re: DUCK37101]
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Pursuit Hunter
8 Point
Registered: 10/01/08
Posts: 2084
Loc: Way out there
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Where's the part about wearin' scent-loc to be odorless?
I'm one of the most subtle ATV riders I know. Guess it's all good! 
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#2109217 - 10/12/10 07:03 PM
Re: Hunting Philosophy
[Re: DUCK37101]
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Robbhorn
6 Point
Registered: 11/03/09
Posts: 543
Loc: Maury County
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If you plant it, they will come
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#2109229 - 10/12/10 07:08 PM
Re: Hunting Philosophy
[Re: bowriter]
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Boone 58
16 Point
Registered: 06/23/04
Posts: 13537
Loc: Food Plot
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Great read Bw....i enjoyed it and i like your philosophy.
Edited by camoman270 (10/12/10 07:08 PM)
_________________________
Romans 10:9-13
NRA lifetime Mem & Crockett Friends of NRA
Hoyt Razor Tec
CVA Accura V2 Nikon BM BDC 3x9x40
Winchester Mod 70 Weather SS 270 WSM
Nikon Monarch 3x12x42SF
Carpe Diem.
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#2109419 - 10/12/10 08:34 PM
Re: Hunting Philosophy
[Re: Boone 58]
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knightrider
10 Point
Registered: 09/27/10
Posts: 4766
Loc: claiborne
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Irishspring thats all i got to say,oh and marlboro
_________________________
behold the lamb of GOD,when he nocks please answer it may be your last chance!!!!
happy hunters against armchair biology
killing tomorrows trophies today
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#2109471 - 10/12/10 08:54 PM
Re: Hunting Philosophy
[Re: Poser]
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citico_tim
10 Point
Registered: 10/02/02
Posts: 4503
Loc: Knoxville, TN, USA
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Be extremely subtle, even to the point of
formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of
soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate.
-Sun Tzu
Think about that next time you fire up your ATV.
When hunting move slower than deer do. You'll see them move before they see you move.
Be there and they will come, eventually. If you're not there, they'll never come.
Lastly, "hunt" from the moment you enter the woods until the moment you're back at the truck. And that one is harder than it sounds.
_________________________
“The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.” ― Alexis de Tocqueville http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml
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