what has happened to HUNTING!

[Anonymous]

I started these thoughts on Sunday while in my stand and was( without being bothered lol ) interrupted by a nice 8 which i killed !and was making this post on FB, But as I sat there reading not just facebook or TNDEER.com but all the sites on the web ,FB, and general hunters , I ask myself what happened to HUNTING? Now before i go any further let me say I am far from a great hunter. I do understand land management and i do let small young deer walk. SOMETIMES ! but these are my thought from Sunday with a few added words . As I sit here in my stand listening to everything around me I start to think about the first time I went hunting . Back then things were a lot different . You could only kill two bucks ( I think) but you were lucky if you seen two in a season lol . You had to put in for doe tags or quota hunts I think we called them . When you killed a deer we had to drag them we did not have four wheelers .Dragging the deer was part of the hunt. There was a place in Columbia called HERKEYS ( I may be wrong on the name ) that everyone would go to after coming out of the woods to see what was killed . Yea back then hunters actually checked deer in . I mean you can check one in at a store now and the person asks what you got?? what county? all that but it used to be fun to listen to the old men tell the story of the kill while the deer was being weighed , oh yea a lot of places weighed them back then also . And as far as I can remember no one would criticize your kill ! Don't get me wrong I do believe in managing and letting bucks grow but last I checked we all pay the same to hunt with the same regulations .And we all buy the same Tennessee drivers license right? Does that mean we all have to drive the same vehicle ? Nope! you drive what you choose since that's your right. We all have the right to kill what ever and for some it's a privilege to hunt maybe they work and don't get time maybe they don't have land, any reason, so when they see a deer they take that opportunity. I could go on but to get to my point I feel like we have taken the hunt out of hunting by making it a competition or competition of Inches against people you don't even know and less about memories and tradition. I would not trade the smile on my girls face for anything every time they kill a deer and to be honest i feel like a kid every time i kill one myself. Then there is the posts like " with the weather conditions should I hunt tomorrow? " is the rut going on? I know we all wanna know but it takes the fun out of it for me . I just go every chance I get because I love to hunt . Just wish the tradition and respect for the game and hunter was still part of the hunt . Like I said I understand land management but i also work my butt off 6/7 days a week . My girls play travel softball so in the summer i have minimal time to scout and prep for the season. Then i buy the same permits and hunting gear you do so to me its not about me killing a bigger deer than hunters i don't know . Its about time to relax spend time with my family and make memories . i have not been criticized by anyone but see so much of it .HUNTERS feeling like they have to justify what they killed because of what trophy hunters have to say ! Hunting just aint the same !

 

[RobbyW]

Amen!! I don't post a lot of things, because seems many are quick to judge. I hunted one week a year as a kid. My grandpa, uncles Dad and brother would go to southern Mo and spend a week hoping to see a deer. We didn't have much and those $100 out of state deer tags were a lot of money for us. But it was a great time. I joined the military and when I did I stopped hunting. Went through a phase where I wanted to be on my Harley and hangout in bars instead of the woods. All that changed 5 years ago when I got married with a microwave family and I went to a married man with two kids when I said I do. My son wanted to hunt so we started back. We started with a single .243 and sat together to figure it out. I killed my first deer with him beside me. He killed his first buck with me and we both about cried. Since then we both have bows, ML and each carry our own rifle. We sit apart now, but it's still our thing. I have no doubt hunting is what grew us together. Deer season last all year now. We food plot, cleanup and try to make our little place a deer heaven. I have killed 8 deer now and he has 5. He has killed two nice bucks, and I am still waiting in the first one (except for buttons), but for me deer hunting has nothing to do with deer.


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[Anonymous]

Been a while since I have posted a pic not sure if I remember how lol

 

[Anonymous]

http://s1284.photobucket.com

 

[Anonymous]

http://s1284.photobucket.com/

 

[Crappie Hunter]

I agree. As a kid my dad and I would meet up with his friends and have breakfast and then we would all head out to hunt different farms. Each shot you heard, you wondered if one of the guys you were hunting with had got one. But you had to wait until you got back to find out. And somehow we always ended up at the store that was the busiest checking station to see how everyone else did. Now, you text your buddy that you are running 10 minutes late. You catch up on whatever you may have missed on FB. You read posts on TNDeer. And when you hear a shot that might be your buddy, you give him 2 minutes and text to see if it was. You text your wife to make sure the kids aren't destroying anything and if she needs anything on your way home. And when you look up from your phone long enough and actually kill a deer, you check it in with your phone. And yes, I am guilty of all of these from time to time, except for the FB thing. That's one line I refuse to cross.
In short, the invention of the cell-phone changed deer hunting as much as it has everything else.

 

[weatherby man]

My girl plays softball and school basketball and school softball so her and my plates are full. I go to have a great time outdoors and if possible shoot a large older deer. That is my choice and I don't care who likes it. Its my land and I will hunt legally as I please. I do not shoot 3year olds and younger anymore. Again my choice. I do believe that hunters should reach a point that taking a bigger, older and trophy class deer should become a part of it. It is the challenge of being able to surprise one of nature's best prepared animals and matching our intellect against their senses. They usually win when hunting legally, but it is a great adventure.

 

[Vermin93]

There is nothing keeping people from reliving their good ole' days of hunting.

 

[MUP]

There is nothing keeping people from reliving their good ole' days of hunting.

Agreed. My idea of "good ol days" of hunting, is just that, hunting. I like to go "hunt", and the object of my passion is to kill a deer, preferably a good buck, and not necessarily a giant either. I've pretty much always been on my own when hunting. Sure, my Dad took me, but he dropped me off and let me hunt. I've been doing it the same ever since. Now that my daughter has come along, I'm enjoying taking her out and hunting together tho. The more things change, the more they stay the same. :)

 

[stik]

I go to have a great time outdoors and if possible shoot a large older deer. That is my choice and I don't care who likes it. Its my land and I will hunt legally as I please. I do not shoot 3year olds and younger anymore. Again my choice. I do believe that hunters should reach a point that taking a bigger, older and trophy class deer should become a part of it.

that's great and i support you 100% but the vast majority of hunters are happy with a buck, ANY buck. they should not be belittled for shooting a deer they are perfectly happy with.

 

[woodsman87]

It's challenging to kill yearling bucks for hunters that only get to go three or four times a year, and or only on public land.
Maybe it isn't challenging to you, or others that get to go everyday on the best places. Sorry, but statements like that piss me off.
And I dont care what anyone does, as long as they are good sportsman.

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[woodsman87]

If I got to go only a handful of times, I'd shoot whatever I wanted to. Piss on the people that get mad at me.
I've been in situations and deer seasons when I only went like three times. I killed a yearling 8 pointer with a beautiful rack, but do not care what anyone says.

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[Deer Assassin]

a yearling buck at 400 yds in a crosswind is challenging

a yearling buck with a recurve no sights just stick and string is challenging


it is just what you make of it

some hunters dont want to be challenged

they want to shoot and eat

the biggest problem with hunting is hunters and yes hunters not peta will be the down fall

hunt the way you want to (legal) and dont worry about what other folks think

 

[stik]

I go to have a great time outdoors and if possible shoot a large older deer. That is my choice and I don't care who likes it. Its my land and I will hunt legally as I please. I do not shoot 3year olds and younger anymore. Again my choice. I do believe that hunters should reach a point that taking a bigger, older and trophy class deer should become a part of it.

that's great and i support you 100% but the vast majority of hunters are happy with a buck, ANY buck. they should not be belittled for shooting a deer they are perfectly happy with.

Vast majority? No, the vast majority wants to kill a big buck. That's why the trophy hunting industry has become such a boom.

I'm trying to choose my words carefully because I don't want to offend anybody. But there is simply nothing challenging about killing a yearling buck. Leave that to kids and new hunters.

we at tndeer are a minority. most hunters hunt opening weekend and maybe thanksgiving holiday and are happy with ANY deer. the trophy hunting industry has become such a boom because of television. THAT'S what has happened to hunting.

 

[Brisco Darlin]

I go to have a great time outdoors and if possible shoot a large older deer. That is my choice and I don't care who likes it. Its my land and I will hunt legally as I please. I do not shoot 3year olds and younger anymore. Again my choice. I do believe that hunters should reach a point that taking a bigger, older and trophy class deer should become a part of it.

that's great and i support you 100% but the vast majority of hunters are happy with a buck, ANY buck. they should not be belittled for shooting a deer they are perfectly happy with.

Vast majority? No, the vast majority wants to kill a big buck. That's why the trophy hunting industry has become such a boom.

I'm trying to choose my words carefully because I don't want to offend anybody. But there is simply nothing challenging about killing a yearling buck. Leave that to kids and new hunters.

pretty discriminatory remark there. kill what you want as long as it's legal and don't worry about what someone else shoots.

 

[Lost Lake]

I go to have a great time outdoors and if possible shoot a large older deer. That is my choice and I don't care who likes it. Its my land and I will hunt legally as I please. I do not shoot 3year olds and younger anymore. Again my choice. I do believe that hunters should reach a point that taking a bigger, older and trophy class deer should become a part of it.

that's great and i support you 100% but the vast majority of hunters are happy with a buck, ANY buck. they should not be belittled for shooting a deer they are perfectly happy with.

Vast majority? No, the vast majority wants to kill a big buck. That's why the trophy hunting industry has become such a boom.

I'm trying to choose my words carefully because I don't want to offend anybody. But there is simply nothing challenging about killing a yearling buck. Leave that to kids and new hunters.

Want a challenge?? Go hunt CNF only, for the next ten years. My suspicion is that the definition of a challenge will change. I'm not old by any stretch of the imagination, but I've hunted for thirty five years in this state, which is long enough to experience a large part of the full circle that our deer herd is rotating in, and if a person has only deer hunted for the past fifteen years or so, especially in West Tennessee, your perspective is quite narrow.

I've nothing against the so called "trophy" stage that seems to be in vogue now, but if a person really wants respect for his/her opinions and standards, that has to be a mutual thing.

One thing that occupies my mind is that deer hunting in general is turning into a farming/trophy industry, and I question whether or not that is good for us at all.

 

[knightrider]

I'm glad I'm just a DEER hunter. If its a deer and I'm deer hunting im happy to kill it. I make no excuses and apologize for nothing I kill. This stage crap all the t.v. folks have imbedded in peoples brains is crazy. The day I no longer want to kill a deer any deer and eat it and be happy with it I'm done. Oh and for the gotta let em walk to be a man crowd keep on keeping on cause I'm loving my full frezzer! :tu:

 

[Shed Hunter]

a yearling buck at 400 yds in a crosswind is challenging

a yearling buck with a recurve no sights just stick and string is challenging


it is just what you make of it

some hunters dont want to be challenged

they want to shoot and eat

the biggest problem with hunting is hunters and yes hunters not peta will be the down fall

hunt the way you want to (legal) and dont worry about what other folks think

First, shooting at any deer at 400 yards in a crosswind is not only a challenge, but it would be unethical for most hunters. Very good chance of wounding a deer and not recovering it.

But thats another topic!

I do disagree with the idea of "hunt the way you want and don't worry about what other folks think". We are all in this thing together. We all have common goals, but we all have differing goals as well.

Learning to respect others goals and opinions, and maturing as a hunter are things we can all do.

The bottom line is that MOST hunters wants to kill big mature bucks. This simply can't be argued although there are obviously SOME exceptions.

To say "to each his own and mind your own business" is not really a way forward to bigger and better things, not only in hunting, but in life.

Hunt for fun and the way you want. It's that simple.

99% of people would not like my way of hunting. I'd be an idiot to argue that everyone else should hunt like me. You may be too narrow minded to understand the same applies to you


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[Lost Lake]

Well said Master Chief.

 

[THEdonkey0515]

Yearling Buck Bang flop
Doe bang flop
Another doe bang flop:)

I buy my hunting fees my lease fees and and so on just like everything else:/ ive let deer walk on my lease during smoke pole season if ive already bagged 1 or 2 In bow season. but ive also shot them lol
I hunt state land also my dad always told me if you let it walk on state land your more then likely not helping cause you know whats gonna happen? The next guy is gonna come in and drop it:/ and ive found this to be true.

If you only want to shoot Big buck and a few does cool good for you. If you wanna shot a spike a six point and 3 does awesome lol NEVER will I make fun of or shack my head at A hunter who has done all the work and killed a deer legal no matter the size or how many.

 

[Shed Hunter]

I hunt state land also my dad always told me if you let it walk on state land your more then likely not helping cause you know whats gonna happen? The next guy is gonna come in and drop it:/ and ive found this to be true.

That's the worst mentality you can have. 100% selfish and incorrect. It's as dumb as the guy driving down the road saying "If you don't turn your brights off, I wont turn mine off." The other guy is saying the same thing and what happens? Two guys make idiots of themselves. It's no different with the "if I don't shoot it, they will." You and the guy over are saying the same thing. He is going to shoot it because you are going to shoot it. You are making sure the deer dies and in reality it is just an excuse for impatience.

If you want to kill a little buck man up and be happy about it. Dont make some crazy excuse


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[THEdonkey0515]

Trust me im very happy with little bucks with any deer dont get mad if I dont kill a dig deer:) I do have a couple dig deer on the wall but I hunt deer not Big bucks but ive seen it happen more then once just saying. I live in a very small town know almost every hunter ive seen deer I let walk or could not get a shot on. And they end up dead:/ but if the guy that killed it did it legal good for him;) if you had a lease and everyone on that lease agreed and said hey guys look let small ones walk then then yes you and produce big deer. Very had to do it on state land

 

[Shed Hunter]

Trust me im very happy with little bucks with any deer dont get mad if I dont kill a dig deer:) I do have a couple dig deer on the wall but I hunt deer not Big bucks but ive seen it happen more then once just saying. I live in a very small town know almost every hunter ive seen deer I let walk or could not get a shot on. And they end up dead:/ but if the guy that killed it did it legal good for him;) if you had a lease and everyone on that lease agreed and said hey guys look let small ones walk then then yes you and produce big deer. Very had to do it on state land

Not hard to do on state land at all


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[THEdonkey0515]

If you can do it cool:) but ive seen it many many times were ive seen a small buck or a buddy seen a small buck on state land and let it pass for whatever reason and its in the back of a truck at the BP next week lol if he killed it legal good for him:) Asked the guy were he got it guess what? Not to far were you let it passed.
Im sure ive shot small bucks/does on state after someone let them passed:) but im ok with that cause like I said I dont hunt BIG bucks I hunt deer. And im not gonna get mad and tell everyone to never shoot a small buck let them grow cause I want another wall hanger to show off. If they don't want to if thats not how they hunt:/

 

[THEdonkey0515]

Like i said I leave in a small town ive seen a couple guys come outta the woods ask each other what they seen 1 guy says I seen a samll 6pt and let it walk and that guy he just told goes back and kills that same deer the next day happens ever single year.

 

[Shed Hunter]

Like i said I leave in a small town ive seen a couple guys come outta the woods ask each other what they seen 1 guy says I seen a samll 6pt and let it walk and that guy he just told goes back and kills that same deer the next day happens ever single year.

I don't think you understand.

Go grab your gun. Don't pull the trigger. Now do that process when you see a deer you don't want to shoot.

If you're shooting them because it makes you happy, then that is great. Killing a deer because someone else might is a terrible idea though.



This isn't directed at you donkey-just a new thought on the discussion.

I think most that shoot the first deer they see are fooling themselves into believing that is what makes them happy. Most that shoot the first deer they see make an excuse to why they shot it-"cull buck" "thought it was bigger" "had a limp" "someone else would have shot it" or any other "I wasn't going to but. . . "


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[megalomaniac]

I started these thoughts on Sunday while in my stand and was( without being bothered lol ) interrupted by a nice 8 which i killed !and was making this post on FB, But as I sat there reading not just facebook or TNDEER.com but all the sites on the web ,FB, and general hunters , I ask myself what happened to HUNTING? Now before i go any further let me say I am far from a great hunter. I do understand land management and i do let small young deer walk. SOMETIMES ! but these are my thought from Sunday with a few added words . As I sit here in my stand listening to everything around me I start to think about the first time I went hunting . Back then things were a lot different . You could only kill two bucks ( I think) but you were lucky if you seen two in a season lol . You had to put in for doe tags or quota hunts I think we called them . When you killed a deer we had to drag them we did not have four wheelers .Dragging the deer was part of the hunt. There was a place in Columbia called HERKEYS ( I may be wrong on the name ) that everyone would go to after coming out of the woods to see what was killed . Yea back then hunters actually checked deer in . I mean you can check one in at a store now and the person asks what you got?? what county? all that but it used to be fun to listen to the old men tell the story of the kill while the deer was being weighed , oh yea a lot of places weighed them back then also . And as far as I can remember no one would criticize your kill ! Don't get me wrong I do believe in managing and letting bucks grow but last I checked we all pay the same to hunt with the same regulations .And we all buy the same Tennessee drivers license right? Does that mean we all have to drive the same vehicle ? Nope! you drive what you choose since that's your right. We all have the right to kill what ever and for some it's a privilege to hunt maybe they work and don't get time maybe they don't have land, any reason, so when they see a deer they take that opportunity. I could go on but to get to my point I feel like we have taken the hunt out of hunting by making it a competition or competition of Inches against people you don't even know and less about memories and tradition. I would not trade the smile on my girls face for anything every time they kill a deer and to be honest i feel like a kid every time i kill one myself. Then there is the posts like " with the weather conditions should I hunt tomorrow? " is the rut going on? I know we all wanna know but it takes the fun out of it for me . I just go every chance I get because I love to hunt . Just wish the tradition and respect for the game and hunter was still part of the hunt . Like I said I understand land management but i also work my butt off 6/7 days a week . My girls play travel softball so in the summer i have minimal time to scout and prep for the season. Then i buy the same permits and hunting gear you do so to me its not about me killing a bigger deer than hunters i don't know . Its about time to relax spend time with my family and make memories . i have not been criticized by anyone but see so much of it .HUNTERS feeling like they have to justify what they killed because of what trophy hunters have to say ! Hunting just aint the same !

Huh???

all this and it sounds to me more like YOU are the one guilty of everything you are complaining about. Just go out and hunt and have fun. Quit trying to justify shooting a small deer. If you want to kill yearlings, go ahead. For more and more hunters in the state however, it just isn't about the kill anymore. Many prefer matching wits against the smartest deer in the woods. And killing an old mature buck is definitely something to be proud of. But if you are proud of shooting a little buck, go ahead. It's your local herd, your 3 tags, and you are responsible as the steward of your local deer population for the next generation. You are also the only one responsible for your own satisfaction in hunting experience. Not me. As long as you leave the herd and land in better condition than you found it, you can be proud of whatever you choose to kill or not kill.

 

[Bone Collector]

a yearling buck at 400 yds in a crosswind is challenging

a yearling buck with a recurve no sights just stick and string is challenging


it is just what you make of it

some hunters dont want to be challenged

they want to shoot and eat

the biggest problem with hunting is hunters and yes hunters not peta will be the down fall

hunt the way you want to (legal) and dont worry about what other folks think

Learning to respect others goals and opinions, and maturing as a hunter are things we can all do.

maybe you should follow your own advice.....Notice I didn't bold the "maturing as a hunter" part. That is up to each individual as to what that means.

you want to hunt big bucks fine, but telling others they need to let little bucks walk and trying to throw in comments about herd health is bogus. That's just your way of justifying your opinion and reach your goals, but it shows little to no " respect others goals and opinions".

 

[chris1976]

a yearling buck at 400 yds in a crosswind is challenging

a yearling buck with a recurve no sights just stick and string is challenging


it is just what you make of it

some hunters dont want to be challenged

they want to shoot and eat

the biggest problem with hunting is hunters and yes hunters not peta will be the down fall

hunt the way you want to (legal) and dont worry about what other folks think

First, shooting at any deer at 400 yards in a crosswind is not only a challenge, but it would be unethical for most hunters. Very good chance of wounding a deer and not recovering it.

But thats another topic!

I do disagree with the idea of "hunt the way you want and don't worry about what other folks think". We are all in this thing together. We all have common goals, but we all have differing goals as well.

Learning to respect others goals and opinions, and maturing as a hunter are things we can all do.

The bottom line is that MOST hunters wants to kill big mature bucks. This simply can't be argued although there are obviously SOME exceptions.

To say "to each his own and mind your own business" is not really a way forward to bigger and better things, not only in hunting, but in life.

You say we should mature as hunters and RESPECT others goals and opinions. Yet you are trying to tell people what they should shoot? Cant be both ways. Hunt the way you want, shoot what you want, stay within the laws, and don't give two craps what other "hunters" think about you.

 

[Vermin93]

Ok, who has the cajones to admit that they proudly practice "if it's brown it's down"?