Are we really hunting?

[mxgsfmdpx]

What I’m personally a fan of doesn’t matter.

I’ve never hunter over bait and likely never will. I’ve also never used or hunted where trail cameras are in use because I don’t like the idea of them.

If somebody else does those things, it doesn’t make any difference to me.

If it’s your property it’s your rules, so establish as you see fit

 

[ddd-shooter]

For me: No cams. No bait. No private land.
Spent years archery only-compound.
Now that I’m dragging the rifle out a little it feels like a cheat code lol.

Personally, I think cell cams during season are about as unsportsmanlike as it gets.
I know MULTIPLE guys every year who get a pic on their cell and run out and kill a buck in the backyard or the back forty.

 

[KurtR]

If it’s legal who am I to judge.

I won’t jump shoot ducks or geese but if some on wants to what ever just don’t bust the roost.

 

[HillDogAU]

Ok, So- Elephant in the room- THERMAL imaging for hunting public land.....
Where do you guys sit with this?

surely that, simply is not hunting........????? love to hear it

 

[KurtR]

Ok, So- Elephant in the room- THERMAL imaging for hunting public land.....
Where do you guys sit with this?

surely that, simply is not hunting........????? love to hear it

It’s not legal for big game.

 

[brancher147]

You say you won’t criticize someone for hunting legally. What law is he breaking?

I have tried using bait. Didn’t like it. Never killed a mature animal. Now it is illegal where I live although plenty of people still do. If it was my property I would not let someone bait, mainly because I don’t want to unnaturally gather animals (and we do have CWD here) and I have seen deer get sick from eating rotten corn.

Somebody’s choice of weapon or cell cameras I have no problem with although I don’t have any interest in cell cams myself.

 

[Fatcamp]

Those things all suck. Ain't no putting the genie back in the bottle though, and the advocates and retailers will push hard to normalize them and anything else they can find to give them an edge or make them a buck

I think I'm getting old and grumpy.

 

[DangerRanger]

I don’t personally understand the anti crossbow sentiment, but I also am not into archery.

We don’t do bait or cameras

 

[np307]

Individual hunting contexts matter a lot in this discussion. Generally speaking, more restrictive regs correspond to more fragile populations. Whitetail populations are generally doing really well and this results in liberal bag limits and methods of take. I don't know where you are or what time period you're romanticizing but I'd wager that it was during the wildlife rebound of the mid 1900s. Just remember that people managed to almost eliminate wild game on this continent without any of the tech you have a problem with.

I'm a die-hard decoyless turkey hunter. I hate reaping turkeys and field decoy spreads. There are plenty of people like that who talk about tradition and the way birds should be hunted. In reality, the days before turkeys were almost eliminated saw all manner of unsavory methods by modern standards. Trenches full of corn and rifles to take out lots of birds at once. Roost shooting. Killing hens. So what I ultimately realized is that its not about tradition or anything else. It's about the way I like to hunt these birds. So I'll hunt the way I enjoy and go from there.

Nothing wrong with you not liking certain tools being used for hunting. Nothing wrong with you even restricting someone else on your land to hunting a certain way. But don't act like a bait pile and cameras mean someone isn't hunting. It may not be hunting the way you like, but its still hunting.

I don't know how many people who call a bait pile hunt "harvesting, not hunting" have ever killed livestock before but in my opinion there's still a pretty big gap between them.

 

[NealS02]

I have my own moral constraints when it comes to hunting that are full of contradictions and could be argued against. I fall into the camp of not telling someone else what they can and cannot do as long as it is legal.

The previously dedicated bow hunters around me have all switched crossbows, which is not my cup of tea. The truth is they never practiced enough, took questionable shots, and wounded a fair number of animals. Is it better for me to look down on them for using a crossbow or to be glad that they are not wounding 2 bucks for every one killed? I settled on the latter. Hunting is filled with personal choices that I am not qualified to dictate nor do I want to.

 

[5MilesBack]

Is using a modern bow really hunting?

To me, the weapon carried has absolutely nothing to do with the actual hunting aspect. I'm "hunting" until it's time to take the shot, regardless what weapon it is. At that point, the hunting is over, now I'm shooting.

And for me personally, if I'm sitting......I'm not hunting. I'm not hunting until I'm on the move. But some guys really like sitting all day, and I'm ok with that. But for me, that's harder than hiking 10 miles through elk country.

 

[Taprack9]

Maybe our area is unique, the deer are highly pressured and if you get one on your cam it’s gonna be long gone before you get to that stand.

We use cameras more or less to see if there are any bucks in the area. I had a couple that hit the camera once this year and were never seen again.

None of us (our family) chase the camera action. We pick a spot and stick to it. I’ve known a lot of hunters who have a bunch of cameras and never shoot good deer because they run to the area that had the photo.

Personally I have an ethical problem with baiting deer but I hold nothing against the guys that do it as long as it’s legal. It’s illegal where I hunt.

Bottom line, it’s hunting and stuff still has to come together to get the shot.

 

[Yoder]

I've had issues with my left shoulder for about 20 years. Three years ago, I finally got to where I couldn't hold my bow up anymore. I even lowered the weight to 50lb and took off everything except the sight. I've used a crossbow since then. It's an advantage, but it's not that much different than my compound. I haven't killed anything that I wouldn't have killed with my regular bow. Out to 40 yards, I could shoot better groups with my regular bow than my crossbow offhand. For me, it's just not the same. It is almost exactly like rifle hunting. Looking through a scope somehow makes it different. I just don't have that same adrenaline rush. I had surgery this year, so next season I'm switching back to my regular bow. The reason I posted this was I used to feel the same way about crossbows. Now, I don't think they are the game changer that people think. They let you practice less, you have an optic, and you don't have to draw. They are also, really awkward, heavy and almost impossible to get a follow up shot. They really suck to shoot. The reloading process takes forever. There is no joy in it, like I had shooting my bow. For me, it was just a tool to kill stuff.

 

[CRJR45]

People try to glorify hunting , and call themselves purist , then look down at anybody they deem unworthy .
You're killing a dumb animal , don't make so much of it .
To each their own .
I would say look at Tred Barta , his definition of hunting changed big time , it's just a matter of perspective , IMHO.

 

[GLB]

I hunt the way I want to hunt regardless if it’s Archery or Rifle season. 98% of the time that is with a Recurve or Longbow with wood arrows. Occasionally I’ll use a rifle or Muzzle Loader. Personally I do not use trail cameras and I don’t consider cross bows as archery equipment for archery season.

Hunt the way you want if it’s legal, however if we let technology run away it will continue to affect all of us. I believe shorter seasons and less tags as a result of too much technology.

 

[Nine Banger]

You can limit him to 1 buck 1 doe?

This is what I do.

I set a parameter on a goal not an open invitation "to hunt".

 

[Q_Sertorius]

This is what I do.

I set a parameter on a goal not an open invitation "to hunt".

Agreed. My father’s condition for anyone hunting on our land is “no does.” Keeping the same little herds of does in place has done wonders for our overall deer population. Between friends and family, we legally took 10 bucks off our farm in six weeks of muzzleloader and rifle season. I’d say that three of them were nice deer (170-180 pounds live weight), four were decent deer (~150 pounds live weight), and three probably should have been let live another year or two (120-140 pounds live weight).

The only thing that has affected it at all is my neighbor’s illegal deer feeder. I still see plenty of good deer, but one of “our” little doe herds moved about 300 yards to live next to the corn. Three of the bucks we shot had corn in their bellies, including one that had walked almost 1/2 mile from the feeder before he met his demise in the middle of our farm (I backtracked him). I absolutely loathe baiting.

 

[rookieforever33]

What are your thoughts. All is legal. Whitetail deer hunting, over bait with cell cameras and a crossbow. Personally I think this going to far and not hunting, harvesting. This is night and day from when I grew up bowhunting deer, no bait, no cameras. Killing a mature hunted whitetail was HARD and required a lot of work to do it consistently. Now you dump corn, set a camera, pattern a deer, check the camera before you walk into your stand so you do not spook deer, and then kill him. To easy?

Feeding deer corn may be detrimental to their health. It sounds weird until you read into it. If baiting with corn is legal it's up to a hunter and landowner that the only deer harmed are the ones intentionally killed.
I always equate people hunting ethics to drivers on the highway. Anyone driving 5 mph slower than you is an idiot, 5mph faster is a maniac, nobody cares what the speed limit is. As long as what other hunters are doing is legal keep dont bother them.
If they are on your land talk about your concerns, you pay the taxes, you make the rules. I have heatd of landowners tgat dont want firearms used for "safety" reasons, others that dont like archery because of more potential for "wounding".
Folllow the laws, follow landowners rules, follow your own beliefs. Support other Americans right to hunt.

 

[waspocrew]

As long as it’s legal, I’m fine with people using whatever method it is to take game.

 

[coyotekilla]

Hunting over a corn pile is bait - hunting in the corn of a corn field isn't?

Using camouflage makes you less of a hunter than wearing buckskin?

Hunting with a longbow kills the deer different than using a crossbow?

Hunting from a treestand is different than Hunting from the ground?

Hunting at its earliest involved using tools to make things sharper, faster, more deadly than what we used the week before. Its the main difference between us and the animals.

Animals run faster, see farther, smell better, are stronger, and have almost every natural advantage.

The Indian word for bad hunter is vegetarian...

Our great grandfather's deer season was when the meat pole was empty, not when the government said they could use a certain stick with a certain string, on a certain side of the road.