Eastman's takes a stance on long range hunting as well

[jmez]

I'll add that stand hunting whitetail deer in the midwest really doesn't involve much more than picking a tree. If you simply want to kill a deer then you don't even need a tree, stand behind a big one downwind of a trail leading into an ag field. There is very little skill involved with shooting deer in the corn belt.

You can't legislate or control morality. Buying a license allows you to kill and animal. You can't base the purchase on one's personal attitudes and beliefs.

 

[realunlucky]

I'll add that stand hunting whitetail deer in the midwest really doesn't involve much more than picking a tree. If you simply want to kill a deer then you don't even need a tree, stand behind a big one downwind of a trail leading into an ag field. There is very little skill involved with shooting deer in the corn belt.

You can't legislate or control morality. Buying a license allows you to kill and animal. You can't base the purchase on one's personal attitudes and beliefs.

Have you ever hunted whitetail deer? This is the stupidest statement I've read on this web site

 

[bigeasygator]

The purpose of hunting is to kill an animal for its meat and therefore any method of doing that is "hunting".

That may be your thoughts on hunting but they certainly aren't mine. For the record, the dictionary definition of hunting says nothing about harvesting or killing game. Hunting is defined as the pursuit of an animal. If the experience of hunting were summed up by killing for meat, I should have quit long ago. In fact we all should have because it's a heck of a lot easier to get your meat from the grocery store.

I've passed on animals I could've killed because I was looking for something larger and more challenging -- and that was a perfectly acceptable hunting experience for me. I've had hunts where the fondest memories were sitting around a campfire with great friends, listening to a nearby stream chugging along, and staring up and contemplating the stars -- and that was a way more successful hunt than putting my hands on some meat. It's not just about killing an animal. I think that's the stigma that LRH suffers from. Some of the other experiences that fall under the umbrella of the pursuit of game are potentially minimized. I'm not saying LRHers can't enjoy a campfire or haven't passed on game, but there's other experiences that certainly get diminished while hunting at extreme distances.

Again, let me be clear. I'm not for imposing distance limits or saying shots past a certain range shouldn't be considered hunting -- that's for each of us to decide. There is, however, a line where the pursuit is diminished, and this is often a personal line and we should all understand where that sits for us and be comfortable with that. We can't paint every situation with a broad stroke.

 

[jmez]

I grew up in southeast Nebraska, I've been hunting them since I was 14 as that is when it became legal. Currently live in Western SD, not even really deer country and it isn't hard here either. I won't "pretend" that it is to project some sort of moral superiority over a web site. If you think it is the stupidest statement you've ever read, you have not hunted deer in the midwest, you are a very poor deer hunter or you are a liar.

 

[DWarcher]

Matt, I have found it much easier to hunt/kill animals(mostly Elk) with a bow than with a LR rifle. So maybe that's the problem.

Don't you mean it's easier to kill a bull during the rut than it is post-rut?

 

[Ryan Avery]

Don't you mean it's easier to kill a bull during the rut than it is post-rut?

Killed some in September some in our late season in December. It has more to do with the terrain I hunt. Very thick with small window to shoot in. Rarely will you get a mature animal out in the open for very long. You are also shooting at 50 yards max or across a canyon at 600+, Nothing in between.

 

[Sam Millard]

I would also venture to say that if Idaho moved its archery season out of September and into October, a lot of bows would be listed for sale...those bow hunters have an "unfair advantage"

 

[Sam Millard]

Have you ever hunted whitetail deer? This is the stupidest statement I've read on this web site

I've read worse In the panhandle of Idaho, whitetails are stupid easy to kill, big bucks on the other hand, not so much.

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

I'll add that stand hunting whitetail deer in the midwest really doesn't involve much more than picking a tree. If you simply want to kill a deer then you don't even need a tree, stand behind a big one downwind of a trail leading into an ag field. There is very little skill involved with shooting deer in the corn belt.

You can't legislate or control morality. Buying a license allows you to kill and animal. You can't base the purchase on one's personal attitudes and beliefs.

This statement is simply untrue. 9 out of 10 whitetail I kill are from the ground and the ones I have killed from stand certainly involved more than just picking a tree.

 

[OR Archer]

I don't give two F%#¥ for Eastmans stance on things. Not a fan of those guys. If they don't like it then don't do it. Simple. Hunt for yourself and quit trying to conform everyone else into your little box.

 

[jmez]

This statement is simply untrue. 9 out of 10 whitetail I kill are from the ground and the ones I have killed from stand certainly involved more than just picking a tree.

So it would not be easy to simply kill a deer, from the ground or in a treestand in Missouri?

 

[bigeasygator]

So it would not be easy to simply kill a deer, from the ground or in a treestand in Missouri?

We're taking this thread way off topic...but I found it way easier to kill elk and mule deer than I have whitetail deer for the record.

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

So it would not be easy to simply kill a deer, from the ground or in a treestand in Missouri?

Not by simply picking a tree. It's not that easy. I'm sure you could drop a doe relatively easy I suppose but big bucks are arguably some the most difficult animals to hunt in north America. Unless you own thousands of acres well managed for deer, patterning a big buck is extremely difficult and even then its hard. Sure whitetail hunting is not as physically demanding as elk or sheep or mountain goat but the care and skill it takes to harvest large bucks is substantial.

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

We're taking this thread way off topic...but I found it way easier to kill elk and mule deer than I have whitetail deer for the record.

Most people do, except jmez. He must be the whitetail whisperer.

 

[realunlucky]

So it would not be easy to simply kill a deer, from the ground or in a treestand in Missouri?

Your just going to drive your car to public land and get out and kill a deer? Sorry just don't think so but hey maybe your luckier than most

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

Your just going to drive your car to public land and get out and kill a deer? Sorry just don't think so but hey maybe your luckier than most

Especially you, you're real unlucky. Sorry couldn't help it.

 

[PJG]

I truly don’t give a funk what weapon a person hunts with, to each his own and who am I to judge. But, I do have a problem with Eastmans taking a stand and I also have a problem with posts like these. The anti-crowd is always going to be the anti-crowd, they have one priority and that is to stop all hunting plain and simple. But, on the other hand you have the hunting crowd. The funny thing about the hunting crowd is that they actually believe that their individual ethics are somehow greater than the ethics of other hunters, and they are going to bicker back and forth trying to prove each other right or wrong. They are actually going to bitch and complain about the hunter that chooses to harvest elk a mile away and are going to label that said hunter fat and lazy. But, they might actually be the hunter that chooses to hunt from the truck and shoot out the window with a cold pack riding shotgun. Ethics you call them…..HA that’s some funny stuff. I will always respect the guy that puts in the time to learn how to accurately shoot any rifle that far out, just the same as I will respect the guy that puts in the time and can shoot a compound over 100 yards. As long as the animal is a clean kill, and all of the meat eaten I could give a rat’s ass what type of weapon is used. Whatever happened to supporting your own family, and by that I mean your hunting family. Each state issues rules and regulations, as long as a person follows these rules and regulations is that person doing anything wrong. All too often it’s the hunter that will actually take a stand even though what a person has done is within the rules and regs. All this does is divide the hunting crowd, that is not what we need.

Hunting is no different than anything else, you are going to have to deal with morons that do not follow the rules and regs, but please do not lump the idiot in the same boat as someone that is following the rules and regs.

 

[dotman]

I have to agree with jmez, to kill a whitetail is super easy but to kill a trophy is completely diff. I have found cow elk more difficult then a ks doe whitetail deer are to hunt. But for me it is crazy if I don't see plenty of does each time out, they are thick like ticks in Eastern KS.

 

[boom]

Face it. Like everything else, there is a pecking order. Full spectrum from throwing a spear to shooting an animal in a pen .

How we rank the activities in the pecking order and the line we draw is anyone's guess.

I try not to judge. I just respect my own "line".

 

[Poser]

So it would not be easy to simply kill a deer, from the ground or in a treestand in Missouri?

I've never hunted in the cornbelt nor do I find that big ag type of hunting appealing compared to the other hunting opportunities that exist in the world, but I do live in a state that has a lot of whitetails, some agriculture, some of the most liberal bag limits in the country (3 does a day for 100+ days + 3 bucks) as well as not only one of the longest deer hunting seasons (100+days), but one of the longest rifle seasons (6 weeks + 2-3 weeks of Mzl) in the country. Some of the areas that I hunt have 50+ deer per square mile with an abundance of crops (and I hunt them from trees as well as from the ground). With all those deer and + the length of the season, only half the hunters are even successful at killing a deer. Less than 5% kill more than 1 buck in a season. Granted, the cornbelt doesn't have a fraction of the amount of cover that we have between and around our ag fields, but nonetheless, I would have a difficult time dismissing it as easy altogether as "easy" because I can sometimes go hunt areas where you literally can't walk 5 yards without seeing fresh deer sign, prime habitat, plenty of food, and not even see a single deer for multiple hunts in a row. I'd like to think I'm pretty decent at finding selecting great spots (trees, funnels etc) to hunt Whitetails from and I still find myself beating my head against the wall at times. I can only assume that cornbelt hunting must be similar, particularly since those states have very short gun seasons, leaving the hunter to mostly hunting the edges of massive crop fields with a bow in their hand. I ain't interested in it, but I wouldn't dismiss it either. In fact, if you can tolerate sitting perfectly still in a treestand for hours on end in Iowa in December, with the frigid wind in your face and still be able to draw a bow back with 8 layers of clothes on, much less shoot accurately... hey, more power to you.