Posting unit #'s

[Fyrfytr1805]

If it wasn't for Meateater, Randy Newberg, and GoHunt, I wouldn't be a western hunter. I wouldn't be applying in every single western state for nearly every species and those wildlife management departments would not have my thousands of dollars a year. I wouldn't be a member of RMEF (lifetime), Boone & Crockett (lifetime), Pope & Young, BHA, and WSF, with intentions to join others. I wouldn't participate in every Howl for Wildlife opportunity. I would never have even joined Rokslide.

Be angry all you want that more people are hunting now than ever before... but without more hunters, the anti-hunters will eventually win this war.

seems to be a double edged sword.

 

[Maverick1]

You are correct. I hate how they throw a lot of inch numbers you can expect out with the unit list. "If you draw this unit expect 180" and 200" possible."

Eastman's and several others did the same thing

Yes. Magazines listed units and that had significant impacts to those units. Same thing happened with videos and articles.

Some people knew this and applied for other units that were NOT advertised or written about, and were thusly able to draw and hunt those units, without being bombarded with all the other hunters, and have great hunts. In some cases, even hunt that unit more than once! There are ways to avoid point creep. If one learned to think and select their units based on the simple principle of survivorship bias they’d be much better off……

If you can’t read between the lines, kudos to @cnelk for preaching it here repeatedly in a different form about the anti of “going deep”….lots of magazines and videos preach “going deep” to find elk, when in reality that often leads to finding other hunters and frustration. Sure, it can work, and it has worked, but not always. One should learn to think differently and apply this same thought process and approach to unit and state selection, too. Follow what everyone else does and you’ll have similar results to everyone else, along with their 10% success rates, unit crowding, and point creep.

Good luck this season!

 

[mpb21]

The whole Newberg and Meateater example used to make more sense to me. But even those guys are turning to and past the point of exploitation of the resource for their own benefit. Same can be said BRO, Hush, and on and on. Its not about promoting hunting and conservation any more, my perception is that its now more about exploiting the resource for economic personal gain.

Its no longer about getting people into hunting to benefit wildlife, its about getting more people into the sport to line their own pockets. Not saying they dont care about the land and wildlife but the motivation has clearly shifted.

Hell half of the meateater podcasts have some celebrity on them now and half of Newbergs podcasts are about diversity and inclusion lately.

 

[Hnthrdr]

It’s not that I was waiting, never had the points to draw the unit I wanted to. I thought it would take me 8 years to draw. Here I sit with 30 points, maybe draw in a couple more years. Over the counter tags in Idaho & Montana 30 years ago we’re probably better than this unit in Colorado is now. I’ll enjoy the hunt when I draw. I’ve played this game since the mid seventies. I’ve had my share of great tags and set the table for a great run in my golden years.

Can’t even believe how much hunting has changed, with fewer and fewer opportunities every year.

I think you can draw it now, there are only a handful of people with 30 points…

 

[Still Hunter]

I just want to hunt. I will where ever I find the opportunity. Too old for the whole "Points" farce. Just got to find them.

 

[packgoatguy]

We may not have had the internet to help us learn how to hunt in the 80s and 90s... but we all had someone who held our hand till we got our feet wet. Maybe it was a dad, a granddad, a trusted friend, or a neighbor. None of us just woke up one morning with a rifle or a bow in our hands for the first time and thought to ourselves... I think I'm going to go hunt some stuff today... and already had both the passion and the skills to get it done... no, instead we all had a leg up or an introduction from somewhere or someone. Some of us more than others. Some of us had A LOT more help and support than others. It could be considered a bit short sited if we aren't willing to lend a generous hand to the next generation of hunters. That's not to say we need to hold every newbie by the hand to make sure they kill a 350 class bull their first year out... and we can certainly have respect for lessons learned the hard way... but I think we all could do a bit better about sharing the knowledge we have learned, just like it was shared with us. Pass it on.

 

[stanginthe11s]

speak for yourself, I came out of the womb with a rabbit in my teeth and a bow on my back.

there's a difference between helping people and spoon feeding them because they don't want to do the work. but I agree, we should pass on knowledge.

 

[CJohnson]

With all of these new hunters, money, and votes pumped into various non profits, influencer pockets, etc that was promoted as a need for hunting to survive what has it actually accomplished ?

Have we gained hunting rights ?
Are there more animals on the ground ?
Are we even in control of our state game agencies ?
Have they tried to codify hunting rights in every state ? or on the federal level especially when we had a right leaning Congress ?
Is hunting on Federal Lands a guarantee in the future ?
I could go on….

Anyone being honest knows the answers to all of those questions.

Bottom line. It’s all bullshit.
They are here to make money and hunt while doing so, period.
And that doesn’t bother me. I am not mad at people making money or hunting.

What bothers me is pissing on my head and telling me it’s rain we needed.

Limiting unit numbers or having some sort of decorum when it comes to posting hard earned knowledge isn’t that much to ask. I wish the social media types would use the same approach, it might balance things out a bit.

I’d like to see someone on the “we need more hunters” side of things to respond to these observations.

 

[packgoatguy]

speak for yourself, I came out of the womb with a rabbit in my teeth and a bow on my back.

there's a difference between helping people and spoon feeding them because they don't want to do the work. but I agree, we should pass on knowledge.

In my opinion, an 8 or a 10 year old needs to be "spoon fed". I'll do pretty much everything for a youngster in their first few hunting experiences... except for pull the trigger or wipe their hind end. A 15 year old is far more capable of following instruction, but if they didn't start the learning process early, then they need a fair bit of hand holding to make sure they stay safe, know the ethics behind what we do, and have a good enough time (even when they don't fill a tag) that they come back the next time with a good attitude. A young adult should theoretically need even less hand holding, but may actually take more work on the part of the mentor to adequately train them because of preconceived ideas and bad habits.

 

[manitou1]

If it wasn't for Meateater, Randy Newberg, and GoHunt, I wouldn't be a western hunter. I wouldn't be applying in every single western state for nearly every species and those wildlife management departments would not have my thousands of dollars a year. I wouldn't be a member of RMEF (lifetime), Boone & Crockett (lifetime), Pope & Young, BHA, and WSF, with intentions to join others. I wouldn't participate in every Howl for Wildlife opportunity. I would never have even joined Rokslide.

Be angry all you want that more people are hunting now than ever before... but without more hunters, the anti-hunters will eventually win this war.

What would it matter if you can't draw a unit?

 

[stanginthe11s]

In my opinion, an 8 or a 10 year old needs to be "spoon fed". I'll do pretty much everything for a youngster in their first few hunting experiences... except for pull the trigger or wipe their hind end. A 15 year old is far more capable of following instruction, but if they didn't start the learning process early, then they need a fair bit of hand holding to make sure they stay safe, know the ethics behind what we do, and have a good enough time (even when they don't fill a tag) that they come back the next time with a good attitude. A young adult should theoretically need even less hand holding, but may actually take more work on the part of the mentor to adequately train them because of preconceived ideas and bad habits.

I dont dissagree, but what many complain about is not that. there are no 8-15 year olds jumping on this forum asking for unit #'s . I'd guess most are over 25 and most already have basic hunting skills. the majority of people who ask these things are just looking for the easy button. it is usually seen in the response when they are told to do research.
me personally, I have no problem taking someone hunting and showing them what they need to do, but they have to put in effort and show me I'm not wasting my time. if you say you want to go grizzly hunting, I'll say great let's go, what do you have so far. if your response is "nothing, I started here first" then the conversation is over because the first thing you need to do is research. handing out unit #'s or telling them where to go is not teaching anyone about hunting, in fact it's doing the opposite.
now, my argument has always been to actually teach new hunters about ethics. rather than just give out locations and have the area swarmed with people chasing animals like its a fox hunt, we should get together and show them how to act and hunt in these areas. maybe sacrifice your solo hunt for the greater good of teaching the new guy. this is what I do, this is the way.

 

[packgoatguy]

What would it matter if you can't draw a unit?

I dont think it necessarily needs to be all or nothing. I helped a friend of mine get into hunting here in Idaho about 7 years ago. He had been exposed to hunting a bit as a kid, but it was in his late 30s when i started taking him and his kids out. He was, and is fine with taking a spike or 2point general season buck, and his teenage kids all are happy with a doe. Now, after years of "handholding" he is a positive voice for conservation efforts, knows how to handle and process his own meat, practices safe firearm handling and ethical hunting, and at least during a few weeks in October his kids aren't stuck in front of a video game screen. Another example... I've got a friend of a friend I spoke with for the first time last week. He hasn't hunted in 20 years, and needs a bit of encouragement. All he wants is a cow elk to put some meat in the freezer for his 6 kids this fall. Our discussion led to what it would take to get his teenage boys involved so they could have a good experience too. We chatted for over an hour as I walked him through the regs and his various options. In the end, if he takes me up on it, I'd gladly sit in the woods with him for a few days, and he is welcome to use my rifles and other gear that will help him have a successful hunt. In the end, I hope to have another ethical hunter who shares the same values and ethos and love for the wild that I do.

Not every new hunter that could be trained and encouraged will want or need to be putting in for trophy draw tags.

 

[Jon Boy]

We may not have had the internet to help us learn how to hunt in the 80s and 90s... but we all had someone who held our hand till we got our feet wet. Maybe it was a dad, a granddad, a trusted friend, or a neighbor. None of us just woke up one morning with a rifle or a bow in our hands for the first time and thought to ourselves... I think I'm going to go hunt some stuff today... and already had both the passion and the skills to get it done... no, instead we all had a leg up or an introduction from somewhere or someone. Some of us more than others. Some of us had A LOT more help and support than others. It could be considered a bit short sited if we aren't willing to lend a generous hand to the next generation of hunters. That's not to say we need to hold every newbie by the hand to make sure they kill a 350 class bull their first year out... and we can certainly have respect for lessons learned the hard way... but I think we all could do a bit better about sharing the knowledge we have learned, just like it was shared with us. Pass it on.

I had very little help. When I moved to Montana I had the fwp hunt planner and a gazeteer. Figured it out. Now there mt hunt planner and every other statistic is spoon fed in an easy to access form that you have to pay to access. People were to effing lazy to look at all of the data that every state agency provided. And the hunting was great.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[Elktaco]

Not really sure but I do know that unit 53 in Colorado is hands down the best OTC archery unit in the state!

 

[gtriple]

Not really sure but I do know that unit 53 in Colorado is hands down the best OTC archery unit in the state!

 

[stanginthe11s]

Not really sure but I do know that unit 53 in Colorado is hands down the best OTC archery unit in the state!

I think everyone knows 93 is the trophy unit, you must have mistyped.