I'll do both. I don't have to let certain failures pass to also press my will on the bigger picture.
When I was a kid, I'm glad I had people that would tell it to me straight... rather than let me have some false idea of what was true. No wonder we have kids growing up without even knowing what gender they are. Adults apparently think they are doing them a favor by lying to them. This is how we get the idiotic stories you can hear in gun stores. They think their perception is king, whether it matches reality or not, and carry it into adulthood.
My first rifle buck below. Took me 17 years before I dropped a firing pin on another mulie buck... and I had to drive halfway across the country to do it thanks to everyone shooting crappy little bucks in the area I hunted. Soon, that will be
ALL hunting areas... and I'll be able to pull up this thread as proof of why... just like the old timers I talk to now that tell me hunting is garbage compared to when they were younger.
I was 15 or 16 years old. My trophy, was an actual trophy. No one had to
lie to me, or
accept me lying to them when I told the story.
Now tell me about how "not everyone has that opportunity." Right, ... and since everyone wants to shoot everything with tiny little horns and justify it... most people never will have that opportunity. I've had the opportunity twice in my life. Once I was 15/16, and another hunter the other side of the ridge missed... he came running by and I popped him running at 180yds, off-hand with a .243win, standing, with a sling. Much to the disappointment of the other hunter that walked up 20 minutes later. Next time was a 945yd shot when I was 32.
None of this makes me want to join the "I'm going to get mine" crowd and start blasting every crap buck I see.
When I was young, I'm glad I was around people of character. I'm glad I was around people that could exercise personal restraint. I'm glad I was around people that were concerned with more than just "getting theirs." The older I get, the more I wonder "where are all those people today?" Men of principle. Men of integrity.
Instead, it's just a society of hollow people that will do just about anything, and justify it any way it suits them. That is not how a strong, righteous, and proper society is built. We're living in the ruins of the country that had that... but doesn't anymore. What better day to recognize it.
My two Mulies. The only two proper specimen I've ever had the opportunity to kill in my life... which is two more than many will have the opportunity at.
@338 dude, you see? Those mulies of mine are not trophys by some folks standards. The folks in colorado, new mexico, and a few other areas... they would pass on both of them. However, they clearly reached a certain point where they became acceptable to shoot... by anyone's standard. You cared enough about your pronghorn to have it mounted... so clearly it's a trophy to you. That's not what this is about. This isn't about someone's lifetime hunt, or even lifetime of one-upping what he's got on the wall... always moving upward in class or character. It also isn't about the kid bashing his first buck and having it be a dink, despite the fact that NO ONE is doing that kid a favor calling it a trophy.
No.
Actually, it's not even about hunting. The same people that refuse to hold standards when hunting... generally won't hold a standard anywhere else in their lives either. That's what it's about. Every day when talking with customers on the phone, I hear the complaints from everyone on how terrible this or that is... and saying things like "how did this happen?"
Unprincipled men, justifying the lack of standard among their even more unprincipled boys. I see it in hunting, and I see it in everything else. I've seen it get only worse in my lifetime, and I expect it to get only worse as time goes on. You can't suggest unprincipled people change. They won't listen, and they will attack you.
I used to believe that. However, I've seen it with my own eyes. This buck was smaller last year. Want to know how I know? He was here last year and I took his picture in almost the same spot in my back yard as I did this year. He's bigger this year. Yet, now you know that's not really what I'm talking about after reading this post.
I'm talking about the problems we face as a society and a nation. As our country grows another year older... it's on my mind.
Angry unprincipled people getting mad at principled people, and the principled people just going away because we're tired of dealing with them. That's how we got where we are. If that continues, it will continue to get worse. Hunting is just one place I can easily see the lack of standards and restraint very plainly showing up in the drastically reduced trophy opportunities available compared to when I was a kid. It's very obvious to anyone not paying big bucks for guides. So I thought it a good parallel to draw.
Done.
-----------
Follow on Instagram
Subscribe on YouTube
Amazon Affiliate
