Real Hunters?

[ofbandg]

Is hunter something you are or something you do? I may never hunt again but I will always be a hunter. Hunters are born with that desire. Whether they develop it, and gain the skills necessary to fulfill their destiny, is a matter of circumstance. I may never be able to make sense of it but over the years it is something I have learned to accept. Many times I have met people in the woods all decked out for hunting, and quickly realized they weren't hunters. They just wanted to kill something so they could take it home to show off. They didn't care about following rules or laws, all they cared about was status. I have even had them try and buy fresh killed game from my hunting partners so the will have something to take home and show their friends. Hunting comes from the inside, it's not on the surface.

 

[Blacktailer]

 

[Plowboy85]

I am a mediocre hunter at best, I live in the SE where we typically hunt whitetail except the annual trips where I hunt out west for elk or mulies. I sure wish I knew more than I do about truly patterning and hunting deer but unfortunately I am still learning every year. I primarily bow hunt and strive to pattern mature
deer. I do have quite a bit of food plots, protein/corn feeders and provide salt/mineral sites. I do not hunt on or near the supplemental feed sites (only food plots) unless I am trying to kill a cull deer because I want him dead and not really worried about the trophy of the hunt. That said I do not kill many deer because I will only kill mature bucks and I use a bow with a 50yd range. I still don't think I am a good hunter but I feel better about my accomplishments than my friends that kill monsters on the MS delta setting over bait sites of corn and sweet taters with rifles. I also turkey hunt like my life depends on it which is a sure enough challenge.

 

[DDWing]

How many of us are really hunters?
With that statement I like to define a true hunter but also no disrespect to the one's that fall out of this category.
A hunter in my opinion is a person that kills to have hunted.
Hunting means one knows everything about his quarry.
Knows its habits, paterns,where it lives and travels.
The hunter than plans and sets up a rendezvous and than hopefully if he is a competent marksman finishes the hunt.

So again no disrespect for people with a limited time frame,disabilities,traveling to far of locations etc.
These people must rely on outfiters and guides to do to a great extent the hunting for them and they become the shooters.

People hunting the fringes of parks,roadhunters ( with the exception of antelope ) game reserves and sanctuaries also don't qualify.
And neither do drones, heat seekers, fish finders. lol

So how many of us are really a full fledged hunters?
Just wondering.
Martin

I hunt. Therefore I am.

 

[RckyMtnRutt]

Im assuming this is a troll. Or OP is mad about a recent run in. Everyone will have a different definition or being a "true" hunter. Everyone was raised and taught differently also hunt different terrains, states, or countries. When i was young my dad would take me up into the mountains no cell service no gps until later on and we harvested to fill our freezer. Learned a lot about country and how to read a map. Also have buddies that pass on tons of animals each year just to shoot a "trophy" i think your statement is super loaded especially for LRH. I would assume we are all true hunters here. Whether it be a guy on a plot, or someone shooting long range, getting dropped off on a 5-7 trip, being guided, etc etc and the end of the day it is hunting

 

[cabelasken]

About 15 years ago, I attended a public meeting with the Idaho wildlife commission on the status of game animals, license availability, and the future of big game animals in the state. The last 30 minutes of the gathering was opened up to questions and answers. A few of the locals spoke up at the end critizing the amount of non-resident tags and the game take by non residents. The biologist from the state dept spoke up by saying non resident success rate was directly proportional to amount of time spent in the woods by non residents and their desire to hunt away from the roads. Just two years before, 4 of us from Calif drew tags in a premium unit and three of us filled tags with nice animals. All were taken more than 1/2 mile from any access road or trail. Prior to the trip, we spent hours looking over maps, planning for the hunt and that pre planning resulted in two of the bucks taken. I found my buck 2 miles away from where I intended to spend my hours hunting. None of us had ever hunted this unit before, but maps and intel from friends helped make the trip successful.

 

[Clark54]

Wow. Never met a true hunter!

 

[loren holland]

So true, im an old man and dont rely on all the modern so called hunting equipment , use straight bow or recurve instinct shooting, open site rifles or normal 3 to 10 power, a 10 power you can shoot 500 yards all day long, and if you cant get closer let it walk on by, when all the modern day tech fails you you cant or dont know how to be a hunter,

So you use technology invented in the 1800s over the technology used througout history and have the nerve to pronounce yourself superior to anyone using technology invented/ or improved after what you use? Or someone that uses the exact same technology to magnify an image, but does it a bit more than you? And you can't see the hypocrisy in that?

 

[TxHeartShot]

How many of us are really hunters?
With that statement I like to define a true hunter but also no disrespect to the one's that fall out of this category.
A hunter in my opinion is a person that kills to have hunted.
Hunting means one knows everything about his quarry.
Knows its habits, paterns,where it lives and travels.
The hunter than plans and sets up a rendezvous and than hopefully if he is a competent marksman finishes the hunt.

So again no disrespect for people with a limited time frame,disabilities,traveling to far of locations etc.
These people must rely on outfiters and guides to do to a great extent the hunting for them and they become the shooters.

People hunting the fringes of parks,roadhunters ( with the exception of antelope ) game reserves and sanctuaries also don't qualify.
And neither do drones, heat seekers, fish finders. lol

So how many of us are really a full fledged hunters?
Just wondering.
Martin

 

[Orange Dust]

1) Take a kid
2) Have Fun
3) Don't worry about what they call you

 

[one3]

Woha, people. Be fore you tar and feather the Op, and run him out of town on a rail. I, think he is refering to the rules of fair chase. I, grew up in the 50's and 60's. We did not have all this high tech stuff. No real cammo. No trail cams. No one talked of shooting like some kind of sniper for x amount of yards. I, for one have never head any one mention the rules of fair chase in years. Some how or another our mind set has changed.

 

[wilkup]

I spend time in the haunts of the animals I seek to kill throughout the year. When the season arrives, I continue to visit these places I've discovered beforehand with a rifle and plans to place a bullet into these animals.
Does that count?

 

[PNWdude67]

Hunting in Australia is completely different. By LAW, we cannot shoot, hunt or even have a loaded firearm on or next to a road. We cannot use any type of lure, bait, beating or dogs to take down deer or other game animals.
We cannot shoot deer at night, allowable hours are half an hour after sunrise to half an hour after sunset.
We have hound crews, but this is a topic I am not convinced is a good one, my opinion after seeing stags almost run to death, not ethical in my eyes.
We have to have a game license, if you don't you are poaching.
Although public land is huntable on, most of us hunt private property where farmland is next to natural bush/forest.
I am a hunter, not only for trophies, but also for the meat.
For me, the shooting part is a very small part of the overall hunt experience, if I go home empty handed, I am not disappointed in the sense that I didn't shoot anything, only that the animal was cleverer than I was and alluded me.

Cheers.

You just described big game hunting regulation in most western American states I have hunted. Oregon, Washington Cali Nevada Idaho Montana Colorado Wyoming Utah Arizona New Mexico…. So how is Australia "completely different" oh you have "hound crews" we don't allow that much at all other than cats or bears in some states and nowhere I know of for deer. Hounds are illegal for any hunt in oregon wa and Cali and very limited in the other states mentioned. I don't really know what goes down east of the Mississippi tho

 

[skipglo]

Why do you get a pass 'road hunting' antelope?

Because it's his definition of a " TRUE HUNTER!".....As an outfitter I certainly like to believe that the folks I guided HUNTED as hard as I did....I was just an extra pair of eyes!