I hope you Texas men and women don't mind a Louisiana boy dropping in on your forum. If it helps-I have always been an Astros fan and my family and I have visited your great state many times over the years and have seen much of your state. Have had the privilege of hunting there one time about 18 years ago. And yes-I am a preacher and had to retire from the oilfield after 28 years with one of the Hunt Cos. Please don't hold that against me-lol.

I grew up in an era here in La. where there was a lot of public land and a man could hunt almost anywhere he wanted to. As a result, there was no baiting and one had to scout and killing a buck was a pretty good accomplishment. Then the timber companies leased and many individual landowners followed suit. As a result, now most leases you are confined to 1 or 2 stands and everyone feeds or plants something for the deer.

Questions-Have we raised a generation of young people who no longer know how to "hunt" (read sign, etc.), but instead have raised them knowing how to plant crops and put out corn? And has this given our younger people a different kind of respect for hunting what, IMO is one of the greatest game animals on earth? In other words, do you think it might have become too easy for our younger people? I hope this makes sense. I am in no way wanting to start an argument. I just would like to hear your opinions. And I know we all have opinions-lol. Thanks-

Have we turned it into deer shooting instead of deer hunting? Is it a result of ridiculous lease prices? Why does it seem that the majority of hunters would rather pay a large amount and have animals walk up and eat out of there hands?............ Thank God that there are a still a lot of people out there who still value actual HUNTING, and are passing it along to our kiddos.

I personally am not a huge fan of sitting by a feeder. I hunted all but 1 weekend this past season and only sat by a feeder 1 time. In my opinion some people rely on their feeders too much.

Land fragmentation is driving a lot of it. More and more people are hunting on smaller and smaller properties and about the only safe and effective method for small properties is the bait/food plot route.

Leasing a place to hunt is so expensive that it takes quite a few people to get on a lease to keep the cost reasonable. When you get more people on a lease, there are fewer acres to hunt. Fewer acres to hunt means each person has less and less area. Less area means you want to hunt in a way to keep the deer in the proximity. To keep deer in the proximity, you choose to have them come to a feeder rather than scaring all of them off by stalking or another method the requires more movement. Can you see 4 hunters stalking deer on a 500 acre lease?

x2 Now add in a very young first time hunter and you can understand the need for a blind of some sort with a feeder to put the deer in a position for an ethical shot. You can still teach great woodsmanship skills sitting in a deer blind and continue it after the hunt when walking around in the middle of the day. That is where the parent comes into to play. If they have the skills then it is their responsibilty if they choose to pass them on. Then as the young hunter progresses he can choose the style of hunting he wants to do. Blinds and feeder do not necessarily mean lazy or unskilled hunters. Hunting should be fun and just plain old hunting, not so much about the kill.

Welcome Preacher.

My wife and I were discussing this very topic a few weeks ago. I mentioned, her son who just started hunting a few years ago has never experience the joy of "real" hunting.

I am the first to admit, that as I have gotten older, I have also gotten lazier and yes I do enjoy the comforts that a heated deer blind offers. However, I do miss scouting for sign and picking out a likely spot to ambush a buck. I may very well start doing that again one of theses days.

We now have a 2 month old grandson, that I would very much like to take out to woods, set up a tent and go "old school" hunting when he gets old enough. I guess I will at have to wait at least a few more months to do this, as I hate to start him out with him being a baby and all.

I've killed most of the deer in my life by finding a spot in the woods and setting under or in a tree, but the way we hunt is changing due to what BenBob and stxranchman stated. Too many hunters, not enough affordable and/or available acreage. I don't see that pendulum swinging back anytime soon...

I think feeders almost have to be used in order to keep deer on your property. If you aren't feeding then your neighbor surely is and that means more deer on their property. This does not mean you HAVE to hunt over the feeder. I have to admit that I am torn on the feeder issue. The thing that keeps me on the fence about it is the fact that no matter what you are hunting or where you are hunting you always use feeding patterns and/or mating season to your advantage. Is it much different to hunt near or around a feeder in Texas as it is to hunt an alfalfa field in Colorado?

Thanks for the responses. It has gotten to the point here where I hunt, that as some of you have alluded to, if you are not feeding you won't see many deer because your neighbor is feeding. You are relegated to one or two spots and if you move very far from your stand you are too close to someone else's stand and that is against club rules and a good way to get booted off the lease. To me, it has just changed the way I enjoy hunting and also IMO it takes some of the thrill of the hunt away. In other words, if I kill a good buck (highly unlikely-lol) from a box stand overlooking groceries I don't really think it has anything to do with my hunting skills so I don't really take much pride in the kill like I once did. And it has gotten to the point that if I didn't love to eat venison I wouldn't hunt any longer.

And thanks for the welcome. I have really enjoyed reading these forums for the past few weeks.

I would say that for many people, they are shooters, not hunters. For deer, I am certainly a shooter, for pigs about equal. Can't say that sitting in a blind and waiting for something to show up to the corn takes much, if any, hunting skill. On the other hand, I don't see any difference in this and sitting in a tree blind on the edge of a cornfield or over a trail liberally sprinkled with deer urine. In some areas, the drive is the way to get deer - bunch of guys walk a shelterbelt and someone at the end shoots anything that runs out into the plowed field. Not much hunting going on their either, in my opinion.

Does it really matter though? Some are into hunting for the outdoor experience. Some only care about trophies. Some like hanging out with buddies at deer camp, but really have no interest in stalking. I enjoy a good stalk, and value the hunt much more when I can do that. There have also been a few days I had no interest due to weather, time, or ambition, and would have happily killed the first legal critter that walked out so I could get back home.

There are many different reasons for hunting, and the skill of hunting isn't important to some of these reasons. To me, it is unfortunate that we are raising a new crop of hunters that don't value the hunt.

I am 16 and have hunted in many ways. I hunt deer in Texas by sitting next to a feeder and waiting. When I want a challenge my dad and I can head up to our 4000 acres in Colorado to do some real spot and stalk. I personally prefer the Colorado way of hunting but it is usually hard to make time to get up there.

Welcome. Have a coon a** for a neighbor. Hope you will be better.

Scattergun-If he is that bad, I hope I will too-lol. But just for clarity sake, I'm not a CA. I was born and raised north of the line of demarcation. As you probably know, LA is almost like 2 different states and is definitely 2 different cultures.

Jensent-I love seeing young people enjoy the sport. You sound like a young man who is very blessed with the opportunities you have to hunt. Never take them for granted my friend and take advantage of it at every opportunity.

I love spot and stalk hunting. Sneaking up on deer is a rush.

i do like this idea this thanksgiving a buddy of mine and I stalked turkey for prolly 3/4 of a mile and both got within 30 yards it was the greatest hunt ive ever been on. It is hard though with 6 guys and being safe enough for all the hunters to hunt and be safe. although we do get a chance to hunt and stalk open fields for deer it is not the same as stalking but with young hunters attention span is not as long and seeing things makes it better for them

At least you are taking blame for what yall have done to us.... First off, I don't really think the generation matters. It depends how you are brought up and who taught the person who taught you. My father did not know much about hunting. I don't blame him. He did not have a good teacher. My father, however, did not hinder my learning. If I wanted a book or join a hunting club, he grinned and just bought the book for me. I do apologize for not raising the money myself, by walking 30 miles in the snow to sweep out some old man's trade store for a nickle. By searching for further information, I learned about tracks, tracking, rubs, scrapes, droppings, vegetation, and etc. It is up to the individual hunter to educate him or herself.

It becoming easier for us.... I didn't know we "young guns" were at fault for the deer population being replenished through conservation. It is no question that our elders had a tougher time chasing game. Lots, not all, shot everything that walked and that forced them to become expert "hunters". Our elders are also the ones that own the properties and lease them. The ones with the means and expertise to create these high dollar game ranches where a plethora of people consider it shooting a caged animal. I do not consider us lazier just more educated. As hunters we have basically comitted ourself to partaking in conservation. That means watering, feeding, sheltering, and harvesting deer(legally). It is not up to each hunter to do each one of these things but to do what he/she can within their means.

In some parts of texas, it is impossible to hunt "properly". I hunt, mostly, in south Texas. I like to walk around senderos, walk along tree lines along fields, sneak around ponds enclosed by brush, and have even spot and stalked some mountain lions(unsuccessfully). I do what I can to try and take the game in various forms and fashions that I have at my disposal. It is nice to sit in a deer blind and have a chance to watch and enjoy that game the we like to hunt. It doesn't reflect our level of skills. I have plenty of buddies that hunt leases in deer blinds.These same guys hunt Sam Houston National Forest and have been successful every year since they were able to hunt it. If that doesn't take the "skills", then I do not know what does.