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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: txtrophy85]
#6977610
11/30/17 05:17 PM
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 10,072
unclebubba
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When I was 9, my "heyday" was bagging a bunch of squirrels. Shortly after, it was killing my first deer, then my first buck, then my first bow kill, then my first Buck with a bow, then my first trophy buck, and now it starts all over. currently, I am at the stage of getting my boy his first deer. Most of my favorite hunts have been recent hunts with my boy. Your "heyday" is what you make of it. I've hunted some of the most beautiful, remote area of North OK, where my family is originally from, and am lucky enough to still get to hunt there. I Have also throughout the years hunted in some of the nastiest, muggiest, snake and skeeter infested swamps in Florida; some of the thickest, most impenetrable thickets in GA and LA; some very small pieces of land in various areas, some where you had to be careful where you shot because of nearby populations; Public land that was way too crowded; Public land that was not overcrowded, but had no game; and I enjoyed every hunt. Your heyday is what you make it.
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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: txtrophy85]
#6977614
11/30/17 05:20 PM
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 2,992
gary roberson
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Thank God, we don't have any UTV's or ATV's on the ranch. If you want to hunt, we use the boot leather express or feed he roads and drive. I don't think that most folks realize how many deer they spook with those things, as the only time of the year the deer see them is deer season. Adios, Gary
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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: txtrophy85]
#6977638
11/30/17 05:50 PM
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 39,658
redchevy
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Lol I agree Gary, the people who hunt around us ride atv's etc. like they are on a dirt track or something you can hear them for miles.
It's hell eatin em live
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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: txtrophy85]
#6977641
11/30/17 05:53 PM
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Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 44,283
Stub
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God I still love being out in the woods! Although I embrace the changes of comfort and ease of hunting, at times I do miss the hunting of old. What is the hunting of old? Climbing up a tree and sitting on a 2X6 in the fork of a tree while the freezing mist builds Ice cycles on your mustache, the greater challenge to harvest a real nice buck while actually facing and challenging the elements. The stories that these times evoked were truly priceless! Right now I am sitting in a comfortable office chair in a warm and comfortable tower blind posting on a smart phone. Do I enjoy these creature comforts and the advantage they give me over what I seek, at almost 62 heck yes, then there is the other side me that still relishs the days gone by Another way of putting it. If I was single I could get on the computer now and find a date. In the old days you had to hunt and prospect then actually engage with them in a meaningful yet sometimes mindless manner to capture your game. The stories you shared with your buds on your skillful pursuit and victory were again priceless
Last edited by Stub; 11/30/17 06:05 PM.
“I never forget a face—but in your case, I’ll be glad to make an exception.” —Groucho Marx
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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: txtrophy85]
#6977721
11/30/17 07:03 PM
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 18,610
ducknbass
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To me hunting and being outdoors is an ever evolving thing. I once thought I was a bass fisherman. For many many years i chased those little suckers all over. Now the desire to chase bass has onlh dwindled a bit. But I know I'm no kvd, lack of passion. I can't do a week on the lake 12 hours a day. Just cannot. I once believed i was a duck hunter. Let me be clear.. I love to kill a mallard duck. Love it. But I know that I am no Phil Robertson.
The last couple years I've been chasing elk. I love putting on a pack and bivying in for several days. Waking up on a mountain with nobody within miles of me.
I've found I love to fly fish. Do it yearly in colorado. So I loaded up and went to beavers bend. Ooops once I realized I was going to be in line with everyone stretched out every hundred yards or so I came to realize. It's not the fly fishing I love it's the quiet mountains of Colorado.
I can slip a canoe in the creek on a cool day and just enjoy. The enjoyment of hunting and fishing to me has always been seeing what's over the next ridge or around the next bend. Its why I cant do a lease. I love to walk miles tnrough the woods in hopes of finding that beaver slough that nobody has decoyed a wad of mallards in. That ridge with that buck that's never been hunted. That crappie hole that nobody knows about.
So for me it's always an adventure. Because there is always a new ridge a new bend and a new slough.
I'll add that I was on a 100 acre lease in Grayson county where we had plenty of 150" deer. I hated hunting it. I'd swear the neighbor shot 10k rounds every Saturday. Tractor noise, truck noise, dogs barking etc etc. Thats when I started to realize for me it's not the quality of the animal but the quality of the outing. I may get back on that place next year as it will be 10 minutes from the house I'm building. Figure my 4 year old may be ready to sit in a popup with a cross bow sooner than later.
Last edited by ducknbass; 11/30/17 08:33 PM.
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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: txtrophy85]
#6977752
11/30/17 07:33 PM
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 2,992
gary roberson
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ducknbass, never go on a lion hunt with your own dogs...you will not be seen again. Adios, Gary
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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: txtrophy85]
#6977762
11/30/17 07:49 PM
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 662
rob valle
Tracker
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Tracker
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Posts: 662 |
Yes and no. Yes because there are a lot of changes that have occured since I began hunting 35+ years ago. ( I'm 44 now.) I remember turning off the highway onto a dirt road toward our hunting cabin and feeling like I was in the middle of nowhere! That same dirt road is now paved, high fenced, and I can see several rooftops from my blind. It stinks but it is what it is. Ten years ago I had the chance to hunt on a beautiful ranch in South Texas which was as desolate as they come. My last year on the place the oil wells came in and changed everything. I could hear the boss talking on a loud speaker at 6 AM and the place was lit up like a shopping mall. 18 wheelers coming and going at all hours, frac ponds everywhere, and new roads criss crossing the once beautiful ranch. But who could turn down making 20,000 a day? If I was the ranch owner, I probably would have done the same thing. Several family memebers have passed and our Hill Country place doesn't feel the same without them. That melancholy feeling you get when you revisit your childhood home is sometimes how I feel when I go the place now. The level of excitement has faded somewhat, but I enjoy taking my boys out there and seeing them enjoy what I enjoyed at their age. Hopefully they will still want to take me hunting when I am an old man!
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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: gary roberson]
#6977771
11/30/17 08:02 PM
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 2,919
maximum
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. . . . I don't think that most folks realize how many deer they spook with those things, as the only time of the year the deer see them is deer season. Adios, Gary ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ THIS^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: txtrophy85]
#6977781
11/30/17 08:20 PM
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 4,630
chalet
Extreme Tracker
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Even if my heyday was over I wouldn't admit it. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, who really knows as things change all the time. One thing I do know if I don't keep at it by hunting with my buddies, spending time with family, and taking kids outdoors there is a good possibility their heyday is over.
Shoot. Eat. Repeat.
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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: txtrophy85]
#6977914
11/30/17 10:22 PM
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 400
KingwoodCat
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
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Posts: 400 |
Im the guy that just returned from the South Texas hunt. First deer Ive killed in over 30 years. The kill means little if anything to me. What I really enjoy is passing the love of hunting and fishing down to one of my boys. My boys are 39 and 36. The oldest loves to hunt and fish, the youngest could care less and doesnt seem to have the patience to do either. Im happy that I was able to pass the love of the outdoors down, just like my dad passed it down to me. Some of the fondest memories I have of my dad and my stepbrother are the weekends we spent rabbit hunting as I was growing up in Missouri. Listening to the beagles bring a rabbit back was pure joy.
The Federal Government cannot give anything to anyone, that it has not first taken from someone else.
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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: txtrophy85]
#6977933
11/30/17 10:36 PM
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 29,045
Western
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I cant say mine has "come and gone", many great and a few not so great memories. Definitely more urban sprawl than there was in the late 70's, early 80's almost everywhere. Ironically, as far as Colorado hunting, I see LESS hunters now, by a huge margin, probably due to strong control now with deer tags and higher cost.
Lived through the "your shot if you take a doe" years in C Tex, remember land being cheaper and much more plentiful if a family wanted to lease
If at first you dont succeed, then skydiving is not for you..
"Don't trust everything you read on the Internet"- Abraham Lincoln Dennis
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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: SapperTitan]
#6977948
11/30/17 10:48 PM
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 4,359
txhunter1010
Extreme Tracker
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Joined: Nov 2010
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I just enjoy hunting every chance I get
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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: gary roberson]
#6978007
11/30/17 11:43 PM
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 18,610
ducknbass
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Posts: 18,610 |
ducknbass, never go on a lion hunt with your own dogs...you will not be seen again. Adios, Gary That sounds like a blast.
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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: redchevy]
#6978019
11/30/17 11:53 PM
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Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 25,553
Creekrunner
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I do remember as a kid getting to the deer lease and pulling over on the highest hill a 1/2 mile before the gate and breaking out dad's bag phone to call mom and tell her we made it safe. It was the last cell reception we had, now you can talk text and get on the internet from practically any square inch of that place. Young whipper-snapper. When my dad stuck the '66 Bronco trying to get across to me and a little buck I'd shot, I remember having to use a spent cartridge to dial the rancher's ROTARY dial phone to call Mom. ('Guess he'd thrown it across the room too many times. Wild man, but I still consider him a friend.)
...and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Gen. 1:28
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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: KingwoodCat]
#6978026
11/30/17 11:55 PM
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Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 25,553
Creekrunner
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Listening to the beagles bring a rabbit back was pure joy. I would love to hear that...if they weren't my beagles.
...and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Gen. 1:28
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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: txtrophy85]
#6978047
12/01/17 12:08 AM
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 14,965
don k
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I decided a while back not to post on things that got into pissing contest on here. This is a little different. I am now 71 years old. I grew my first 16 years near San Antonio. My parents had land that Interstate 35 cut in half to build the road. to be exact IH 35 and Weidner Rd. They had around 75 acres there that backed up to at that time was Longhorn Cement Co. The first deer I shot was a Doe when I was around 12 years old with a 22. The first Buck was an 8 point with my Fathers 250 Savage when I was 15. Back then it was real hunting even though now in that area you can shoot better bucks out of you back yard. I started hunting by myself when I was around 12 years old. I know that times were different back then but young hunters now seemed not to be able to to start hunting on their own at that age. Starting at that age and not having as much supervision to me makes you a better hunter. You are at the age where your brain seems to take in what you do and what you could have done better to make the situation more to your advantage. Now even with my Grand kids I can see the difference in actually hunting for a deer and just shooting so you can say you got one. The increase in the deer population, the increase in feeding protein,the pen raised deer, the negativity in just shooting a buck unless it is at least 5 years old and has at least 150 B&C points has taken hunting to a level that in my way of thinking is not good for the sport. I would venture to say that not 0ver 10% of people now could really hunt a Buck Deer if it were not for Feeders and Blinds. It will be interesting to see if there is still hunting and what the replies will be to the original question in another 50 years. I won't be here but many of you will.
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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: don k]
#6978065
12/01/17 12:18 AM
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Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 25,553
Creekrunner
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...the negativity in just shooting a buck unless it is at least 5 years old and has at least 150 B&C points has taken hunting to a level that in my way of thinking is not good for the sport. Agree 100%. ... I would venture to say that not 0ver 10% of people now could really hunt a Buck Deer if it were not for Feeders and Blinds. For the record, 'had a beautiful, wide 8, standing and looking at me, at 100 yds a few days ago, while I was checking out a plugged water trough (that had a leak in the pipe leading to it.) There wasn't a feeder in the area. 'Gotta walk careful.
...and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Gen. 1:28
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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: txtrophy85]
#6978097
12/01/17 12:44 AM
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 41,366
J.G.
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 41,366 |
Not me, I'm in my prime.
I'm the odd ball that gets more joy out of killing hogs and coyotes than deer. I can hunt them 12 months a year, and no land owner around me has told me not to. I saw the sounder one hour ago, and put a little hurt on it, on my way home. In my business I've made lots of friends, and have had the opportunity to be a guest all over the place. I don't care if I'm going just to help glass, and help drink beer, I'll go! Being in the country is all I want.
800 Yard Steel Range Precision Rifle Instruction Memberships and Classes Available
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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: txtrophy85]
#6978291
12/01/17 02:48 AM
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 2,917
Bear Charge
Veteran Tracker
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 2,917 |
Today will be the "Good ol' days for future generations. Keep that in mind and make it fun for them!
"Democracy is a sheep and two lions voting. Liberty is a well armed sheep contesting the vote." Ben Franklin
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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: don k]
#6978596
12/01/17 02:08 PM
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 39,658
redchevy
THF Celebrity
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 39,658 |
I decided a while back not to post on things that got into pissing contest on here. This is a little different. I am now 71 years old. I grew my first 16 years near San Antonio. My parents had land that Interstate 35 cut in half to build the road. to be exact IH 35 and Weidner Rd. They had around 75 acres there that backed up to at that time was Longhorn Cement Co. The first deer I shot was a Doe when I was around 12 years old with a 22. The first Buck was an 8 point with my Fathers 250 Savage when I was 15. Back then it was real hunting even though now in that area you can shoot better bucks out of you back yard. I started hunting by myself when I was around 12 years old. I know that times were different back then but young hunters now seemed not to be able to to start hunting on their own at that age. Starting at that age and not having as much supervision to me makes you a better hunter. You are at the age where your brain seems to take in what you do and what you could have done better to make the situation more to your advantage. Now even with my Grand kids I can see the difference in actually hunting for a deer and just shooting so you can say you got one. The increase in the deer population, the increase in feeding protein,the pen raised deer, the negativity in just shooting a buck unless it is at least 5 years old and has at least 150 B&C points has taken hunting to a level that in my way of thinking is not good for the sport. I would venture to say that not 0ver 10% of people now could really hunt a Buck Deer if it were not for Feeders and Blinds. It will be interesting to see if there is still hunting and what the replies will be to the original question in another 50 years. I won't be here but many of you will. I grew up and spent my first 20+ years a few miles down the road from there.
It's hell eatin em live
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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: txtrophy85]
#6978637
12/01/17 02:36 PM
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Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 9,185
hook_n_line
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 9,185 |
Never really had a "heyday" or am still in it. We always hunted with Dad's business associates or my uncle. Then I was blessed to meet a few landowners that traded work for hunting and I was finally able to get my own small place . I am also blessed to have worked for a great guy that I became friends with and he takes me on a week long dove hunt and later in the year a deer hunt. I also had veteran staying on my place that introduced me to a friend that has land in Webb county that I get to do management hunts on. I've been blessed to have places to hunt.
Sometimes it's hard being me! But somebody has to do it.
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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: txtrophy85]
#6978705
12/01/17 03:11 PM
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Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 7,793
Mr. T.
THF Trophy Hunter
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Joined: Nov 2014
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I shot my first buck, 3 point, when I was 6 years old hunting by myself with an M-1 carbine. Yes times have changed. Each of us individually has to determine whether for the good or the bad. I honestly see both, but when I'm with my 9 year old grandsons out in the woods hunting rabbits, trapping coons and just watching all the other small game, I see nothing but good in their eyes. Next year I am going to let them hunt deer for the first time. And they are enjoying one of the most important things that goes along with hunting...sitting around a campfire with family and friends. I hope they get to continue to enjoy that for a very long time.
Cabin rental in Pagosa Springs, Co. Sleeps 10, If interested please PM me.
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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: don k]
#6978750
12/01/17 03:44 PM
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 32,172
txtrophy85
OP
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OP
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Posts: 32,172 |
Now even with my Grand kids I can see the difference in actually hunting for a deer and just shooting so you can say you got one. The increase in the deer population, the increase in feeding protein,the pen raised deer, the negativity in just shooting a buck unless it is at least 5 years old and has at least 150 B&C points has taken hunting to a level that in my way of thinking is not good for the sport. I would venture to say that not 0ver 10% of people now could really hunt a Buck Deer if it were not for Feeders and Blinds. It will be interesting to see if there is still hunting and what the replies will be to the original question in another 50 years. I won't be here but many of you will. just a few years ago, I would have disagreed with you, but not I am more in line with your thinking. I went thru the "gotta be X years old and score X amount for me to take it" Early part of this year I was hunting on a buddies lease in the Comstock area. I was having a ball of a time walking and stalking the hills. I took a smaller animal that I normally wouldn't have taken in years past, because it was fun. Not a trophy in anyone's eyes, not even mine, but I have a momento of a fun hunt and I enjoyed the heck outta myself. beating ourselves up over 5" of antler or 1 year of the animals age has gotten to the point of ridiculousness and has zapped the fun outta the sport moreso than anything else
For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: txtrophy85]
#6978825
12/01/17 04:27 PM
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 27,091
Nogalus Prairie
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I agree, and I have been caught in that trap myself. I still am to some degree, kinda obsessed with taking one truly giant buck from my own place before I kick (which I hope isnt any time soon). I am now resolved to keep it a goal, but not an obsession. Rural lifestyles are going the way of the Dodo. The number of folks under 40 who actually grew up in the woods is minuscule - and getting smaller by the day. Even rural families rarely let their kids roam the woods unsupervised these days. Lots of guys hunt, but their focus has turned to killing, antler size, and gear these days. Why? Its all they know because they didnt grow up outdoors and time doesnt allow them to really spend much time just roaming the woods/brush/hills. Most guys spend more time talking about hunting than actually hunting. Its not their fault, just the way it is these days. Life moves fast in the 21st century.
I learned long ago you can't reason someone out of something they don't reason themselves into.
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Re: Has your hunting "heyday" came and went?
[Re: txtrophy85]
#6978843
12/01/17 04:56 PM
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 662
rob valle
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 662 |
beating ourselves up over 5" of antler or 1 year of the animals age has gotten to the point of ridiculousness and has zapped the fun outta the sport moreso than anything else
You are not kidding. I know some deer leases down south where you are heavily fined or kicked off the place if the deer you shoot is one inch less than 140". Or 150". Or whatever standards they set for themselves. Same goes for the deer's age. Shoot a three or four year old buck and it's adios for you. The whole experience is nerve wracking, and not fun at all. I know they are trying to grow big deer, but paying a 1500.00 fine on top of the 6000.00 + you paid to get on the place just sucks.
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