How the sport has changed over the years

Perhaps a more positive way to discuss a topic that can lead to heated debates is to simply point out how hunting has changed since you were a kid. I could easily write a paragraph or two about each one of these points, but perhaps that should be left to the discussion.

Changes that have been good for the sport...

1. Deer populations at all-time highs
2. Technology such as cell phones and GPS navigation
3. More knowledge and study of deer behavior
4. Better equipment (guns, bows, scopes, boots, clothing, etc.)
5. Higher hunter success rates

Changes that have been bad for the sport...

1. Much greater commercialization of the sport
2. Increased hunter costs, driven mostly by Point #1
3. Loss of basic hunting, shooting, and woodsmanship skills
4. Increasing numbers of kids who don't approve of hunting
5. License sales that have gone flat or decreased
6. Greater hunter division and conflict

The biggest change I've seen is using the term sport to describe hunting. I've never looked at hunting as a sport. It's a tradition a way of life an instinct that is within all of us, to label it as a sport simply takes away from those things.

I like that, because I'm sure not an athlete.

matt

Good point. "Is hunting a sport?" might be a question that would require a discussion of its own.

IMO, it becomes more of a "sport" when it becomes more focused on taking the largest set of antlers using a specific weapon, rather than something that leads to a meal.

I agree with HWY 1000%, people dont realize its a natural instinct.

Your absolutely right, Its not a "Sport" Whats sporting about shooting a deer over bait??

And it "Was" a "Natural Instinct" Until it became a "Business" with outrageous fees involved...just my

The use of bait is beside the point IMO. The issue of hunting being or not being a sport is based on something else. Let's face it, how many of us hunt because we depend on the meat it provides?

As for it being something that comes natural to us, does that make it any less a sport? For example, one of the best analogies that I heard about why a person hunts considered the common house cat. Although he gets all the food he needs every day from his owner, he still enjoys chasing and catching mice. Why? Because it's in his blood to do so.

When something is not being done out of necessity, for "sport" is one of the ways to describe the reason for doing it.

Don't know about the sport vs instinct thing, but I do know this. When I finally outsmart that mature buck and I'm standing over him, I get the same type of very satisfied feeling that I get when I've built something from scratch with my own two hands and it turns out better than I ever thought it would.

Perfectly put

What about #6 and the increased division that often exists between hunters today? Such a high level of division didn't exist decades ago.

IMO, the creation of separate seasons is the primary reason for much of this increased division. Before the state wildlife agencies created them to drive more license revenue and help drive new product markets, there were no leases where you had to hunt by a certain method to be a member.

And of course, the increased emphasis on antlers hasn't helped either.

I too agree with HWY! When I am talking (explaining) to people why I hunt I explain that the biggest part of hunting for me is not the kill. It is the time spent with family and friends. The time and dedication to practice time with the rifle/pistol/bow. The study of nature and how all things in the wood/prairies or on/in the water are interrelateted and are in harmony. The time of solitude while in the stand I use to refect on all I have to be thankful for and thank God for those blessings. Getting excited when the Cabellas or Bass Pro cataloges show up. Sitting around a campfire telling lies and an occational trueth. The way my pulse raises and the tingleing on my skin when any animal walks into view. The awsomeness of watching the world wake up. From the first hint of light and the first chirps from a bird. An slow motion explosion of light and life.

This is why I hunt. This is what I want to teach my kids and share with loved ones.

It is not a "sport" to me it is a lifestyle.

Saddly though it is becoming more of a "business" and will continue to do so. I dont fault the land owner for trying to make the most money they can, nor do I resent the people that can out spend me. I will continue to do my best to afford the privilege of hunting and I am sure there with be time in my future, like my past, that it will just be some thing I can not afford. But, a missed season every so often makes me cherish the past hunts and dream of future hunts.

Classifying hunting as a "sport" would be correct, since the majority of all hunters are involved in hunting as a recreation, and not as a matter of survival. The sport of hunting began as early as during the time of Mesopotamia, when carvings and paintings showed recreational and competitive hunters! Hunting could also be classified as an "art", since for the most part, that is an aspect that it presents today.

One thing that has improved hunting the past few years, has been the increase in female hunters. We see that today on the numerous outdoor TV shows.

Hunting is more of a sport today also, because of the number of "professional" hunters that we see. People are paid to endorse products and are expected to use those products in the field.

Just as hunting has evolved into a recreational activity, so too has fishing. Both have been considered a "sport" for centuries. Granted there is that "instict" still in most of us, the evolution of man himself has made it a sport!

oh man, you forgot "high fences"..... you decide which one to put it in!

i was not raised as a hunter. nobody in my direct family hunted or fished. naturally i felt the urge to hunt. thats mainly why i do it.

I think the early role of men to work together in gathering wild game for their families is also at play. I think it's one of the reasons why men enjoy each other's company so much when hunting and sharing stories (and lies).

Great thread, yet I must say that I don't call it a sport either. I have decided that my personal definition of a sport is determined by whether or not obese people can be good at it. And my grandfather, may he rest well, was certainly obese and certainly a master of his craft of taking game from the Wyoming woods and prairie. He did however, hunt for the purpose of filling the freezer.

I new it would not be long!!!

Try and tell that to a sumo wrestler.

[quote=Grey]I have decided that my personal definition of a sport is determined by whether or not obese people can be good at it. /quote]

I like that!

If I meet one I'll let him know, lol.

Thanks, Palehorse

I think of it as a "Recreational" sport. I do think there's a big difference in hunting and killing.

I first went deer hunting in 1963. Back then, and for about 10 years after that, baiting was unheard of. I still hunt that way. Also, back then, getting a deer by serendipity was considered a good thing. For example, seeing a deer while farming/ranching and shooting it REGARDLESS OF ANTLER SIZE, for the larder.

The no hunting and trespassing signs you now see everywhere. Once upon a time rural land was pretty much worthless and most didn't care that much.. Not any more.

Very well stated.

I didn't grow up hunting, and have only been interesed in it for the last few years.

Being somewhat a newbie, here's what I see being a problem: the cost factor. I know a quite a few people that hunted most of thier lives, but haven't been out in the last few years due to the cost. Also, some that hunt, but just not in Texas.

Is that the reason license sales are down (or flat)?

If people are willing to pay the price, I have no problem with land owners charging it. It takes a alot of money to have a good land management program.

Do we need more public land?

Just askin'...

Yes, the good news is that we can throw all the other things like food plots and feeder aside and hunt the same way it was done many decades ago. It's why I enjoy hunting public land so much. In fact, the area of public land that I hunt is much less congested than a couple of private leases that I hunt as well. When I see and take deer while hunting public land, I just feel more in touch with my true heritage of finding and harvesting wild game. And I want my kids to be able to tell their kids that they're grandfather hunted them the same way that his father and grandfather did it. Because who knows, all public land may eventually be off limits to hunting when you consider that most kids today don't have a favorable impression of hunting.And let's be honest and ask should they when you consider the manner in which deer are being taken today with such ease? I mean, do you really want to pass down a legacy that's limited to sitting in a warm box stand and shooting out a small window at something that showed up to eat?

I know some may find my words a little harsh or even "high horse". Still, I feel they're warranted when I see so much heritage quickly being lost in a generation that prefers such convenience.

Feeders and food plots are geat for kids and beginners. But let's make it a point to be able to teach them something more by not depending so much ourselves on warm milk and cereal.