Early morning discussion thread...

[Russ79]

I am just now getting a chance to flip through one of the hunting magazines that I bought a couple of weeks ago and ran across an article by Bob Robb. In it he talks about some things that he thought about watching some of the hunting shows on TV. He talks about watching hunters on a high fence ranch (this isn't about high fencing, just where they were on the show) and about how "their bucks size is determined not by sweat equity or luck, but simply by how much money they are willing to pay". He also talks about how "baby-boomers are entering their peak earning years, and many of those who hunt or fish have lots of discretionary income to spend on fun. And because many are also strapped for leisure time, many are willing to pay for success--which to them is defined by the size of the antler, not by the wear on their boots".
Which brings me to a point that I have always thought- sometimes we loose focus on why we hunt. Is it because we want to put something on the wall or is it because we love being out in the woods and watch the sun come up? Is it because we want to brag to our buddies that "ours is bigger than yours" or is it spending times with our buddies learning new things or talking about how you blew that shot? I am not going to rag on people who spend several thousands of dollars for a one time hunt for a trophy buck, but just because you have that trophy buck on the wall doesn't make you a better hunter than me- it just means you have more money than me (which really wouldn't be much of a feat....)
Many of our hunting shows that we watch, even though we love them or think alot of the folks on them, are on managed ranches that most of us couldn't afford to get through the gate. I look up a lot of the websites at the end of the shows to check out what the host considers a "really affordable hunt" and I wonder if they have lost sight of what "really affordable" is to most of the people watching their shows. What I want to see is Michael Waddell come down to Bannister WMA or Bob Foulkrod go to Sam Houston National Forest and do a show that I can learn something from. I like to be entertained but I also like to learn. Just some thoughts I had. Now, talk amongst yourselves.....

[kgwalke2]

This has been the theme for several years now and will continue as long as the hunters pay. A good example of this is a day lease my friends and hunted for several years no one shoot any big deer but there was a good chance to harvest an animal. Well to make a long story short the land owner raised the price every year and nothing changed as for the deer or hunting. It pretty much somes up what is happening "its all about the money not the hunt"

[Dusty Britches]

So, by that logic, when the baby boomers retire and have fixed incomes, they will not spend the money on hunting, so big ranches better get it while the getting is good?

Yes, I think all of us lose sight of the hunt from time to time, but the majority of us return to the desire for the chase and not the kill. It is maturity.

[Dahmer]

I agree with you 100%. I hunt only public land. A trophy to me is personal. The size of one of my trophies is measured in the miles walked, sweat lost, and my own blood shed to get there.

My greatest trophy this last season was a night-time video of a baby skunk playing in a cactus. Something so simple and beautiful that most people would have either missed or completely ignored.

I guess enjoying the small stuff is really easy when you are poor!

[Legdog]

I'm gonna hold this horse's head up... somebody go get a good whacking stick...

The real question is should we discriminate against the wealthy who have little time but excess coin for choosing not to hunt public land?

[bowhunterhelm]

It looks like I'll be getting on a deer lease this year for the first time in about four years. This lease is a super budget Texas lease @ $640. I know the guys that have been hunting this place for the last four years and there have been zero big bucks taken or even seen for that matter. I've got bigger deer on my place in Liberty Hill for sure.

I'll hunt Liberty Hill and hopefully get a Pope and Young. There are several running around.

My new deer lease will be about making the two hour drive with good friends, building a campfire, sleeping in a camp at the lease, cooking a steak and drinking a few beers under the stars, watching the sun come up, and sharing all these things with good friends. My new lease will definitely not be about chasing one for the wall. Of course, you never know what might step out at any given time.

[bowhunterhelm]

Not at all Leggy, if I had the cash I'd live on the King Ranch come October. My hats off to the ones who can afford to do it, more power to them.

[Chunky]

I think Texas hunters know better than most that you can not judge the hunt or the hunter by the size of the animals on the wall or on the show. Here you can buy just about anything if you have the money and do not care how difficult it is, or is not.

I still believe that most bowhunters like the challenge and difficulty of doing it the hard way. That is not to say that an easy hunt every once in a while is not welcome, just that the most satisfying ones are the ones you work the hardest for.

The media needs to 'sell' their product. If someone famous came down and hunted in the national forrest they would have just as difficult a time as we do. All that you would learn is that you are probably as good a hunter as they are. Just watching someone sit in a stand and see a few squirrels does not make for an exciting show or sell advertising. So...are hunting shows bad?
No, but just understand them for what they are.

Never judge the skill of a hunter by the trophies on the wall alone.

[Shooter]

I grew up hunting hard and enjoying every minute in the outdoors. I don't have the big bucks, but if I did I would be enjoying every minute on a bad a** ranch.

[Steve W]

the rich will pay to play and if i had it so, i'd also wear myself out playing!

my trophys have long stories behind them that others don't have the time or desire to hear.
Display's of Acheivments, Trophy's of a goal acheived to the Holder.

if they had shows on hunting Sam Houston National Forest the masses would think themselves learned and try their hand at your hard earned spots. some things need to stay of the radar.

[mesquitecountry]

To me a real hunting experience is 365 days a year. We have a nice high fence place in zavala have some great deer. But we work for it. Everything we've done has been a fruit of our labor. My wife calls me nuts i say i'm obsessed. Hunting, videoing, motion cameras, filling feeders, clearing senderos, culling deer, Managing our herd to the best of our ability, cutting firewood, cooking steaks chickens stews chili, sharing a campfire with good friends and family, shooting predators, hogs, varmint. Fishing during the spring at the ranch and overall having fun that is what hunting is all about for me.

On our family land in Fayette county where the deer are scarce it is about providing better habitat planting oats feeding deer eliminating predators and watching for poachers. I like to sit at home and watch crows. If i see a deer or a hog the chance of just seeing animals moving through nature careless of the happenings in the outside world.

It's how i celebrate life and how i take a break from it. It is my peace in a world of chaos. From the outside looking in it's almost impossible to understand. Hunting is my way of life....

[Russ79]

Hey, Bowhunterhelm, how long have you been in Liberty Hill? I lived there for several years..in fact I deer hunted for the first time there. We lived about 1-1/2 miles south of Liberty Hill on the South San Gabriel- go south like you are going to Leander and we lived just across the bridge on the left side of the road. I went to the fifth, sixth, and eighth grades in L.H. and part of the ninth at Leander (Liberty Hill didn't have a high school in those days) I saw the biggest buck I have ever seen on that place. I hunted there for probably 20 years after we moved away. I knew I was probably never going to kill a big deer there, but I killed lots of does and I was DEER HUNTING and that was all that mattered.

[rtread]

Thanks for the thoughts. The great reward for me is being in the outdoors....whether I score or not. This picture was taken from my tree blind last year while bowhunting in New Mexico. I did have some luck that day....a 10 point mulie. Even if I hadn't taken the best deer of my life, this day would have been a treat.

[chadc]

If I had the cash, would I spend it hunts or property to makes the hunts better, you bet. Do I love to go out test my luck against Mother Natures creatures, you bet. Do I fault those who have more money than I do for killing awesome animals when I get mediocre at best, not really. It's not a rich vs poor thing for me, it's a getting away from the grind and teaching my kids that there is more to life than Spongebob and Barbies. That not all deer have to be hunted, and they are pretty cool to just look at sometimes. That going hunting doesn't always mean you're going to get something. I use it as a release and relaxation time, it's my recharger for batteries and I want it to be the same for my family. Like I said though if I had the cash would I spend, YOU BET.

Chad

[trailboss]

What does it matter where they hunt or what they pay to do it? If it ain't coming out of my pocket, I don't see where I've got a gripe coming. When I find the time to watch a hunting show, I'd much rather see a big trophy buck killed than some little dink on public land!

The little dink killed on public land might be a much tougher hunt but I can see dinks every day. When I watch a hunting show, I wanna see a good 'un!

Just because I can't afford to hunt where some of these guys do doesn't mean I begrudge them for doing it. Heck if I had the money I'd do it too and be danged what anybody else thought about it.

I think what I see a lot of times on these kinds of threads is the green eyed monster - jealousy. Or sour grapes - if I can't have it, then it must not be good!

I'll never be able to hunt some of the places these people do. I'll never be able to drive a Ferari either, but so what! I'll hunt where I can and drive what I can and enjoy every minute of it but I'm not gonna look down on the guys that are lucky enough or wealthy enough to hunt these superior places. More power to them and best of luck.

At least I'll enjoy watching their shows.

Trailboss