Early morning discussion thread...

[Dale Moser]

When I drop a slice of backstrap in the grease......my consience is clear. I feel I've put in the work.


I don't care how the rest of'em do it.

[BIG D]

Compared to where and what I hunted growing up, my little, reasonable lease in the hill country is heaven. Growing up, I may have seen 10 deer in an entire season and now I see more than that in one sitting. The hunt is about nature and enjoying what you like to do. At the same time, good for the folks that have great ranches to hunt or can afford to go to great ranches. I just hope the monster bucks they kill mean as much to them as all the old does that have taken a broadhead through the ribs from me.

[wacm]

what worries me with the guys that are paying this big money to shoot these huge deer is that alot of the time they have their kids with them and these kids believe that this is a typical hunting trip and it is not. there is nothing typical about going out in the morning and seeing 10 bucks that score over 130" for example. i have a friend that took his 10 year old son to the Maltsberger(spelling) ranch and paid $5500 for his buck. that boy will never sit in a mesquito infested east texas river bottom again and i believe when these kids get our age our sport will be worse than it already is because they dont know any other way!

[trailboss]

what worries me with the guys that are paying this big money to shoot these huge deer is that alot of the time they have their kids with them and these kids believe that this is a typical hunting trip and it is not. there is nothing typical about going out in the morning and seeing 10 bucks that score over 130" for example. i have a friend that took his 10 year old son to the Maltsberger(spelling) ranch and paid $5500 for his buck. that boy will never sit in a mesquito infested east texas river bottom again and i believe when these kids get our age our sport will be worse than it already is because they dont know any other way!

It's typical if they got the money to do it. Why do they need to know any other way if they got the money to hunt these kind of places? Just because it's not the way most of us hunt, that doesn't make it wrong. Hunting is what you make it. It's different for every individual. If a person doesn't enjoy sitting in a mosquito infested east Texas river bottom - then why go?

True, they may never be as skilled in the craft as the guy that has to hunt over crowded public land, but that doesn't mean they won't enjoy the sport anyway. To each his own.

Trailboss

[Landrover]

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!
More power to them and best of luck.
Trailboss

Boo-Yah....we have been here many times before!
Everyone has different goals in life. Mine is to be a 1st generation millionaire! 88% of U.S. millionaires today are 1st generation with that type of spare change. With that being said, it ain't always "daddy's oil money".....yada yada!
I came up the hard way hunting in mosquito invested swamps and still love it when I head to SE Louisiana. But my daughter can't stand a single mosquito in the backyard in the middle of the summer.
One day I will get there financially and probably won't give a dang about whitetails.....for me it is all about adventure hunting around the world!

[Buff]

I live for the shot. I practice daily with the intention of developing the skills needed to deliver the prefect arrow. It doesn't matter much whether it is shooting a Caribou that I paid big bucks to hunt or a little pig behind my house. For me it is all about the magic of putting an arrow right where I'm looking. I really enjoy roaming the Mountains out west but I'm a Killer at heart and I can't imagine walking the miles through the high county if it was not for the hope of getting close enough to shoot something. Most of the folks I know that pay lots of money for a hunt worked their tail off to get it .

[tuthdoc]

Yep, it's official. Trailboss is my hero.

[wacm]

have you ever heard the old saying "you get out of it, what you put into it"

these kids arent putting anything out and they arent getting the same gratification that someone who has really worked to kill a trophy buck. imo.

i am not jealous of these people. if anything i feel a little sorry for them because instead of progressing slowly to a trophy level they are just catapulted right to the top. it cant possibly the same. when you shoot a 160" deer when you are 10, whats next?

[cwill]

I'd pay for the big boys if I had the extra coin, but I don't and therefore I'll have fun wacking does, pigs, and whatever mature buck that presents the shot. I don't despise the folks who Fly to king Ranch at noon and have a 180 class deer on the ground by three. If that makes him happy than soo be it. I don't think that makes him a good hunter, but he's spending money on the sport like the rest of us and in the end we all benefit from money hunters spend to feed and improve habitat.

[SupaSlam]

It's all about the dollar and nothing else! The rich don't give a **** about you or me. The more they pay, the more your gonna half to pay if you want to hunt.......end of story.

[Smart]

when you shoot a 160" deer when you are 10, whats next?

a 161......

[Smart]

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

Well said John.....probably the best post I've seen on this topic since I've been here.

[Smart]

have you ever heard the old saying "you get out of it, what you put into it"

these kids arent putting anything out and they arent getting the same gratification that someone who has really worked to kill a trophy buck. imo.

i am not jealous of these people. if anything i feel a little sorry for them because instead of progressing slowly to a trophy level they are just catapulted right to the top. it cant possibly the same. when you shoot a 160" deer when you are 10, whats next?

and there's another level of people below you wacm that think you are part of the "lucky sperm" club because you have the ability to slowly progress to a trophy and they don't even have that. Another group of people might say you don't appreciate the ability to eat three meals a day because you've never been poor or done without. Everywhere you go there's somebody poorer and richer than you......who says what you do is the level everybody should strive for? Life is too short to judge.....take advantage of what you have or can get and be happy for it.....but don't feel sorry for somebody because they accomplished something a different way than you approve. Do your thing, enjoy it an move on to the next goal.

[mesquitecountry]

if anything i feel a little sorry for them because instead of progressing slowly to a trophy level they are just catapulted right to the top. it cant possibly the same. when you shoot a 160" deer when you are 10, whats next?

I hunted from 10-16 with only seeing one single six pointer and about 15 does in that six year period in Harwood, Texas (caldwell county). When I turned 16 my dad got me on there lease in Maverick county (huge sum of 800 bucks back then which was cheap for south Texas in the mid 90's). My family didnt have alot of money growing up and it was a big expense but it was time that my dad and I got to spend together. My first deer I ever killed was a 166" eleven point that no one had ever seen before. My dad to this day has never killed a buck over 155". It was the second largest they had ever killed on the lease. No one had ever seen the buck before. Did that ruin me not a chance. the next year I killed a 176" 12 pt. My best buck to date. I still hunt and I have passed on 180" plus deer multiple times since then but i'm not spoiled because i've shot some world class deer. The hunt is in the eye of the beholder. I love it and live it.

[wacm]

supaslam is right they are just driving the price up for the working man.

smart- i'll be the first one to tell you i take three good meals a day for granted, so what, so does everybody else on this website. i dont think anybody is starving around here.
so you are saying that you disagree that the harder you work for something the more gratifying it is when you achieve it?
what in the hell is the "lucky sperm club" you lost me on that!
all im saying is ive had my share of unsuccessful hunting trips in my day, but they still provided me with great memories. the fruits of your labor are always sweeter when you have been eating sour grapes.
i never said i have progressed to a trophy level, because i dont have the income to get on a "trophy lease." biggest deer i have ever killed is 118" 8 pt.
and i have been hunting for 20 years or more, but if god ever blesses me with the deer of a lifetime (150+) i truly believe i will appreciate it more because of all the time and effort i have put into accomplishing it.