Hard to argue with this

[Burntorange Bowhunter]

Man, reading this is disheartening.

I still love deer hunting. Being at the lease. Cooking. Having some drinks. Watching football. HUNTING with a bow.

I am now passing the traditions down to my oldest grandson. He absolutely loves it.....and fishing.

I killed a 158 last year and a 151 the prior year. Our lease is 160 acres. No high fences in the area. I am prepared to not get that lucky for some time if ever again. The goal now shifts to mature management bucks for the kid.

I'll arrow the hogs. Lol.

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[Smart]

I still love deer hunting. Being at the lease. Cooking. Having some drinks. Watching football. HUNTING with a bow.

This is a great point. If I quit hunting and only fished, or did whatever, I would not have access to the deercamp life I enjoy as much as the pursuit of a deer or turkey.. Call me crazy but hell I enjoy the deer lease work itself and all the prep to get to the end game....even if I don't get an end game each year. I enjoy the whole experience. It's all about a whole lot more than inches and mounts. When I die, my mounts will be donated or trashed. I would hope some of the folks and kids that I shared a camp and the experiences with remember me better than where those inches will end up.

[sotx]

This is a great point. If I quit hunting and only fished, or did whatever, I would not have access to the deercamp life I enjoy as much as the pursuit of a deer or turkey.. Call me crazy but hell I enjoy the deer lease work itself and all the prep to get to the end game....even if I don't get an end game each year. I enjoy the whole experience. It's all about a whole lot more than inches and mounts. When I die, my mounts will be donated or trashed. I would hope some of the folks and kids that I shared a camp and the experiences with remember me better than where those inches will end up.

Could not agree more

[Jspradley]

The scenario described in the article isn't sustainable. It's a temporary boom headed towards the inevitable bust.

What's left over, post-bust, won't look like it does today.

Can millenials hurry up and kill the petting zoo deer industry while they are killing off everything else?!?!?

[Arrowthreat]

Interesting article. I tend to agree with most of his points.

[AntlerCollector]

This is a great point. If I quit hunting and only fished, or did whatever, I would not have access to the deercamp life I enjoy as much as the pursuit of a deer or turkey.. Call me crazy but hell I enjoy the deer lease work itself and all the prep to get to the end game....even if I don't get an end game each year. I enjoy the whole experience. It's all about a whole lot more than inches and mounts. When I die, my mounts will be donated or trashed. I would hope some of the folks and kids that I shared a camp and the experiences with remember me better than where those inches will end up.

Yessir!

[RascalArms]

Hunting, or the importance of hunting, has changed for me over the years. It hasn’t been about “the kill” in a long, long time. I just ain’t that mad at em anymore. I used to be I guess...but not now.
I still enjoy the heck out of being in the outdoors, listening to the birds and just watching wildlife in general. I’m actually taking a hiatus from my lease out west for awhile due to some changing priorities and lack of time. Oh, I’ll miss hunting and being in the woods but what I’ll miss most is the camaraderie of my fellow lease mates and the campfires. It’s deer camp that I’ll miss.

[The Cajun]

I live in Louisiana and work in Texas. I'm not sure if it's because there is not much public land over there or what but I don't work with a single person that is not on a lease sittin in a box over a corn feeder. To each his own though but I've often wondered if any of em has ever been scouting. I hunted on a lease for a couple of years here and found myself hating sitting in a box staring at the same old trees. Gave it up and now only hunt public land where baiting is not legal. I find scouting and seeing new woods so much more fun. I've found some white oaks that are basically free feeders.

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Since the day I stepped foot on Louisiana Public Lands 4 years ago, my mentality of hunting has changed. I'm addicted to it and will more times than not say no to hunting elsewhere. Almost impossible to get me to leave the hardwoods during the rut. I will say I do understand there will be a time that I won't be so mad at the deer and will choose to hunt feeders, but until than you can find me deep in the swamp.

[jerp]

I will echo what Smart and others have said - it's all about what you are trying to get out of the experience. Some are obsessed with killing really high scoring bucks - that is goal #1, as well as goal numbers 2-10. Absolutely nothing wrong with that of course if you are willing to invest the time and resources as well as make the sacrifices necessary to accomplish that goal. I have been on leases for almost 40 years and I figured out a long time ago that real trophy hunting as currently defined was not in the cards for me. If I judged a successful hunting weekend - or a hunting season for that matter - based on "horn inches harvested" I would have quit a long time ago and taken up bowling or something. One thing is telling - I never drive home from the lease disappointed or frustrated - I always drive home refreshed and relaxed. For this city dweller just having a place to go stomp around in the woods, do some work, watch a campfire and be with friends is enough - a salve for my soul. Sure, I love the hunting part and really like to take game - even seeing a doe at 15 yards still gets my heart going. However relistically speaking my best chance at killing a 150 class buck is if one runs out in front of my truck somewhere. I am OK with that.

[SaltwaterSlick]

Reading the article and reading through this thread has been a good thing for me... Never really had a desire myself to go shoot a big high fenced pen raised deer, but I have dear friends that do so and have never felt any negative thought about them. In fact I'm real glad for them to be able to shoot a genuine whopper, but it doesn't make me want to go do that... I for sure don't have a problem with those who do want to however.

I personally am not near as mad at 'em as I used to be, and for a number of reasons really... but the two most important reasons is that I lost my son who was my world and hunting partner. I taught him so much about being in the woods, how to shoot, how to track, how to identify the various foliage and plants, the characteristics of the game and other animals we had around us... He's gone now, so that is a real big hole for me that likely will never be filled by hunting and such, unless my grandson(s) express an real desire to want to learn about the outdoors... The other big factor in my lack of desire is that my best friend fell on to hard times and health issues and no longer goes hunting or fishing and for me the camaraderie that I lost so far has been irreplaceable... Ain't no fun to go out hunting and fishin' by yoreseff, or at least it's not for me... Heck, I can hunt and shoot deer literally in my back yard. For sure don't have a desire to do that... Not sure what the future holds for me and the outdoors. I love the outdoors, but not too fond of the outdoors alone I guess...

[quarterback]

Aint no one cares anyway, cause it is all about the money. Been that way for years, aint gonna change. It's your money blow it however you want. The article is about as close to the truth as a can be.

I see the arrogance and ignorance on TBH when someone kills a 3 year old 130 and some joker comes along and says nice "cull" or should have gave it another year. A lot of guys dont post their kills on here because the mentality is the buck needs to be 5 years old and at least 150 class or you get the hall of shame. Well, a lot of folks dont have that opportunity because of location, pressure or habitat. Aint none of that matters to some on here, as long as they can belittle someone about their kill.

I have about quit posting on TBH, lost interest in in the forum in some ways and I really do not miss it.

Please continue to post. You are one of the good ones on here. And I know I'm not the only one who thinks so.

[BuckSmasher]

"Hunting" has lost its appeal to some folks because it isn't hard anymore. Something has to be difficult for folks to care about doing it.

[Leverhunter]

Article is really trying to pull at heartstrings with all the imagery.

I'll keep hunting my low fenced property, high fence when invited, and any other places I get my hands on. I like shooting deer.

Big difference between hunting deer and just shooting deer. High fencing and feed troughs take away a lot of the challenge of actual hunting.

[elgato]

Didn't read the article. Don't care what it has to say .I'm 64 yrs old. Its June 5th and with all the rains I'm already excited about the coming hunting season. By the time the season rolls around I will have invested time practically every week trying to have the healthiest best deer herd around. It will be a blast sharing with friends and family!

Hunting a specific buck is just as challenging today as when I was growing up where I hunt. An incredibly valuable difference is that there are more choices now than then. And I still get a charge out of every buck I see regardless of age or size. But what a dream and thrill that now there is a reasonable chance to see really big deer unlike anything ever when I was growing up.

Breeder deer do nothing for me but got no problem with those that like them. Lots of things in life that don't excite me that excite others. Be that as it is. I try not to let others opinions effect my choices. I'm going to celebrate everyones success regardless of how it may compare to my interests.

Almost all of my personal hunting is with a camera now. Catch and release deer hunting. Cool. However I guide folks every year and I get as excited as they do with the thrill of the hunt and the opportunity to take advantage of the passion I have invested in our hunting property.

I have some high fenced property. I have some low fenced property. Cant tell any difference in the challenge of the hunt. Love them both. I simply love being around whitetail deer and all the outdoor features included and sharing time with others who enjoy all the wonderful aspects of it as well.

[Leverhunter]

Aint no one cares anyway, cause it is all about the money. Been that way for years, aint gonna change. It's your money blow it however you want. The article is about as close to the truth as a can be.

I see the arrogance and ignorance on TBH when someone kills a 3 year old 130 and some joker comes along and says nice "cull" or should have gave it another year. A lot of guys dont post their kills on here because the mentality is the buck needs to be 5 years old and at least 150 class or you get the hall of shame. Well, a lot of folks dont have that opportunity because of location, pressure or habitat. Aint none of that matters to some on here, as long as they can belittle someone about their kill.

I have about quit posting on TBH, lost interest in in the forum in some ways and I really do not miss it.

Very true. In many places hunting has become a business and not a sport.