Life's not fair

[Redman]

Pinedonkey great post. I am sorry to read about your daughter and wish her the very best.

 

Life is not fair and the fact remains that if a person could purchase a governor's tag instead of me makes me furious....... furious that I pissed away all the opportunities I had to make more money and been more successful....if I had only been more dedicated to things, studied harder, or tried harder....I could have purchased that tag.... life is not fair....its not fair that we all have or own choices to make and paths to take and the consequences or rewards that follow...or the parents or country we were born to...

 

p.s. its also not fair that I forgot to purchase a raffle ticket for the Big Game Raffle...

[CouesWhitetail]

Pinedonkey great post. I am sorry to read about your daughter and wish her the very best.

 

Life is not fair and the fact remains that if a person could purchase a governor's tag instead of me makes me furious....... furious that I pissed away all the opportunities I had to make more money and been more successful....if I had only been more dedicated to things, studied harder, or tried harder....I could have purchased that tag.... life is not fair....its not fair that we all have or own choices to make and paths to take and the consequences or rewards that follow...or the parents or country we were born to...

 

p.s. its also not fair that I forgot to purchase a raffle ticket for the Big Game Raffle...

 

 

LOL!! good one....

[WalkingW]

This is a post that I have wanted to make for several days; ever since reading the thread about Alan Hamberlin's 410 bull. I am starting this new thread because I do not want to detract from all the well deserved congratulations in the other thread.

 

I have no idea who Alan Hamberlin is or how he was able to afford a governor's tag. It's really not of interest to me. If I wanted to know more about him I would Google his name...I really don't care. What I do care about is the great, yet rapidly eroding, economic basis of our country. Americans have the right to spend there money however they wish within the constraints of the law; it is really nobody's business how Alan Hamberlin chooses to spend his. The concept that it is not fair that he was able to purchase this tag is very offensive. It falls right in line with our president who wants a redistribution of wealth because it is fair! This is crap!

 

LIFE IS NOT FAIR. Some people are born into money, others earn it, others never have much. Some people are born into health, others never have it. Some people are born white, black, brown, short, tall, male, female...it's just the way it is.

 

I have a friend who was not able to apply for elk this year because of his personal financial situation, is it fair that others were able to pay for their tag? For the first time in my adult life I bought a bonus point for Big Horn instead of paying for my chance at a tag. I just don't have the money this year after draining our savings on an undiagnosed nueroligical condition my daughter has...its not fair, but it is what it is. I do not hold spite for those who drew a tag, I just hope they post pictures and stories for all of us to enjoy.

 

I have been blessed with a lifetime of hunting memories that I cherish. I have hunted with friends who struggle to come up with enough money for a license and ammunition, and others who have purchased governors tags or other similar auction tags. The memories are sweet because of the people, the animals, and the outdoors, not the money.

 

If you have money, good for you. I think it is great when you spend it on things that make my hunting better. If you are not into hunting, spend some of it on something you desire, and keep our economy pumping. If you don't have money for the things you desire, I hope you find a way to earn the money, or find a way to be content with what you have.

 

Many with money are very generous. Thank you Bill and Melinda Gates for your generous educational foundation. Thank you Don Diamond for your support of the Diamond Childrens Medical Center in Tucson. Thank you Larry Potterfield for your support of Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and Thank You Alan Hamberlin for your support of hunting and wildlife in Arizona.

 

I could not get this post out of my head last night; so I had to say something.

I have guided people with more money than I could ever think of that have taken monster bulls and most of them are just a blimp in my memory. I guide for Catch A Dream and the kids and families that I have taken on cow hunts I wont forget a second. I have killed a nice non typical and a great typical bull and that was cool but when a 12 year old boy in a wheel chair, a thirteen year old girl with her left shoulder blade and arm socket removed, or just my wife’s took their cow elk I cried with excitement. I think that I am one of the luckiest people I know. I am not wealthy, good looking or even all that smart but I know the two most important things in life. God and Love.

You have every rite to vent and I think you should but sometime people with money are not the lucky ones it is the ones that are put through hardship are the ones that know what is really important. I went to the OE4A dinner last Thursday and was reminded that very thing.

You see I was thinking about quitting because of the loss of one of the kids I had taken and I remembered that little girl had more of a positive effect on more people than anyone I had been around. She went through over four years of Cancer treatment from ten years old till she was fourteen and she had a smile that lit every room that she was in. She knew what was important!! The last time I saw her was the end of a hunt that we were not sure if she would make or not. She told me that she Loved me and thanked me for making her life better. If she had only know how much better she made my life!

You and your daughter are in my prayers and thank you for sharing. This was the first post that I had to respond to.

[Chef]

Great great post Ty.

Thanks for all you do with the awesome kids too.

I appreciate and admire people like you that

"Walk softly but carry a big stick."

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

Great Post, Pine Donkey!!! My thoughts and prayers are with your Family.

 

I'd also like to mention that all the Haters always seem to forget the dollars generated by these tags benefit all Arizonan's and the Wildlife in our state. I have never understood why so many allow petty jealousy to over run their mouths (and typing fingers) about this subject. We all have the ooportunity at great financial success (and the opportunity to spend that same success), but we make choices... I once overheard an older fella say to my Father when I was young...."Anyone can become a Millionaire, what are you willing to give up to get there?".. Those words have inspired me my whole life through... and I know that I don't want it bad enough to get there. My Choice! For those who have made the Status... I praise them for spending their success on one the the most important things in my life...AZ's Wildlidfe!

 

Thanks Again P D for pointing out a rant that many of us have!!

BTW... I happen to think it is and always has been the Greatest idea ever to have these 365 days tags!! They are awesome!!

[bowhuntaz1]

+10

[DCS]

Pine Donkey,Thank you for saying exactly what I have been feeling.Prayers for your family.

[Perkele!]

Great posts everybody.

 

Cheers

MoosE

[huntingfool]

Great posts, glad to see not everybody is in it for the numbers. I'm certainly not, it's the experience and the meat that keep me hunting every year. I don't understand the "trophy only" mentality. Sure I'd love to shoot a big one but it's not the only reason I go. However, it's a free country and people can hunt for whatever reasons they want.

 

The "it's not fair" mentality really bugs me though. In America you really can change your monetary situation, you just have to make it happen. There are a lot of places in the world where this is not an option. The things that aren't "fair" are the things we can't control, like rare neoroleptic disorders for instance. We can't control those and we just have to deal with them. What we can control is how much money we make.

 

 

if life was fair do you think casey would look like he does? poor guy

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

[CEI]

Great post!

 

Honestly, I used to be jealous of a lot of these giants hitting the dirt, but then I realized, "Why the heck am I hunting". Would I be jealous if they killed a spike or raghorn bull with the auction tag every year?

 

Hunt for yourself, hunt to help others & be happy...

[Noel Arnold]

I think there is pro's and con's to these tags.I do not have any emotions good or bad to the people that buy these tag's.To me it is sad that the States even have to sell these tag's.I do not know if there is wasted money in the Game departments or not,but I do know that in Arizona the people that have the final say, have been letting out to many tags for a lot of the animals in Arizona.And the excuse of this is they say that it is what the public wants. This is not helping the population of the animals.One example is years ago the Game and fish said that in order for a herd of Pigs to make it they could not get below around 9.Now they have lowered the number quite a bit just so they can rationlize the slaughter.I have seen coyote's rush pig herds and if they do not have enough adults,then they can not circle the wagons and get the young in the middle.I seen this about 20 years ago on a herd of 25 and the coyotes did not have a chance.I know that the auction tag's go toward helping game.I also know that it was not good when the non hunting public saw on tv when the auction tag elk was shot around houses a few years ago.I like to shoot big animals,but it is more important to bring meat home.I would feel sorry for the guy who had put in for twenty years and finally got a tag and had scouted the animal and a auction tag shot it before they had even got a chance.

[youngbuck]

I guess I'll throw my 2 cents in. Lots of good things said.

I like and appreciate the benefit of the added money being put directly back into the wildlife. I could argue with how that money is being spent, but that can be argued with any large company, especially a government entity. It is also easy to play armchair quarterback. I have no experience in managing a state's wildlife, just my personal experiences in the field. The problem with auction tags is that it turns a hunt into a high dollar lucrative business. When that much money is on the table, people try to bend the rules. I've heard rumors of the shenanigans on some of the governor's type tage in this state as well as others. I'm not saying this happens on all or most of the hunts like this. I don't even know first hand if any of the rumors are true. I also like to see al parties involved getting what they deserve. If you can make a living putting people on big animals, more power to you. I've though about starting a guide service or working for one. I think I would grow to not enjoy my time in the hils as mucj as I do now.

 

There a lot of guys who have stated they don't hunt for inches. I'll be the first to admitt that I do, and I'm the last guy to tell some one else they should. I find a certain amount of satisfaction in trying my hardest to put my tag on the biggest or most unique animal I can find on a hunt. Case in point my buddy's 09 Dec tag. We eventually tagged out on the buck we had been looking for since we first saw him two weeks prior. I find it personally satisfying to bust my butt and boot leather to try my hardest. I also hunt for meat. I got so mad the other day I had to drive to the store and buy ground beef. Nobody in my hunting group has taken an elk in 2 years. I have had some rough luck with deer tags in the past 2 years. My freezer is empty, but not because I chose to do with out due to holding out for the big one.

 

In the past few years I have gotten more joy for helping someone else tag out than filling my own tag. In the past 2 hunting seasons, I have not tagged one big game animal. I have, however, seen over a dozen animals gets tags put on them. I would not say my past two years have been a failure. On the contrary, they are some of the best hunting seasons I've ever had. I rate them right up there with the year I tagged out on my first early archery bull tag and late Dec WT tag. Last year I was home a total of around 4 weekends from July untill Mid January. I rate my hunting success on days spent in the field.

 

All that being said, if I had the money, you bet I'd be after those year long tags. If I had the money I'd spend everyday I could in the hills. It would be a dream to spend 365 days in the field. I buy the raffle tickets hoping I will get a tag. I would be just as excited if one of my hunting buddies got the year long tag instead of me. Having somebody ask me if I'd like to help scout all of Arizona to find the biggest baddest what ever would be awesome. I'd be spending my time looking at the best country in the world for the type hunting I enjoy. I'd find all kinds of critters big and small and enjoy being able to experience finding them. I will agree that when it is all said and done the amount of inches isn't what make a hunt extrodinary, its the little things. I got so excited last year when I saw a spotted skunk. How many people dance around when they see a skunk? Maybe I'm crazy, but learning to enjoy all the little things on a hunt makes them so much better.

 

Do what every makes you happy, unless you are ruining somebody else's day.

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

Great posts, glad to see not everybody is in it for the numbers. I'm certainly not, it's the experience and the meat that keep me hunting every year. I don't understand the "trophy only" mentality. Sure I'd love to shoot a big one but it's not the only reason I go. However, it's a free country and people can hunt for whatever reasons they want.

 

 

You raise a good point... and I'd like to clarify it from my point of view. I know that "my kind of hunting" (and that of many hunters) can be construed "only about inches"... however, for me it is about knowing that I bested the best...I have drawn my bow and leveled my rifle on many young bucks and bulls... it would have been sooo easy to pull the trigger and the hunt to be over. But as the Great American Indians “counted coup", I also count "the ones that I let live". I have been bested many times, made mistakes, been fouled up… it is the hunt for me… I’d rather take a chance at hitting a walk off home run in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs, than take the first easy harvest that steps out. You see I consider myself a conservationist, as well as a hunter, and I believe in letting the young one walk, unless I really need meat and those times have not quite hit me yet. I want to see if I can outsmart the smartest on the mountain, the one who has inadvertently fooled many others to get the age he is…. And when I do I honor that animal and I have always sat on the ground with the beast I have out done and admired it’s greatness and wondered what it has endured to get to the age it had. Generally age does equal inches… and no I won’t pass a Giant for the possibly regressing one standing next to him… I will always take the best specimen, or the most unique, as mentioned before… For if I had my choice I’d rather be taken in my prime, but I’m kind twisted…LOL. I also understand that no 2 people are alike… but it is what hunting is for me.

[biglakejake]

This is without question my all-time favorite thread on CouesWhitetail.com forums after 9 full years! Just thought it needed a little bump. Life isn't fair!

 

lee