Hunting has Changed for the Worst...

[CouesPursuit]

^ +1 and well said.

 

I don't have FB and CWT is the only site I get excited about and participate on. I've met many friends here and try to post honest and straightforward content in return for everything this site gave to me since I started reading it 10 years ago.

[Whitesheep]

Hunting has changed. From AZGFD website:

 

Elk were at one time the most widely distributed member of the deer family in North America – found everywhere except the Great Basin desert and the Southern coastal plains. Their population was estimated to total 10 million before European man arrived. Elk withstood the impacts of the western settlement better than the buffalo because they inhabited rougher terrain. The great reduction in elk numbers is attributable to market hunting and agriculture. The population low of 90,000 occurred in 1922, of these, 40,000 were in Yellowstone Park. The Park's herds became a reservoir for stocking breeding elk. Between 1912 and 1967 more than 13,500 elk were transplanted from the Park. In February 1913, 83 elk were released in Cabin Draw near Chevelon Creek. From these transplants, the Arizona elk population has grown to nearly 35,000 animals.

 

Imagine it is 1912 and there are NO ELK IN AZ. How was hunting better then? This is just one example. See AZGFD.com for more.

 

Personally I think things are way better than most of the time in the last century. More people involved means more Pittman-Roberston money for conservation, more vendors selling guns, camo cloths, bows, cameras, ATV's, even special "hunting" truck models. This means more choices for the hunter and lower prices as well.

 

Those who hate trophy hunters usually are just jealous and just trying to hide behind morality. There is room for all of this in this sport especially if it means better conservation resulting in more animals for me to look for (hunt). I think I am more proud of my "little" 5x5 Bull Elk taken on public land self guided with my friends than anybody with a 7x7 found, cleaned and butchered by a "guide" behind a fence ever could be. But, I would still like to have found a 7x7 instead of my 5x5.

 

BTW, my favorite hunting hat is a flat brimmed water proof Filson and my hunting truck is an '84 F-150.

[couesmagnet]

It's the all the look at me stuff that's ruining hunting. Everyone's got a facebook page/ blog now trying to capitalize on ego. It's all the fakeness that has been injected into the sport. People watch reality tv shows and know by now it's all scripted and fake , but the hunting world hasn't caught up with the fact that the amount of fakeness in all the look at me stuff and behind the scenes bs that goes on in most of the major look at me's out there. 9.5 out of 10 times when it comes to the most famous look at me's, there's an aweful lot of bs behind the scenes. Such as not finding their own animals, using others to plunder info from because of the "worshiping factor" but not giving credit for said plundered info , taking responsibilty for finding animals that are harvested by said look at me whether governors tags or guided animals , and the list goes on and on. All this fakeness has begun to train the average guy in the art of being an butt and being fake like the teachers. If theres ego or money being made off a blog or anything else in hunting make sure you assume that theres an aweful lot of fakeness involved and downright deceit. The one's with the biggest egos out there pioneered what we see now in hunting over the last 12 years or so, all for their own ego gain and pocket book. Next time you catch yourself "worshiping" one of the ego monsters out there, take a long hard smell for all the bs behind the scenes. And make sure you almost assume that your being tricked and dog and ponied like a 6 year old literally. It still blows my mind just how easy it is to trick grown men and women into "worshiping" or believing everything they are told in the hunting scene. It's comical to watch it.

[dentedr]

Lot's of good points brought up about the changing of attitudes towards hunting.

 

Something in this thread really bothers me and its the finding of animals with only the antlers and capes taken. This is not only ethically wrong but illegal. This can be found in Arizona State Law A.R.S 17-309 Paragraph A Subsection 5 (see link below). The people who do this need to face the consequences because it will be all of us that suffer and lose the opportunity to hunt, whether it be subsistence or trophy.

 

http://www.azleg.gov/viewdocument/?docName=http://www.azleg.gov/ars/17/00309.htm

[PRDATR]

Lot's of good points brought up about the changing of attitudes towards hunting.

 

Something in this thread really bothers me and its the finding of animals with only the antlers and capes taken. This is not only ethically wrong but illegal. This can be found in Arizona State Law A.R.S 17-309 Paragraph A Subsection 5 (see link below). The people who do this need to face the consequences because it will be all of us that suffer and lose the opportunity to hunt, whether it be subsistence or trophy.

 

http://www.azleg.gov/viewdocument/?docName=http://www.azleg.gov/ars/17/00309.htm

 

 

Well I have been hunting in AZ since 77 and have never come across that.

[Snapshot]

The internet has ruined everything.

[trphyhntr]

Jealousy. end thread.

[PRDATR]

The internet has ruined everything.

 

Double edged sword for sure.

[BirdDog20]

The only thing that really guts me is long shot shooting with the rifle attached to a tripod. If it's just the shooter and his trusty bipod, kudos to him/her, but if you have to lock it down because you can't hold it on target, I just have to snicker and groan. It's just like my Texas buddies who call hunting over a feeder hunting.

[trphyhntr]

The only thing that really guts me is long shot shooting with the rifle attached to a tripod. If it's just the shooter and his trusty bipod, kudos to him/her, but if you have to lock it down because you can't hold it on target, I just have to snicker and groan. It's just like my Texas buddies who call hunting over a feeder hunting.

i use to think the same thing until i saw pics of military snipers using triclawps type things. now i think theyre pretty cool.

[mattys281]

 

Lot's of good points brought up about the changing of attitudes towards hunting.

 

Something in this thread really bothers me and its the finding of animals with only the antlers and capes taken. This is not only ethically wrong but illegal. This can be found in Arizona State Law A.R.S 17-309 Paragraph A Subsection 5 (see link below). The people who do this need to face the consequences because it will be all of us that suffer and lose the opportunity to hunt, whether it be subsistence or trophy.

 

http://www.azleg.gov/viewdocument/?docName=http://www.azleg.gov/ars/17/00309.htm

 

 

Well I have been hunting in AZ since 77 and have never come across that.

I have seen it once, bull elk in 27. It was decomposed to the point I could in know way be certain it was poached for its antlers and left, could've been some one found the carcass and cut them, but since it was only about 150 yards from the road my guess would be that it was poached for antlers.

 

That's the only one I've found though in almost 25 years and having hiked what must be a few thousand miles by now and glassed god knows how many hours and drove what seems like about a million miles on forest roads.

 

It seems like there's a common consensus here against social media and there's a real easy solution for that: turn it off.

I can't imagine a less productive use of time than facebooking anyway. It's kind of sickening how many 'adults' spend their precious free time on that thing, although I have to say I'm actually glad that they do. The last thing in the world that I want is for 50 million people to suddenly turn into motivated workaholics and start to compete against me for success. Better for them to stay lazy, unmotivated and easily distracted. That makes for a much easier race to win.

[PRDATR]

The only thing that really guts me is long shot shooting with the rifle attached to a tripod. If it's just the shooter and his trusty bipod, kudos to him/her, but if you have to lock it down because you can't hold it on target, I just have to snicker and groan. It's just like my Texas buddies who call hunting over a feeder hunting.

 

I have no problem with that. I actually encourage it should it make the shooter a better shot. My furthest off hand shot was 300 yards, give or take but I have spent the last 40 years doing that so I know my ability and how much to lead an animal on a trot or a dead run.

[CatfishKev]

The only thing that really guts me is long shot shooting with the rifle attached to a tripod. If it's just the shooter and his trusty bipod, kudos to him/her, but if you have to lock it down because you can't hold it on target, I just have to snicker and groan. It's just like my Texas buddies who call hunting over a feeder hunting.

Got the triclawps for my kids. I'd doesn't hold it any more still than off a bipod. You still have to keep the back end steady and stay on target. Honestly I think the bipod is actually better but you can't do that to well on an incline.

[longshooter]

Jealousy. end thread.

Ain't that a female trait?

[trphyhntr]

 

Jealousy. end thread.

Ain't that a female trait?

Horn envy