An interesting opinion on social media impact on hunting

[Bowsnbucks]

One thing we hunters need to remember is that the non-hunting community is FAR larger than our hunting community. Most of them don't want to be reminded of - or actually don't know - where and HOW their steak, ham, chicken wings, and sausage came to be in that nice, clean meat case at the store. That's THEIR mindset. We hunters and farmers know the where and how of meat availability. We need to keep the much larger non-hunting public in mind before we post pics of animals we've taken lawfully and ethically. They see a clean, ethical kill by a hunter as barbaric ......... but don't give a thought to the steel spikes driven into the brains of cattle and hogs. Many non-hunters don't know, or want to know, how their meat got to the cooler in the store. In reality - it's convenient, comfortable hypocrisy for the non-hunting public to condemn hunting - but turn a blind eye to their store-bought meat's origins.

I'm a realist - so maybe we hunters ought to avoid waving a red flag in front of the non-hunting public and limit dead animal pics to non-bloody versions. DO NOT make the "team competition", macho-man, rack-'em-up shows anymore. Why do we feel the need to "CRUSH" deer, as one show seems to trumpet?? They're a disease IMO, and make hunting seem "cheap" - rather than an ethical, time-honored pursuit.

I've hunted with guys who are emotionally CRUSHED if they don't get a deer in a given year. They feel like total failures, and their "manliness" is somehow less. I've never understood that thinking. Sometimes the deer win. Sometimes the deer numbers are down and hunting success is sparse. Neither are valid reasons to feel "less of a man or less of a hunter." If any of us have taken deer in past seasons, why do we feel we have to constantly re-prove our hunting ability?? We know we're capable hunters - so why feel like a failure?? A season without a kill doesn't make us any less.

 

[bwoods11]

What is the reason that 40 hunters keep hunting in a situation like that? Are a few trophies killed every year and that is why they keep coming back?

Like yourself, I would hunt other states or go north in Minnesota.
I feel good hunts can be had in northern Minnesota, but my goals are for peace, quiet, and some meat on the table, which are different goals than yours.


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The reason that so many hunters are in that section is that it is one of the largest blocks of timber or woods in the area. It is also broken up into wood lots (some 5 to 10 acres). My area of the state gets pounded hard during shotgun season. Just a lot of hunters, and with 70% agriculture, they sit in every parcel of cover.

I have a picture of six trucks at the entry to a 80 acre public parcel. A few years ago, I saw a father and his son sitting back to back on a bare grassy hill on public land, one facing east the other west.. It was the ultimate sad reality that we have in our state of pressure/competition for spots.

It motivated me to try hunting elsewhere....for the most part I try to avoid the first weekend of slug hunting in our area. There is not much we can do about it? I mean hunters want to hunt, and I guess I will go back to 20 years ago when they split the season up. That made more sense, you had to pick a first or second season and it allowed more hunters to share private land and it also was not as busy on public land.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

What is the reason that 40 hunters keep hunting in a situation like that?

A good portion of the people I know that go hunting do it for a once or twice a year social function and don't think about it the rest of the year. The actual hunting is just an excuse or byproduct of the social gathering. Hunting is my obsession and I find the social aspect often gets in the way and thus mostly hunt alone. That puts some of my motivations or desires at odds with a large portion of the hunting community.

Unfortunately a lot of regulations are made to cater to the people who don't really care that much about it anyway. People who are passionate about Mule deer in MT see that it's absurd to have a 5 week General rifle season covering the entire rut "but it's tradition!" for Montanans to go and shoot their 1.5 YO buck on thanksgiving every year. MN is much the same with the season structure.

 

[Mortenson]

We used to allow hunters in with us, and hunting was good up til 8am on opening day. Then you'd rarely see another deer the rest of the year. Nowadays our property stays a lot fresher, and we can actually hope to see a deer walk out of an untouched piece of woods every once in a while. I'm in the camp there are too many hunters and too many seasons in my area. I'll take my chances that hunting won't be banned by the whackos. Public areas, of which we have many near us, are totally crazy, violent, dangerous and wrong. I'm sure it's a whole different deal out west where things are more spread out. Local public area just got a lot bigger when that POS failure of a Republican Gov Rauner bought a bunch on his last day in office that would've otherwise been all gobbled up by us and many other private owners, thus keeping it on the tax roll.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Hunting is my obsession and I find the social aspect often gets in the way and thus mostly hunt alone. That puts some of my motivations or desires at odds with a large portion of the hunting community.

I'm the same way. Always have been. I hunt dark-to-dark, and I'm the first one out in the morning, and the last one to come back in at night. I can shoot the shit the rest of the year. But I don't have to kill a deer to enjoy the hunt. Sometimes I get a kick out of the deer outsmarting / outmaneuvering me. Makes me respect their razor-sharp nose & instincts even more.

 

[bwoods11]

A good portion of the people I know that go hunting do it for a once or twice a year social function and don't think about it the rest of the year. The actual hunting is just an excuse or byproduct of the social gathering. Hunting is my obsession and I find the social aspect often gets in the way and thus mostly hunt alone. That puts some of my motivations or desires at odds with a large portion of the hunting community.

Unfortunately a lot of regulations are made to cater to the people who don't really care that much about it anyway. People who are passionate about Mule deer in MT see that it's absurd to have a 5 week General rifle season covering the entire rut "but it's tradition!" for Montanans to go and shoot their 1.5 YO buck on thanksgiving every year. MN is much the same with the season structure.

This is a great post. You nailed it. Certain hunters often confuse the seriousness or challenge for hunting mature bucks as “horn porn” or obsession with antlers. There might be some of that, but there’s a bunch of guys that just plain love to hunt and don’t shoot the first deer the see. They might even pass a 150 inch young buck ? That’s great in my eyes. It certainly does not hurt other hunters?

The regulations in almost every state in the US are geared for the weekend warrior (hunts once a year). The die hard hunter that wants a challenge is not often heard or looked upon seriously by DNR/game managers etc…

A few states like Ohio, Kansas and Iowa allow both to exist. It’s fun to hunt and own land in a state like Iowa—that has a backbone of hunters that want quality and still have quantity!