And yes... I fully realize that I am going to catch plenty of flack over this post... but I've been married over 30 years, raised 2 kids, spent 2 years in the military, hung out in plenty of seedy bars, been to a goodly number of goat ropin's, and spent more than a couple of nites in one or another local lock-ups...so I've caught flack from professionals, and it just doesn't bother me any more....................................... But do you believe that technology has taken hunting too far ? ..... What I mean is... think about what is available now... Scopes that tell you how much hold-over to use so you don't have to think... "Primative" (and I use the term very loosely) in-line muzzle loaders shooting modern projectiles, and some even useing smokeless powder, that make them every bit the equal of most cartridge fireing rifles. (I believe this defeats the entire purpose of the special season.)...... "Scent-lock" suits that kill the hunter's smell so he doesn't have to learn to use the wind to his advantage..... Digital animal callers that make anyone an instant professional without having to spend the time to learn anything about the animals and/or their habits.... ATV's so you never have to actually walk, or even carry or drag anything more than a couple of feet.... Game cameras so that a "hunter" never has to learn how to read sign, they only have to keep hanging the camera up in different locations and checking the pictures until they find a regularly used area..... GPS systems so the novice and inexperienced ..."hunter"... doesn't manage to get themselves lost 50 feet off the pavement. God forbid they aren't out of the woods before the terrifying fall of darkness.... Long, short, uber, fat, ultra, super-duper, wham-bam, belted/unbelted magnums that negate the necessity of having to actually learn the skills of stalking within shooting range of your intended prey.... Heat senseing units to find your deer for you so you never have to actually waste time learning to trail wounded game.... "Super hearing-aids" so you can hear that sucker coming 200 yards away.... Lighted reticles that allow you to hunt in dusk or in times of limited light, etc., etc., etc.......... With all of this, it's little wonder that stalking and actually "hunting game" is giving way to setting in an air conditioned portable high-rise, sipping a cool one and waiting for the animal to come to you...................... I readily admit that I am "old-school"...but seriously, how can someone who normally couldn't trail a mortally wounded elephant across barren tundra in a foot of fresh snow, use all these gadgets and gizmos, never even bother to learn any basic outdoor or hunting skills, and still consider themselves an outdoorsman ? .... My mind boggles easily any more it seems...but this really boggles it......... But enough of my blowing... what is your opinion ?

I agree with some of your points but let's keep in mind that game is much less plentiful today than it was in the past. Places to hunt are becoming very scarce. So some of todays technology balances the poorer chances you have of bagging something.

I can also relate to some of your life expiernces. When I was much younger, I used to spend most of my money on women and booze, the rest of it I just wasted.

No flak here Mongo!

Shortly after Mr. Clinton (Bill) turned off Selective Availability on the Global Positioning System and affordable consumer model receivers hit the streets the number of lost hikers/climbers spiked pretty good (at least here in Washington State). The problem was folks were wandering off into the woods with these things and forgetting things like basic map reading skills and how to use a compass; many times they didn't have either with them. The two biggest reasons for getting lost were 1) forgetting to mark their starting location in their unit, and 2) dead batteries! Every time we went and pulled one of these folks outta the woods with dead batteries in a GPS receiver we would let them know that the batteries never go dead on magnetic north!



Technology is fine but one should have an inkling of how to perform the same task/s without all the fun battery powered stuff.



My favorite part of hunting is actually reading sign and tracking/stalking my prey.


WW

Yeah, I can see where you'rte coming from Mongo...and I kinda agree. We (household) weren't uber technological cause we were broke..LOL...but, things are a lot easier today than they once were, with all the advantages we have at our disposal.

I can also agree with all your saying. However I think the technologies are just tools. if you do not know why you use the tools then they can be useless. i have digital compasses and GPS, and things like that there for mushroom hunting. However before I go into the woods I will check where the Western sun is in the sky. If one does not take a reading of where their vehicle is then when it comes to using a GPS to get out of the woods they still won't find there vehicle parking lot. I still take a reading on a cheap compass of where my car is sitting before I walk into the woods. Many a time if it were not for seeing where the Western Sun was setting and or using the quadrants from my compass reading. The GPS would never get me out of the woods. GPS are good for marking a specific spot in the woods. Just say I find a whole lot of chanterelle mushroom. I can take a reading push the save button and the qudrants are recorded insdie the GPS. Each year I can go back to the same spot, same time of the year and get chanterelles.

Hear, hear..... Someone buy that gentleman a beer, with my compliments..... I too flittered away alot of money foolishly on bills, food, and such in my youth............ But now that I am older.....mostly I'm just confused.
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I made this same post at another forum, and they too, like you all, have opinions, but none told me what an "old-school-stick-in-the-mud-horse's-patoot" I was, (which rather surprised me actually) altho they did admit that they do use some of these things............................. Now please, don't misunderstand... I am not saying all of these things are "BAD"... Only that I feel that many of them detract from a true, "meet nature on somewhat equal terms", outdoors experience ... and much of this "advacned technology" gives the hunter an advantage which eliminates the need for him/her to actually have to learn the basics of woodsmanship and/or hunting skills...the skills which man has worked at and developed over thousands of years... And I just have to wonder if this is really for the best...or even in the best interest of not just hunting, but of Nature, and of the people themselves..... Please don't think I am being "corney" here... But I always felt that hunting was a sort of "personal-spritual-experience"...giveing the hunter the chance to commune with and experience Nature, and an even better understanding of him or herself... But to me, it just seems that these things are being lost today... And as a people, I believe the human race is less because of it.

Ya know Mongo when we were younger everybody said save your money invest wisely and all that. When you get old enough to retire you can do what you want to do. Yeah like that is going to ever happen.

When you get older and may be able to do something you wanted to do, its Doc bills and what you wanted to do becomes something you just don't have the energy to do anymore and it becomes well one of these days maybe. HaHa Where did time go it seems to travel faster all the time.

Book, you're 100% correct.....and the older I get, and the less agile and mobile I become, the more I have come to believe in that old saying that... "Youth is wasted on the young."

Mongojoe, uh, whats a goat ropin?

As far as technology goes. Some people really love that stuff. So, I guess it adds to their overall hunting experience.

I don't have most of the things you mentioned. But, I would like one of those scopes with the built in digital camera.

I've used a scoped rifle for as long as I can remember, In the past few years, I've gotten a scentlok suit, a GPS, and a climbing stand. Has it helped my hunting? Not a bit.

Looking forward to the upcoming season.
Mickey Finn

You know MOST of us are not old enough to have hunted with old Daniel Boone. Things change, and time marches on in this world. All the gadgets and improvements in guns and other equipment have kept the sport going. My greatest fear is that we might fail to teach our kids the real value and fun they would be missing if they didn't protect what we have left. Good rules are required to protect game populations and habitats. I don't think there is a prayer that we can go back to the old days, but I would support special hunts and rules for those that want to try.

LOLOL... Well, picture a "miniature rodeo", with kids instead of adults..... Goats are roped instead of steers... And instead of trying to stay on a bucking bull or bareback bronk for 8 seconds, they ride bucking billygoats, sheep, or calves (often called "mutton-busting")... Prizes or ribbons are awarded, and these kids (and their parents) get pretty serious about it... My wife's home town, 10 miles down the road (population maybe 4 or 5 hundred), used to hold goat-ropings every other Saturday night in the summer, and often when I had nothing particular to do I'd go down, drink a few beers, and watch the action.... It was just like a real rodeo arena, with grand stands, pens, chutes, an announcer, and the whole shebang, but on a very small scale.

Hunting is something that is supposed to take us back in time and away from this high tech modern world.I'm afraid if it continues and limits aren't set on technology that won't be the case.The question is where do you set the limits?
Maybe on a personal level.I won't use a range finder for archery and know a few who refuse to use inlines.Now PA just passed a law where one can use a non ignition muzzle loader yet they call it a primitive season.Some say I went over the line using a compound bow.So the question is,where do you set the limits?They keep making more effeciant shotguns for turkey.Used to be a 30 yard shot was max but now with heavy shot,tight chokes,and a scope a fellow can dang near reach 50 yards.Where do we set the limit?

........and right there is the question to me... "Where do we set the limits ?"

Well, thats a relief. I was afraid it was something dirty

Not sure Joe but there's a difference between making it easier to kill and making a product more effecient at killing.A better broadhead won't make it easier to kill but might make the kill quicker with less of a chance of wounding.Where as some contraptions make it easier to make the shot for the kill.Confusing huh?I think I even lost myself there.

Wonder why, when I saw "mutton-busting" ... Hemmy's name immediately came to mind ?? lmao


99er

baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

No...that's called "sheep ropin'"........or at least that's what 99er and Hemmy told me anyway.

the fun starts after the ropin.

I really don't mind the advances in equipment as you don't have to use them if you don't want to. What really stokes my fire is high fence killing, and everyone raising big deer so some rich dumb a__ can go out and shoot one and brag at the office. Besides (Thank God) B&C or Pope and Young do not recognize them, I just feel that pen raised deer canned hunts has hurt our beloved sport more than advances in equipment will ever do. just on Old Okies Opinion.

..................and the opinion of many of the rest of us as well.