The old way...

[meyeri]

I agree that technology has muddied the sport of hunting a bit. Anymore someone can buy a bow from bass pro and plink enough arrows around the bullseye with little practice to feel they are good enough to hit the woods the next day. The modern conveniences are nice handy tools to add to the hunting arsenal but they take some of the work out of it.
Not hunting, but if my grandpa was alive he would say screw the old way I'll never fish again without a rangefinder, trolling motor or propane heater for ice fishing!

 

[Forestryguy]

can say that I have been caught up in the newer way of hunting. Not to the extent that some are, more of to many gadgets. I am trying to become more proficient with a longbow to lighten the load and work more on my woodsmanship. I am only going to fun one portable hang-on stand and a few ladder stands from now on. I hope to do more hunting from the ground, especially on public ground. I will probably still use cameras, without licks or attractants, to get an idea of what is in an area.

 

[fatboy]

I have never ran trail cams or filmed a hunt. Never have hunted over a food plot. I have to farms that I have hunted for over twenty years and lost many more over the years. I scout the ground and look for funnels and pinch points to set up my stands and hunt with a 15 year old bow.

I dont partake in social media even though I do own a smartphone, and have never taken a selfee (sp)? I have not hunted that last five years also due to finacial obligations to my youngest son and wife whom have disabilities, but still enjoy reading posts on IW.

 

[MO-APE]

These are some of the best perspectives I've ever read on a hunting forum. I have to openly admit that I sit in the middle of the scale. I love the idea of the old ways, but really enjoy some of the advancements like trailcams, foodplots, comfortable stands and rangefinders.

I do subscribe to hardcore age and herd management (QDM) for me personally, but try to never push that on my hunting guests/partners. There are exceptions, like my friend who has probably killed 50+ 120 inch deer and doesn't even eat venison. He has to have that "kill" to feel validated... I know he has even bended the rules to harvest. I let him hunt on my land if he does so legally, but the rule for him is "you will buy a shoulder mount if you kill a buck".

I've struggled with being selective/picky in the past. When the harvest group texts start and the "atta-boys" roll in for 145" bucks...I start to question passing on certain deer. I've taken a total of 2 bucks in the past 9 seasons. I'm probably living with false expectations of a Bill Winke-like herd (especially in MO), but I'm fine with that!

I see many parallels in our sport to flyfishing, which is my first and prime outdoor love. There was a huge explosion in the last 15 years of technology, gear and gadgets. People are trying to make a competition out of it ala bass tournaments. I went through the evolution, I spent a small fortune on fancy fly rods, $600 waders, etc. These days I usually reach for a 80 year old bamboo rod with greased silk fly line and simple flies. My friends joke and say I do it "to be an outdoor 'hipster' and to be novel". To me, there is nothing better than the thought of using hand crafted tools built in the early days of WW2 by an artisan and imagine where and by whom it has been fished and the changes in our world it has outlived.

Dammit, anyone want to buy a bunch of deer hunting gadgets? I see a long bow or atlatl in my future.

 

[shadowpeople]

Not that I disagree with anything stated above, I too have an appreciation for the 'old way', but this conversation has been going on since the dawn of time. It's just a matter of at what time a given generation draws the line in the sand and says 'this is as much technology I'm willing to have in my life'. Even with the Amish, or Mennonite communities, their lives were still much different 100 years ago than they are today (relative to their lifestyle of course), and I'm sure the elders say the exact same thing as what we are discussing here.

Nothing is untouched by technology, and you cannot escape it, nor should you chastise those that use it. It just is, the way it is. There will always be those that embrace technology, and those that cherish the traditional ways. But those that embrace technology today, will eventually draw their own line in the sand.

Marketing is certainly a lot better these days as well. People know you want things before you even know it. You are constantly being bombarded by advertisements that are generated from an algorithm that says since you like these things, or have looked at certain merchandise on the internet, you would like this thing as well. Ever notice what items are advertised on this website in the header above? Pretty similar to what you've been looking at on the internet?

Point is, enjoy whatever you do, and don't criticize others for how they are doing what they enjoy doing as long as it is within their rights. You wont change their minds on what technology is acceptable to them. They have to make that decision on their own. There are going to be rotten apples out of any bunch that will spoil things for everyone, that too is for sure.

I do hope to make my own longbow in the next 2 years though. Good luck pursuing game this year however you choose to do it!

 

[2-bucks]

In 2045 there will be a bunch of hunters lamenting of the way things were in the good old days back in 2015. There will also be middle aged and old folks like me complaining about how the next generation is lazy, spoiled, unethical, etc. Yet society will go on just fine............with every generation complaining about those that follow them. Neither will be better or worse overall, just different.

 

[Oct-Lull]

In 2045 there will be a bunch of hunters lamenting of the way things were in the good old days back in 2015. There will also be middle aged and old folks like me complaining about how the next generation is lazy, spoiled, unethical, etc. Yet society will go on just fine............with every generation complaining about those that follow them. Neither will be better or worse overall, just different.

I dont think society is cruising along "just fine.". Have you watched the news? Things are going downhill in all walks of life not just hunting. People shouldn't be afraid to say what's on their mind. No reason to be condescending in how you do it. The liberal ideal that everything can be and should be fair and equal to all is insane, and impossible. If we dont try to fight for our pass time to preserve it who will? I am not saying cameras are bad, new bows are bad, rangefinders, etc. Its deeper than that. TV is hurting us, money is hurting us, greed and selfishness. I am not blameless. I have my work cut out for me with my kids because they have a huge headstart, and thats great, but it makes me have to do a better job. No one hunted in my family, and when I started I had a brown knee length coat and a pair of wool army pants and 100$ Fred Bear bow. I hunted from the ground and missed a ton of shots! Ha! But it was a blast. I dont really want to go back to that but in 20 years since I started I have seen a lot of change. The next 20 makes me nervous. Where can we go from here? We can have some say in the answer.

 

[gundog870]

I would love to go back to the old ways. But it would be nearly impossible for me to settle on shooting a small (relative) buck when I know what it feels like to shoot a big (relative) buck..

The problem is that is very hard for anyone to ever go backwards, and I don't think that is wrong. I for one am going to continue to work towards getting more of what I enjoy. I hate to admit it, but without the allure of a big buck, I don't think deer hunting would give me the satisfaction nor the desire to do it. Maybe that makes me a bad hunter, or even a bad person, but I would argue that there is not anyone out there more passion than I am about it; although many on here at equally passionate.

Everyone gets hung up on comparing or figuring out what is right or wrong, when the reality is everyone is different. Everyone is equipped with different means and capabilities and that is hard to accept. Even the land everyone hunts is different. We are all on different levels and so therefore no one model will fit all and that's ok.

I personally am going to continue to try and kill the biggest bucks that I have the privilege to hunt, whether that be a 140" or a 200" deer. I also love to shoot my recurve, so I may try to accomplish it with that someday. Who knows.

The only problem and difference that there is to hunting today is the competition. There are way more people doing it, and it unfortunately puts a lot of people in a tough spot.

 

[Oct-Lull]

I would love to go back to the old ways. But it would be nearly impossible for me to settle on shooting a small (relative) buck when I know what it feels like to shoot a big (relative) buck..

The problem is that is very hard for anyone to ever go backwards, and I don't think that is wrong. I for one am going to continue to work towards getting more of what I enjoy. I hate to admit it, but without the allure of a big buck, I don't think deer hunting would give me the satisfaction nor the desire to do it. Maybe that makes me a bad hunter, or even a bad person, but I would argue that there is not anyone out there more passion than I am about it; although many on here at equally passionate.

Everyone gets hung up on comparing or figuring out what is right or wrong, when the reality is everyone is different. Everyone is equipped with different means and capabilities and that is hard to accept. Even the land everyone hunts is different. We are all on different levels and so therefore no one model will fit all and that's ok.

I personally am going to continue to try and kill the biggest bucks that I have the privilege to hunt, whether that be a 140" or a 200" deer. I also love to shoot my recurve, so I may try to accomplish it with that someday. Who knows.

The only problem and difference that there is to hunting today is the competition. There are way more people doing it, and it unfortunately puts a lot of people in a tough spot.

I am really enjoying reading all these posts. Really makes me think. Maybe the old way isnt the right way to say it? I am a new age hunter in so many ways. New equipment, new age goals and standards of what I will and won't shoot. I wouldn't be happy with a buck under 160" most days (guess thats why I haven't used my tag In a few years) Maybe its the "deer factory" I take issue with, or that method. Interesting to read.

 

[streitl]

Well said Nick. In the end, for me it boils down to enjoying what I do. For me, it's practically a year-round season. Between archery league in the winter, TSI, NWSG establishment, tree plantings, food plots, hanging stands, etc, etc it's just doesn't end. I like to shoot big deer, and would like to shoot more (and bigger). I like having family and friends enjoy my property and nature. But ther s so much more to it than just shooting a big buck. That's only one small part of it for me. Maybe some people get too wrapped up in it. But for me, there's so much more to the season than the score of the antlers.