More Opinions please.......

[Muledeer4me]

Utbowman,to answer your question .
Most of the animals I have were taken while hunting with my husband (and or son when he still lived at home)all where spots we found while scouting , fishing or even blundered into while riding our ATVs.We do alot of riding in the off season Check out roads or open trails.
We hike alot and do alot of looking at maps & reading.
We arent into trophy hunting (although like most hunters )wont turn down the chance at one.Anything I get is a trophy to me and taste good to boot.
I think alot of you have it wrong when you think we are saying you are less of a hunter by using a guide or hunting behind a fence.
What I am saying if I can get it to sound right written out is-----when hunting open public land you have to play with everyone else thats out there,you have to go by set seasons,if you found a spot that looks good ,spent time checking it out then go out there on opening day and find you picked a spot that half the state also picked then you need to go to plan B.
Also when hunting with out the use of a guide you have the added (stress if you will )of taking care of all your own needs,finding a place to camp ,setting camp up,cooking ,not to mention cleaning and packing out your own animal if your lucky enough to get one.All that puts added stress on the body.
On the other hand ,if you chose to hire a guide to do the pre scouting -its his job to know how much pressure a spot usually gets and his job to have a plan B all worked out,you will have your other needs met,he will cook,take care of the horses ,clean your game and pack it out.
Same thing with a fenced hunt,there are only so many places a animal can go,not saying its easy as we all know that last part of any stalk can get blown real fast and you still have to know how to shoot,but the point I was trying to bring up is I dont see all these things as being equal.
The guy that hunts a ranch and bags a big animal isnt the same because that animal had more of a chance to grow big.
I undersatnd all the reason why someone would hire a guide or hunt a fenced ranch .
Take myself ---I have to depend on my husband to take me out hunting because of the limitation of being a woman and not living in a spot that I can wack something out my backdoor.
While I have alot of pride in the fact that I can go about anyplace he goes and keep up and hold my own ,shoot well enough to take some stuff,clean it,pack in out,I still feel that I am missing out by not being able to go out all by myself and do on my own.
So I guess if by thinking that using a guide or hunting a fence isnt the same as going it on ones own it doesnt come from trying to put you down but comes from the fact that I know these things can be done on ones own ,with NO help.
To my way of thinking thats a hunter the ones I would like to be like.
When I dream of hunting I dont dream of a guided hunt or a fenced hunt mine are of going one on one with the game im after.
We all have limitations but those that go out and do it all alone ,on public land with all the things that can and do go wrong ,well im sorry if I offend anyone but that to me is THE HUNT.
I have to give credit to the guy that takes a small animal on his own over the one that takes the bigger one with a guide or on a ranch.
Who here wont admit that when seeing or reading a story about some adverage guy that takes some monster animal (that doesnt get your heart pumping a big faster)then reading about the guy that got the monster animal with a guide or off a private ranch?
Be honest ,it gets mine to beating so fast I cant stand it.
Not trying to nock anyone that hunts in a legal fashon .Just stating how it feels to me.

 

[ELKCHSR]

HUNT HARD, HUNT LEGAL, HUNT ETHICAL

 

[Deerslayer]

Same here Todd...........it's good to discuss without everyone getting their panties all wadded up!

Elkchaser......YOUR WAY TOO HAPPY MAN!......you must have a big'un lined out over around the elk ranch that just sold
DS

 

[ELKCHSR]

Not yet. But it looks like a place with potential. Elk are so much on the move all of the time that you just can't have enough good places to hunt. And yes! I try to keep my head up and stay on the sunny side of life as much as possible. Lifes to short to run around with a frown or sappy attitude. There are just to many things to chase with my bow any way to be unhappy.
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[Utbowman]

Well put Miss Muley. I can understand where you are coming from. I guess it all just boils down to the fact that each of us have our own ideas of trophies, and that is a good thing. I just hope that we as a community dont get so wrapped up in judging ourselves that we allow outside groups to take away some of our precious rights. Nice to have this discussion with ya DS and MD4Me.

Todd

 

[Deerslayer]

From what I hear, it's ALL LUCK anyway, Elkchaser........and that comes from a very reliable source.

Yep........word is, it all boils down to luck.........no need to scout or work your ass off in pre-hunt preperation, because it totally depends on luck and a newby on his first hunt having no clue where to go or what to do is just as prone to kill a 350 class bull as say a "Greenhornian type" ..........it must be a tough life to always be hitting the bottle!
DS

 

[Elkhunter]

DS, that's too funny.
Guess Greeny has been doing it all wrong all these years.

 

[ELKCHSR]

!!!!WOW!!!!
If I pretend to make next year my first instead of twenty something. Then I can shoot a 350plus. My best is 2633/5. That must have been my problem all along. Iv'e been working to hard to become a better hunter and honing my skills as an outdoorsman. Instead of taking a pack with around fifteen to twenty pounds of gear and staying out for a week in the mountains on foot. I need to get a hundred pounder and sit by the road. Thats were Iv'e been going wrong..

 

[Deerslayer]

Elk Chaser........before you get TOO excited, there is one thing to consider

.......it might just be that some people "NEED" to believe in this theory of "all luck"..............thus allowing them to ride the roads sipping whiskey instead of getting out and doing some ball-busting on scouting and pre-hunt preperation............since it's all luck anyway, they have just as good a chance driving their Ford and drinking their Jack as you would out sweating and grinding, wasting your time on your scouting......food for thought anyway! DS

 

[Muledeer4me]

Todd, It is nice to be able to put our thought out like this and have some input on it.
Im with you I dont want the difference in the way each of us chose to do a legal hunt to come between hunters.
I look at these post as just a way of speaking whats on our minds,and I guess I should admit that some of us can come on bit strong LOL (not me of corse) but I see it as good.
I have been know to chance my mind about a few things from time to time because of some of the posts.
I dont see a need for all our thought to be the same (how fun is that)but to know its ok not to think alike and still be able to like each other is great.
Its nice to see this board back to that right in the middle between the hugging & slobbering all over each other and the getting kicked in the face for daring to speak up.
Gotta love you guys.

 

[Deerslayer]

......you got me all teary-eyed there Miss Muley

......and I must say, I too have changed my mind much........inspite of being declared "closed minded" in some of the above posts .......in fact, I would have to be VERY open-minded in lieu of the fact that I have come full circle on the Game Farm issue. I , too, was ignorant about the issues at one time, and followed a few with even more ignorance than me......attacking ol' Greeny and Buzz and Wild Elk and anyone else who stood up for the issues they knew first hand in Montanny and other western states.......while I merely followed the popular opinion at the time, not knowing what the hel! I was even talking about, but rather, being a follower building up Brownie Points ........yep, it's true ...........but as I got closer to it all, I was able to see the loudest is not always the right voice, but many times just that, the loudest.

So now, I am very careful as to what I think, and what I believe, and try to look upon everything objectively........and then seeing it for what it is, thus many times calling a spade a spade, which in turn may not be popular, .....but hey, who wants to be popular, Right! ......and if you call a spade a spade, and hit too close to home to someone that doesn't want to hear it, you will many times be the target of their frustration, which can be OK too, because it can improve the ratings.........and we all know, Moosie can use the ratings!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE OF YOU!
DEERSLAYER

 

[ELKCHSR]

I'll say it like i see it. I don't chase the popular side. I chase the right side. I am very opinionated in alot of subjects. I don't look for the grey areas to make any one happy. Just the black and white of it. There is no other way...

 

[Calif. Hunter]

Me, I just talk out of my a$$. Actually, I usually won't say much of anything on a technical subject if I don't know anything about it. But i grew up with a know-it-all older brother (now a biologist with US Fish and Wildlife...no surprise there.) and was in all these "gifted" education programs...and cannot stand an "educated" know-it-all who possesses absolutely no common sense! You know the kind...they can explain the theory behind internal combustion engines but can't change a tire.