McDonalds. Walmart. Debit Card. Power Steering. Air Conditioning. Frozen food.

Use any of these? LOL

I agree with what you're saying, but a lot of people wouldn't be hunting if it wasnt for all the gadgets that make it easier to be less of a hunter and still get credit for the kill.

 

mcdonalds is 70yrs old, walmart 50yrs, air conditioning 110yrs old, modern frozen food 125yrs old, credit cards 120yds old, power steering is 100yrs old

 

I recently came to the realization that I really don't care what everyone else is doing. I hunt for me..
Posted via Mobile Device

 

AMEN Brother!

 

Rangefinders make it possible for the hunter to know the exact yardage to the quarry. Knowing the exact yardage makes it possibe for the hunter to place the pin more accurately and make a good shot. That leads to a quick effecient kill. I cant, for the life of me, think how that could be a bad thing.

 

i like gadits,gps,rangefinders,machanicals, tree stands, groundblinds, I love it all, and yes I hunt rabbits and small game with a longbow also but perfer the quality of a fine compound when it cames to shooting elk and mules, but hey that's me

 

Do you use a release?? I agree with a few of your points,like the rangefinder. So,what's your set-up??

 

I was born with my releasers attached to my hand.
Here's my primary weapon of choice this year.

 

What makes them the better hunter? More abundant game? More, easier access to prime hunting lands? More liberal game laws? Longer seasons? Dow e know about the misses, wounded animals never recovered, other liberties people may have taken to stretch the rules in order to get the big one?

Who says they were better hunters and didn't just have better hunting situations? Who's to say we shouldn't use every tool available to us to ensure clean hits and higher recovery rates? Who's to say what we shouldn't and shouldn't do and as long as it's legal why is it anyone else's business?

 

It's human nature to continue to advance. Not to advance in our weapons would be totally against our make-up. If it wasn't for our instinctual drive to advance would would still be living in caves. Also, if you go back to Fred Bear's days, they were the cutting edge of bowhunting...way advanced. The same could be said of their gear compared to what the Indians used. The same conversation we are having was being discussed then.

 

I started out with a recurve when I was eight or ten, forty-something years ago. I still can't shoot one.

 

do really think that if the old timers had todays modern technology they would not use it . they didnt have it avialable or im shure a major percentage of them would . and i hunt with a recurve as well as a compound

 

I agree who started us on the road to the modern stuff we have now? the old timers Allen Tom Jennings Fred Bear Ben Pearson all strived to make the most effective most humane killing weapon they could and used it

 

I need my walkers game ear to hear deer dinking water..
I need my range finder to know that he is 86 yards away..:embara:

I still need to decide . Do I use my 85 yard pin and aim high? Or my 90 yard pin and aim low?:wink:

UncleRay

 

:doh: just aim for the poker chip brother :amen:

 

Seems to me that it's arbitrary to just draw the line for the appropriate hunting technology at a recurve made out of laminates. Why not use a self bow cut from a stave? Why not use an early model compound? Why did you choose aluminum arrows over wood or carbon? And it what way does your logic not accept other hunters making the same decision and choose a compound bow that shoots carbon arrows?

I can understand calling scentlok a gimmick, maybe you don't believe in it. But it seems like you're throwing compound bows in the "gimmick" category too. Remember that some people don't have time to practice with a traditional bow regularly. Compound bows are much easier to pick up after long down periods and still shoot consistently.

You talk about how old McDonalds, Walmart and power steering are, but they were all new at one point in time, just like recurves were!

You say they were 10x the hunters we will ever be. How can you substantiate that???

 

Compound bow isn't a gimmick. I don't believe Ive said anything about the makeup of arrows. You seem to be putting
statements out there that Ive not said. Shoot all the compound you want. But there comes a point where those bows
just look ridiculous. Where technology overtakes skill. Doesn't anyone pull it back with their fingers anymore? Can't anyone
aim anymore and not rely on some device? Can't anyone play the wind and not rely on some ridiculous outfit? That is
where I draw the line, where technology starts to replace skill. Where technology removes all challenge. Whack and
stack is nothing to be proud of.

 

I buy and use whatever, I figure I need to give me the best chance of being sucessful, I only have so much time to hunt with work and a family, I'm going to use whatever it takes to stack the odds in my favor, regardless of the opinion of some cheap flannel wearing sarcastic Ohian. Lol. I save my all vacation time and a chunk of money for the fall every year, my plan is to make the most of it. Whether that means making my chances of getting game a little better, allows me to make a quicker more ethical kill, and make me more comfortable while I'm out there. Just because the old timers froze there butts off, had unreliable equipment, doesnt mean I have too, and I'm sure they would'nt either given the choice. I hunt fair chase thats all that matters to me, and should matter to anyone else.

 

you cant shoot todays deer with yesterdays technology :nono:

dont you know that todays deer acan see infrared/uv sources & would laugh at you if you have anything from walmart on?

get with the program man :amen:









that was sarcasm btw

 

I love technology. I'm always tring to make things better. I don't have anything against anybody that hunts with a stick bow, that's their choice. For me, I want a new fast bow with all the guch to go with it. I'm only gonna live once and I have already used stick bows, wood arrows and baker tree stands.

 

Why? simply put, because we have testicles:wink:.

 

yeap, proof is in the wifes purse :amen:

 

Funny, I just got my own rangefinder. I don't see how it will make me a more effective hunter. Not like it does my scouting for me, or makes the animals come in front of me, or shoots them for me. It just means I have a better chance at a good shot rather than the chance of a wounding one.

You failed to mention trail cams in your rant. I wonder if you "cheat" on your scouting. Maybe mechanical BH's? I do it from the ground, in military cammies, after scouting with my eyes. But I promise you that when all that pays off, I want the best I can afford to make that all important shot. I owe that much to the animal.

The way one hunts is based on how they choose to. I guess I could rant about all of those things I don't CHOOSE to use. But why? Does not using it make me a better hunter? I doubt that. It's just the way I learned. I would be out of my element in a treestand, and probably hang it 200yds in the wrong direction! My cams would have pics of squirrels.

The definition of challenge varies from hunter to hunter. The important thing is that each hunter doesn't come to the conclusion their definition is the only one.

I like this one!

 

If I still lived in Iowa and my shoulders were not frizzed up I would be hunting with the very bow the thread starter uses or the montana Longbow. But my shoulders suck and I live in an area were you dont get nearly as many chances to kill whitetail's So I use a pimped out high speed bow with a nice release and if I get a shot at a deer under 30 I can pick a hair and hit it using a carbon arrow tipped with a mech head! For me its mainly my weapon thats modern other than that I dont want a range finder enuff to spend anymoney on one! Playing wind is the only way to fight their sense of smell and most of my hunting is in old uniforms not gimmick suits that cost almost as much a a good bow. I am known to literally find a good spot break out my little saw and make a blind on the spot to hunt from! I hunt how I like to hunt and regardless of succes it makes me happy. I tip my hat to Trad archers but I cant play with their bows due to my shoulders. If I succed in hunting a deer down and getting within archery range I want the 100% best setup possible that way if anything goes wrong I can blame myself!

 

By all means, if you like old stuff.. stick with it. I like my rangefinder, crossbow, under armour clothing, ladder stands, nikon binos, carbon arrows, slick tricks, awesome rain gear etc..:wink:

Could I get away with using inferior stuff? Yes, but I don't want to. I like being comfortable and having great equipment while hunting.

 

The Amish called, they want to know where you've been the past 20 years.

 

you do know that the amish are big deer farmers, right?

 

I'm going to shoot 4 does this year with a recurve. I won't even use my Leica Rangefinder or my Sitka to do it. Hell, I'll even sit on the ground in my grandpa's old hunting clothes from the 40's. I'll use my Bear Kodiak Magnum with wood arrows and obsidian points. Then I'm going to make a post about I'm a better hunter than you because I use gear thats older than what you use.

 

Okay, I'm going to debunk your argument in a matter of a few words. There are guys that only hunt with spears who look down on you. You aren't a real hunter if you have to use a bow. The cavemen back in the day would mock you. I can't believe you have to use a stick and string.

Other guys actually had to sneak up on game with a spear. You haven't experienced real hunting. Game over!! :wink:

 

Are you sure they were better hunters than we are? How do you rate a hunters "betterness?"

Are yesterday's sports teams better than today's because they didn't have today's technology? I hardly think so. We change with the times, along with everything else. Hard to compare between time periods, unless maybe you're Rocky Balboa and you can plug some stats in a computer and let it play out. That's using the tech of today in a fictional world though....

Just hunt.

 

great stuff

The Buck Hunters Blog

Have We Forgot How To Hunt Deer?

You can't open a hunting magazine today without being bombarded with ads about the latest and greatest deer scent, deer lures, seed to plant green fields, designer camo, hi tech gadgets and much more. Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, you get to an article and it's some so called Deer Guru talking about how he shot a Mega Buck at 250 yards with his rifle across a green field.

Is it any wonder why anti-hunters are able to sway as many people over to their side as they have been?

As a Country of Hunters, Have We Forgotten How to "Hunt" Deer?

I can't remember what year I started hunting (yeah, age will do that to ya), but it was sometime in the late '70's. My dad was strictly a firearms hunter. A hour or so in the mornings and an hour or so in the evenings. He showed me what he knew, but it wasn't a whole lot.

Fortunately for me, my dad had a man working for him who lived in the woods come deer season. This man volunteered to take me hunting with him most weekends. He showed me what deer sign was, where to look for it and in general, how to find and pattern deer. He killed deer with a bow back before it was popular.

The only camo I remember being available at that time was WWII and at that time, the "new" Woodland Military Camo. A few years after I started hunting, some camo came out called Ranger (the best I remember). This was a green pattern on one side and a brown pattern on the other. I worked all Summer to save up for a set of that Camo!

Later, Treebark camo came out and I believe that was the start of designer camo fad that grips the deer hunting industry today.

The point of this being, Hunters killed lots of deer before any of this new wave of "must have" lures, scents, camo and equipment came out.

Hunting the Old School Way

Once I started hanging around with the man who worked for my Dad, I got introduced to man hardcore hunters. Guys who'd stay in the stand until noon then come down for lunch and be right back in there by 1:30 or 2 and stay until dark.

These guys didn't have all the modern camo and accessories today and contrary to popular belief, they still killed a lot of deer.

The Modern Hunter - As Good as Old Schoolers?

I've often wondered how successful today's "Whitetail Guru" would be if you planted him or her back in the '70's with gear from that time. I bet their success rate would plummet.

Today, a new hunter thinks he must have the latest in calls, lures, camo and gear in order to be successful. In fact, if you'd take a look at all the ads, you'd think that you must have a lease and be planting food plots if you intend on being successful. Or pay huge amounts of money for guided hunts, guided hunts around food plots that are often on leased land!

A few years ago I happen to get drawn in on a controlled hunt. As I sit in the parking lot getting ready to head out, another hunt a few pickups down was throwing a wild eye fit. It seems he grabbed the wrong bag when he headed out that morning and the bag he grabbed didn't have his camo or scents in it. The guy ended staying in the pickup all day while his buddies went hunting even though he could have just as well spent the day hunting. But modern "hunting lore" had him believe he wouldn't be successful if he didn't have his little bag of designer camo and scents.

The point is, many hunters get distracted by all the junk they think they have to carry into the woods to be successful. If many of those who are not successful would spend as much time scouting and learning about deer as they did worrying over their camo, scent or food plot, they would be much more successful.

You see, the very best equipment you can have when deer hunting is between your ears! You and I were made to hunt. We are well equipped with the senses and means to kill a deer without all the latest and greatest inventions or mass marketed products on the market.

:darkbeer::darkbeer:

 

Yep, that's what human nature (intelligence) is all about. Improving on an idea.
I honestly believe whole heartidly that the hunters of today are the same as the hunters of yesterday! They simply have improved and adapted. Just as the game has. That's part of the allure of hunting and archery for me. It never gets boring, it just continues to improve and change, but in allot of ways it's still the same. Nice piece though, thanks for the read.

 

What's getting to me the most today is the use of rangefinders. Can't you tell how far 10 yards is vs. 30 yards?

Can you tell the difference between 41 and 47 yards 100% of the time across a draw in the mountains? If you can, then that's great. For the rest of us mortals that want to make a clean kill shot, we like to be certain of the distance.