atlasman

Shed.........you are from a different area. Where do you rank some of the other things mentioned like food plots, long rifle shots, drives, etc?

shed33

Long Rifle shots. Growing up in big country we always sighted in our rifles for being dead on at 300 yards. We use a steady rest and with a well sighted rifle a 300yard shot on a still whitetail is not that difficult. I have 10 whitetail bucks on my wall that score from 120-150 that are rifle kills. It was not that hard because I have elevation to work with. I can set up on highground on a good food source ie clearcut or travel corridor and if I am patient I will eventually see a good buck to shoot. Getting bow close in this country is much tougher because of wind disadvantages in mountainous terrain... THERE IS NO STEADY WIND. Hunt out west and light a campfire, watch is swirl all day.

Food Plots is it hunting? I think it makes hunting easier. It congregates animals. I am a "bedding to feeding area" bowhunter in the early season and late season. If that means its an alfalfa field, then yes I hunt food plots. I feel no shame in doing so, but hunting the big woods bucks in their more native feed it definately tougher to decipher. Does it make me less of a bow hunter? Thats for everyone else to bicker over I guess. I'd rather be out killing bucks were they are that week and here feed can be hot one day and dried up the next..its often black and white. Older deer in my area usually alwaysoffer a tougher combination to crack, because they havemade a living using the thermals and elevation to cover their backsides,but they also adhere to a more consistent movement pattern and if a guy can crack the code without letting them know they are being hunted then its pretty predictable.. I've buggared up a lot more mature bucks than I have cracked. I am getting more consistent though.

Drives are foreign to me. I really dont like to push deer though. I want a buck to like where he lives and to not get pushed. In big country like this if you find a secluded hideout of a buck and can hunt him carefully without him knowing, you have a chance. You dont see much deer but often when you see a deer its the one your after. I would never drive a know bucks bedding area just to kill him. I just dont like hunting them that way. I would rather hunt him on his own terms. I think hunting him on his own terms makes it tougher definately than driving him out.

Just because I feel this way I do not look down on anyone for other tactics as long as they are legal by the state they are hunting it. For example shooting from a motorized vehicle here is illegal on county and maintained roads. Guys do it all the time, its not enforced though.

I slammed this out fast...I am headed for lunch I dont know if any of this helps..

atlasman

Judging by the fact that you used it in every one of your descriptions is it safe to say that the level of difficulty is a major factor in your personal opinion??


Enjoy your lunch........I just finished some sliced venison in mushroom gravy over mashed potatoes.

I forgot........do you still gun hunt?

GMMAT

I'll be damned, Atlas. You're the most persuasive person I've ever met......

Since I've started reading this thread I've realized that I'm not a hunter. I'm a shooter. These tame deer that I hunt practically parade by with targets affixed to their vital areas. The only thing missing is the leash. I have all these pet deer named....and the ones topping the list for '07 have been announced:

1: Helen
2: Doris
3: Alma
4: Sha nay nay
5: Summer
6: Gina

If I get the extra tags......Freida and Theresa are next. Anyone hunting with me is welcome to any of the other girls. I almost had a deal worked out that would see Alma trotting Freida AND Theresa by at the same time (in order to move down on the list)......but the other girls got word.

They did get together and tell me that the camo was not necessary, this year....and that follow-up shots would be acceptable for evening hunts. I've negotiated oats inthis year's contract.....and they've taken going around me on occasion off the table. Things are looking good. I've also been awarded another "guarantee". hope I'm not sick on 11/22!

Scouting is now a thing of the past, too. I've been promised a courtesy call by (__________) (rather not name names....they've been bumped from the list) to let me know the travel routes. I've got 2 bucksthat have agreed to help drag, this year, for future considerations.....and a nice 2.5 yr old that's just so dumb I feel sorry for him that I've promised a pass.

I'm sorry I used words that you knew nothing about in ther ethough, Atlas. You know......2.5 yr old.

Happy shootin!

Jeff the non-hunting deer shooter

God I LOVE deer shooting.

PreacherTony

Now Jeff ..... call me kooky, but I do believe there was a little sarcasm there ..... am i right? [8D]

GMMAT

Heck no, PT.....If people can belittle others' accomplishments.....it makes theirs' seem greater.

Isn't that what this is all about???? Or.....why do we CARE? I'm just making it easier......

And I DEFINITELY wasn't kidding about Sha nay nay. That's one dead nanny, come September.

Should we start a new thread asking if killing 1.5 yr old bucks is "hunting" or "shooting"? Nah......too easy......and really....like this one....UNNECESSARY.

shed33

Lunch was good, thanks.. Yours sounds better though.

Yes, I got bored with rifle hunting in my home state. Who's to say a rifle hunt somewhere else wouldn't be much more difficult and would definately grab my attention and interest. I know that it could orwould. But here out my back door, I enjoy the bow because of what it offers me. So yes it's a difficulty measure for me.I always become more focused and am motivated to learn more if there is a challenge at hand. This I am sure is just a personality trait. Nothing less nothing more and it spills over into my hunting motives.

Gun hunt, I pretty much have given it up here at home. I packed a gun 3 days this year and when I got out there, I wanted to bowhunt I felt like I was letting myself down, taking an easier way out, it bothered me. Out side of Idaho on a different hunt, I would have to way all the variables and decide.

Talondale

GMMAT give it a rest! I personally THINK I know where atlas is coming from and I see it as an interesting topic of discussion IF people will be honest and open and not jump down everyone's throat.

Shed33 has some interesting perspectives and seems to understand that a lot of his opinions are based on the type of hunting that is most effective for his area. For example: His comment about deer drives. If I hunted a section where the deer per sq mile was 0.X I certainly wouldn't try a push on any deer I found. But where I hunt I can push a deer (or five) out of just about every clump of cover I can find, especially in agriculture areas.

I wonder how many people who profess disdain for fenced hunts have ever hunted in one? This is not an attack. I think what gives them that feeling is their perception of what a fenced area is, and what that hunt is like. I think we all have knee-jerk reactions when we think of fenced hunts of an image of a Jimmy Houston type hunt. I had to realize that I've actually hunted a fenced area; an army base. I didn't think of it as fenced because I could drive 20 - 30 minutes without even seeing a fence. Technically the deer probably could escape through the "gates" (road openings with guard houses) or by swimming but it was fenced all the same. The deer certainly weren't hindered in their movement except in the broadest interpretation. I had no qualms about hunting there (except for the danger presented by other hunters) but I admit if you shrunk the the area fenced, at some point I'd feel it wasn't "fair". I'm not sure what point that is and I'm not really trying to find out. True small fenced areas are just out of my price range and not worth the expense, to me.

Another point I seem to differ from most here is that I don't rate my experience by difficulty, at least not exclusively. I think other things come into play too. Mostly the uniqueness of the experience. If elk out west were as thick as fleas on a hound, and as easy to shoot as park deer Iwould still enjoy going on an elk hunt because it's a new experience for me and therefore unique. IfI constantly hunted them I'm sure I would tire of the ease with which I am able to bag them. I personally enjoy an easy hunt occassionally, as long as it's the exception rather than the norm. It's like fly-fishing bluegill with poppers, they're fun because they are easy, especially after trying to get a brook trout to rise on a fly. I caught artic greyling inAK just as easily and they were fun because they were new to me and the whole experience of fishing in AK with a bald eagle flying over head and a moose across the creek from me was just awesome. Sometimes I'll hunt some spots that IKNOW have a low chance of seeing a deerjust because I like the looks of the area and enjoy sitting there. I enjoy stalking even though it isn't as successful a technique, for me, as tree standing (which I also do). The whole idea of a long shot on a deer has a certain appeal to me specifically because I usually hunt inside thick cover and the longest shot I've ever taken on a deer was 80 yards with open sight 30-30. A long 200+ yard shot with a scoped rifle has a kind of romantic appeal to me. I may tire of it quickly if I had many opportunities but I can't think of many times I'd have that around here unless it's late season and I'm shooting across a mountain ravine to the other side.

I guess it all boils down, for me, to what I enjoy. I think the show-stopper for me is if I don't think it's fair to the game, which would be mostly illegal methods anyway (spotlighting, penned deer, etc) Food plots and such don't bother me although baiting, HERE (which is illegal), seems like useless effort.

edited for spelling, punctuation, and other short comings. : )

atlasman

It was pretty good.......I got that recipe from a hunting camp in PA about 8 or 9 years ago and added some things of my own. No complaints so far and pretty easy to make if you have the right gear.


That seems to be a common theme for most who have posted.

GMMAT

It does, Atlas.....but I also counted "fair Chase" and "Fence" in no less than 20+ posts in the first 5 pages, alone. Has that been overlooked?

A question to the group would be......what defines a "challenge"? THAT'S as subjective as determining that said "challenge" is a criteria for which hunting/hunters should be judged by (in some's eyes). Rob/PAcounted (and I'm sure he saw some of the same deer multiple times) THIRTY-SEVEN deer in an afternoon when we hunted together. I'll let Rob expound as to the number of shot opportunities that were afforded him. I saw 16 (again....likely some of the same deer).....and never SNIFFED a shot opportunity. The next hunt he saw 9.....to my 5. NO SHOTS.

I went to the big bad woods of Eastern NC to hunt with some of my buddies, last year. They have a 450 ac lease.....and asked if I'd like to go. It was rifle season.....and I was only going to go if they didn't mind me bow hunting. There was ONE deer shot. I shot a 2.5 yr old buck.

I honestly.....when it comes right down to it......don't have a CLUE how some of you guys hunt. I don't care. Did I like what I saw Jimmy Houston doing? No. Was it "hunting"? No. Is a 300 yd shot "hunting"? I'll just say it's not something I want to do.I've never fired a gun at a big game animal. If I had to make a conclusive statement on it, though....I guess I'd have to have tried it. I haven't.

I just don't see ANY POSSIBLE GOOD outcome of this thread. I sincerely apologize ifI've offended anyone with my posts. Sincerely.