Antler Eater

I know there would be some who view this as a negative, but I see it as a positive. Now along with that accuracy needed for a clean kill, if that person can get educated and disciplined on lethal shot angles, distance, and shot placement, the woods will be better for all of us....but I digress...

I see some of the technology as a plus. Laser Rangefinders for example, especially for hunters out west where shots are longer I feel is a huge step forward. Has anyone ever used the old style?

Treestands, we take them for granted, but it wasn't that long ago we didn't have them mass produced. In addition to helping in harvesting deer they make hunting safer than it was when we just stood on tree limbs. []

Believe it or not the internet is also a valuable tool if used properly. Shared knowledge, how to's, contacts, it is almost unlimited.

Lots of gimmicks though. Tons of unnecessary junk.

In the end a person has to make the effort. I don't care how good a person is at reading topo maps or arial photos, eventually you still have to walk out into the woods and set up a stand. A lot of being successful does involve skill, but an honest person will tell you there is an element of luck involved regardless of the gadgetry.

JRW

I think we crossed it several years ago.

c903

Last season I had a mild confrontation with two "Gucci" armed young novice bowhunters that were trying to chastise me for encroaching on the property they had permission to hunt. Once I advised then that they were actually on MY hunting property, and that their crap had just gotten very weak, the mouth of the two tried to "friendlyize" the conversation by asking me what type of bow I was using.

I thought he meant what brand, so I said a 1970 Bear Takedown. He was still confused and asked me again what TYPE of bow it was. I eventually realized what was throwing him. My recurve had camo limb covers, an adjustable sight, a recurve shelf rest, a pressure button, and a modern stabilizer. Because of the mounted gear, he apparently did not realize the bow was JUST a recurve.

I picked my folding chair I that had been in MY ground blind that I found beneath one of their platform stands, and walked away, slightly shaking my head.

livbucks

Not Me. I know there is a B&C #1 buck available to be shot any year, Doesn't happen too frequently though. I think gadgets are for the people new to the sport, kind of a yuppie mentality. Gadgets don't make a hunter and a hunter doesn't want alot of gadgets to carry, just long stretches of time in the woods, in his stand, with bow in hand. alot of things are purchased that never really get used.

livbucks

The difference in my case is that I put up the camera where I hunt every year. Even if I didn't have the camera I would hunt there. I just got it to give my Dad and we brothers something to get fired up over while waiting for the season to start. Now if there are guys who have deep pockets and buy dozens of cameras and dot the landscape with them, then I think that is going overboard, and not very fair to the sport.

mammasboy

Yes, but I believe it to be minuscule. Everything being equal, do I think I have a better chance at killing a deer (even mature buck), than bowhunters of the past without all of the gear we have today? No, not really.

JRW

c903,

Without fail, every year someone--usually a young bowhunter--at a 3D shoot looks at my recurve and asks, "Can you really kill a deer with that thing"? Honestly, it used to get on my nerves. But now I understand why they ask. There's a whole generation of bowhunters who've never known anything except what they see today. And what's worse, they're totally unaware of what it took the get bowhunting seasons in the first place.

Two years ago I was sitting in an NBEF class when the instructor asked the students to name some of the pioneers of early bowhunting. Out of 25 students in the room, only one was new to the pastime. The others were seasoned bowhunters. What were their answers? One guy said Fred Bear. The rest answered with names like Chuck Adams and Ted Nugent. I'm wondering how many of them thought that the Pope & Young club was founded by Pope & Young.

Blakeyboy

I think we should be proud of our achievements. Our tools are the product of our mind, to make us more effective and efficient at what we do in this world. No different with bowhunting or any type of hunting. When we decide to kill an animal, might as well consider it dead, we make those decisions before the season even opens imo. I don't see a downside to our achievements. The beauty is we are free to make the choices that make us happy, some guys want every advantage they can get, some want the highest possible challenge(traditional shooters for example), no matter. I think its easy to understand/explain the new goodies as it helps us achieve better results, attain our goals. Nothing wrong with that...there's still wildlife that needs managing the world over so its not like they've made us that much more effective imo. Next on my list of goodies is a rangefinder though i seem to have a fair handle on range guestimation without, practicing on gophers etc. and proof in the last 3 deer i shot, all in the heart. These things make our life easier, we can get away with less practice etc. more time for family etc. be more efficient in the kill itself(reducing the odds of wounding etc.). I'm all for it. Its still not a walk in the park taking animals with a bow. I wonder if its supposed to be difficult, or where you draw the line on how difficult its supposed to be for it to be 'right'?

B

atlasman

WOW..........that surprises me.

Take someone in a Summit, with a laser rangefinder, Blazing fast, silent and powerful bow, mechanical release, solid broadhead, fiber optic sight, full thermal gear, scent control, a bleat can and/or grunt tube...........and has studied the area on topo maps and patterned the deer with specific help from time stamped photos of specific deer on his trail cam.

All other things being equal I will put my money on that guy vs. a finger shooter standing on a tree limb years ago shooting a slow, loud, unforgiving relic while trying to stand still because his feet are freezing and trying to guess how far that deer is away.

c903

OOPS! Careful! There are a bunch of us out here that might give you one helluva an argument on that profile.