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Post by deerman1 on Apr 21, 2010 17:36:59 GMT -5
I ask with so much more management then ever before and species like Elk and other animal numbers growing or being transplanted in most state east of the the old Miss. Do you think that the good old day still lie ahead for Hunter yet to come or are they past or passing now with change in hunting populations and animal surplus?? Post up what you think .
Here are my thought on this .
Nope the good old days were years ago when hunters hunted for the enjoyment and camaraderie ,it was when any kill was what it was about and we ate well .It was a time when any buck was a great buck and real Manley men took to the woods . Not the new generation of clean shaven >{All OVER } , metro sexual, borderline tree hugger, that revere the whitetail deer to almost God like status .Who actually shed a tear or feel remorse for taking its live . {I say phooey to that shoot em all let god sort em out} !!
It was a time when we only shot a Doe for camp meat and felt a twinge when we pulled the trigger on her but we had to eat for the week. Now they kill way more than they can eat and then donate all the deer they shoot and only keep the antlers off of their dead 150 class buck . It was a time when as many as 10 or 12 hunters would spend days on end in the deer woods and where may one or two would ever get to take a buck . But that was OK we were all there to see it and it hung from our meat poll for all the other hunters to stop by and look at .
There was no egotistical sass from them just a hardy hand shake and pat on the back from men with hands like sand paper that felt like a rock . Not the incipient whine from a self imposed QDM buck police man who's first words would be I would of let that one walk or he needed another few years in only that condescending way that those types can speak to other . Our deer were all heathy you knew that when they sped off and they were fat and big we did not need one buck to one doe like so many need today or they just are not hunting we just needed some deer and a few buck with antlers any antlers were just fine . It was just about killing one and his point count not how old and how many inches of bone where on his head.
Yip the good old days of hunting purity have left the building with Elvis ,and the open deer camp with a case of Miller in the cooler a dozen eggs frying in the pan with fresh deer steaks sizzling near by, and the story of the one that got away being told by an excited hunter who just saw his first big buck in the flicker of the fire light . And the pounding of the heart of a young man that felt the crisp bite of the October nite and enjoyed the smell of the oak logs burning on the fire and could barely sleep but would spring to his feet in the darkness to the sound of the elder hunters who were in their late 20s or early 30s making the morning mud on the fire .
Yip I miss the good old days and I do not get the guys of today and their ways or hunting motivation .They will never know what I saw or learned in those early days .Nor have the memories of past hunts with little more than a bow ,a sharp knife , a bed roll,and cooler of odds and ends of food and beer that run in my mind like a movie when I see a fire burning or hear a story from a hunter who just saw his first giant buck slip away in the mist of the deep woods . They will not know what it was like to have a great season and only see 3 or 4 deer a year let alone a buck with antlers stand under your tree long enough to give a good shot from a bow that could on a good day muster 190fps with a solid orange arrow!
The old days are years gone by for me.
Deerman1
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Post by mrfixit on Apr 21, 2010 19:43:12 GMT -5
That was pretty good Deerman! It sure brought back a lot of good memories.
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Post by DEERTRACKS on Apr 22, 2010 6:20:21 GMT -5
Yup! Sure not what it used to be due to urban sprawl & negative landowner attitudes about deer hunting liability.....
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Post by drs on Apr 22, 2010 7:29:42 GMT -5
Sorry to say but IMHO the 'good 'ole days' are well behind us. The costs of Sport Hunting are increasing each and every year, be it equipment or cost of leasing a place to hunt in a time when hunting grounds are shrinking, due to Urban Sprawl & the public opinion toward hunting in general. Hunting has become a Big Business venture instead of a past time, attracting Hunters with Deep Pockets willing to dish out money to pursue their favorite game animals. I remember hunting, as I recall it, going to a farm, not far from home, and just asking permision to hunt Rabbits, Squirrels or whatever. Today those farms are either subdivisions or Wal-Marts, or the Landowner won't allow hunting because of legal implications or will lease you a place to hunt for big $$$. So I conclude that if you don't own your hunting ground, most likely you will wake up one bright sunny opening morning with NO place to go hunting. Only places will be poorly managed crowded public grounds.
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Post by tickman1961 on Apr 22, 2010 10:33:30 GMT -5
The good ole days are now for me gentlemen, you speak of things I am unaware. I for one do not follow the crowds when it comes to spending money to kill game animals. There is also ample land for me to hunt without leasing. I continue to get former hunters who have not hunted in years into the field after squirrels and other small and big game. There has never been more deer, turkey, coyotes, beaver, eagles, otters etc in this state.
Optimism has it's place in a persons life.
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Post by drs on Apr 22, 2010 13:01:32 GMT -5
The good ole days are now for me gentlemen, you speak of things I am unaware. I for one do not follow the crowds when it comes to spending money to kill game animals. There is also ample land for me to hunt without leasing. I continue to get former hunters who have not hunted in years into the field after squirrels and other small and big game. There has never been more deer, turkey, coyotes, beaver, eagles, otters etc in this state. Optimism has it's place in a persons life. Sound like your Hunting efforts are going great for you & friends. Like you I have my own land to hunt on. However, in the Great State Of Indiana, Hunting Grounds are becomming hard to come by for others. Lord knows what will happen when I-69 is completed as there is bound to be development along the way. I hope the game population remain stable in Indiana. Your statement: Optimism has it's place in a persons life is a good outlook on life.
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Post by duff on Apr 22, 2010 16:45:16 GMT -5
The good ole days are now for me gentlemen, you speak of things I am unaware. I for one do not follow the crowds when it comes to spending money to kill game animals. There is also ample land for me to hunt without leasing. I continue to get former hunters who have not hunted in years into the field after squirrels and other small and big game. There has never been more deer, turkey, coyotes, beaver, eagles, otters etc in this state. Optimism has it's place in a persons life. My thoughts exactly!
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Post by swilk on Apr 22, 2010 16:55:25 GMT -5
I would agree .... the good ol' days are right now for me.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2010 19:17:05 GMT -5
Now....and getting better. I really can't think of a single sole that I know personally that doesn't have a several places to hunt. I bet most people can say the same thing. Sure some of them lease. Heck with hunters being more urban and having lost connections with family or friends with farms, leasing is the ONLY alternative for them. Hunting has changed a lot of the years. But it's still good for the hunters who have adapted to those changes.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2010 21:33:38 GMT -5
you younger guys don,t have a clue
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Post by drs on Apr 23, 2010 7:22:44 GMT -5
you younger guys don,t have a clue I agree, most of them don't have a clue. Sportsmen, now in their late 50's & early 60's, had it MUCH better, back when they started hunting. There might be more Deer & other game now, but there is LESS land to hunt them on.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2010 12:03:23 GMT -5
[ I agree, most of them don't have a clue. Sportsmen, now in their late 50's & early 60's, had it MUCH better, back when they started hunting. There might be more Deer & other game now, but there is LESS land to hunt them on. I'd say that is false....no doubt there is more public land now then at anytime in the past. More game....no doubt. Heck, look at turkeys for example. Expanding every year. 10 times more deer today as well. Plenty of private land to hunt on, you just need to work a little to find your spot.
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Post by drs on Apr 23, 2010 12:37:45 GMT -5
I'd say that is false....no doubt there is more public land now then at anytime in the past. More game....no doubt. Heck, look at turkeys for example. Expanding every year. 10 times more deer today as well. Plenty of private land to hunt on, you just need to work a little to find your spot. I agree with you on part of your post, Tom. However while there is more Deer & Turkey, than we had, several years ago; there is still good hunting grounds being turned into developments or posted "no hunting" Private own hunting land is harder to find for most folks wanting to hunt, unless they know someone or willing to lease. Personally, I was lucky as I still had SOME of my hunting spots, before I moved to Ky, especially one where three generations of my family hunted. Here in Ky I have my own Hunting Ground which I am very happy to own. Something not everyone can say, and these individuals might one day find their hunting spot(s) gone.
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Post by indianahick on Apr 23, 2010 13:39:29 GMT -5
The good old days are relative to age. The hunters age. Us over 55ers have seen hunting area dwindle. Have even seen areas that were once obtained thru permission turned into non hunting and then state managed (Fairbanks). Where there was once wooded land and farm fields are now subdivisions, strip mine property, totally barren of wooded habitat. More and more farmers turning hunters away because of what others have left on their properties. Soon there will be hundreds if not thousands of acres of the National/State forest lands decimated to progress. If you want to call the NAFTA highway progress. While we old guys had less game I believe that we may have had it better than a lot of younger folks do now.
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Post by drs on Apr 23, 2010 14:53:57 GMT -5
The good old days are relative to age. The hunters age. Us over 55ers have seen hunting area dwindle. Have even seen areas that were once obtained thru permission turned into non hunting and then state managed (Fairbanks). Where there was once wooded land and farm fields are now subdivisions, strip mine property, totally barren of wooded habitat. More and more farmers turning hunters away because of what others have left on their properties. Soon there will be hundreds if not thousands of acres of the National/State forest lands decimated to progress. If you want to call the NAFTA highway progress. While we old guys had less game I believe that we may have had it better than a lot of younger folks do now.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2010 21:52:35 GMT -5
+100
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Post by raporter on Apr 24, 2010 12:53:28 GMT -5
Intresting thread.
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Post by steiny on Apr 26, 2010 19:21:47 GMT -5
Hunting, like anything else, is all what you make of it. If you want to sit around crying about the good old days long gone, then so be it. That won't change the present.
Many of us prefer to be positive about the opportunities presented to us, and make the best of it. Life is short, get out there and enjoy yourself while you are physically able to do so.
I've hunted Indiana since the late 60's and am very aware of all of the changes that have transpired. Hunting is a little different than it used to be, but hunting is still alive and well, and one heck of a bunch of fun.
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Post by HuntMeister on Apr 26, 2010 20:37:15 GMT -5
Hunting, like anything else, is all what you make of it. If you want to sit around crying about the good old days long gone, then so be it. That won't change the present. Many of us prefer to be positive about the opportunities presented to us, and make the best of it. Life is short, get out there and enjoy yourself while you are physically able to do so. Ya, what he said!!
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Post by drs on Apr 27, 2010 8:01:54 GMT -5
Hunting, like anything else, is all what you make of it. If you want to sit around crying about the good old days long gone, then so be it. That won't change the present.Many of us prefer to be positive about the opportunities presented to us, and make the best of it. Life is short, get out there and enjoy yourself while you are physically able to do so. I've hunted Indiana since the late 60's and am very aware of all of the changes that have transpired. Hunting is a little different than it used to be, but hunting is still alive and well, and one heck of a bunch of fun. I for one DID do something by buying my own hunting ground, which even has a new home built on it so I am living right there on my hunting grounds (83 acres). As for any changes in the area of Hunting in Indiana, while you might have not noticed any changes, I for one (and many others here) have seen a decline. I started hunting way back in the early 1960's, as soon as I was old enought to own a gun. I have seen great changes over the years, like their are not as many Rabbits as there were, or even Quail. While the Deer population is up, places to hunt this type game & other game, is way down unless you are content to hunt on poorly managed & crowded State areas, or have your own land. At one time, while living in Indiana; I had 12 private areas inwhich to hunt. Before I moved to KY in 2008; I had only ONE private ground left inwhich to hunt on in Indiana. The other places have all been developed into Housing Subdivisions or Shopping Malls & this is continuing to go on & on in Indiana. When completed, the N.A.F.T.A. I-69 HWY just think how much more Hunting land will be gobbled-up as more people move in.
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