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Interesting viewpoint

Hedgelj

Senior Member
Supporting Member
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Mohicanish
Saw this as a post on social media on "Rack Junkies"

The fact that hunters can spend this much time arguing about crossbows versus compounds, cell cams versus regular trail cams, or what broadhead another guy should use on his own property is actually proof of how successful hunting has become in this country. A hundred years ago we weren’t sitting around debating little stuff like this because the real problem was that we had wiped deer and other game out of huge parts of the map. When people are worried sick that their neighbor used a crossbow instead of drawing a compound, that tells me we’ve moved past survival-level problems and into luxury-level arguments. We built game populations back. We created longer seasons, opportunity, and options. In a lot of ways, hunters are living in the good old days right now and don’t even realize it.

The truth is that when a community starts arguing over smaller things, it usually means the bigger things have already been handled pretty well. That doesn’t mean everything is perfect, the biggest real problem we face right now is overreach from state game agencies. Overall, this country still has abundant deer, turkeys, and wildlife, and the fact that so many of our biggest arguments are now internal squabbles over gear and methods is a sign of success, not failure.

— Stephen Ziegler
Outdoor writer | Owner, DeLong Lures

I think it's a nice perspective.
 
I would argue that the national/state agencies/nonprofits commitment to restoring the abundance of wildlife has led to the commercialization/privatization , selfishness and greediness of modern hunting. anyone that speaks against it and wants to see everyone have a chance is now called a socialist, when in fact it was social programs that got us here to begin with. 🤔
 
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Around here it isnt about the animals as it is the native plants. There is some sort of program that has been buying up all the land to make it like Hocking Hills with a focus on native habitat. It is nice to have places to go that aren't overrun with autumn olive, tree of heaven, bush honeysuckle, greenbriars, and dustin pear trees.
 
And also let’s not forget the old adage, “Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And weak men create hard times.” The good times of hunting right now are creating a crapload of “weak” hunters in my opinion. Let’s hope this current “good old days” state isn’t the beginning of the end of hunting as we know it. Unfortunately, what we’re seeing with leasing, access issues, commercialization, and the outrage culture… it’s hard to be optimistic for our future.

I’m curious though about his second paragraph and the “biggest real problem” being “overreach by state game agencies.” Out one side of his mouth he says we’ve come so far with growing these resources, practically back from complete extirpation, and then out the other side he says state game agencies are overreaching? Give me a break, dude. He’s no better than others who create divisiveness over crossbows, cell cams, baiting and the like. Talk about calling the kettle black.
 
Someday when the SHTF we won't have to worry about all the petty bullshit arguments. Shit will just sort itself out kinda natural, and people will someday learn that an unsolicited opinion will solicit an ass-kicking.

(OMG where did that come from?)