Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Racks
Well said LC. I know I've been guilty of it myself. I never really thought of it as being hypocritical, but now that I examine my patterns the last few years, that's exactly how it's been for me. Lamenting the lack of quality bucks most of the season, passing on a few mid-size animals, then come last half of the last day of the season my selectiveness has gone out the window as I rush to fill the freezer. Last year my general was cut on a WT doe 20 minutes before last shot on the last day. I don't NEED the meat per se, just the thought of tag soup again drove me to it. Now I feel shame...  |
Here is something I read a little while back about the stages a hunter goes through....I think there is a fair bit of merit and truth to this.
Often I think this progression is a factor in how hunters treat each other, if someone is in a conflicting stage of hunting with another they may treat them differently and be overly harsh....forgetting at some point they were in the exact same early stage at one point.
FIVE STAGES OF A HUNTER
Hunters change through the years. Factors used to determine
"successful hunting" change as well for each hunter. A hunter's age,
role models, and his years of hunting experience affect his ideas of
"success."
Many hunters may fit into one of the following five groups. In
1975-1980, groups of over 1,000 hunters in Wisconsin were studied,
surveyed, and written about by Professors Robert Jackson and Robert
Norton, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. The results of their
studies form a widely accepted theory of hunter behavior and
development. Where are you now? Where would you like to be?
SHOOTER STAGE
The hunter talks about satisfaction with hunting being closely tied to
being able to "get shooting." Often the beginning duck hunter will
relate he had an excellent day if he got in a lot of shooting. The
beginning deer hunter will talk about the number of shooting
opportunities. Missing game means little to hunters in this phase. A
beginning hunter wants to pull the trigger and test the capability of
his firearm. A hunter in this stage may be a dangerous hunting
partner.
LIMITING OUT STAGE
A hunter still talks about satisfaction gained from shooting. But what
seems more important is measuring success through the killing of game
and the number of birds or animals shot. Limiting out, or filling a
tag, is the absolute measure. Do not let your desire to limit out be
stronger than the need for safe behavior at all times.
TROPHY STAGE
Satisfaction is described in terms of selectivity of game. A duck
hunter might take only greenheads. A deer hunter looks for one special
deer. A hunter might travel far to find a real trophy animal. Shooting
opportunity and skills become less important.
METHOD STAGE
This hunter has all the special equipment. Hunting has become one of
the most important things in his life. Satisfaction comes from the
method that enables the hunter to take game. Taking game is important,
but second to how it is taken. This hunter will study long and hard
how best to pick a blind site, lay out decoys, and call in
waterfowl. A deer hunter will go one on one with a white-tailed deer,
studying sign, tracking, and the life habits of the deer. Often, the
hunter will handicap himself by hunting only with black powder
firearms or bow and arrow. Bagging game, or limiting, still is
understood as being a necessary part of the hunt during this phase.
SPORTSMAN STAGE
As a hunter ages and after many years of hunting, he "mellows out."
Satisfaction now can be found in the total hunting experience. Being
in the field, enjoying the company of friends and family, and seeing
nature outweigh the need for taking game.
Not all hunters go through all the stages, or go through them in that
particular order. It is also possible for hunters who pursue several
species of game to be in different stages with regard to each
species. Some hunters feel that role models of good sportsmen,
training, or reading books or magazines helped them pass more quickly
through some stages.
---------------
California Department of Fish and Game. "California Hunter Education
Manual". 1995 (revised edition). Sacramento, California. [p.8]
LC
Supp Antlerless Tags Gonein Some 500 Series
Linear Mode
