Gear or skills?

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Rugdoc

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I just spent the weekend hunting with a younger guy who at 23 is into his 3rd year hunting.

He got this first deer last year.

We drove up to B.C.'s interior from the city and tented on a friend's ranch and then went and hunted apart on foot in the adjacent timbered areas, watching deer trails and sitting still for long periods.

When we were changing locations we drove by other hunting camps with guys staying in large motorhomes or trailers pulled by trucks like Dodge Powerwagons, with a quad for every guy. While we were in the woods we could hear quads and trucks going back and forth on nearby roads and skidder trails. Never saw another guy on foot.


"Is that what hunting is?" my buddy asked. "You'd think guys would take more pride in being rugged and getting out and figuring out the animals and woodcraft, but what it looks like more and more is a competition to see who has the most expensive toys."
 
I have always believed that the Quads and other fancy motorized units used for hunting should actually be limited to recovery only, not to hunt from.

There are notable exceptions, but they are few. [a serious handicap, perhaps]

Hunt on foot, find and shoot game animal. field dress, then use ATV or sled to recover the animal.

Regards, Dave.
 
I scout areas with my jeep YJ or quad and I have taken a few animals while doing so but most of my animals, deer especially (and all the BIG ones) have been taken on foot, away from the roads. I've used the quad to get way hell and gone into the bush in areas it would take too long to hike in. it certainly comes in handy hauling gear in to a spike camp or for pullin 1/4's or whole animals into more user friendly locations :D
most moose hunters I see out there (and lots of deer hunters) in BC have gotten spoiled with logging and slash roads thru square kilometers of clear cuts and road hunting has become the norm pretty much everywhere. lets lots of older guys and maybe disabled folks have a chance tho so it's not all bad.

I'll add that these days I think guys who have the cash, but not a lot of time, have gotten away from roughing it simply because it takes so much time.
when we go on 10 day to 3 week trips we take a wall tent , wood stove ect, gotta set up a bear proof kitchen, outhouse, shower..... generally a day just to get things set up and a day to tear it all down like we were never there. Most guys these days don't have the time to spend doing that so they have added the creature comforts that enable them to just hunt, without all the extra work. just my take on the "gear race" that seems to be prevalent in many hunt camps with the RV's, diesel trucks and a quad for each guy :D
 
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Eagleye said:
I have always believed that the Quads and other fancy motorized units used for hunting should actually be limited to recovery only, not to hunt from.

There are notable exceptions, but they are few. [a serious handicap, perhaps]

Hunt on foot, find and shoot game animal. field dress, then use ATV or sled to recover the animal.

Regards, Dave.
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I'm not handicapped, but i'd much rather ride my ATV 7 miles to my stand than walk it... But thats just me
 
Personal preference is all, and it's not on me to suggest how another man hunts.

My work buddy bought a dually truck, a camper, a trailer, and a Tracker.
I bought boots. Just saying....;)
 
I think the OP's question is a fair one. has "gear" replaced skill , like old school, pre scent control and gps and camoprint fabrics , ya know, old school skill.
you can have all the best gear in the world, from socks to quads, from gps to RV's , from rifles to trucks..... and without being in the right place at the right time...... well that speaks for itself.
the skill of hunting , aside form the toys that assist us, I think is to tip the odds of being in the right place at the right time in your favour.... even if that's just one aspect of the skill of hunting. How each man gets there is their own journey ;)
 
I don't think the expensive toy thing applies. You can have all the toys in the world with out the skill you won't get S*&t. Seems its a have or have not issue maybe? I'm a have, so my opinion is skewed. I have had my quad for 11 years now and its been hunting once.
 
Skill and knowledge trump engines and toys... off road vehicles can seriously hamper success if one allows them to limit you to a narrow band along access roads and trails... I hike and/or canoe until I no longer see signs of people... then I take a deep breath in, exhale and slow down and soak in the sights, sounds and feeling of wilderness as it was meant to be... including the nuances of weather and flora and fauna... that is what hunting means to me... it is a beautiful dance, a struggle between the elements and the will to survive.
 
Its best to hunt your way and not concern yourself with what other people do. The game management aspect is satisfied with the bag limit or number of tags. Usually when people complain about ATVs its because they don't have one.
 
I've used an ATV and it's nice to cover ground in a hurry, damned handy for recovery too.
But it's pretty much useless for the savy WT around here, they just hunker down and let you pass by.
Being that I'm an ' On foot' hunter, that works out just fine for me. If some 'Nimrod' does scare one up, odds are decent that it'll come towards a quiet fellow walking carefully in the brush.
And I am familiar with the term 'Nimrod' in the historical sense, but I attach a healthy helping of sarcasm when I use it. Anyone who considers themselves worthy of the term in the historically correct sense...probably deserves the more commonly understood definition. I.E.; Socially inadequate "Oh he's a real Nimrod, he steals the dried snot from under the science teacher's desk"
Not my quote BTW,lol
 
A few of the BC guys I've worked with are really fond of mountain bikes too. And as an Englishman once remarked to me " Whispering death; ya can't hear them coming!"
 
Eagleye said:
I have always believed that the Quads and other fancy motorized units used for hunting should actually be limited to recovery only, not to hunt from. There are notable exceptions, but they are few. [a serious handicap, perhaps] Hunt on foot, find and shoot game animal. field dress, then use ATV or sled to recover the animal. Regards, Dave.
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Completely agree. I'm not saying you shouldn't drive your vehicle or ATV to your intended hunting area, of course. And if you happen to come across what you're looking for while enroute, then I think few people will argue with Lady Luck.

But far too many able bodied "hunters" just sit in their truck or on their ATV and roam the back roads looking for an easy opportunity. Its essentially target shooting, and not hunting, imho. And they are robbing themselves (and any young or new hunters they happen to be bringing along) of a truer, deeper experience and a better connection with the wildlife and environment that fosters a better appreciation for what we all enjoy.

Our provincial hunting regulations prohibit (generally) the use of ATVs in wilderness areas except for the recovery of big game, because of the destruction they cause to bogs and wetlands.

As for "gear" or "skills", I like to point out that the world record moose was taken by a fellow with a Lee Enfield .303 British, with open sights, and he went into the alder bed after him. :cool:
 
A few of the BC guys I've worked with are really fond of mountain bikes too. And as an Englishman once remarked to me " Whispering death; ya can't hear them coming!"
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They are quiet, may even just sound like wind. Where we used them a PFRA manager who couldn't legally close the hunting, did a backdoor workaround and closed the roads.
 
If a mechanized hunter is cheating himself, why do you care?

Our provincial regulations allow ATV use in the predominately crownland zones; and forbid them in the south which is almost completely privately owned. Even if I disagreed with ATV use (I don't) that's backwards. Many of our laws got written with an ulterior motive in mind. At the height of the stupidity it was illegal to lock the hubs on your 4by truck on your own land because someone that didn't have one claimed to speak for all of us.
 
Dogleg said:
If a mechanized hunter is cheating himself, why do you care?
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I brought it up, so I assume you're asking me. First, let's define "mechanized hunter" as the guy who is perfectly able bodied and capable of getting off the bike or out of the truck but prefers road hunting because its "easier".

I care because (as already intimated):

* that kind of mechanized hunter also tends to be the same folks who ignore ATV regulations generally, driving their ATVs across bogs and wetlands and destroying wildlife habitat, which not only leaves ugly scars on the landscape but destroys our collective hunting possibilities tomorrow
* he also tends to be the same folks who ignores hunting regulations generally, e.g. shooting from the vehicle, acting with disregard for other hunters (both in terms of safety and common courtesy), and outright poaching
* he also tends to be the same folks who show blatant ignorance and disregard for the environment generally, e.g. tossing garbage, ignoring conservation efforts, etc.
* and if he is mentoring new hunters or young hunters, he is passing on the same vile habits to the next generation of hunters

I am probably missing a few more. I realize this does not apply across the board to all "road hunters", but I have found it to be generally accurate. Your own experience may vary.
 
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