I don't get the reaction to the Gentry story

[Polar Bear]

Let me ask this in a different way: Gentry shot a tame bear owned by a private party. He then lied about the location of the kill. I understand that.

What I do not understand is how so many people get so upset about it when you can open any outdoor publication and see ads for shooting deer or pheasants year round on something called "hunting preserves". These outfits will plant pen raised birds on their private land for any nimrod to shoot any time of the year, no license required.

Would Gentry still be a bad guy if he would have admitted killing a tame bear? How is he any different than the high fence outfits in Texas who charge thousands of dollars to kill a 150 class white tail? Those TV hosts do it all the time and they seem proud of it!!

In my opinion, the whole idea of shooting "privately owned" animals and calling it hunting is awful.

[troutmaster]

i totally agree 100% with you on that one polar bear

[Gofishleech]

I agree with Polar also, the difference would be if it were a record bear he was trying get in the books?

[blue_healer_guy]

By the reaction of Polar Bear, seems to me, he has a bear in his kennel that he is feeding to get into the books. How's work going big guy, looks like your deer went well?

[Polar Bear]

Hey MJG... Deer season was OK. I switched to the handgun a few years back for something different, I enjoy it. The younger guy in that photo is my nephew, I taught him everything he knows Now he shoots bigger bucks than I do. I got a nice doe with the bow 2 weeks before gun season so the freezer is full.

Not much news at work, same old stuff. How have you been lately? Gotta go out now to feed Yogi.

[Ufatz]

Polar:

It might well be that much of the reaction is due to the growing disgust most sportsmen have with so-called canned hunts-the type you describe that are so common in TX. In the case of the bear it appears the animal was confined to a very small area and it was more-or-less a tame bear. The unease over the type of hunting you routinely see on TV Outdoors shows is growing. Many of the outdoor TV stars and outdoor writers are a little more than pimps for the industry.Many sportsmen deplore shooting game over bait,even though it is the most effective way to hunt black bears. On the other hand, a great many MN deer hunters seem to have no problem shooting a deer over a pile of corn or a basket of apples.

As to pheasant preserve shooting, the birds I usually see are wild as a tick and I have yet to harvest as many birds as the operators have put out! Go try it this weekend. Maybe it ain't REAL hunting, but the birds aren't shot sitting around the feed bowl.

None of this discussion would take place it we had adequate habitat and game populations to meet the demands of the American hunters. If you CANNOT find a place to pheasant hunt you CAN find a nice preserve. Incidentally, you can meet a lot of very nice folks at some of these operations, here and in other states.

Thank you and good night.

[vitalshot5]

the whole point is that shooting those pheasants and deer are legal......shooting a bear that way is illegal.....legal? illegal? seems to make sense to me. both are ethically wrong but only one is legally wrong.

[chucker34]

Agreed. The whole point is that what he did was illegal. You'd don't have to agree with the law, but you do have to agree that he broke it - blatantly.

And I don't think there would be nearly as much uproar as if he had just shot the bear, kept quiet about how he got it and not tried to tag it as a bear he took in the wild. I'm not sure what the regs/laws are on someone shooting a captive bear are, but if its legal, and he did it and then took it to the taxidermist without trying to act like he was the great white hunter, well, then none of this uproar probably would have taken place.

Don't get me wrong, I'm against shooting caged animals or ones that are fenced in as most on this board probably are. But if he followed the law, and not tried to mislead everyone in to how he took the bear, he wouldn't have this headache.

BTW, sounds like he had quite an ordeal to finally corner this bear in the small enclosure. Must have been a sad sight. And it probably would have been much less work to shell out a couple of thousand dollars for a premier outfitter who would have gotten him set up on a huge bear in the wild in a day or two.

[metrojoe]

Quote:

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What I do not understand is how so many people get so upset about it when you can open any outdoor publication and see ads for shooting deer or pheasants year round on something called "hunting preserves". These outfits will plant pen raised birds on their private land for any nimrod to shoot any time of the year, no license required.

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This was a 3 acre pen. Most of the areas in Texas are hundreds or even thousands of acres. It hardly seems a fair comparison.

Greenly has a license to run a game farm but it's only for wildlife photography. He doesn't have a license to run a shooting preserve. This incident was unethical and illegal on many levels and is a huge black eye for sportsman.

Also, I have been to pheasant preserves many times over the last couple years, mainly to train my young setter and to give her the opportunity to get on some birds. I would much rather be on wild birds, but sometimes it's just not possible. You should ease up on some of your fellow sportsman.

metro(nimrod)joe

[Polar Bear]

Thanks for all the thoughtful responses.

MetroJoe...I don't agree that it is not a fair comparison simply because the bear was in a 3 acre enclosure compared to the huge enclosures of Texas. Why? Because of the baiting involved. I'm talking about the way those deer are conditioned to come to the corn feeders. I actually saw a TV show once where the deer came in running at the sound of the feeder spinning. The ranch might be 10000 acres but the blinds are placed by the feeders.

I've only had one experience at a hunting preserve. We took 4 roosters that day: The dogs got 2 on the ground without a shot being fired, my buddy shot one on the ground trying to run/hide and we shot one in the air. I'm not going back.

[metrojoe]

I don't have an issue with your opinion on game farm hunts. In fact, in many ways I'm sure we agree on the subject. I just feel there is a difference between 3 and 3000 acres. And really it isn't so much about the size of the pen as it is about the fact it was illegal for him to even hunt on the property.

I mainly took issue with your "nimrod" remark. There are a lot of nimrods in the world but going to a game farm shouldn't be the only requirement.

Sorry to hear about your experience at the game farm. I've never had my pointer catch a bird, but my lab has and I hate that. You don't have to go back and nobody here is going to make you, but you shouldn't begrudge the folks that do go to them.

[Ufatz]

Polar: No question you went to a BAD shooting preserve. Very poor birds. I have seen that ONE time in Oregon, long ago. And.....um what about the sporting ethics of your partner blasting the bird on the ground? Oh....I get it. He was afraid it might get away....just like a wild bird huh?

I have no doubt you don't support ground sluicing.

[83walleye]

He was ticketed and charged with an improper tagging violation. The judge offered that explanation in the newspaper - the judge also said it was unethical, but that Gentry had acquired(bought) the bear in a legal manner, and that shooting the bear did not break any law.

Now, the guide who assisted him is another matter - he's the one who stands to pay the big fine...tagging, open season issues among other things...

While we're all entitled to our opinions, and I don't respect what he did, it was his call and I agree with the "W#hat's all the commotion about?" statement. To each his own.

[Polar Bear]

Ufatz, One of the birds the dog got had been previously wounded and had an obviously broken right wing. Later, Tom shot the running bird thinking it might be in the same condition. It was not.

I know this is off topic, but as far as my personal ethics go I have actually used my doe permit to tag a yearling doe found dead on my hunting property. I left my stand for dinner around 11 am and was walking back around 2 when I came upon her. She was liver shot by trespassers and had died since I left in the morning. I couldn't stand to see her go to waste.

I'm sorry for offending some folks. I realize that there are a lot of gray areas in the realm of ethical behaviour. I'm sure you're right when you say I was at a bad preserve. The high wind and blowing snow conditions probably had something to do with it too.

[metrojoe]

Quote:

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Greenly's operation was and remains a licensed game farm that advertises opportunities for wildlife photography. He is also a licensed hunting guide, but he was not licensed to operate a shooting preserve, and regardless, Minnesota doesn't license shooting preserves for bear hunting, officials said.

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Maybe I'm misinterpreting this, but to me it sounds like he shouldn't have been hunting on the property.

[harvey lee]

I dont agree with what he did.I dont know if we got the whole story as I believe he was charged with a felony and those charges were dropped.Plea bargining I believe.

Some people dont have the skill to do it in the wild so I guess a little pen works for them.

As far as the pheasant hunting goes,I trained my dog at a game farm and it works well as you can train all year round.The birds are still pretty wild and the dog doesnt know wher he is.There are times when it is fun to go to a game farm and hunt in the off season.I will do it in the open when the season is on.

[cliffy]

I think it just leaves a bad taste to the sport. Wow, he bought a pet bear and then hunted it in a 3 acre enclosed area. That must have been one tuff hunt. To each their own...but the best part of hunting to me is the hunt itself...will I see one, wont I see one...etc. This type of hunt seems so anticlimactic.

He broke the law and now he has paid for it. This sorta stuff gives the antis something to yell about.

[Seabass77]

I haven't heard of any pheasants named buddy shot on a 3 acre fenced plot. Its like shooting your neighbors dog.

[Double D]

Let's put a different spin on it:

Say he bought the bear and just wanted a rug. What is the easier permit to obtain: a permit to take a captive bear skin across state line or just do it the cheap way and say you shot it? Now I have no idea what it would take to get this bear back home for him, but it's a thought that crossed my mind.

DD

[KOTTKE]

The fact of the matter is he is a VERY public personality and all he has done is shine the spot light for the whole nation on the ethics of hunting. Now most bear hunters myself included are cast in this unwanted spot light. The antis are having a field day with this. This is just more unwanted publicity waged against all hunters. I myself believe he got off to lightly.

[chucker34]

VERY true Kottke. A bunch of my co-workers were talking about this the other day and one piped up and said "its not much better than the way bear are hunted in Minnesota right now. People dump a pile of bait on the ground, wait for the bears to show up, take their pick,,and blast it. Where's the sport in that?"

I'm not saying I agree with that. I'm just saying many non-hunters feel that way already. So what he did just throws gasoline on the fire.

[blue_healer_guy]

Well, here's my take. Non story. The only reason it's a story at all is because he's a public figure. Fella's, it's the same deal with the pro athletes when they get a DUI or are falsly charged with abuse. It's not newsworthy. Your responsibilty as parents are to raise your children using your morels and beliefs. Country singers, athletes, presidents, etc. are not role models for the general public. YOU ARE!