What constitutes a "True" hunter?

[Scouter]

I'm not trying to rip any particular recent case, accident, or person.

I'm just really sick of the general public, and especially the "in the know" sportsmen out there calling everybody a hunter even if they don't live up to the term.

Media types, this means especially you...

Hunters ethically and responsibly pursue targeted game animals within legal limits and boundaries. They only hunt where given permission and respect the rights of fellow hunters, landowners, and outdoorsmen (both hunters and non).

IMO in accordance to my dad's teachings:

If you tresspass your are a tresspasser, not a hunter.

If you target game outside seasons, legal limits, fail to properly license yourself, your a poacher, not a hunter.

If you drink, do drugs, or fail to obey gun safety rules while or before pursuing game, your an one-who-thinks-I-am-silly (even a potential felon), not a hunter.

Lets please refrain from bringing our sport down by calling these people hunters and it just hits a nerve when I read or hear all these stupid stories where "The person drank, tresspassed, or shot more than their limit" and the story reads:

"Hunter has accident"

"Hunter caught tresspassing"

"Hunter poaches"

If you knowingly ignore the law, safety rules, or fail to research the regulations and plead ignorant, you ARE NOT A HUNTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lets just call a spade a spade....

[c&amagn]

Good Post!!!

A hunter is a person who abides by the laws both ethical, humane and federal/state game laws. Also a person WHO DOESN'T BAIT GAME like deer. You actaully have to HUNT the game not entice them with food 30-yards from your stand for several weeks prior to season. That's not hunting in my mind, you need to go in the games habitat, learn their travel routes, food/water sources, bedding areas and use the wind to the hunters advantage and try to outsmart the game, then finally take the game as humanely and quickly as possible. I can't stand baiters except of course bear hunters. Just my opinion.

[Scouter]

yeah, "within the rules" is part of it.

BUT... the thing that gets me is how hunters can't insist on fair chase.?.?

I could start a whole other thread on how it makes me want to puke when I see people shooting fenced in animals. I don't care how large the property is, its still a penned animal...

For you guys that shoot zebras, deer, elk, or bison behind fences and call yourself HUNTERS, please pick another label and sport to drag down. Your making hunting look like a joke and not even living up to the spirit of the word...

[PerchJrkr]

So im not tryin to arise controversy here, but why do you think its ok to bait for bear? How is that any difference from having a corn pile 30 yards from your deer stand? I was watchin uncle ted on the spirit of the wild a few months ago and he said what consititues baiting? whats the difference if you plant a food plot and hunt over it or hunt over a feeder? both pretty much baiting if you wanna get into the actual meaning of the word right? i dunno kinda makes sense to me, not that i advocate baiting.

[DonBo]

Don't even want to get into the baiting issue. It is legal in Wisconsin where I hunt. I wish it weren't, but it is. I've done it...I've cursed others for it. Fact is, it's legal and we shouldn't bash those that do it.

You have to decide for yourself if it is ethical for you or not.

[sparcebag]

Good artical in the Mn. Volunteer about baiting.It states bating bear is luring a basically nocturnal animal out into light time hrs.Without bait and a bears habits few would be taken by chance siteings.

[c&amagn]

So im not tryin to arise controversy here, but why do you think its ok to bait for bear? How is that any difference from having a corn pile 30 yards from your deer stand? I was watchin uncle ted on the spirit of the wild a few months ago and he said what consititues baiting? whats the difference if you plant a food plot and hunt over it or hunt over a feeder? both pretty much baiting if you wanna get into the actual meaning of the word right? i dunno kinda makes sense to me, not that i advocate baiting.

1. The state of MN allows baiting for bear which are a primarily nocturnal animal. The MN DND states that if they didn't allow baiting for bear for hunting season they wouldn't get nearly the number of bear harvested.

2. To me there's a big difference in food plots versus battery operated feeders which can be set for feedings at certain times along with bags of shelled corn. To each his own on opinions and actually being a hunter rather than just shooting.

[PerchJrkr]

Even if your using a feeder, if you dont conceal your scent, cover yourself up (being still and quiet) the deer still arent going to come in. I still think theres alot more to it than just putting a feeder out there and suddenly the monster bucks are going to start swarming in

[c&amagn]

Here's a good link of a deer feeder on a timer for feedings LIVE 24x7 Saw some dandy bucks last year on this site.

www.rd-hc.com/rdhc_deer_cam.htm

The deer might not come in like you say but may come within range of shooting still for the urge of feeding at the same time day in and day out will over power some. Any way like I said just my opinion of a Hunter as this thread started was all and also in the state of MN where baiting deer is not leagal. Like mentioned above, the MN DNR Volunteer book that just came out has a gerat article on deer baiting in MN with great areal photo's and their opinions of just what is a Hunter.

[fishinmajishin]

I watched a show a while back...Jimmy(last name is a texas city)...he actually shot a buck that had its nose directly under one of those timed drop feeders and then bragged about the great "hunt". That guy is NOT a hunter. Made me sick. It may be legal to bait in some places, but to show it on television is in bad taste.

[Tyler D]

First I have to comment on the bear bait thing, you have obviously never hunted bears over bait. I would challenge you to do it and see how easy it really is. I am not talking about small bears, 100-125 lbs but an actual nice bear, it is probably the most challenging of all the hunts I have been on.

I would say a true hunter does not measure their success by the kill but by the experience. My favorite hunt ever was a do it yourself wyoming public land mule deer hunt, I was trying to kill a buck that was about 28" 5X5 and massive as any I have ever seen. I never got him, but the amount of work I put in in a general non trophy area to even find him much less pattern him and have a couple of close calls was even more satisfying than the big one I actually got in colorado. (Though getting one is always nice to.) The colorado hunt was public land and do it yourself, but finding a giant in colorado is not very difficult as compared to wyoming.

[Christopher Quast]

IMO If you need to shoot anything over bait other than bear it is absured to be calling yourself a hunter. Maybe a killer but deffinately not a hunter by any means. And like the original poster said go drag down another sport.

It's not like the bunny-huggers don't already have enough leverage on us true to our roots hunters. I think that group could be called the scabs cuz thats all they are anyways legal or not it's [PoorWordUsage]!!! I have hunted my arse off for the last 18 years and I have never been given the opportunity to shoot anything bigger than a small 7 pt between rifle,shotgun,muzzleloader and archery combined?

And it's all gonna pay off some day when I do shoot a big one and it will be the happiest moment of my life just because I didn't scab one of the bait pile and outsmarted all the other hunters on public land AMEN!

[PerchJrkr]

Id say a true hunter is most anyone that hunts within the confines of the law. Baiting is legal in some places. Does that make it unethical? I dont think so. Ive never hunted over bait and I probly never will. Im just saying, where it is legal, i dont think it makes you any less of a hunter if you use bait. Most states dont have the great advantage that we here in MN have of the mainstay of the gun season falling in the dead center heat of the rut. Do i think thats an unfair advantage? Probably. I think if MN moved their gun season like every other state we could have a lot better chance at more quality deer management.

[dan z]

Id say most law abiding hunters are tru hunters, Im going to take my hat off for the bow hunters tho. that would seem like a lot of time and scouting. I have never bow hunted but when I talk to bow hunters them seem to be very true hunters.

I just shoot ducks/geese most people would look at as easy but come with me once and set-up pick-up all my floaters in the wind with a go devil when the wind is blowin. I put a lot of time into my set-up and would consider myself a true waterfowler ( ducks/geese are waterfowl not fieldfowl thats why I hunt them on h20)

[96trigger]

Goldtip, stay at it, I hunted hard for 15 years on public and private land. Archery and shotgun, last year, it finally paid off with a 160 class buck by archery, the largest previous to that was a wide 5 pointer. It truly was one of the happiest days of my life. Stay at it, it will happen. We are true hunters. However, I am not going to get on my soapbox about baiting where its legal. I'm just going to continue to hunt as ethically as I can.

[eyepatrol]

I agree with most of what's being said here. Hunting within the confines of the law is a must if you want to be a true (ethical) hunter.

I for one cannot see how hunting baited deer is true hunting, but that's just me. Others may see it different.

I also feel that guided hunts don't necessarily make a preson a true hunter. The guide.....yes, I'd say in these situations, the guide is the true hunter and the shooter is just along for the ride as all he/she has to do is pull the trigger or release the arrow. The true hunting effort is done by the guide though.

Pheasant hunts where the birds are raised and then released into a field where shortly thereafter, people go out and bang away at them. That's about as lame as hunting fenced-in deer IMO.

I also feel a true hunter is one who learns the specie that he/she is persuing. Whether it be waterfowl, deer, elk, moose, pheasants, turkey, etc. Learning the call, learning the habitat, learning the conditions, learning the patterns and tendencies....all the efforts that go into understanding the specie being hunted makes for a more true hunter. Something like this takes time and experience, and in no way makes a young hunter any less of a true hunter.

I also think a true hunter is one who, no matter how difficult or how poor the hunting may be, they stay at it and work to make it better. I feel a true hunter even cherishes a bad day in the field or on the water as there is so much more to take from an outing or experience then just shooting what you persue.

[kentuck_ike]

I agree with a lot of what has been said, but I would also add that a true hunter supports conservation efforts when ever possible.

[eyepatrol]

Excellent point! I totally agree with that!

[Badger]

Good Post!!!

A hunter is a person who abides by the laws both ethical, humane and federal/state game laws. Also a person WHO DOESN'T BAIT GAME like deer. You actaully have to HUNT the game not entice them with food 30-yards from your stand for several weeks prior to season. That's not hunting in my mind, you need to go in the games habitat, learn their travel routes, food/water sources, bedding areas and use the wind to the hunters advantage and try to outsmart the game, then finally take the game as humanely and quickly as possible. I can't stand baiters except of course bear hunters. Just my opinion.

I agree with everything you've said about deer hunting. I'm not a bear hunter, so I won't comment about that. We own 40 acres (surrounded by county land) in the blue hills by Rice Lake, WI. Since the baiting craze, we have seen less and less deer each year. Our camp scouts the deer habits/bedding areas etc. each season and primarily still hunt. Yes, actually getting out and walk miles in the hard woods/small swamps. We're tired of seeing huge piles of corn and 4wheelers driving up and down old logging trails only to see these "hunters" park in front of corn piles. 4wheelers can be used a tool in the woods (dragging deer or people that have a hard time because of age or injury), but not as your only means of transportion. If you're healthy, get out and walk in the woods! If they banned baiting, our camp would be very happy. There have been farms with corn and other crops around us for years, but we have always seen deer because we actually get out and hunt. The corn piles/4wheelers in the woods have changed that. Just my/our opinion as well.

[riverrat56]

I agree with most of what's being said here. Hunting within the confines of the law is a must if you want to be a true (ethical) hunter.

I for one cannot see how hunting baited deer is true hunting, but that's just me. Others may see it different.

I also feel that guided hunts don't necessarily make a preson a true hunter. The guide.....yes, I'd say in these situations, the guide is the true hunter and the shooter is just along for the ride as all he/she has to do is pull the trigger or release the arrow. The true hunting effort is done by the guide though.

Pheasant hunts where the birds are raised and then released into a field where shortly thereafter, people go out and bang away at them. That's about as lame as hunting fenced-in deer IMO.

I also feel a true hunter is one who learns the specie that he/she is persuing. Whether it be waterfowl, deer, elk, moose, pheasants, turkey, etc. Learning the call, learning the habitat, learning the conditions, learning the patterns and tendencies....all the efforts that go into understanding the specie being hunted makes for a more true hunter. Something like this takes time and experience, and in no way makes a young hunter any less of a true hunter.

I also think a true hunter is one who, no matter how difficult or how poor the hunting may be, they stay at it and work to make it better. I feel a true hunter even cherishes a bad day in the field or on the water as there is so much more to take from an outing or experience then just shooting what you persue.

What he said.

One thing to add though is that A "True" hunter is always willing to help out someone new to the sport, knowing that is the only way to keep the tradition alive.

[PDOGG]

I also feel that guided hunts don't necessarily make a preson a true hunter. The guide.....yes, I'd say in these situations, the guide is the true hunter and the shooter is just along for the ride as all he/she has to do is pull the trigger or release the arrow. The true hunting effort is done by the guide though.

If this is true than no one with a good bird dog can call themselves a true hunter due to the fact that the dog does all the work and you only shoot the flushed bird! Does this apply

to guided fishing trips as well?

[eyepatrol]

I see where you're trying to go with this and realize what you're trying to do, but I'm not going to go there.

What I said, I said about guided hunting and nothing more. And I'll leave it at that.

[PDOGG]

I'm not trying to go anywhere with it. I am just saying some people may use a guide to learn how to hunt a new species or area which you aren't fimiliar with! Alot like the same reason people use fishing guides. Also like fishing guides a hunting guide will be better at teaching selective harvest of the species in the area were a person just going at it on there own may not be aware of how there choice of animal to harvest may affect the local population. If a person is hiring a guide to try and learn how to become a better hunter or "true hunter" I think no less of them.

[eyepatrol]

Quote:

If a person is hiring a guide to try and learn how to become a better hunter or "true hunter" I think no less of them.

That point of view I can agree with.

[morefishplease]

Here is my .02 I think its anyone that hunts or fishes and does it by the law, and loves the sport. A "true" hunter or fisherman doesn't have to lie about what he shot over the season, a true sportsman doesnt have to have the most expensive equipment to have some of the best hunts or fishing in his lifetime. A "true" hunter or fisherman will make it out in all weather conditions to pursue what he loves.