Quote:
Originally Posted by Dean Romig
IMO that's the kind of attitude we should be discouraging in young folks.
I think we were all raised with a respect for the game we hunt and to be ethical in all matters. Ethical means doing the right thing, even when nobody's looking.
A lot of people see game animals and birds in an adversarial combatant vein rather than as an element in our heritage to be respected.
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I agree with you, Dean, but there are recognized developmental stages in every hunter's life. Although not all of us progress through all of the stages, it's important to recognize them, especially as we interact with younger and less experienced hunters. The earlier stages reveal themselves in hunters that like to have action, see lots of game, etc. Then we see the desire to "limit out," followed by more concern with "method" -- using antique firearms, traditional recurve bows, etc., and ultimately the lack of concern for bagging game but a desire for reflection and sharing the experience. Again, these are not value judgements of hunters, but the recognized stages that many go through, and it's not to say that a hunter with many years of experience doesn't still want to see and take game. It does, however, help to explain, and maybe make us more patient with, those younger hunters who want to take a limit of game. I certainly remember measuring my success by the game I took as a young hunter. The young hunters that want to shoot as much game *as legal* may just develop into the ones to carry on the heritage of hunting.
Now, the ones that break laws and violate ethical values should not be tolerated.
But when each of us takes a young hunter on as a companion, we can most certainly present a model for them. What we do in their presence really does matter, and I could not agree more your assertion that how we act when no one is looking is the true measure of a hunter.