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This is a bit off the topic of archery, but not completely. Critters around here (especially Mule Deer, but all big game) really don't have much of a chance to grow up with today's technology and the biggest tool is today's rifle scope. Pair up a modern high power scope with a rangefinder and very few animals are out of range for anyone that practices a bit. An old Muley buck is a very rare critter in these parts...very rare. As soon as they have antlers above their ears their time is pretty limited. I haven't seen a truly large Muley Buck in several years now...lots of young bucks but they just don't get a chance to grow up.
My son came in from the farm today and said he'd shot a coyote at 453 yards....in the head!!! It got me to thinking.... What would happen if the F&G took one district and made scopes illegal. It would put the hunt back into hunting. Instead of guys reaching out there 400 or 500 yards (and these days much further than that), they'd be pretty much limited to 200 yards or less. I know it will never happen, but if it did I suspect we'd start seeing some old bucks again. Something needs to change.... I know this topic has been discussed inside out and upside down, but technology has gotten a little out of hand.... I can see the weekend warriors screaming and yelling if anything like this were to be implemented, but these young bucks need a fighting chance... Of all the technological developments over the past several years, the advancement in scopes paired with a rangefinder are by far the two biggest game changers... IMO. :)
I agree with Tatonka, technology has largely taken the hunt out of the hunt.
Same thing goes with wheelie bows. Traditional only season. And an antler restriction. Both will never happen though. But then you could hunt with those other things you call bows during general season. Seems like everyone is shooting 5O plus. Heard a guy in the bar brag about an 80yd elk shot. Enoughs enough. Make bowhunting great again!
Couldn’t agree more with what has been said. In the good ole days ... people archery hunted because it offered more of a challenge and now with all the technology the knowledge, skill, and ability to get within less than 50 yards has gone out the window. It’s all about the trophy photo or the posting online video.
Antler restrictions don't work. You want trophy animals you limit the tags via drawings.
its clear to me the more we advance technology in the end we will lose opportunity, some people see this and some don't,,
Met a guy last week who had a custom rifle that could shoot 1200 yards accurately, he reported. Not too portable as it was 12 lbs. Cost was probably up there too.
Next will be said rifle turret-mounted on a Honda UTV, with dashboard range finder and venison heat sensor. Will it never end?!
I personally know of a guy that took shots at elk this season at 1250 yards and 1325 yards. He of course is an expert shot. (his words) and has a long range rifle set up. (don't ya know) He did actually hit and kill an elk at 565 yards. I cringe to think this is something we should be attempting to emulate. He has seen several shots like these made on Y-tube , so therefore its totally legit.
"totally legit" vs hunting ethics? Oh, yeah, nowadays there is no standard of "ethics" ... it's whatever you wanna do ... and whatever gets you the most hits on utube.
At the rate the hunter numbers are dropping every year,perhaps we shouldn’t be making it more challenging to hunt, but should spend more time helping new hunters.
True hunter #s have been dropping. Many states have tried different ways to get new hunter involved, early youth seasons, lowering age requirements. But unfortunately we live in a world today where everyone, espiecally kids need instant gratification and cant be disappointed. Which as any hunter knows isn't realistic. So therefore the youth of America isn't interested, as they were in the past.
I too would love to see more age on animals, but if someone is happy with a younger class animal then that's their business. If you don't like it the other option is getting a lease or buying your own land that you can manage. Folks could accuse you guys of being in the same crowd as the tech people in that it seems to be all about antlers these days, especially from that group. I'm not a huge fan of the long range rifle hunts either, but it is what it is. To try to limit people based on a lack of age class becomes a trophy only game. Nothing wrong with antler restrictions, but I'm not sure getting after people because they're shooting animals that don't meet your definition of a trophy is the answer. Case in point, I took out a good friend this year on the last day of season who is a relatively new hunter. We found a whitetail buck that was most likely 3 1/2 yrs old and scored around 105-110". He shot him with a (***gasp) scoped rifle and was literally beyond excited. Based off of some of the comments above we should have held off on that deer as it had not yet reached it's full potential.
Let people shoot what makes them happy and shoot what makes you happy. There's plenty of game and a lot of guys are just happy to be successful and put meat in the freezer. If it's done on what I would consider a sub-par buck, it's a bummer to me, but not to the smiling guy that shot it. The state is not running a trophy ranch or selling high end genetic cows.
Now if you want to restrict the non-resident tags, I am all for that!
