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Old August 28, 2004, 07:32 PM   #1
hatchet
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Special Ops Hunting

It is a shame that people do not know how to survive in the woods these days without the latest GPS, Nitevision, Goretex, Spacege food, lighters,
ATV's, Landrovers, super magnums with 16x scopes, cell phones or whatever
else they can use to make their hunt easier. I've killed more deer & elk with my 45-70 Marlin & 45-90 Sharps with open sights, levi's, flannel shirt, cowboy
hat & Levi Garrett than these new yuppie hunters will.
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Old August 29, 2004, 05:20 PM   #2
hatchet
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Must have hit a sore spot, nobody is responding.
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Old August 29, 2004, 07:41 PM   #3
Ben Swenson
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Quote:
Must have hit a sore spot, nobody is responding.
Actually yes, but not in the way you wanted. I'm guessing people reading this fall into one of a few groups.
1. Don't really give a flying rodent spoor what you think. They don't hunt to please Hatchet.
2. Agree with you, but don't have anything to add.
3. Agree to a point, but don't care for snobbery.

I fall into groups one and three. For the record, I use only the GPS from your list of things that make people a "yuppie hunter". Though, I'm sure if you went hunting with me you could find another dozen or so things you didn't like about the way I hunt.

One thing that bugs me is the elitest hunter types who think that their chosen style of hunting is the only real way to hunt. I'd say your post puts you solidly in that category. If someone wants to go into the woods naked with absolutely nothing and within a month be fully clothed in tanned hides, well fed, have good shelter, fire and effective weapons, then that person can play the "REAL hunter" card. The rest of us are "cheating" in some way or another that someone else who plays the game a little more seriously can criticize.

I mean you no personal offense, and welcome to TFL, but - as you said - you hit a sore spot.
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Old August 29, 2004, 08:24 PM   #4
hatchet
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It is was not my intent to down grade any serious hunter out there. I was not
trying to brag or be a snob. I was trying to make a post along the same lines
as the "ethic" one. I don't think there is anything wrong to modern technology
in a life or death situation. I do feel that people that too many "modern"
hunters walk into the woods that should not and they use their "gadgets" as
a crutch. They make unethical decisions because of their false sense of
security. I'm just a simple country boy that does not feel that an animal does
not care what the latest camo company says i should wear.
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Old August 29, 2004, 11:36 PM   #5
Arizona Fusilier
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Hmmm, I don't really have much at all on that list. But I'd probably like to have all of it someday!

There's no "hunting heritage" in my family; I'm pretty much it, having started this with some old high school friends. I have to learn, and consequently equip, myself based on what I learn from books, magazines, the Internet, and trial and error.

I own a cell phone, and it has gotten me out of some trouble before; in the city. But where I hunt in Arizona, there's no coverage, so there's no sense in carrying it. I'm not a slave to camo fashion, mainly because I hunt in the desert, and hardly anybody makes a desert pattern worth a darn. So it's military surplus for me, and that suits me fine.

I won't misrepreset my situation; I'm not rich, but I'm not poor, either. So I don't have a Landrover, but I do have an F250 that's paid for. I didn't have anybody hand down an heirloom hunting rifle that's been in the family for 50 years; I did some research, and than bought a top-of-the-line weapon, with top-of-the-line glass.

If your point is the equipment doesn't make the hunter, your point is taken well, but truthfully, I don't think you'd find anybody saying the opposite, now, have you? Truth is, I'm NOT that good at this game, but I certainly don't blame my lack of an ATV or 20X scope on that. I'm learning. While my hunting genes/experience are not extensive, I think my fieldcraft skills are high. I spent eight years in the Infantry, and am "old school" (old soldier?) when it comes to certain things. Many of the folks walking around with GPS don't know how to read a map to save their lives; of course that applies to many folks who don't have one, either. And I don't own night vision, either; I think you should learn to see in the dark My security is absolutely in my own personal confidence and knowledge, gadgets or not.

Spaceage food! I think the greatest part of hunting is cooking over the campfire, especially a big juicy steak! The one "gadget" that I and my buddies use are radios, however. Quite frankly, this is a safety issue. Rarely are we in a position to set up a stalk or anything like that; rather, there is great piece of mind in knowing where everybody's at, and that the are O.K..

You seem to combine the "security" issue with these new-fangled gadgets with the slob hunting issue, as if to suggest there's a bunch of folks who would not be out in the woods otherwise, and consequently hunting. Of this, I am skeptical. I think they'd be out there anyway. They always have been. It takes time to accumulate these things, and I think they are people who love the outdoors, regardless if these things existed. Personally, I've seen the most bizarre fieldcraft, and even unethical hunting, performed by the people who do not have these things.
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Old August 30, 2004, 05:57 AM   #6
Double Naught Spy
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Well it is a shame people don't know how to survive off the land, not just the woods in general, but in various environments.

Don't hold your breath that you have hit a sore spot. It is more like you hit the "whatever" spot. In large part, you entitled the thread with a sensationalized title by calling it "special ops hunting" and the thread has nothing to do with 'special ops' anything. On top of that, your text describes survival in the woods which involves all manners of required tasks, not just hunting. Are you talking about surviving or hunting, which is it? So basically the thread title is wrong for the topic described in the text.

Based on the title, I had sort of assumed there was going to be an interesting post on how special ops people hunted food. Why would they need to hunt food? Because they would be on some sort of prolonged mission where their own carried in food would not be enough. My angle on this topic goes back to some things I read about Civil War supplies. Every army had a group of men who served in multiple roles of scouts and hunters, responsible first for procuring food (hunting, gathering, stealing from farms, etc.) and then for scouting along the way since they operated at some distance from the army itself. The scouting aspect was secondary as the armies had their own regular scouts who were not hunters.

So in the past, armies attempted to procure food on the go when they could. It would have been interesting had this thread been on a similar topic for special ops folks.

Okay, and the boast of your hunting prowess indicating you are better than 'yuppie' hunters was just irrelevant and silly. Just because you choose to hunt in a certain manner doesn't make that manner of hunting really any better. You are employing a huge double standard as well. You are still using a powerful gun that is a form of exceptional technology over the type of animals you are hunting. Somewhere out there is a Native American saying it is a shame you don't know how to survive out in the woods, naked, making your tools as you go, including outfitting yourself with food, tools, and clothing as you go along, but instead you choose to go high tech with guns and manufactured clothing.
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Old August 30, 2004, 07:39 AM   #7
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Besides...buying all that stuff keeps slave laborers in China employed and fed.
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Old September 4, 2004, 01:09 PM   #8
grey_pilgrim
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I don't care about any of thar other stuff, but i wouldn't mind having a camo suit in gore tex. Dark green painter's pants and a blue grey fleece aren't exactly water repellent. (But it does build character)
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Old September 7, 2004, 05:01 PM   #9
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I agree with him, Heck my friends have to go to the store and get batterys and the phone charger so they can charge a phone off of there ATV. And they don't dare go out at night, plus they can't read a map or even have a sense of direction.
I don't mean any harm in that it's just that 25 years ago I did'nt use a phone will hunting or play games on game boys while hunting. My Father would have torn my rear end up plus they would have run me out of our hunting lease.
But I guess times change so people must change with it!
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