Hunting from a junk car

[t.r.]

I know a couple guys in western Pennsylvania that bought a junk car and dragged it with tractor to edge of a meadow within a forested ridge. They stuffed old clothes with newspapers and placed therm in front seat to simulate two human forms. The deer quickly became accustomed to this sight.

These guys tore out the door panels from inside to grease the roller mechanisms. On opening day, they toss the dummies in rear seat and roll the windows down. They've tagged many deer from this unusual outfit. Its weather tight and comfortable.

One year, a Warden came around and sited them for hunting illegally from a motor vehicle. But they beat the citation and related fines because the junk car had no tires; they'd rotted badly over the years.

TR

[piller]

Sounds to me like it is a prefab hunting blind.

[Blaine]

Deer Cops

[MrMurphy]

Yup......if they really wanted to make sure to beat it, pull the engine.

[jnyork]

Wow, that's REAL hunting!!

[Gobblerforge]

Wow, that's REAL hunting!!

Maybe not in everyone's book but they put a lot of work into being prepared for opening day. Who's to say what a deer blind should look like.
Rule number one to be successful at hunting, put yourself in a position to see game.
Gobbler

[jnyork]

Most of us will agree there is a vast difference in deer shooting and hunting.

[rock-steady]

[RIHMFIRE]

The camper on stilts takes the cake...
However I did see a video of something similar, but not as high,
and this one had a walk around porch with a BBQ...and a picnic table...

[Grizz]

as someone who has actually 'lived off the land' in Alaska, in significant part by shooting deer, I'd say there isn't much difference between hunting them and shooting them. if you know what you're doing..... it amounts to the same thing.

I appreciate the blinds in the photos for what they are...

Grizz

[Pitchy]

Might as well throw in a machine gun on a tri-pod on the camper one
We used to use old cars for ice fishing.

[.45colt]

I know many "big" deer hunters who have never killed a deer from the ground......but they are experts at food plots.feeders, scentlock,rangefinders, the latest camo and every kind of bow gizmo known to man. the state says it's legal so it's all good.......not for me. nothing wrong with the car blind, bout the same as hunting from 20' up a tree.

[JerryB]

Some folks just seem to shoot better from a car window.

[Sixgun]

Yea, yea.........But, in 44 years of hunting deer, I have always done it from the base of a tree or walking. Even when I was a young man, I knew deer were "animals" and incapable of thinking............so....its the free chase or nothing.

If my family was starving, I would kill 'em with a light.

I have disassociated myself from friends and family members who have hunted "to give them them the unfair advantage". Its probably why that today I can count my friends on one hand. Screw 'em. 7 years ago, I was booted out of a hunting camp because I raised a ruckus over my my brother-in-law who shot a deer in it's bed with a 257 Weatherby mag--gut shot---he laughed about it. I packed my sh*t and drove 200 miles home.

I would have to honestly say that most hunters would always put the advantage in their favor---unfairly.

No, I'm not God or a perfect person, but I will not take advantage of something that is of inferior (or superior) intelligence to me.

Its not the old days when we needed wild meat to survive. I have stopped taking deer because it no longer excited me after a kill...and I've killed plenty....most with an '86 Winchester in .33. I will still kill an elk as that is meat in my sons freezer-------but..........its always fair.

This is Pennsylvania and I see it all the time------dirtbags with guns and no conscience.-------Me

[Les Staley]

I've got a buddy in Michigan that used to be a poacher, hunted at night with a light out of a pick-up... it had been a family tradition for him.. After coming to Jesus, he began to follow the game laws , but still shot better out of a pick-up window.. so I helped him take the door off an old truck and install it in his blind... he seemed to never miss, although it was daylight... Les

[FWiedner]

I'd say that finding a way to recycle an old junker is a practical and creative use of something that would otherwise be a useless eyesore.

Different folks in different places use different hunting methods.

As long as it's legal, it's nobody's business but theirs.

That said, I can't stand behind any method that amounts to an overt cruelty to the animal.

[AJMD429]

7 years ago, I was booted out of a hunting camp because I raised a ruckus over my my brother-in-law who shot a deer in it's bed with a 257 Weatherby mag--gut shot---he laughed about it.

I agree on that one.

I think the first priority is that you have to hunt safely, in such a way not to put other humans at risk. Secondly you should hunt with your highest priority being a humane kill, and I don't think gut-shot qualifies there; it can be nearly instant death, but it is likelier not to be than a thorax shot. Even a not-quite-right 'head' shot, or any shot with the wrong gun/bullet, can be inhumane. Thirdly, the hunting should be ecologically sensible - obeying bag limits, seasons, and so on.

If a person accomplishes the above, I won't criticize how they hunt, because not everyone views hunting as a form of "recreation" that is a sort of lethal sporting-game between hunter and hunted. Some just view it as a harvest not all that different from picking tomatos, and being myself sometimes too hyper to want to sit still all day to wait for Bambi, I understand that viewpoint; I'd rather spend my 'sport' time shooting a few hours at the target range, and sometimes just want to get the hunting over with and fill the freezer as quickly as possible so I can get on to other things. Besides, unless I were out there with a pointed stick or personally-made bow, it seems like I've already "stacked the deck" and my hunting is not much of a sport at that point.* Also, to the degree I make it 'sporting' by using less technology, there is a point where it becomes potentially more inhumane, and I don't feel comfortable putting the animal at an increased risk of suffering just so I can have a more challenging experience.

I probably wouldn't take even a sure heart-shot on a bedded deer though, which is quite illogical, given that it would be less likely I'd miss/wound than with the same animal standing, and potentially able to do the last-minute-jump thing. It just seems wrong, but from the deer's standpoint, either way of shooting it is still basically death-by-predator or even more of an 'assasination' since it is done with the clear intent of doing it before the animal is aware of being targeted, and thus it having no chance to fight or evade.

*Now, having said all that, with my modern scoped-and-laser-sighted levergun using smokeless cartridges and jacketed bullets,
Bambi has a knack for getting away unscathed...

[6pt-sika]

My own personal view is hunting is what a person wants to make it .

Now whether I think what you do is hunting or whether you think my own version is sporting thats all up to the person looking at the situation .

Just let it be said that I am going to do what I have always done regardless of what others may say in the negative or positive .

And with that being said yes I use climbing treestands and go sometimes more then 30' up , I use scoped bolt action rifles , as well as scoped inline muzzle loaders and rifled scoped blot action shotguns . I also use an ATV to retrieve any deer I kill .

I won't make excuses or apologies for what I do and do not really care if it's agreed with or not as I am the only one that has to live with my actions .

[1894c]

I love stories like this--smart guys--really like the idea...

[bigbore442001]

I see nothing wrong with it. I do believe if you did that here in Massachusetts you would need to have some hunter orange on the outside of the blind.

[madman4570]

I know many "big" deer hunters who have never killed a deer from the ground......but they are experts at food plots.feeders, scentlock,rangefinders, the latest camo and every kind of bow gizmo known to man. the state says it's legal so it's all good.......not for me. nothing wrong with the car blind, bout the same as hunting from 20' up a tree.

To each their own I guess?
Got talked into trying a deer stand "once" when I was about 19 (about 14-16ft up) Deer walked all around it,under the very tree I was in all that morning , had no idea I was even there. Didn't shoot nothing and felt guilty as heck.Never went in one again.

If someone thinks that's fair chase,fine for them(that's their deal)
I am very anal about how I hunt(I hunt on the ground/ I hunt with normal type clothes I wear say the day before etc. I hunt will a open sighted rifle/shotgun I don't bait/use cover scent/

To me hunting a deer I would rather get nothing than tricking an animal by those various means.
If my family was starving,then that's a different story.
Bottom line for myself it's simple. If you can truly feel good about yourself taking that animal and in your gut you gave that animal the respect it deserves that is what it's about.

To use a tree stand /scent killer/special food plot etc.-------might as well stick in some mineral/salt blocks too.(course the powers to be who deemed that some things that are ok on one hand ---dont think those others like a block aren't)-----
But,that only one guy's opinion.

When I hunt hard all year long and sometimes have the deer come up on top-------That's what makes taking one of North Americas smartest big game creatures even more rewarding.

[mklwhite]

Sixgun... I couldn't agree more. My father-in-law has a "farm" (old family farm - he hunts it , doesn't farm it) seems to hunt about like your brother-in-law. He invited me and my son to go hunting there with him and well, I can't have it. He (and his brother) will shoot them all day long under feeders or wherever and to listen to them they must be a couple of the worst shots around. If you cant do better than that, stay home until you can. And as has been said, if my family were starving, well, they wouldn't be.

[dbord130]

Sixgun man you need to lighten up. Your going to give yourself a heart attack.

[madman4570]

Yea, yea.........But, in 44 years of hunting deer, I have always done it from the base of a tree or walking. Even when I was a young man, I knew deer were "animals" and incapable of thinking............so....its the free chase or nothing.

If my family was starving, I would kill 'em with a light.

I have disassociated myself from friends and family members who have hunted "to give them them the unfair advantage". Its probably why that today I can count my friends on one hand. Screw 'em. 7 years ago, I was booted out of a hunting camp because I raised a ruckus over my my brother-in-law who shot a deer in it's bed with a 257 Weatherby mag--gut shot---he laughed about it. I packed my sh*t and drove 200 miles home.

I would have to honestly say that most hunters would always put the advantage in their favor---unfairly.

No, I'm not God or a perfect person, but I will not take advantage of something that is of inferior (or superior) intelligence to me.

Its not the old days when we needed wild meat to survive. I have stopped taking deer because it no longer excited me after a kill...and I've killed plenty....most with an '86 Winchester in .33. I will still kill an elk as that is meat in my sons freezer-------but..........its always fair.

This is Pennsylvania and I see it all the time------dirtbags with guns and no conscience.-------Me

Dead right, couldn't say it any better

[L_Kilkenny]

Ahh, the ethics of hunting styles raises is ugly head once more. I have no problem with stand hunting. In the air or on the ground. I don't do much of it because frankly, I get bored stiff and would rather wander around a bit. Even when I bow hunted about 2 hours in a stand was all I could take. If you don't like it fine, don't do it. But if you're against it for reasons giving an unfair advantage to the hunter, maybe you should go back to using a spear too. Opps, better forget that one. I'm betting a good many critters have fallen from spear hunters of the past sitting in a tree or other cover and being patient.

There are many old cars, trucks and buses sitting in the woods around here. I've thought about using them but location wasn't right and like I said above, I get bored. But I'm not sure that the dummies were needed. Deer are more alarmed by movement and scent of which the dummies have neither. You replace them with a human and you have both.

LK

[J Miller]

Lets see, correct me if I get this wrong; The purpose for hunting is to bring home meat.

Now, how one does that will depend on many things but all I care about is what I need to do to get my meat. I will try to make the animals death as quick as I can, but I will not become anal obsessive over the "humane" thing. After all, you're KILLING the animal, you're not harvesting corn.

Weather the hunter does it from an abandoned car or a tree stand or a tree stump or a blind or just walking around is irrelevant as long as he is successful at his hunt.

Joe

[madman4570]

Lets see, correct me if I get this wrong; The purpose for hunting is to bring home meat.

Now, how one does that will depend on many things but all I care about is what I need to do to get my meat. I will try to make the animals death as quick as I can, but I will not become anal obsessive over the "humane" thing. After all, you're KILLING the animal, you're not harvesting corn.

Weather the hunter does it from an abandoned car or a tree stand or a tree stump or a blind or just walking around is irrelevant as long as he is successful at his hunt.

Joe

Joe, Some people I guess just don't get it the way so of us others think
Bringing home the meat is the LAST important thing.
Same goes say when hunting with your kid----it's so much more than that.
In my case I am sure for the $1000 last year spent on my deer, I could have gotten much more than 80lbs of venison.
Joe, no disrespect but I bet you also might not have played any sports in High School/College either?
It's not JUST hitting/throwing/or catching a ball that's truly only about baseball ?
Being real do you even Hunt?

I have a brother in law that kinda thinks that way about the meat thing.
Gotta kill the deer Screw everything/everyone in the way.
Sits in a tree like a bird(looks like one too)baits em (ya using doe pee and tarsal glands are BAIT)
Shoots off his semi-auto like he was in a War and shoots deer the size of a German Shepard Dog?
He says the same thing-------It's getting the meat that's only important.
Needless to say the idiot doesn't hunt at my place.
Last winter the last week of December while in the snow my wife and I were moving ourselves and haven't heard a peep from the lazy bum during those two weeks night before last day we had to be out---he calls "not hows it going? anything I can do to help?
it's "ya know,I have had a tough year hunting up here(he has his own land)I want to hunt yours,call me!
He left 13 phone messeges that night to have us call him back if OK------------------- The fool.
Guess he found somewhere else to hunt cause the bum(my feeling, he's one of these people that pulls SSI but can sure hunt everywhere and do most everything else)works harder of getting out of work than working?
Not allowed to do any hunting at my place! And he stays out of my way too!
You know the type-----------Goes to a auction and buys a desk for $100 and wants to sell it to his sister in law for $600
Can't stand greedy using bums like that.


Anyway Joe, to each their own!
Rant off!

[Mike D.]

I do understand the use of tree stands and elevated blinds, but draw the line at baiting and feeding. I've watched disgusting videos where "hunters", and I use the term very loosely, shoot deer from heated elevated houses after the feed truck drives by and the half tame bucks come a running. THAT IS NOT HUNTING!! It is nothing more than legal target practice. I don't use any sort of blind and feeding is against the law in these parts, which suits me just fine.

[gcs]

Wow,quite a range of emotions over the personnel ethics of OTHER people.
You know, those dirtbags that don't think like you do.

Really doesn't make a difference if you like it or not, or if your laws are different or not, as long as it's legal, in the jurisdiction it's in, then your back to YOUR personnel ethics and hunting practices.

No one says you HAVE to do it the "easy" way, or associate yourself with anyone that doesn't think like you, but if sitting next to a pile of corn, or chasing with hounds, or shooting them at 1,000 yds is legal, then THOSE peoples ethics are nobodies business.

[J Miller]

madman4570,

I have hunted, but not in a very long time. When I hunted the idea was to bring home meat. If I didn't, no big deal, but the meat was the goal.

Now do not misconstrue what I said in my post, add or subtract anything from what I said.
Hunting is to bring home meat. If you do not intend to bring home meat then you're hiking or camping or exploring. You're not hunting.

I was very precise in what I posted, don't read more into it than is there.

And yes that javalina I brought home in 82 tasted wonderful. Shot him till he was dead. No guilty feelings that it took me more than one shot.

Joe

[Hobie]

Some folks just seem to shoot better from a car window.

Sorry, I had to laugh.

Ok, so I've been around hunters of one sort or another all my life. With friends I have seen various cultural methodologies and with my dad and his co-workers I've seen the legal side of it. I personally prefer to still hunt because I can't sit still. When I am "on stand" it is because I'm tired and need a rest (or nap). I go with the idea that one kills to be able to say that one has hunted but I don't hunt just to kill. I have been hungry and needed to eat what I shot and I've been, for a long time now, not needing it so much. I have often passed up shots for reasons of safety, ethics, or the law. And I have to say, I know that what is legal isn't necessarily moral and what is moral isn't necessarily legal.

[Ray Newman]

"Some folks just seem to shoot better from a car window."
--Jerry B

Or, in the case of one Fool that I knew through the car window....

[madman4570]

Really doesn't make a difference if you like it or not, or if your laws are different or not, as long as it's legal, in the jurisdiction it's in, then your back to YOUR personnel ethics and hunting practices.

No one says you HAVE to do it the "easy" way, or associate yourself with anyone that doesn't think like you, but if sitting next to a pile of corn, or chasing with hounds, or shooting them at 1,000 yds is legal, then THOSE peoples ethics are nobodies business.

Except those who own large land acreage and decides what the rules are and who hunts it.

[Booger Bill]

I had a now deceased buddy in wisconsin that would stack tires in the woods and then go back, climb in them and bump deer off. He was a local legend and habitualy in trouble ever since we were boys.

[horsesoldier03]

I had seen this tread when it first came up and dismissed it not thinking there would be much controversy with it. I do find it amusing with so many opinions ready to delare another hunters tactics as UNSPORTSMAN LIKE. Making use of an old car to me is not only practical but THRIFTY.

However, one thing I dont understand but find quite amusing are statements which declare the use of tactics such as this, deer stands, cover scents or baiting as UNSPORTSMAN, yet many hunters as non hunters feel it is SPORTING and in good judgement to hire a professional guide to put them on whatever game they may choose to hunt. You can witness this any time you choose to turn on a hunting show. The guide takes them to a field with large bucks and based on the clients pocket book determines which animal he takes.

[Sixgun]

Here you go boys:

I'm 57 years old and have lived long enough to distinguish human character. I have seen all kinds of people and here's my deduction:

If you kill animals unfairly, (as an adult and have reached the age of accountablility) you will also think nothing of taking advantage of another human being, but will be more sneaky to hide your greed. You are a predator in human character and I would be happy to extinguish you myself. This type of person brags about his kills but fails to mention how he "got over an unthinkable animal". You are the guy who will twist a story around to make yourself look "right" or to claim an insurance policy that you have no right over, even if it means destroying another person's livelihood. You are the guy who can unconsciencely kill an elk that is in a fenced in "elk farm" and brag about it--but don't tell the whole story. I've seen it too many times to be wrong.

If you need meat to eat, there's no unmanly way that would be wrong.

This is America where even the poor can be obese------easily

We are all born with a "built in" character that never leaves us. We make mistakes but we learn from them. I once killed two deer in a season when I was 22 years old, used an uncles tag and said to myself, "Wow, 2 deer in a year" and as I was dragging it back to the truck ( a new Ford XLT 4x4) I felt disgusted as as young kid could have had that deer, or someone who really needed the meat. This was in a time when only 5-10% of hunters got a deer.

MKLwhite and Madman4570-thank you You are true sportsmen!--------------Sixgun

[madman4570]

Well thank you Sixgun, you are indeed a true sportsmen and a fine person.
You have a fine way with words friend!

[Mac in Mo]

Wow! For some guys to have such a "holier than thou attitude" because they don't hunt out of a blind is very bizarre. I really don't get that. To say that hunting from an elevated blind is somehow" tricking" the animal because "it doesn't know you are there" is wrong and even "unethical". I don't want any deer I am hunting to know I am there because it will be gone in a flash. I suppose you guys jump up and down and blow noisemakers to give the animal a "fair" chance , before you shoot it with your, gasp, rifle. Give me a break.
If you applied your standards to yourselves, you would be out there in a loincloth with a sharpened stick. Get over yourselves. I hunt from elevated blinds, ground blinds, blown down tree tops, stumps and whatever. I also use bows, rifles, revolvers and sidelock muzzle loaders. I also go into the woods in my modern store bought clothes, wearing boots with synthetic fabrics and soles. I drive to my place in my diesel pick-up. I sleep in a nylon tent. I am sure you probably do most of the same things, except the elevated blind. You're right. You are so much better than me.
As my Grandmother would say, " Get off your high horse".

Kevin

[mklwhite]

I guess the big deal here that is getting everybody so out of sorts is that everyone has their own definition of hunting.
Of course these are my perceptions... you millage may vary.
To some if you killed something (under a feeder, in a fenced area, with a full auto on the second clip) well you are successful. They tend to consider meat the goal. They kill.
To others they use various methods (some traditional, some modern) to be as invisible as possible and they try to hunt humanely. They go for the one-shot-one-kill approach. They tend to consider proof of their skill the goal. They snipe.
Others hunt more of an "old school" style. Use what is considered the more traditional approach to hunting. They tend to consider the experience the goal. They hunt.
You can tell the type by listening to their stories.

Thank you Sixgun, I find it a privilege and an honor to be among such hunters as yourself and many of the fine folk on this board.

[JB]

I know a couple of guys that use an old school bus for a blind. The bus has been sitting out on the farm for years so the deer ignore it. I just wonder where's the fine line between hunting from blinds, a building, or a vehicle.

[madman4570]

Wow! For some guys to have such a "holier than thou attitude" because they don't hunt out of a blind is very bizarre. I really don't get that. To say that hunting from an elevated blind is somehow" tricking" the animal because "it doesn't know you are there" is wrong and even "unethical". I don't want any deer I am hunting to know I am there because it will be gone in a flash. I suppose you guys jump up and down and blow noisemakers to give the animal a "fair" chance , before you shoot it with your, gasp, rifle. Give me a break.

As my Grandmother would say, " Get off your high horse".

Kevin

Kevin,

Did Grandma tell you it's also OK to look over on Johnny's desk and copy him in the 3rd grade at grade school so you could get at least that C-

How bout when playing pool with a friend(?) at Sally's Tavern and he goes to buy you another free drink on him and you slide that tough shot of ole #6 ball rolled by hand instead of the pool stick into the corner pocket.

Son, Where did we even remotely say sitting ON THE GROUND behind a STUMP being even remotely close to being sitting high up in a tree like an eagle
So, You don't want to do that cause that deer will see/smell you and fly away? (That's too hard )
No, on that one I say-------you really need to give me the break.
When you look at that trophy deer you have been after for 2-3 years letting many others pass and finally you with God's help might just be lucky enough to take him on the ground with all his senses without (cheating)then you will feel what that feeling is like.
Otherwise here we go again, its just back to looking on Johnny's desk like in the past!
Really, it don't matter what you think to me with that thinking, cause I sure won't be seeing you where I hunt.

And the"High" horse thing?------ya think maybe that's where you get the liking for those "High" up tree stands? (think maybe it's passed down )?
It's still in the book I have of a fair/true hunting sportsmen------ (your CHEATING)

[rogn]

I really dont see much diference between the old junker with roll up windows and upholstered seats and some of the manufactured blinds with all the ammenities of a good hotel. As many others have stated if they stay within the bounds of ethics , laws and responsible humane behavior, what diference does it make. Gut shooting an animal is very unfortunate, but the hint it may ahve been done with some intent is absolutely reprehensible(hope I spelled it right). My own preferences for deer hunting is to walk and "still hunt". Unfortunately here in MD the farms are small and my still hunt on our farm is about 2 hours worth. So, we wind up in a tree and wait for deer to come to us. Its the only practical method here. I occasionaly try hunting ome of he public land but game is very skittish and hunting is very difficult. "Hunting" is .to me, the harvest of the pests that have been destroying my crops and tering up my fences. But, I still enjoy the challenge and generally more of the Bambi crowd get a bad scare rather than a trip to the chili pot. My last clean miss was at 60 yds. With a rest!

[bigbore442001]

I know that here in Southern New England the use of treestands as well as pop up blinds are the most popular means of hunting for deer. The main reason is the nature of land ownership. Both Connecticut and Rhode Island require written permission for deer hunting on private land. Land ownernship patterns tend to be small in nature and there is a greater amount of hunting pressure. If you go still hunting there is a good chance of pushing deer into someone else. I have done it enough to know that taking a stand is the best route. As stated with land ownership patterns, many parcels are too small to hunt in a traditional manner.Our hunting has become what you can call suburban deer hunting. You are hunting relatively close to homes and between cluster housing developments. Often this is not with a gun but with a bow.

I am planning to do more ground hunting this season but using my ghillie suit. I shot one nice buck off the ground and had missed a doe in the past using a seat and ghillie suit. Stand hunting is great but you can burn out a stand with your scent as well as weather conditions can nullify a stand location. Being more mobile and being able to take a seat with the shaggy suit in carefully scouted locations may be a way of beating the situation.

[6pt-sika]

Hmmmmm a good many folks came to this country at it's inception to escape religouse persecution !

Now it seems we are seeing something to the effect of "hunting persecution"

Personally I enjoyed climbing a tree or sitting on a cliff in PUBLIC LAND and waiting for the Pumpkin Army in PA to push deer right by me as they stumbled thru the woods

[Sixgun]

Wow! For some guys to have such a "holier than thou attitude" because they don't hunt out of a blind is very bizarre. I really don't get that. To say that hunting from an elevated blind is somehow" tricking" the animal because "it doesn't know you are there" is wrong and even "unethical". I don't want any deer I am hunting to know I am there because it will be gone in a flash. I suppose you guys jump up and down and blow noisemakers to give the animal a "fair" chance , before you shoot it with your, gasp, rifle. Give me a break.
If you applied your standards to yourselves, you would be out there in a loincloth with a sharpened stick. Get over yourselves. I hunt from elevated blinds, ground blinds, blown down tree tops, stumps and whatever. I also use bows, rifles, revolvers and sidelock muzzle loaders. I also go into the woods in my modern store bought clothes, wearing boots with synthetic fabrics and soles. I drive to my place in my diesel pick-up. I sleep in a nylon tent. I am sure you probably do most of the same things, except the elevated blind. You're right. You are so much better than me.
As my Grandmother would say, " Get off your high horse".

Kevin

No Kevin, The ones who think like Madman45-70, MKL White and myself are no better than you and one thing for sure, we don't think we are holier than anyone. We just realize that animals are just that, animals. We are of the character that we do not feel the need to vastly outsmart another being that has the IQ of about 10 in order to "take it down". No brag, I've killed a deer every year of my hunting life at a time when other people would say, "Hey, did you hear the guy 20 miles down the road got a deer?" I have not killed a deer since 1996 as it was like, well, the challenge is gone and its time to quit. I still hunt elk, but with an open sighted levergun.

Its probably because we have the confidence, knowledge, and smarts (there is a difference ) knowing we can blitz about anything, anytime we want to. If an individual lacks confidence, he will resort to all gimmicks and tricks in order to win. . The Japs and the Germans tried everything in WW2 and they still lost--big time. People at work try everyday to knock me off the top of the mountain (I'm senior man) by lying to the boss, trying to set me up..whatever, all the time while I am being honest...and they lose too.

Animals are habitual by nature and it does not take long to figure 'em out. The real big trophy's sure are smarter and present quite a challenge but killing a trophy deer, elk, or whatever by using scents, tree stands, gilly suits, etc. is a disgrace to such a magnificent animal..........its still an animal.

I guess it all boils down to what we think of ourselves, and possibly our age, individually. It still a free country (I think ) and I will honor everyone's thinking.....as long as its not on my domain....or my presence. ---Sixgun

[Sixgun]

Hmmmmm a good many folks came to this country at it's inception to escape religouse persecution !

Now it seems we are seeing something to the effect of "hunting persecution"

Personally I enjoyed climbing a tree or sitting on a cliff in PUBLIC LAND and waiting for the Pumpkin Army in PA to push deer right by me as they stumbled thru the woods

6 Point, Thats quite OK! No one is "persecutin'". There are "hunters" and there are "hunters". Its just that a few of use prefer to remain in the latter. --------Sixgun

[Mac in Mo]

Sixgun,

Thanks for the well written, reasoned response. While I agree that everyone has his own way of doing things, to call out a whole group of hunters as cheats and being of low morals( go back and read through the posts, it's there), is just low class. As I said I hunt using a variety of methods and all manner of tools. I have killed most deer from the ground while still hunting. Last year I killed a doe four feet from the end of my rifle barrel, while still hunting.I prefer to still hunt, it is when I have my best hunts it seems, but I also hunt from the trees when circumstances dictate. I usually bow hunt from the trees, or when there are other hunters in my party on our place, for safety. If someone hunts using a method legal for their area, that is their business. But to take an elitist attitude and spew it out is only begging for a response. I went back and forth on even jumping in to this post, and feel like it got hijacked off of the OP's initial intent, partly due to my involvement. But I just had to say something. While I am probably not your age, I am 46. The older I get the less I like the tree stands, especially the climbers.
I'll leave it at that. Good luck to all this season, however you like to hunt.

Kevin

[Lastmohecken]

I see we have two or maybe 3 camps, here. I don't think we should be too quick to judge other's by their methods, as long as the deer are brought down quickly. However, Personally, I think Compound bows are so high tech these days, that it's ruined Archery season. And Muzzleloading season has gotten too modern, with scoped inlines and even electronic sparkers instead of Flints and Frissions, and Iron sights.

There is so much equipment made and sold these days, just to outsmart a deer, Where do we draw the line. I mean now we have rattle calls in a bag, all kinds of deer scents, scent lock clothing, rubber boots, cammo, pop up blinds, climbing tree stands, corn feeders, game cameras, all to kill a big buck, or maybe even a doe, 4-wheelers, and heated campers with built in TV's so we can still watch the stupid ball games, etc.

Some people perfect their shooting skills, others put out corn feeders, others spring for a guided hunt where everything is done for them except for lacing up their boots and writing the check after the kill. Oh and then we have one of the greatest deer killing skills of all, and that is the art of social suction (sucking up to some fellow who has a great pristine hunting spot where the horns are big and the deer havn't been spooked in 10 years). This last one is usually the one used by the biggest braggers.

And then you have the old boy who on opening day, drives out in his field and parks his truck by the edge of the woods, and shoots the first forked horn or maybe if he is lucky a nice 120 class 8 point, that decides to cross, from the window of his truck, because he knows that by the end of the first day, every deer for 3 miles will be so wild after the first morning, not to mention every other neighbor has a corn feeder out, that unless he takes off all week from work, this will be his only chance to take a deer this year. He doesn't have time to sit in a tree all day, and probably walking one up, will only result in running a deer over someone else on the next piece of ground from his.

I personally like to hunt with a recurve, or a Flint lock, or sometimes an iron sighted leveraction, but sometimes it's a scoped .308 or maybe a crossbow from a tree. Sometimes it's from a tree stand, sometimes from my front porch. If I want to kill a deer, I kill a deer, sometimes it's all about the sport, sometimes it more about just getting a deer killed for the freezer. I used to always take a week off for bow season, and hunt every day of it, Sometimes work demands that I only get a day or two off to hunt. I see no point in trying to make myself look like the great fair chase god of hunting. Hunting is different things to different people, and some people have more and better hunting opportunities then others, due to luck, wealth, who they know or suck up to, retired or working man with little time available to hunt, etc.

Stay legal, shoot straight and don't let the meat go to waste.

[6pt-sika]

While I am probably not your age, I am 46. The older I get the less I like the tree stands, especially the climbers.

I turned 50 a couple months past !

And climbers are my preferred stand !

But I never used a tree stand until I was 30 !

Still have a couple Loc On's and a couple ladders . But my two climbers get the Lion's share of the use from late july until mid january !

[6pt-sika]

I still hunt elk, but with an open sighted levergun.

While I would be quite happy to take one bull elk of 5x5 before I meet my maker , I think I'll be content chasing the little asiatic elk on the eastern shore of Maryland and Virginia !

I can do that alone and not have a heart attack getting a nice one out by myself