I was looking at my Cabela's catalog (this is the GENERAL catalog, not even the specific hunting one) tonight, and I have a question for any of you hunters out there... it may sound like I'm being a smart aleck here, but I really am curious.
What I found in Cabela's was:
Full camo clothing that would fool any human, much less a deer
Special lined under garmets that mask your scent (some are even heated for your comfort)
Seats, towers, stands, whatever that are also very well camouflaged (and comfortable) so you don't have to move
Very realistic decoys
Scent marking chemicals to attract deer
Deer feeders
Special fertilizers for the land to ensure big, well-antlered deer
Deer calls that replicate lost cow calls, the sound of herds, etc. (not just some whistle or something -- a huge audio system with a pre-recorded CD)
A game-finder and ear pieces so that you don't even have to notice the deer yourself
"Steady Sticks" -- basically tripods so that you don't have to hold your weapon steady
Scopes so you don't really have to know how to aim well
And of course this doesn't include the technology of the weapons themselves.
Now my question is... where exactely is the "sport" in all of this? Why not just domesticate deer and keep a herd, like you would a bunch of cows? You could just raise them to come to you by name, and then one day you could just go into your pasture, call one, and shoot it point-blank... I mean, when you're sitting in the woods, in your heated clothing, on a padded seat, are you really get that much of an "outdoors" experience? If you've got an arsenal of tools to attract the deer, as well as tools to help you locate the game, and more tools to guarantee an accurate shot, are you really "hunting"?
What I found in Cabela's was:
Full camo clothing that would fool any human, much less a deer
Special lined under garmets that mask your scent (some are even heated for your comfort)
Seats, towers, stands, whatever that are also very well camouflaged (and comfortable) so you don't have to move
Very realistic decoys
Scent marking chemicals to attract deer
Deer feeders
Special fertilizers for the land to ensure big, well-antlered deer
Deer calls that replicate lost cow calls, the sound of herds, etc. (not just some whistle or something -- a huge audio system with a pre-recorded CD)
A game-finder and ear pieces so that you don't even have to notice the deer yourself
"Steady Sticks" -- basically tripods so that you don't have to hold your weapon steady
Scopes so you don't really have to know how to aim well
And of course this doesn't include the technology of the weapons themselves.
Now my question is... where exactely is the "sport" in all of this? Why not just domesticate deer and keep a herd, like you would a bunch of cows? You could just raise them to come to you by name, and then one day you could just go into your pasture, call one, and shoot it point-blank... I mean, when you're sitting in the woods, in your heated clothing, on a padded seat, are you really get that much of an "outdoors" experience? If you've got an arsenal of tools to attract the deer, as well as tools to help you locate the game, and more tools to guarantee an accurate shot, are you really "hunting"?