Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
Got to thinking during the "Canned Hunt" thread. (That's dangerous.)
Picture this: Some boys are out hunting with a "shared" shotgun--taking turns on who gets to shoot. They see lined-up doves on a tree branch and shoot. Is this bad?
Now add: This is part of supper for a widow lady and her ten kids. Still bad? Why didn't some form of public assistance provide help?
Now add: This was 1890, and shotgun shells cost a nickel each.
Fast forward to the middle 1960s. I had moved back to Austin, and was hunting on the family place outside of town. One night out of curiosity, I spotlighted around to see who was where, doing what. In one 50-acre area, I counted over 50 pairs of deer-eyes.
The bucks I killed rarely field dressed over 90 to 110 pounds. Does, 75-85. So, I got doe permits from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department; one per 50 acres. Five permits.
I shot way more than five does a year, for about four years. Lots more. Plus, any mature spike buck, and "scraggle-horned" bucks.
Bucks started dressing out at 115-140 pounds. Does over 100. Started having decent racks on the bucks.
Did I do a moral wrong? Which is better, a deer herd in keeping with the carrying capacity of the land, or lots of little deer?
Down here in south Brewster County, the size of the deer herd is limited more by lack of water than by the amount of browse. I have a water catch-system off the roof of my camphouse, into a cistern and to a water trough for wildlife. This ain't "natural". Am I doing wrong by "disturbing the balance of nature"?
FWIW, Art
Picture this: Some boys are out hunting with a "shared" shotgun--taking turns on who gets to shoot. They see lined-up doves on a tree branch and shoot. Is this bad?
Now add: This is part of supper for a widow lady and her ten kids. Still bad? Why didn't some form of public assistance provide help?
Now add: This was 1890, and shotgun shells cost a nickel each.
Fast forward to the middle 1960s. I had moved back to Austin, and was hunting on the family place outside of town. One night out of curiosity, I spotlighted around to see who was where, doing what. In one 50-acre area, I counted over 50 pairs of deer-eyes.
The bucks I killed rarely field dressed over 90 to 110 pounds. Does, 75-85. So, I got doe permits from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department; one per 50 acres. Five permits.
I shot way more than five does a year, for about four years. Lots more. Plus, any mature spike buck, and "scraggle-horned" bucks.
Bucks started dressing out at 115-140 pounds. Does over 100. Started having decent racks on the bucks.
Did I do a moral wrong? Which is better, a deer herd in keeping with the carrying capacity of the land, or lots of little deer?
Down here in south Brewster County, the size of the deer herd is limited more by lack of water than by the amount of browse. I have a water catch-system off the roof of my camphouse, into a cistern and to a water trough for wildlife. This ain't "natural". Am I doing wrong by "disturbing the balance of nature"?
FWIW, Art