JerryM said:
I am almost persuaded that no one today, at least under age of 45, knows how to hunt.
Ride an ATV to the stand, sit in the stand, shoot a deer. Then carry him out on the ATV. That is not hunting, but just shooting without much effort or skill.
Jerry, it really depends on what part of the country you are in.
Most of the East Coast, much of the South, and some parts of the Midwest essentially
require you to still hunt (stand, blind, whatever). The plots of land have gotten so small, and availability of land open to hunting, so rare; that there isn't enough land to actually
hunt the animals. Ambush tactics have to be used, while the deer are given a chance to wander through the forest/fields/whatever.
You, and I live in a different world. We have large tracts of private land open to the public (sometimes, with trespass fees), massive amounts of public land, National Forests with very few restrictions, and terrain that
requires us to pursue and hunt the animals.
I grew up out West. Hunting (real, pursuit hunting) was what I knew. When I lived back East, I tried hunting.... It didn't work. To have a chance at bagging a deer, I had to still hunt (I sat in the bushes or my truck, since I couldn't afford a stand or blind)... and waited for the animals to come to me.
I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. ...but that doesn't make it any less valid. I took some of my (hated) experience back East, and rolled it into the methods I learned as a child. By getting a taste of both worlds, I feel like I'm a better hunter, now.
Now, rather than constantly pursuing my prey, I often use a hybrid method:
Scout the area. (Field glasses, eyeballs, and old-fashioned leg work.)
Locate the animals. (Same as above.)
Predict their path/destination. (Experience and scouting.)
Get in position for an ambush. (Walk/hike/climb, and find a place to sit, lay, crouch, or stand (rare, but happens).)
Wait for the shot. (Sometimes, the prediction was wrong... or the wind changed.)
It's not a method unique to myself. There are plenty of people that do the same. But... If I hadn't been forced to use the "deer waiting" methods back East, I never would have given the "Scout, Predict, and Ambush" method a shot out West. I'd still be relentlessly chasing the animals up the mountains, and across the desert.