Technology is taking the hunt out of hunting.

[Old Hunter]

I'm glad you said most.

[Zim]

I think technology actually made a much bigger impact on the communication side: Computers, GPS, cell phones. Computers really changed things. It's so much easier for everyone everywhere to apply for tags, get information about units & hunts, scout via aerials, etc., etc. Dang when I started applying in 1995 there was virtually none of that yet. Draw odds were way, way easier for the best tropy hunts everywhere. Since then everyone is in the game and odds have skyrocketed. States have taken advantage by making a lot of money selling guys the opportunity to NOT hunt.

[NoMoreOldNo7]

I had a real issue with this thread yesterday, in fact it went as far as thinking I would just drop this site from my list. But sometime through the night it came to me that it is not this site or the people posting to this thread that I have a problem with, the problem is me. There is just a lot of acceptance to where I am at today, nothing more that I have to learn to deal with. I do appreciate the post from Jon Boy and tim. Ethics and experience go a lot further to what I consider a good hunter rather than how money someone spends to go afield. I have witnessed both side of the coin as far as hunters go, good and bad hunters with and without money. How much money you spend has nothing to do with integrity and skill. These expensive toys can help out no doubt about it, but you will find me out in the field with the same Remington 700 7RM I got when I was 15, a 20 year old Leupold scope, 20 year old Busnell spotter and a wool shirt treeking through the ridges of the west this fall. I could be more comphy in the latest apparel, maybe get one more ridge with top of the line boots and maybe one less trip packing an Elk out to the truck, but that is not going to stop me from hunting, not now or never, at least as long as I can still physically do it.

[Bitterroot Bulls]

I'm not sure how this thread went down the class warfare path, but I thought the thread was about if technology has taken the hunt out of hunting, and if it helped the hunter.

I think that people that use good equipment as an excuse to be slob hunters are just slob hunters, but the equipment doesn't make them such. they just are.

Good hunting gear are just tools. Good hunting is a skill.

[Fink]

Good hunting gear are just tools. Good hunting is a skill.

Tru dat.

[MOHunter]

I'm not sure how this thread went down the class warfare path, but I thought the thread was about if technology has taken the hunt out of hunting, and if it helped the hunter.

I probably didn't help the situation with my post. I was not trying to start an argument about class warfare. I am a financial advisor to high net worth individuals and have nothing against them. I just read into the original question that some people use money rather than skill to accomplish their hunting goals. My point is that I think that is true when it comes to hunting property, not technological advancements to help in our hunts.

Coming from Missouri and having to basically learn about western hunting completely on my own I can say that satellite, GPS, and certainly the internet have helped in making it available to me. It may make for more crowded applications, but I now at least have a chance at taking an iconic big game animal like a bull elk in the Rocky Mountains.

Thanks to great guys like you all I'm able to put a hunt together and know what gear is needed to make it an enjoyable experience.

[Joe Hulburt]

There is too much emphasis on gizmo's that will aid in finding success lately IMO. Broadheads that will compensate for horrible shot placement, nocks that guide you in the dark, rifles off the shelf that can shoot a half a mile. Nothing in the ads talks about learning the fundamentals of hunting etc....

I don't think all the hype over gizmo's really amounts to many more kills but it does confuse people as to what it takes to get it done.

[Timberstalker]

Technology make things easier, thats pretty much it. We all use some level of technology. I do believe some poeple think technology will compensate for lack of skill and desire, thats a misconception IMO.

[Old Hunter]

I keep reading that technology makes hunting easier. I think that's where we have the dividing line here. Other than the clothing that makes us more comfortable. Some of us don't want the hunt to be easier. I want a hunt to be hard. I want to be challenged to my limit. For me, the hunt is everything. Not the kill.

My dad was the best hunter i've ever known. It's true I might be a little biased, but he got an elk every year. He did it the old way, with old equipment. I've seen him turn down shots that baffled me. I'd ask him.."why didn't you you shoot dad?" He'd simple say...."too easy son." It took me many years to understand that.

[BobT]

I keep reading that technology makes hunting easier. I think that's where we have the dividing line here. Other than the clothing that makes us more comfortable. Some of us don't want the hunt to be easier. I want a hunt to be hard. I want to be challenged to my limit. For me, the hunt is everything. Not the kill.

I use a BLM map to make sure I'm in the right hunting unit. I use a GPS to make sure I'm not trespassing. I use a cell phone to let my wife know I'm okay. I don't have a problem hunting hard, I have a bad back that would make it impossible to pack out a deer or pronghorn in a laundry bag so I have an Eberlestock pack. I enjoy hunting whether I kill anything or not but make no mistake, I hunt to kill stuff, if I didn't I could save a ton of money on tags, guns, packs and a lot of other stuff and just look at animals. For me the kill is the climax of a successful hunt and in fact what hunting is all about.

Bob