Speckmisser
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2001
- Messages
- 12,900
- Reaction score
- 27
I know a lot of folks on this list are extremely principled hunters with a very strict set of ethical rules. You people are the truest examples of "good hunter", and should be emulated for the good of our sport. We all know that our hunting traditions are constantly under attack, and the best defense we have available is good public image. That image is managed and maintained by demonstrating ethical and legal behavior in the field.
We have to go beyond our behavior in the field, though, and carefully consider how we report our activities, both success and failure. This is true whether we're chatting around the pot-bellied stove at the hardware store, or posting our adventures on the World Wide Web. Our audience is far wider than the "initiated", and it's important to remember that one wrong word can get spun into another anti-hunting horror story. It's an easy fact to forget, when we're sitting around in the comfort of JHO, "chatting" up our experiences.... bragging, lying, or simply recounting a tale. But don't think for a moment that everyone who reads this list is a friend to the hunting community.
With this in mind, I think it's a very good thing that folks here are so willing to read the riot act to those who post about illegal and generally unethical practices. They should be shown the error of their ways, in no uncertain terms. But would it be so hard to offer constructive criticism, rather than the increasingly common, "you're a jerk and a bad hunter?"
Or worse yet, "That's not the way I choose to hunt, so that's not hunting."
I would expect that this would be common courtesy, at the very least. Why not give benefit of the doubt, and offer your criticism as advice. For example, "Congrats on getting your first wild hog. I guess some people really enjoy road hunting, but I find it much more fulfilling to leave the truck and get away from the roads."
Or, as was done in this thread, "Isn't it illegal to use a vehicle as a rest in CA?"
If the perpetrator is then unrepentant, then lay on, McDuff... and damned be he that first cries, "Hold! Enough!"
But I believe that there is also a point where our personal ethics get in the way, and where judgement is unfairly cast... often, I might add, from people who have no right to cast it. Especially in a format such as this forum, it's a little too common to see people taking a higher road than they've ever actually travelled themselves. So many times, list member responses originate from an ideal rather than from reality.
For example, I know danged well that the majority of JHO members I've met would not hesitate at the lucky opportunity to take a deer or hog right off the road. I include myself in that number (not that I'd ever be so lucky). Whether or not they'd post up about it as their "hunting adventure" is a different question... especially given the reception such posts tend to receive around here. But for some people, that lucky kill is every bit as exciting as a five mile stalk over rugged cliffs and jagged rock... especially when that lucky kill is a first. Who here has any honest right to judge that?
I'll go a step further out on a limb here, and suggest that most of the "old-time" JHO members could post about such a hunt, and not receive half the grief that newbies receive. Which leads me to part of the reason this fairly recent trend bothers me... this apparent intolerance for new members on this site.
The second most significant threat to our sport (after anti-hunter efforts) is the decline in the number of hunters. We need to build the community, not tear it down. There is strength in numbers, and we are going to need all the strength we can muster if we want to keep the hunting and fishing traditions alive in this country.
I'm not saying we have to accept all behavior without criticism. I'm certainly not suggesting, even, that you keep your opinions to yourselves. Those of you who've known my presence on this list for a while know that I have offered my share of lambasting in certain cases. I'm sure I'll do it again. I have my hot-button issues, just like many of you.
I'm not buying into the whole, "we have to stick together no matter what," mentality. If you're breaking the law or doing something that threatens the future of the sport I love... well, I'm gonna sing out loud and clear. I would hope that any one of you would do the same.
What I AM suggesting is that we temper our opinions with reality... especially when it comes to someone's choice of legal and ethical activities. Step down from the ideal to consider that, while it's great to strive for lofty goals, most folks will never reach that summit. The majority of us still have feet of clay, and that's just the way the world is.
I suggest as well that we remember that our personal ethics do not pertain to every outdoorsman in the country, or in the world. We all hunt for different reasons. Our definition of a good hunt and success vary widely. You can't set the standard for everyone else. Set it for yourself, live with it, and let others live with their own.
Here, with JHO, we have the foundation of a great gathering point for the community of outdoorsmen and women. We should welcome new members with tolerance and patience. We can offer the benefit of knowledge and experience, and possibly help to mold attitudes rather than trying to beat them into shape.
