Is today's equipment eclipsing skill?

[nw_hunter]

I was reading one of my older outdoor mags the other day(1991) and came upon an article by David Petzal.
He asks the question...Is today's modern equipment taking the place of learned skills?

I believe it has, in many ways! "He writes about some examples" Electronic monitors strapped to a tree, to keep track of deer deer movement, that include time of movement. No more reading sign to determine the size, and sex. Scopes that tell you the distance of the shot, and gather enough light to let you shoot near dark. If you should (Heaven forbid) decide to walk instead of riding the four wheeler, and get lost.....No problem, just use the GPS to find your way back.

I guess it's this age thing with me, but the older I get, the more I find myself longing to do it, the old fashion way. Mostly these days I hunt only with Muzzleloaders, and do the walk and stalk instead of stand hunt.
"Hell" I even made fire yesterday using flint and steel, instead of a bic

"SO" What say you folks? Is today's equipment replacing skill?

[flintlock]

It did years ago...I too hunt with a flintlock that I made in the late 80s, cast my own balls and give talks to local schools on the Colonial Era and show how to make fire with flint and steel...

I love to bow hunt but refuse to use a release...I started with a recurve but frankly I'm plenty accurate with my 20 year old compound...

The thing is, this is a hobby and each should do as they want to, as long as it's legal...

[flabbydan]

  It's hard even to call it "hunting" with some of today's technology.  However, I agree that a person should be allowed to pursue game as he sees fit, especially when it comes to getting our youth involved in hunting. 
  I'd rather see a kid sitting inside a heated pre-fab box stand, wearing scent-blocking camouflage, with a Walker's Game Ear in each ear, using a laser rangefinding scope on an AR chambered in a super-short magnum, taking aim at the massive 200-class whitetail buck that had previously been "scouted" with a trail camera in a "food plot" on a private lease, than to see him on the couch playing video games, or worse yet, doing drugs, etc.
  It's really hard to discuss the technology vs. skill debate.  Where do you draw the line?  Is an optical sight too much?  A semi-auto rifle?  A lever action with fiber-optic sights?  An inline muzzleloader?  How about a flintlock?  How about a compound bow?  A longbow?  What about making your own arrows?  Does using high-tech insulation in our hunting clothes give a hunter an edge?  Do you have to make your own clothing from game you've killed?  It could go on and on and on . . .


  Wherever you stand on this issue, just get out there and ENJOY YOUR TIME SPENT HUNTING!!!  And TAKE A KID ALONG!!!

[Empty Quiver]

Sure it is. Here's the thing though, Time is increasingly hard to come by. Many of these gadgets buy experience that can only be purchased with time afield. I don't like anymore than the next guy, but better a man in the field than in the local TGI Fridays watching the game on tv.

 If you have had to move to the city to earn enough to raise a family it's awfully hard to get to the woods often enough to pattern deer. Look at how few rural jobs there are anymore. If you are just starting a family in a small town it's gonna be a long row to hoe. I did it for quite a while. Worked in a fertilizer plant for ten yrs. Finally dawned on me that the check out girl never asked me how well I liked my job or how much I made before she rang me up. I don't know or care if the man I worked for could afford to pay more, he chose not to.

I've moved on in more than one way since then. Went from bowhunting every weekend and vacation day, to primarily hunting vacations and booking out of state hunts. I can finally afford it financially, but I sure do miss spending many many days afield chasing deer.

I feel fortunate to have bought many of the woodsman skills with experience, some of my younger hunting partners think I'm pretty crafty. Many of you greybeards would notice I'm not much past neophyte to a real hunter. I get along well enough to stay outta trouble and usually stumble into game, the Good Lord takes care of fools and drunks. I ain't much of a drinker anymore, so there it is for all to see.

[jamaldog87]

sure if you have the cash to buy it.  I used old surplus gear or just whatever i can find.  there some people that have ATV or other rides to get the game out of the woods and there other that have to carry it out.  One thing that i do like is that there better guns and ammo now and you can get what you want.

[mcwoodduck]

I think the modern gear is just an extention of what we had back when we were all on the farm.
When we worked the farm we saw the deer, turkey, bear, and other small game move around the farm and knew what and where they were.
We knew how far it was from this end of the field to that end of the field and we had a little more trigger time with the firearm.
Usually only one to three guns.  (shotgun, rifle, and 22LR.) 
The camera's allow us to know the movement of game.
the range finders and higher powered rifles and optics make it easier to hit the game a longer ranges.
but being a hunter still takes some skill in sitting still and becoming one with the woods.
The POP up blinds do a lot to mask problem hunters.  But that is the only piece of technology that actually hides the hunter and not make his time better spent.
Two weeks ago I took my friends kid (14Years old) dove hunting for his first time.
He would see a bird comming and move real quickly getting his shot gun ready and the fast movements would make a bird that was going to fly right over him veer off and fly over someone else.  Also when a few birds flew by and landed in a near by tree.  I told him how to put the sneak on the birds and what to do and he cut corners and as soon as the birds saw him headed their way...... all he saw was a baren tree.
Once I got him to Calm down and stand still till the bird had no chance to fly off.... He then started to take his time, identify the bird flying and then make his move to shoulder the gun, take aim and shoot.
His need to go back to the truck and get another box of shells also slowed.  Good thing as they were my shells.
And as I see it with the cost of hunting going up and up.  the trip above was about $1,100 for 4 days with about 30 birds hitand recovered. and two lost.  So about $37.00 a recoverd bird and about an ounce of breast meat on each.... Starts to get expensive.
And using the cameras, high powered rounds / scopes, and the range finders all cut down on the expense of the hunt if you are ahead of the game (litterally!).  But even knowing where the game will be at a given day and you are a sloppy hunter, making noise, and moving the deer/ turkey/ pigs/ bear..... will see and hear you long before you notice them and you will not see them.

[CGPAUL]

I thought it was too, till I remember how my Dad was overjoyed to find that PortOrford ceader shafts could be bought in by Dozen, round, spined, weighed and sorted. Until then, each shaft, which was cut square from the factory, was sanded round in a homemade jig. This we all did by hand in the late 40`s during winter months. We also painted a crest on them, arrow turned by a homemade lathe-type set up, then fletch each, home made fletcher,burned the fletchings, home made burned, glued a nock and pile in place, and after three-four dozen, were set for summer practice.
Bows too were all hand made. Dad killed his first whitetail with a osage orange bow, draw weight 50lbs, rawhide backing. I still have it. For those of you that have never shot a flat bow, the stacking in the last 4 inches of draw is something to behold.....NO LET OFF. Should you not have forearm strength befor you started practice, you had it at the end of summer.
Dad was very happy to buy Fred Bears first recurves, cutting edge tech in the early 50`s. And Bears razer-insert heads, which didn`t plane the arrow off target, and which one could resharpen. All advancements in equipment which helped us place an arrow exactly where we wanted it to go. We killed more deer, loss less. I think thats the key point.

Oh, we finally got to where we could buy a finished dozen off the shelf..