I posted this in the deer hunting forum but will post it here and in the Turkey hunting section too so it gets maximum exposure.
We have a local hunting/fishing paper here in New Hampshire called the Hawkeye. I love reading this thing as it is written for the avid sportsman. occasional they print news from the NH Fish and Game department. They recently printed an article in response to an e-mail the F&G got from an anonymous hunter. It is sickening to say the least. I will just copy the e-mail that was written as the article is long and you all can guess how the guy responded to the dimwit (albeit in a nice way.)
"I think a youth Turkey hunt is a slam in the face of all the serious adult turkey hunters. Why should they get an early start? Let them learn the hard way just as most of us had to. Give them a day during the regular season. The same should be for deer season. Many bow hunters, as well as firearm hunters, spend numerous days preseason scouting and setting up stands. Why should a kid take a trophy buck that I've been watching all year? Nothing stinks more than hearing a gun shot go off 100 yards away and know that the deer you've been waiting for has been taken because somebody got an early start. Teach them the right way. Let them have a day during the regular season when the animals are under pressure."
This is sad to say the least. This sounds like a five year old calling dibs on a cookie and getting pissed because another kid ate it. I was in the lowest of positions when I started hunting. I had NO mentors, NO ONE to teach me, and even found the hunters I worked with less than willing to advise me. I WISH I had been taught at a young age. But am I bitter? NO. As a matter of fact I ENCOURAGE, I tell people to PLEASE take a kid hunting so that they do not have to start off struggling like I did. The author of the article went on to state statistics that show the number of hunting licences sold is quickly dropping. We are losing older hunters, and youngsters are not being taught so they can replace them. This could be a bad trend for our sport. i've come to know, as much as I don't want to believe it, that my friend/hunting partner is right. He says "There are some REALLY selfish hunters out there." He knows. His father is one. His father did not even want to take his own grandson out for the youth hunt a few years ago. He told my buddy "why don't you do it?" He told him that, seing as how my buddy and I just got our first licences and had not even gone out on our first deer hunt, he figured his son would have a better chance at getting a deer with his grandfather (a man I will admit KNOWS how to hunt.) He did not want to eat up one of his weekends of bowhunting. So he took my buddys son out (and it was sad at that as he really did not put much heart into it.) This past year my buddy told his kid "to hell with it, ill take you out myself! We may not see anything, but at least you and I can try, and be serious about it." They did not see anything, but Im positive his kid appreciated it. HELL, I tagged out on our second day and decided I would take his kid out so that my buddy AND his kid could have a chance at seeing something and maybe filling a tag! It was time well spent if you ask me.
Im sorry for the long post, but I wanted to share this with everyone. There are some sad people out there! I hope you never meet any of them.
Brian M.
P.S. Another article was in here that came from Minnesota. Two men, ages 61 and 60 year old brothers, were fined $300 each for disturbing a youth waterfowl hunt. They were videotaped by the adult supervising two 12 year old girls. They were scaring off birds they wanted to shoot on the regular opener while they claimed they were "scouting for opening day." Four hunters total were cited, but only the two brothers were found guilty.
I hope this is not a steady trend building.
