The Topic of Two Points...

The two points my dad and I tagged this year!

We all know how ruthless and unfiltered social media can be.  We see time after time how "anti-hunters" attack hunters when they post pictures of an animal they harvested.  I myself have had multiple "anti-hunters" comment on some of my Instagram pictures.  I had one particular person start talking about my daughter who was in a picture with me with a deer I had harvested...  As much as I could prepare myself for this type of interaction, when this individual started talking about my daughter I will admit I bought into the drama and "fought back" with this person trying to convince them that I was right in the way I was choosing to raise my daughter.

I share this story with you to set the stage of the topic I want to bring up.  Almost every hunter everywhere can relate to this story to some degree... Not only can every hunter relate, but I would also put my pay check on the fact that I believe that 99.9% (if not more) of the hunters out there would also support me and my daughter celebrating over a legally harvested deer.  I can honestly say that I don't know a single hunter who would tell me that I am a bad father for raising my daughter in an environment where she sees me bring home legally harvested animals.  Sooo.... my point that I am getting to is, if we are all willing to back each other up when it comes to defending our rights, privileges, actions, and passions why then do we criticize each other the same way the "anti-hunters" do? Let me explain...

On social media last week I saw multiple posts stating things such as this:

These are only two of the many posts and pics that I have seen sharing similar messages.  The conversations and comments on these posts varied from research based theories backing up both sides of the argument, to flippant vulgarity criticizing individuals for thinking/believing in something a little different than the person making the comment.  When I took a moment to sit back and read these posts (which I really regretted) I was overcome with such a negative impression on sportsmen and women today... I was full of hate, anger, sadness, frustration, and confusion all because of what I was reading.  Then it dawned on me that this hostility and approach seemed a little bit to familiar to me... I felt this same way when the "anti-hunter" attacked my post with my daughter and I celebrating over a deer I had just legally harvested...  I took a moment to look back on some of the past "arguments" I could find on social media between hunters and "anti-hunters" and I realized that the same strategies, attitudes, and biases were present in both of these conversations.  The only difference between the two was that one was from a non-hunting individual aimed at a hunter for the way they choose to live the sport, while the other was from a fellow hunter aimed at another hunter for the way they choose to live the sport.  If I am the only one who sees the hypocritical theme in these two scenarios please feel free to tell me I'm crazy in the comments below!

I find it quite hypocritical to have a social media individual "take on" the anti-hunters for attacking a person's post or picture, yet turn around and do the same thing the anti-hunter is doing with another fellow hunter.  The authors of these posts would justify their actions by saying comments like, "thats just my opinion so don't get upset..." As we well know, just because you have an opinion about someone or something, it doesn't mean that it is best to voice that opinion, especially when that opinion puts down another person.  I am all for having an opinion and standing up for what you believe in so don't get me wrong.  I am also just as much a believer that our opinions and beliefs do not have to be, nor should they ever be, forced upon someone else or used to make someone feel bad about their own decisions. 
 
When it comes to hunting, each state has it's own management plan which is specifically adapted to that state.  Even though these plans may be far from perfect, it is important to remember that we all live in different areas, hunt differently, and have different regulations which shape our hunting experience.  We cannot expect every state and every hunter to hunt in the exact same way regardless of their situation.  Some people can spend weeks or months in the outdoors while others only have a couple hours the whole season. 

These are some of the reasons I was upset reading comments where hunters were putting down other hunters for the way they hunt, and even making comments like, "Sucks to be those kind of dudes"...

Comments that discredited the topic of providing meat for your family implying that every hunter spends far more than what it would cost to go buy the same amount of meat....

I myself have a very hard time this this argument seems how I save A LOT of money every year when we harvest the animals we do.  I could see how it would not save you any money if you are the type who gets all new gear (or even some new gear depending on the brands and gear) every year.  When I am still using the camo, gun, and gear I used 10 years ago, believe me I save a lot of money when we harvest an animal and process it ourselves!
 
In the end after being disappointed in the way us hunters were treating one another I decided I would focus on the positive comments which often focused around sportsmanship and treating other people with respect.  I will admit I got pretty involved arguing with people on the posts about the way they treated other hunters rather than about the topic they were discussing.  Once again I find it very hypocritical to complain about people who put down hunters and then turn around and exhibit the same behavior we are combating.

On the lighter side, I did see posts and pictures that circulated social media shortly after which had a much more pleasant message such as:

I believe that this is what we need to focus on.  No matter where you sit on the topics of two points, management, maturity, or any other hunting topic, our efforts need to be focused on supporting one another.  This goes for those making the posts as well as those, like myself, who bought into the drama and "fought back" to defend other hunters... We are all on the same team and need to show each other support! But once again, that's just my opinion so don't get upset :)

That's a small buck... ya but it tastes great!!!

 Today was the end of rifle season for deer here in Idaho.  On my last post, I wrote about how my wife and I were able to share the experience of both of us filling our tags on the same day.  I love the memory and am glad that my wife and I could put some meat in the freezer. 

My wife and I with our small bucks

 After filling my buck tag with the small two point I shot, I was left to fill by doe tag.  As I mentioned today was the last day of rifle season and I hadn't even gone out once to look for deer.  I figured I would just go later in the season to look for a doe so that I could watch for any bucks during the rut during late archery season.  My dad called me yesterday and said that he wanted to go out on a drive to see if the recent snow storm had gotten the deer moving.  Of course with all my work piling up from my job and masters program, it was a no brainer... I had to go hunting!  So my dad picked me up in his truck and we took off toward the mountains.  We sought out with the thoughts that if we even got a pine grouse we would be happy and the trip would be worth it... Before we even hit the tree line we saw a grouse on the road so we pulled out the shot gun and provided ourselves with a snack.  We proceeded to drive around and hunt in a few areas, mostly glassing mountain sides and frequently used areas hoping to see some animals moving around in the bad weather.  With the snow and the temperature down to 30 degrees we couldn't help but talk about winter coming.  We talked about everything we had to do before the holidays and we also talked about how excited we were for ice fishing.  During this conversation, my dad said something along the lines of how he hates the dilemma of choosing between hunting and fishing late in the season because he enjoys them both quite a bit.  I made the joke and said that is why I shot the first buck I saw because I just wanted meat in the freezer and more time for ice fishing... Give it, I love to chase deer late in the season, and my statement wasn't 100% truthful, but at the same time it wasn't a false statement either.  My dad talked about how he had eaten tag soup the last few years because he was "holding out" for a bigger buck.  This is a man who has shot more big bucks than anyone I know... We talked about how with everything we had going on that he might shoot his white tail doe if he saw one, or maybe even a smaller buck if he got the opportunity. We decided at this point that we would drive out on a different road and try to get near some fields to see if we could catch some deer coming out right when the sun was going down.  We didn't even drive 100 feet before we saw a small two point cross the road in-front of us!  My dad and I both jumped out of the vehicle with our guns and looked around to see if there were any more deer in the area.  The only deer we saw was the two point who had gone about 40 yards and stopped broadside staring at us.  My dad looked at me and asked what I thought and I told him it was up to him.  Next thing I knew my dad had pulled the trigger and this buck was down. 

My dad and his deer after we got back to the truck

My dad was super excited that he shot a deer and that it was so close to the road.  We each grabbed a horn and drug it back to the truck.  After taking care of the deer my dad and I talked about how we had talked about filling out tag so that we could fill our freezers.  We talked about how long it had been since he and I had drove around as father and son and shared the experience of taking an animal together.  We talked about our families and our lives and how blessed we are to be doing what we are doing. 

I was taught that the reason we hunt is to help provide for our families.  We enjoy the sport and enjoy the comradery, and we don't feel guilty hunting or shooting any animal because we know it does not go to waste.  I often hear people express feelings about deer management and what a "shooter" buck is or is not... I share the story of my wife, my dad, and myself not to rub it in anyone's face that I disagree, but more as a conversation starter wondering what peoples thoughts are about these three experiences and our decision to take the deer we did.  I am not mad when people do not agree with me, but I am interested in their thoughts.  These deer have all been cut up and packaged personally by my family and we enjoy eating the venison as often as we can.