Trophy Hunting?

Guy

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Dec 5, 2018
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So, what is "Trophy Hunting" and why has it become a rallying cry for anti-hunters? Even among hunters the term is divisive. It shouldn't be!

Most of us hunters would love to shoot the biggest goose, the pheasant with the longest tail, the buck with the biggest antlers, the elk with the biggest rack. The bear that "squares" the biggest hide, or has the biggest skull. Why? Because normally the biggest animals are the oldest, the survivors, well past their prime breeding age, but extremely well versed in staying alive. They're often the most difficult to hunt. That's a challenge!

And then what happens when that big bull, buck or bear is down? Most often the "trophy" goes to the hunter. Hide, head, antlers, whatever. That piece serves as a memento of the hunt, bringing back memories of the sweat and aches needed to close with and take the animal. The good times with wonderful companions. Most often the meat is utilized, even treasured. In my experience, it's a myth that the meat from a big ol' bull elk or mature mule deer is bad. Not at all! It's often quite good.

Re bears, I had a woman, an intelligent woman, but ignorant of hunting, ask me "Why did you kill the bear? They're endangered, and you can't eat them anyway!" This was about a nice sized black bear I'd taken here in Washington on a spot and stalk hunt. I calmly explained that there are over 30,000 black bear in Washington. They're not even close to endangered. That the state issues tags, and in some areas encourages hunters to take a second bear! Also, that my family and I relish bear meat! It can be excellent! And yes, I kept the skin and skull as a "trophy" but that is just a reminder of the wonderful hunt with family and friends.

Am I pleased with the large elk rack hanging in my family room? Yes! Of course. It was taken on an incredible hunt in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming at nearly 10,000' elevation! We used horses to reach our campsite then located the bull and went after him. It took skill, stamina, and a certain amount of luck. We got about 300 pounds of meat from that animal. Delicious meat which fed my family. But mostly, I remember the friendship forged on that hunt and am grateful for the opportunity to take such a magnificent beast!

Recently I read a story about a fellow hunter who took a huge hippo in Africa. Was he after the meat? No. He was after the hunt! So... What happened to the beast after he stalked and shot it? The entire animal... hide, fat, meat, and even the ivory tusks (yes hippos have large ivory tusks inside their heads) all that went to the locals. He brought nothing home but the experience and a few photos. EVERYTHING went to the locals and they were grateful for the protein. I'd imagine they're also grateful for the funds from selling the ivory tusks. The hippo herd? It's simply minus ONE of many big males. The hippo herd remains undiminished. It's treasured as a resource by the locals, instead of them attempting to wipe it out.

Nearly two years ago I filled a dream of hunting the arctic grizzly. It was a grand adventure. On that hunt I took both a grizzly and a wolf. The state of Alaska carefully regulates hunting of the abundant wildlife there. With the grizzly tag I was given TEN wolf tags. Alaska recognizes that they have an over-sized wolf population. I'm sure they're disappointed that I took but one wolf.

Did I eat the wolf? No. I kept the hide and skull with which to remember the hunt, the cold, the wind, the icy streams we crossed. And the same with the bear, only more so. I kept nothing but the hide and skull. The rest of that meat, from the two apex predators, fed other bears, other wolves. Interestingly I found a study that showed hunters taking mature male bears actually improved the population of bears in any area. Why? The biggest threat to young bears... Is older bears! Yes, the big males eat their young.

All in all, "trophy hunting" is proven to ENHANCE wildlife populations. It does not deserve to be referred to as something evil or bad. Every animal I take, I revere.
 
Is a noble battle to try and convince the ignorant they are in fact ignorant about what motivates a hunter or science-driven management or how hunting fees fund conservation. Perhaps 1 in 20 of the people I interact with have ever fired a weapon at a big game animal.

Voters in urban zones now decide issues related to hunting and trapping. More restrictions will be voted in over time. That horse left the barn. Rural areas are depopulating while urban zones grow.

The big game hunting ecosystem out West is changing. Several states with point systems have seen 20 and 30 point max point pools develop. That is a tough sell to the hunter that just drew and looks how far back the end of the line is now. If you are over 40, that line looks even longer as look at reality of how many years you are going to be able to hunt a tag hard. If you are a new hunter than a quick calculation about total cost to eventually draw some non-resident tags starts to look like real money will be needed.

Big game hunters are a group that is getting older on average. Non-resident big game hunters are wealthier on average. Older and wealthier is a combination that makes an outfitter's heart go pitter patter. Outfitter's are much better than Joe Sixpack at tossing some money in a hat to lobby for special treatment whether that be a pool of tags or wilderness restrictions.

I like here. The choir is here and is comfortable as we preach to the choir. Out there in the high-rise office and at the PTA meetings and at the exercise club and the alumni functions and on social media are not as comfortable. Here is good.
 
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Words mean different things to different people. To me, "trophy hunting" basically means letting the little ones grow up into big ones. It means being selective. But to many non hunters, "trophy hunting" means (generally a rich white male) shooting an animal to have its horns on a wall. They assume that that is the "trophy" is the goal and the meat is left to rot. The tricky part of communication is you have to meet people where they are -- understand their vocabulary, experience level, etc. Sometimes, hunters do and say things that help reinforce that misconception.
 
Preaching to the choir, Guy. But we need a good sermon once in a while ;)

We could all be better ambassadors for hunting, and having the other side's viewpoint in mind is a big part of that. Thanks for the reminders.
 
Yes, there are way too many hunters that don't understand the value in several ways that trophy hunting is to hunting, hunters and wildlife populations as a whole. I used to be one of them and I've probably never killed and animal that could be considered a trophy, but realize trophy hunting is important to wildlife conservation and hunting as a whole.

'Trophy hunting' can be ignorantly argued against by the ignorant, whether hunters, non-hunters or antis, and in so doing they are actually often arguing against basic tenets of wildlife conservation, the science behind that and the huge amount of $ trophy hunting produces to go back towards wildlife management, the limited taking of older age class animals nearer the end of their lives which have less time to add to the population than a younger animal, etc. In other words, they argue against a good thing!

Why is it so often more and more lately it seems that what is wrong is 'right' and what is right is 'wrong'? Hmm...
 
The trophy to me is in direct correlation to the amount of effort I put in to something. There is a lot of context that goes into a hunt that isn't shown in a photo. Ego plays a major role in the gross kind of trophy hunting. Some hunter's are more concerned about the trophy being a large animal that they can show off versus others who value a trophy as a connection to a place, a critter and an experience.
 
Many hunters will never even see a trophy aka B & C or P & Y whitetail buck in their lifetime. If I recall it was writer Bob Hagel who opined that most book deer trophies are trophies of chance; that is that the hunter got it by dumb luck as opposed to intentional pursuit. A lot has changed in the last 50 years with more publicity for and emphasis on pursuit of specific animals.

In that vein I received and email from the WWF Wyoming Wildlife Federation regarding Wyoming House bill HB0002 addressing electronic assisted hunting. Apparently there are those folks who scout areas for trophy quality deer and upon locating them they get GPS coordinates for the area where the deer/other animal is. It seems that they are able to sell this info for serious sums of money. I would be in favor of Game and Fish being allowed to prevent such individuals from obtaining a license if it can be proved that they obtained such information. Just my opinion. YMMV.
 
I agree with Guy's points, however, I think there is plenty of evidence that there are many hunters who care only about killing, antlers and pictures. I know several personally. They use same talking points you did about mature animals and the conservation and management but they don't live it, it's just words they spew to justify their actions. I can assure you if it was legal for them to shoot a big buck, cut the head off and leave the rest they would. I guess I'm saying that by knowing these guys personally (coworkers) I can tell that their heart is not in the same place as mine when it comes to why and how we hunt. To the non hunters we are all lumped together but I do not consider myself their brother and mostly they consider me some kind of "hippy" because I will take a doe or younger buck to fill the freezer and I don't want to road hunt, use a corn feeder or drain my oil on the ground out of my truck. Therefore I distance myself from the label "trophy hunter". The term has become associated with those types and I don't want that association.
I know more hunters who are not this way but it only takes a few.......
Brad
 
I agree with Guy's points, however, I think there is plenty of evidence that there are many hunters who care only about killing, antlers and pictures. I know several personally. They use same talking points you did about mature animals and the conservation and management but they don't live it, it's just words they spew to justify their actions. I can assure you if it was legal for them to shoot a big buck, cut the head off and leave the rest they would. I guess I'm saying that by knowing these guys personally (coworkers) I can tell that their heart is not in the same place as mine when it comes to why and how we hunt. To the non hunters we are all lumped together but I do not consider myself their brother and mostly they consider me some kind of "hippy" because I will take a doe or younger buck to fill the freezer and I don't want to road hunt, use a corn feeder or drain my oil on the ground out of my truck. Therefore I distance myself from the label "trophy hunter". The term has become associated with those types and I don't want that association.
I know more hunters who are not this way but it only takes a few.......
Brad

Yeah same folks that shoot deer at night or poach. What's to be proud of??

Trying to figure out the purpose of putting oil out...Are deer attracted to the oil smell because they associate it with food or does it just make them curious?

:p
 
Ha, the oil remark was a reference to these same guys' environmental concerns ie just draining their oil on the ground when they change their oil because it came from the ground....
 
Ha, the oil remark was a reference to these same guys' environmental concerns ie just draining their oil on the ground when they change their oil because it came from the ground....

I know, I was trying to execute a joke since the oil stuff was mixed in with the deer hunting stuff. Thought my smiley gave it away!

But yeah I always make sure to pour my oil into the storm drain like you're supposed to.

:p
 
Whenever I see debate regarding trophy hunting, I always think of an old rancher whose place I hunted when I was young. He was one of those people who worked every day until the day he died. He also allowed anyone to hunt his place, unless they were a “horn hunter” as he called them. To him, deer were food and you hunted for food, not horns. He thought that anyone hunting for horns was a “spoiled city slicker.” The ranch is out of the family now and hunted by spoiled city slickers willing to spend thousands to shoot a deer. I didn’t know that opinionated, grouchy, old SOB that well, but I know he had an impact on me. Maybe, just maybe, this fall I’ll pull his old 270 out of the gun safe and go up the mountain and find a nice 2 x 2 muley. You have your trophies, I have mine, and I wouldn’t trade mine for anything. RIP Grandpa
 
Whenever I see debate regarding trophy hunting, I always think of an old rancher whose place I hunted when I was young. He was one of those people who worked every day until the day he died. He also allowed anyone to hunt his place, unless they were a “horn hunter” as he called them. To him, deer were food and you hunted for food, not horns. He thought that anyone hunting for horns was a “spoiled city slicker.” The ranch is out of the family now and hunted by spoiled city slickers willing to spend thousands to shoot a deer. I didn’t know that opinionated, grouchy, old SOB that well, but I know he had an impact on me. Maybe, just maybe, this fall I’ll pull his old 270 out of the gun safe and go up the mountain and find a nice 2 x 2 muley. You have your trophies, I have mine, and I wouldn’t trade mine for anything. RIP Grandpa

Thanks for sharing that
 
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