# Your Hunting Timeline



## katorade (Sep 23, 2007)

How long will you hunt?
How long will it last, some guys hunt all of there lives, others just once. It seems that hunting leaves a long lasting impression/memory in everyone of us. Even if you only dabble in it for a short time, or we build our lives around it. Whether you are serious about the kill or just about the camp.

But what makes it end, wife, family, priorities changing, job, health? 
What keeps it going?
Is it the silent mornings, or the uncertainty of what is to come?
The feeling of accomplishment?
Or the feeling behind a gun. 
Some guys leave there souls in the mountains.
While others bury there wild spirit. 
Is it just another hobby, or is it tattooed into your blood?

Weird post I know but I'm 23 so forgive me. 
To make it less weird, here's a picture of my dad holding my 2016 Mule Deer. He started my hunting timeline.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

katorade said:


> How long will you hunt?I'll hunt as long as I can physically do it. Even it is it just sitting in a chair watching a meadow I'll do it.
> How long will it last, some guys hunt all of there lives, others just once. It seems that hunting leaves a long lasting impression/memory in everyone of us. Even if you only dabble in it for a short time, or we build our lives around it. Whether you are serious about the kill or just about the camp.I've been hunting my whole life and the older I get the better the hunting is.
> 
> But what makes it end, wife, family, priorities changing, job, health?
> ...


Not weird, a little bit strange but not weird.


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## 3arabians (Dec 9, 2014)

23!?! Geezus! If you keep it up by the time you're my age you will need a warehouse to keep all your trophies. 

Ill go as long as my health allows me to go. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk


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## backcountry (May 19, 2016)

I'm a relatively new hunter having only started big game hunting three seasons ago. I'm self taught so its going to take a while to gain confidence and reliable skill. 

I hope to gain enough skill to teach a child in the future. I would be honored to share such an experience and start a multi-generation tradition. But at a minimum I would like our child to know the option exists and understand "where our food comes from". But I can't imagine something better than spending years in the field with my family.

I hope to hunt until its not possible but I'm also pretty flexible to life's uncertainty. I find it hard to plan life even five years out effectively nonetheless decades. 

Now that I'm hunting my dad is showing an interest. He hunted pheasant in the Midwest as a kid but never big game. I'm hoping we have a chance to hunt together but there are alot of moving parts at this point (different states, $, time, etc).


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

I will hunt until I am no longer able to hunt. I will fish until I am no longer able to fish. I find more peace and clarity of mind in the mountains than I do anywhere else, whether it be on a distant ridge glassing for elk or deer, standing in a killer trout stream, or sitting in a paved campground. I simply love mountain air and what it does for me mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. 

I have no idea when that last day will come, but I try to not take any of them for granted. My dad had a stroke less than 3 months after fulfilling his lifelong dream of killing a 6 point bull elk. He passed away about 9 months after that just after turning 65 years old. I'm not in control of when my last day in the mountains will be, so I just choose to enjoy them any chance I get. (Which, for the record, is not NEARLY enough!!!!!)


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

How to answer? None of us know what the future holds.

My grandpa was a very patient person. That's probably why he was such a good fisherman. He's to blame for our clan of fish-brains. I remember one of the last times that I fished with him -- at Newcastle casting surface plugs to rising smallies in the evening. He was frustrated, most likely because a stroke had stolen much of his vision a number of years earlier. Fishing wasn't easy any more.

My grandma had Alzheimer's, and further developed dementia. There came a time when grandpa just plain didn't have the desire to fish any longer, and opted to stay at home and hold grandma's hand, and answer the same questions over and over.

I wish I could say when I'll stop hunting / fishing. I wish I knew if it would be due to a physical issue, or something else. I love the outdoors. There aren't many places I'd rather be, than standing on the edge of some water holding a rod in my hand. Having one of my siblings, my children, my parents, or my wife alongside adds to the joy.

Grandpa was pretty selfless when it came to fishing. He was always teaching us kids, untangling our messes, tying on new rigs, and showing us where to drop our baits. His final act of fishing was to give it up - so that he could take care of grandma.

I don't know when, or why. I guess I'll just have to wait and see. I'll come back here and write it up some day.


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## KRH (Jul 27, 2015)

I'll hunt and fish until I physically can't do it. A part of me would be dead inside if I didn't hunt and fish yet was physically able to do it. 

I'm in my 30s and do multiple backpack hunts with my dad every year who is in his early 60s. He's a step slower than ten years ago but he still hunts wherever he wants as long as he wants. He's living proof that with some genetic luck, if you take care of yourself by eating right an frequently exercising you can go hard well into your 60s or even 70s. I'm glad I have him as an example to follow and I'm thankful for all the time spent in the woods or on the water with him. Looks like you're getting that time with your dad too, hopefully for many more seasons!


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

I am not quite ready to try and answer these questions

http://utahwildlife.net/forum/12-big-game/159338-180-years-experience.html
http://utahwildlife.net/forum/12-big-game/159898-180-years-experience-report.html


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## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

I cannot answer that question any better that vanilla and critter did. 

I'm in my 60'S and will go out as long as my mind/body allow me too. 
I have learned to slow down and enjoy being out and about. That took a long time.......


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## cedar (Jul 29, 2013)

It is in my blood and i will hunt until the end of my life.


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## katorade (Sep 23, 2007)

Thanks for the replies guys! Lot of good opinions, and some good stories!

Cool seeing grandpas with big fish!


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## bow_dude (Aug 20, 2009)

I am in my mid 60's and have been an avid outdoor person as long as I can remember. There was a time I also thought I'd do it forever. That has changed to "until I don't have the desire anymore". As the years have gone by, the ease of just going isn't so easy anymore. I still enjoy getting out, but my motivation has changed. Many of those people I used to do this with can't due to health reasons, or have just "given it up". I miss those outings together, and have some great memories. My wife worries and has asked me to not go out alone. She has been a good sport and has taken up ice fishing and we do that together. She has no desire to hunt, but enjoys getting out to take pictures. We have a side by side (sold the ATV's) and spend time riding and exploring together as we photograph the experience's. I am finding that those outings with her are quite enjoyable and satisfying. We sold our tent trailer and bought a couple of hammocks. We enjoy hammocking in the back yard as well as in the outdoors. Currently we like the simplicity of a tent and an open campfire... we are re-discovering each other. My grandkids and children think we are too old to be doing such things, but what do they know. Life changes and as it does, we adapt.

I will keep putting in for various permits and dream of hunts past as well as hunts future. Not sure how many I will actually do, but at least I will be able to do so should I want to. The anticipation and preparing has become as exciting as the hunt without expending the energy.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

It is all in your desire to get out and do things. 

I'm 65, my main hunting partner is 76 and while we do the Utah deer and elk together I venture off on my own quite a bit. In 2016 I drew my first coues deer tag in Arizona and flubbed up my shot at one, I drew the same tag last June and managed to get one that might go into the books. 

While I don't like going by myself I will if I have to. I have a lot of friends that also hunt ans they want to go until it comes time to put in for the tags, then they will back out for one reason or another. I'm leaving the first of February for a javelina hunt in Arizona with a friend that I worked with. We have only been doing that for 25 years now and will until one of us can't move anymore.


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

This topic has been on my mind a lot lately as I've watched my grandpa's mobility all but disappear, and witnessed my dad's physical abilities decline over the past decade. I'm also 23, and the short answer is that I have no idea what the future holds. 

But... I don't see myself giving hunting up until I physically or mentally can't do it. I have planned, and continue to plan, a significant portions of my life around it. I'm not willing to marry anyone who isn't supportive of my hobby. My line of work should allow me to get a decent amount of hunting in (I planned it out that way from the time I was a teenager). My health and mobility are the main unknowns I can think of that will determine how many more hunting years I get.

My grandpa hunted until he was in his early 70s. He lost the drive to go before he lost his physical ability. I don't know why. He's 87 now, and he still enjoys tagging along on certain hunts and hanging around camp or watching from the truck. There's just something about carrying the gun he doesn't care for anymore. Maybe I'll turn out that way, maybe not. I do hope that my enthusiasm lasts nearly as long as my health and mobility, though.

What keeps it going? I'd say it's partly the memories, and partly the anticipation. Sometimes, when the future looks bleak and I start to question what I'm doing, I drift back into the memory vault and relive some of my best days out in the field. Often, the good memories I have are enough to remind me that life can be pretty dang good sometimes, and the future will be full of great times if I work hard and play my cards right. 

Likewise, the anticipation of my next hunt is great motivation for me to take care of business and stay optimistic, even during the hard times. Time and time again, I've found that no matter how hard things are in the moment, everything will be ok if I can just make it to my next hunt. There's something about being out in the field that destroys my worries and recharges my batteries. I can't pin it on any one aspect of the hunt; only on the whole experience. I think I love it so much because I can put every single worry behind me for awhile and immerse myself in a whole new world, one that's beautiful and exciting and pure.


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

this thread is basically a "5 stages of hunting / fishing" thread.

Many answers by each of you depict which stage you are currently in, and attempt to predict which stage you might be in in the future. As we progress and get older, our goals and values change, which will most likely change the stage you are in.

I'd honestly love to somehow revisit this thread and have each of the people who have posted in it give an update in 30 years. I think we'd find it quite amusing to re-read what we each had to say. 


*Shooter
*Limiting Out
*Trophy
*Method
*Sportsman


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## elkfromabove (Apr 20, 2008)

Clarq said:


> This topic has been on my mind a lot lately as I've watched my grandpa's mobility all but disappear, and witnessed my dad's physical abilities decline over the past decade. I'm also 23, and the short answer is that I have no idea what the future holds.
> 
> But... I don't see myself giving hunting up until I physically or mentally can't do it. I have planned, and continue to plan, a significant portions of my life around it. I'm not willing to marry anyone who isn't supportive of my hobby. My line of work should allow me to get a decent amount of hunting in (I planned it out that way from the time I was a teenager). My health and mobility are the main unknowns I can think of that will determine how many more hunting years I get.
> 
> ...


I'm an old geezer (76) with heart rhythm and valve issues who has hunted big game, mostly deer, since I was 16. I've also hunted small game and waterfowl but they never held my interest like deer, pronghorn and elk. Big game hunting is an adventure to me while the others are just events.

I enjoy hunting and fishing as a much needed personal release from the pressures of everyday life. Don't get me wrong! I also love my life and lifestyle and wouldn't want to change it, but the demands on my time, money, energy and emotions take their toll and I need to step away from all that in order to recharge. Hunting and fishing have allowed me to do that so far.

However, I see all of that changing, not only for me, but for many of my family members, friends, neighbors and fellow casual hunters. Hunting doesn't seem to be as high on our list of priorities as some hunters think it should be and we are slowly being eased out of the picture with the constant legal push toward making it just another rat race with competition between hunters. When will I quit? When my health or the regulations, which ever comes first, take the fun out of it.


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## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

elkfromabove said:


> However, I see all of that changing, not only for me, but for many of my family members, friends, neighbors and fellow casual hunters. Hunting doesn't seem to be as high on our list of priorities as some hunters think it should be and we are slowly being eased out of the picture with the constant legal push toward making it just another rat race with competition between hunters. When will I quit? When my health or the regulations, which ever comes first, take the fun out of it.


That mind set is completely on you or anyone else that feels that way.
It's your choice to make it a competition or not.
It your choice to make it a priority or not.
But it's easier to keep on blaming the other guy.
BTW, good job on being out there at your age. I'm very impressed.
My grandpa gave it up at 68 and I was there to pack out his last buck for him.


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## Packout (Nov 20, 2007)

Since we are talking hunting, I'm not sure if I'll ever quit. I enjoy the Fall and the hunt. I love chasing mature mule deer and watching my kids hunt. 
My Dad had his last tag at 70. He said he didn't want to kill anything. So I'm sure there is a point in life that it can happen, most likely will happen to me. I still get that hit of excitement when I see a deer during the hunt-- doe, fawn, or buck. I don't need to kill each year. I don't need to fill each tag. But I feel like I still need to go. It isn't so much a want as it is a need.

I do find the burdensome regulations taking the fun out of the game for me. Not saying they are not needed, but others' choices or regulations certainly effect my choices. Like duck hunting is fun. But I think it would be less fun to draw days to go out or draw blinds to sit in. If that makes sense......

I do see where EFA is coming from-- What was once a past time almost now feels like a full-time. A guy has to think about the draws in Jan, put in during Feb, see tag numbers in April, find out if you draw in May, put in for antlerless in June, find out if you draw in July, scout in Aug., hunt Sept-Nov., do family Christmas in Dec and start all over. With the chance of drawing becoming less and less, while requiring more planning. 

Sometimes I wonder if placing my kids on the path of big game hunting might be putting them on a dead-end road. And that thought makes me wonder if we shouldn't go fishing more.


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## dadams41 (Jul 9, 2013)

I consider hunting more of a reason to be outside in nature. I love to hunt and enjoy harvesting animals but I'm not just out there to get my harvest. I'm out there because I love everything about being in the mountain or on the water.

There is added excitement with hunting, that makes being in the wilderness that much better but honestly a lot of my memories and fun from hunting has to do with where I am and who I am with. I wouldn't say I have ever been disappointed with a hunt that I have been on. I've sat in the cold up to my waste in water and not shot a single bird, I've missed a deer from tree stand with my bow, watched the big one get away. While I may have not been happy with the way the hunt ended, I loved being able to go out and do it and see the things I did. 

Ill hunt for as long as I can and then ill just drive around the mountains in truck or on a atv.

I'm lucky enough to get out and hunt a lot. This year I assuming the draws go right, I will be able to hunt bear and mule deer in Idaho, mule deer and elk in Utah, white tail in Indiana and pheasants in South Dakota. I look forward to each hunt but more so to being out in these awesome places.

Really enjoy the post. Thanks for posting.


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## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

You guys that are having a hard time with all these regulation changes, try being an electrician for a couple decades. The NEC changes every three years with dozens of new and sometimes deleted codes and then you have hundreds of inspectors interpreting the code differently. Now that's frustrating.
I guess I wouldn't always push back on all this negativity involving our DWR changes but the fact is, these changes are no different than all the other changes that our society has been seeing.
We are simply in a fast pace changing world right now.
That's why my signature says what it does.


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## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

Back when I was a teenager and a 20-something, I thought I would never give up hunting/fishing and went pretty hard. As I got older, I hunted less but always looked forward to hunting with family and friends, especially the general deer hunt, even when I lived out of state for 15 years. As the older members health declined the hunting group dwindled and ended. After dad passed away, my heart wasn't in it and I gave up hunting for a few years. A high school friend dragged me back into it and I found I still enjoyed it. 

Currently, I look forward to the fall seasons every year. I hope to get a mature bull elk and a bison. However, if I don't draw, I'm not crestfallen and if I don't harvest a buck in a given year, it doesn't bug me either. It is getting out that is most enjoyed. It is also not inconceivable that I could give it up again. It has happened before. 


Now, fishing is another matter. I don't see myself giving that up until the end. Probably, if I reach the point that I don't want to fish, I will know the end is close.


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## Packout (Nov 20, 2007)

ridgetop said:


> You guys that are having a hard time with all these regulation changes, try being an electrician for a couple decades. The NEC changes every three years with dozens of new and sometimes deleted codes and then you have hundreds of inspectors interpreting the code differently. Now that's frustrating.
> I guess I wouldn't always push back on all this negativity involving our DWR changes but the fact is, these changes are no different than all the other changes that our society has been seeing.
> We are simply in a fast pace changing world right now.
> That's why my signature says what it does.


There in lies the problem-- the electrical changes are the "job". I don't enjoy the hunting management changes that make hunting a "job". The reason why I never say "my hunting career". I do agree that we live in a fast paced world and change will happen. Doesn't mean it should as often as it does.

When Katorade asks "How long will it last" and "But what makes it end, wife, family, priorities changing, job, health?" The answer for me might be that I will get tired of the game to obtain permits. And I'd wager 100,000 past hunters who quit tend to have a similar feeling. I think that will effect my desire to hunt.

Another example to go along with the duck hunting example-- If regs change and the Unitas and Zion are managed for LE elk-- will I still elk hunt those areas? Will those elk camps still exist? Probably not. Just like our deer camp ended in 1993. So changes in Regs can and will change my desire to hunt and the quantity I get to hunt.

It amazes me that Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado can have flourishing herds and yet they do not make significant changes to their management every year or 6 months.

And I'm not blaming the UDWR. Many of the changes do not come from them......


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## blackdog (Sep 11, 2007)

I've been thinking about this topic for a few years now. I'll be 50 this year. Hunting has changed so much in my lifetime and not for the better. I can see myself quitting hunting. Hunting has become too much a pain in the arse.

I grew up in SE Idaho and always bird hunting was my passion. Getting permission to hunt private property was never a concern. We use to go out to Hagerman and just wack the Mallards and geese with no concern if we were going to be able to find a field and get permission. Now days that area is a joke with leases, clubs, rich DB's buying farms just to hunt on, and land owners who won't let anyone hunt because of what some jackass did on their land. etc. etc..

The GSL use to be a great place waterfowl hunt. Now everyone and their lover has a Mud Motor, Phragmites, and No one has any respect for anyone else out there. Back before the internet when you had to actually lick an envelope you good get a swan tag every year. 

ATV's, the internet, Instagram Heros, Facebook, Youtube, message boards like this have ruined so many hunting spots it's not even funny. 

I won't even bring up how much a pain to get a tag and the cost of Big Game hunting is now. 

I feel sorry for kids getting into hunting these days, but then again they have no clue what it use to be like.


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## middlefork (Nov 2, 2008)

I've been hunting since I was about 5 years old. I couldn't wait to go then and I still look forward to it now.
That being said I certainly don't feel any pressure to be "successful" in killing something but can still get pissed when I miss a chip shot at 30 yards on a cow elk with my muzzle loader.

I pretty much limit myself to deer, elk and antelope anymore as I got tired of all the regulations and the taste of ducks and geese.

And as bad as it might sound I never did like pheasant but I certainly loved to hunt them when you could get permission to hunt. And now I save the grouse for the grand kids.

I have a couple of more years left on my Dedicated Hunter and we will just have to see if that will be the end or not. 

I keep trying to go back to fishing but somewhere along the way I've lost my patience and it just seems to flusterate me. Maybe someday I will find it again.

Anyway I've got Kids and grand kids that enjoy it all so I'll at least hang out to enjoy them as long as I am able.


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

I'll be on the mountain till I die.
Hunting, fishing as much as possible


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## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

I started a thread similar to this one two years ago. It's interesting to look at some of the responses. It would be real interesting to look back in another 10, 20 years. 
When I started that other thread in July of 2015. It was actually on my birthday and my family was most likely out of town that week. The following months I had decided to spend more time helping those around me than ever before and luck would have it, I ended up killing the biggest buck of my life in Oct. of that year. I gave the backcountry thing one more time in 2016 and killed another great buck after sacrificing a couple days helping others again.
Last year I finally made the decision to go hunt a different, much milder terrain unit and spend more time hunting alone or just with my kids. 
All my hunting life, I've had to adjust and change locations and hunting styles. 
Yes Packout, I've had several of my old honey holes lock me out because of it either going LE or state lands going private or private lands locking the gates but I've always found somewhere else to go and I always will.
No mountain of paperwork will ever stop me from hunting.
It will only be because of health or lose of desire to keep it up.


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## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

I told my wife that when I die just prop me up against a tree on the hill in front of the cabin and let the coyotes scatter my bones around. What better place to spend all time ? :mrgreen:

She said no way.......the dogs would just bring them all back ......:shock:


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## elkfromabove (Apr 20, 2008)

ridgetop said:


> I started a thread similar to this one two years ago. It's interesting to look at some of the responses. It would be real interesting to look back in another 10, 20 years.
> When I started that other thread in July of 2015. It was actually on my birthday and my family was most likely out of town that week. The following months I had decided to spend more time helping those around me than ever before and luck would have it, I ended up killing the biggest buck of my life in Oct. of that year. I gave the backcountry thing one more time in 2016 and killed another great buck after sacrificing a couple days helping others again.
> Last year I finally made the decision to go hunt a different, much milder terrain unit and spend more time hunting alone or just with my kids.
> All my hunting life, I've had to adjust and change locations and hunting styles.
> ...


So, I wonder how the other hunters who also hunted those lands that were locked to you, handled it? Or does that matter?


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## elkfromabove (Apr 20, 2008)

ridgetop said:


> I guess I wouldn't always push back on all this negativity involving our DWR changes but the fact is, these changes are no different than all the other changes that our society has been seeing.
> We are simply in a fast pace changing world right now.
> That's why my signature says what it does.


Our views of the changes involving the management of wildlife are really quite different! The NEC (and most other) rules change to keep up with the advancement of technology and knowledge and are vital for the protection of all citizens. And they are also based on science, math and the NEEDS of mankind in all their aspects.

On the other hand, the changes involving the management of wildlife are quite often social changes based on the WANTS of various groups and are mostly driven by emotions, not science and math. Additionally, the changes in wildlife management are more subject to opinions of individual citizens and have an easy to access system to voice those opinions. You and I can make sure our voice is heard at the RAC's and Wildlife Board meetings and sometimes, that one voice can make a difference.

Yes, change is going to happen, but that doesn't mean all changes are beneficial and it doesn't mean we have to sit back and wait for them to happen, especially if they aren't what we would choose.


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## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

elkfromabove said:


> So, I wonder how the other hunters who also hunted those lands that were locked to you, handled it? Or does that matter?


 I really don't know how to answer this because I don't have any idea how they felt.
Most likely, they were not happy about it.
Maybe they stomped their feet and just gave up on hunting or maybe they found another place and started some new traditions.
I tend to choose not to give up and I hope I never will when it comes to not getting my way.

EFA, I'll leave it up to you to be the self appointed voice of reason when it comes to standing up for us average joes.
I'll just focus on helping those around me that ask for it.


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## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

elkfromabove said:


> Our views of the changes involving the management of wildlife are really quite different! The NEC (and most other) rules change to keep up with the advancement of technology and knowledge and are vital for the protection of all citizens. And they are also based on science, math and the NEEDS of mankind in all their aspects.
> 
> On the other hand, the changes involving the management of wildlife are quite often social changes based on the WANTS of various groups and are mostly driven by emotions, not science and math. Additionally, the changes in wildlife management are more subject to opinions of individual citizens and have an easy to access system to voice those opinions. You and I can make sure our voice is heard at the RAC's and Wildlife Board meetings and sometimes, that one voice can make a difference.
> 
> Yes, change is going to happen, but that doesn't mean all changes are beneficial and it doesn't mean we have to sit back and wait for them to happen, especially if they aren't what we would choose.


The NEC reference was only to make the point that we all deal with a lot of change in our lives. Just making the point that I would have stopped being an electrician along time ago if dealing with change was a big problem for me but there are people out there that really have a hard time with change and will stop hunting because of it. 
I never said anyone should just sit back and be quiet and except all the DWR changes but to stop hunting over them. That's something I'll never do.

I'm sure when the time to quit happens for me, it will be like in "Forrest Gump" when he's running through monument valley and he suddenly knows it's time to stop.


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