How Well Do You Know Your Sport?

[Ugo]

I have shared this topic with many and the end result is often nothing more than a shrug of the shoulders. I find it interesting that most of us would prefer that our "Nanny State" rules and regs stay out of our personal lives. Let's hold that thought.
I personally see many folk in late model super trucks with just about all the off-road accessories, decked to the nines with all the hunting specific add-ons you can get. They pull up dressed in Orvis, Filson, Russel, Barbour, etc., all the latest/greatest techno-gear, well-bred and trained bird dogs, etc. Their past is a rich recollection of hunts - both local and well-travelled - many years of hunts. Some of us fall somewhere in between Gentleman Jack but we all have our comparable set-up.
Do we know our game? It would appear that we do! We can tell what to do in windy situations, what to do in rainy situations, the subtleties of when/where/how to approach variances of the preferred species, why our dog is the best in said applications AND in detail, I might add. But do we really know our sport? Reading all-of-the-above your answer should be an unequivocal, "Yes!"
OK, so if that's the case, why did so many still harvest SK Huns when the bird numbers were horrifically down? Why did we harvest grouse locally when the bird numbers were horrifically low? I recently completed quail hunting down south and the numbers are very low. I asked in advance if the rumours were true so that I could defer my arrangements but was told it wasn't really true. I came back and although we found birds, the numbers were VERY low. It's not a good feeling for me. Why? Because deep down, I knew they were low but I still went!
Let me take you back now to the title of this post. How well do we know our sport? The content here-in would lead you to believe that those of us (myself included) profess to be knowledgeable. We - most of us - agree that we'd prefer that gov. not intervene into our lives so much as in the ministry dictating seasons and limits. Yet, we are quick to say, "Well....there is still a season and the limits are still _ _ , so why is that my fault?"
I reiterate, we really know our sport. We don't want to be burdened by rules/regs. Still, we somehow don't know enough to back off when laboring species need a break. .....seems contradictory to me.
It doesn't mean we can't hunt. It doesn't mean we can't work dogs. It means taking of labouring species needs to be OUR responsibility. After all, who stands to lose the most?

[MikePal]

Same old same old...just take a look back thru the Moose hunting threads and see how many guys still shoot calfs...because the can...

[Tim Tufts]

The phrase I use most often when it comes to Grouse & Woodcock is, "If I shoot it the next dog can't point it. So carry a blank pistol."

[jaycee]

The phrase I use most often when it comes to Grouse & Woodcock is, "If I shoot it the next dog can't point it. So carry a blank pistol."

That's a good one, I'll have to remember it.
BTW, do you remember Tony B ? he used to run his Springers at your place quite a few years ago, we were discussing you over a few "Single malts " when he was over this past weekend .

[Sharon]

Well said Ugo. I can't shoot anymore , but hasn't hurt one bit my enjoyment of getting out and watching the dog work on birds. It sure is not all about shooting.


(Also would like to see the rabbit season moved from the end of Feb to the end of Jan. With our generally mild winters, rabbits are often (usually?) pregnant in Feb. Might make a difference in how many rabbits we see.)

[ninepointer]

Ugo, stay out of my head! Just last week I was reflecting on our deer camp up north, where the deer numbers have been dramatically down for the last four or so years. I've written letters and stood up at meetings to openly criticize the MNRF for issuing us all more doe tags than we could possibly know what to do with. Its like the MNRF staff somehow didn't notice those bad winters we had. Yet this past fall I shot a doe.

There was a long period in my 20s and 30s when I wouldn't shoot woodcock. They were struggling, and still are. But nowadays come October I pursue them eagerly, because I've read (or maybe selectively read) that whether I shoot them or not will have no bearing on their population or its trends. Some of us fret about such things, yet we don't exercise self-restraint and rationalize it because we are still playing by the official rules. So why do we feel twinges of regret, like some weird Catholic guilt complex?

These days, more than I can remember in my 30 years of hunting, I hear hunters speak of self-regulation (especially grouse, moose, deer) because we are losing confidence in our management agencies to do their jobs. They seem so out of touch with what we see in the field and fail to intervene. At other times those same agencies, working equally blind, make far-reaching but unjustified decisions. One needs look no further than Ontario's very own unicorn, the Algonquin Wolf.

[B25]

Well said Ugo. I would only like to add that it is probably impossible to change the basic nature of men. On numerous occasions I found it difficult to comprehend why do guys strive to "limit out", no matter what it takes. We don't want to start a debate on "perfect head shots" or "I drove so far" but all the ethics people love to talk about go out the window immediately after the opportunity to pull the trigger presents itself. Of course this would not be complete without spent hulls in the grass that will remain there for the next hundred years. We hunt the prairies out west every year and anybody who has been there will agree that there is no need to abuse the bird population by pounding the same areas day after day. Yet, every year I look into puzzled faces of people not willing to understand that you have to leave stock behind. There is lots,is the common reply,why go somewhere else. So back to the basic nature of men. Is it greed? Or maybe competitiveness? Either or, it's bad news for the future of hunting.

[Westernlaw]

I hunt Grouse in 4-5 different areas within a 40 minute drive of my front door. This year my dogs found 84 birds. I only shot 10 of those. I missed a few, but a majority I let fly away (just ended up popping a shot off over head to complete the whole process for the sake of the dogs) primarily because, once I had shot 2-3 birds in a particular area, I stopped shooting them (after all, I want there to continue to be a good population of birds fairly close to home and if I shot every bird my dogs pointed, we'd empty out an area in no time). Sometimes I would also let them fly off when the dogs did not perform as they were supposed to on that particular bird (I take greater enjoyment in watching the dogs work then anything else). It makes me angry when I see/hear about these guys who go out on their ATVs and shoot every bird they come across sitting on the road, just so they can limit out with no mind to conservation.

[Ugo]

It would appear that I am not alone in my self-incrimination. I am still in transition but migrating with increasing momentum towards Tim's comment. Actually, Tim made this statement to me a LONG time ago. I just didn't see the diminishing light at the end of the tunnel. That's 2-for-2 Tim. You were right about setters and bird numbers - both comments made well over 15 years ago! Can I borrow your crystal ball please, or perhaps just your glasses.

[Tim Tufts]

I do have a spare pair of glasses Ugo but the ball part has me worried. :-)