Please read my profile carefully. Some folks don't like guys like me. You see, I don't have any hidden agendas, and I'm not a salesman. Never have been, never will be.

I think that hunting needs to get back to the basics, those tried-and-true things that our fathers and forefathers used WITH SUCCESS. Things like marksmanship, stalking skills, stealth, and above all, RESPECT for the wildlife. It is far more sportsmanlike to stalk an animal within close range, than to make a 400-yard shot just because you can. I saw some celebrities discussing making 750 yard shots at game animals. Before long it will be 1000 yards. Why not just go to a shooting range and shoot targets?

To me, hunting IS NOT about killing a trophy. You cannot eat antlers or spurs. I have never killed a game animal that I don't plan to eat. A few of my ancestors were American Indian. They never wasted anything, nor did they pollute the environment. And they didn't care whether a buck had a 200-inch rack or not.

I see our big TV celebrities regularly killing near-200 inch whitetail bucks on TV, and I know many of you have seen this, too. I've hunted for 51 years and never seen one that was even CLOSE to that. I don't call it "sporting" to sight in my rifle or bow on a beautiful buck that was hand-fed as if he were a family pet. You know what I'm talking about, too. This isn't sportsmanship, it's slaughter. I could never be proud of a giant buck I'd killed if I knew he was steroided and hand-fed, raised in a pen, to be killed on camera by some celebrity with big bucks backing them.

What is this obsession we all seem to have for our celebrity hunters? We idolize them, and we spend everything we can afford to spend in order to be more like them. THEY are paid to hunt and kill trophy animals, it's their living. They realize their lifelong dreams on TV and guess who is paying for them to do this? WE are, by supporting them. It's funny, we can only dream of making one of these hunts, yet we pay their way to do it without a bit of thought. They rush off from one big adventure to another all season long, from state to state, hunting the best lands with teams who pinpoint their prey for them. They have access to millions of acres of the best prime hunting lands in the country, while we regular folks often can't even find a suitable and decent hunting place. What's with that?? Those big outfits are buying up more and leasing more all the time. Will we lose out to those guys?

We also see TV celebrities baiting their hunting spots, then backing off and killing a trophy over bait. The wildlife authorities tell me that this is illegal to do. Yet they openly do it on TV. What's with that??? If they can do it, then why can't we do likewise? Are they better than we are, or are they above the law? I guess it would be a boring show if they had to hunt under the same conditions WE have to hunt under (AKA, REAL WORLD CONDITIONS).

How many times have any of you passed on a 150-class buck because you "felt" like he wasn't BIG ENOUGH for your trophy hunger? Or had two dozen bucks grazing right in front of your stand.... and all were record-book trophies? Decisions, decisions..... Many of our TV celebrities do this regularly. If this is your bag, more power to you. Personally, I want to kill a nice animal and be done with it. I can't afford to invest exhorbitant sums of money trying to "improve" my deer herd. If you want pen-fed deer to hunt, I guess there's nothing left for us to discuss.

Hunting used to be very inexpensive. You had your old gun or bow, some warm clothes, and a sandwich to bring along on the hunt. Of course you had to have a license, which was only a few dollars back then. Nowadays you need a bank loan to buy the clothing that makes you invisible plus blocks out the human odor. You must buy a new upgraded muzzleloader each season. You have to have rangefinders, even though you know how far away certain treetrunks or bushes already are, as guides to distances. You need to be a member of some elite lease, so you can get a few days of hunting in, at the leisure of the other members. The list just goes on and on.

All this detracts from the total hunting experience, which was supposed to be fun and stress-free in the first place. This concept we have of the "hunting industry" is ruining hunting for a lot of us. Sure, good things have come from this industry, but a lot of bad too. It's time we sat back and looked at ourselves, and asked ourselves why this and why that. With the economy in the shape it's in today, who can afford to spend all this extra money?

Enuff said....

I'm 59 years old and live in the Great Smoky Mountains of east Tennessee. I moved here in 1991 from Louisiana, and will be returning to Louisiana in the not-too-distant future. There's just something about the Louisianne that keeps drawing me like a magnet....

I was gainfully employed at a zinc mine until December 29th, when the owners closed all 3 mines and laid off 320 miners. We all lost our 401K and all insurance. In this part of the country, there's very little that a person can find in the form of a job. However, I was injured not long before the shutdown,which lead to surgery and physical therapy for my rotator cuff and arm. I'm healing but the soreness just won't go away.

I'm a Remington man, always have been, always will be. Of course I love my Brownings too... I just don't want them out in the weather too much.... I have a brand new Remington 11-87 Sportsman Supermag 12 guage, as well as a new PSE Rogue X bow. Not to mention my Remington 700 30-06. Man, I can shoot them things! LOL So look out, fair game, there's a Louisiana wild man on the prowl!