Conference vmsnet::hunting$note:hunting

    	Do any of you remember "The Guns of Autumn"?  It was an "expose'"
    on hunting done by CBS 3 or 4 or 5 years ago.  They had one segement
    in it which showed a guy "hunting" an antelope outside of Chicago
    (I think).  This guy weighed in about 250 or 300 lbs 90% of which
    was pure blubber.  It took 3 or 4 shots to down the animal (which
    was just standing there) and then the "guide" had to put one in
    it's head to which the great white hunter wined about considerably
    since the trophy was ruined.  I mean that poor animal was shot in
    just about every non-vital place it could have been and it was in
    PAIN.  All this on a show aired at 8 o'clock.  After this little
    10 minute segment (which was billed as a "typical" hunt for all
    hunters) CBS aired the disclaimer that some scenes may not suitable
    for children or those affected by blood and violence. 
                 
    I've had a very dim view of such "game" farms since then.  I don't
    believe that sportsminded people visit these farms since it's a
    forgone conclusion as to what the outcome of the hunt will be. 
    The people who DO visit these places are those who a) don't know
    anything about hunting and want to try it out (in which case it
    a dang shame that they're so misled) or b) are only concerned
    about getting a trophy and bragging to thier friends about how much
    of a REAL man they are.
    
    Of course all this is just my opinion.
    
    Rich 

    A friend in Maine was showing us some racks that another guy loaned
    him to spruce up his camp.  The guy had said that they came from
    one of those farms in Texas.  Sort of like Mark was saying, they
    drove around with cameras and took picutres of the big racks.  Then
    they went back to camp and looked at the pictures to decide which
    deer they wanted.  
    
    What a crock.
    
    Also, when I lived in Fla, they used to advertise a "Buffalo Hunt"
    This is a heard of Buffalo on 100 acres of open field.
    
    Some hunt.
    
    To me, it's not a hunt unless you feel like you may have to spend
    the night in the woods if you can't get back out to a road by dark.
    
    Brett.

    
     A friend of my father's went to some type of "Game Farm" in Vermont
    or maybe it was MAine. In any case he described it slightly
    differently. He was hunting for Wild Boar. It seems they only
    guaranteed a shot at one. The hunt ended up being placed in certain
    spots known to be along the trails used by the boars. The guide
    would sit nearby and if there was no activity they had dogs which
    they sent into a swampy area to chase out the boars. 
      To me this is much more similar to "real" hunting. Similar at
    least to hunts where you hire a guide. He knows the area and typically
    sets up the hunter in a location where his chances of spotting game
    are best. This farm was resonably priced, something like $60 day
    and if you got game then you paid a good penny for it. I think for
    a boar it was about $400. It's a nice option to try to bag game
    not normally able to be hunted in this area. I've been thinking
    of going for something like boar just to see them in the wild. And
    it is the wild. Some of these "Farms" are containing miles of area.
    With the hunting areas becoming more and more restricted the difference
    between these game farms and wildlife management areas is going
    to becoome less and less. In many respects the game farms, I believe
    offer more than management areas such as Bolton Flats in Bolton
    Mass.  Still and all if I have my preference I'd rather hunt in
    an area where I don't have to worry about meeting up with other
    hunters, hear the sound of traffic in the distance etc.
    
                                 Enjoy hunting whatever way is available!

    
    I've never been to a game farm but plan on doing so this year.  I'll be
    going to either Wild Hill in Vermont, or Tioga Game Farm in
    Pennsylvania.  My first hunt will be for Wild Boar, and will be with
    either a .44 Magnum or .475 Linebaugh.  I'm really looking forward to
    this trip.
    
    According to reply .1, I most definitely am not a sportsman.  In fact,
    I never ever considered my self one.  Hunting to me is not a pasttime
    or a competitive event.  I'm out there with one end purpose in mind,
    and that is meat for the table.
    
    A "hunter", in my definition and to the natural Americans, is a person
    who goes out and gets game for the table, and the "hunt" is the process
    through which this game is obtained.
    
    Game farms survive because they provide those who want game a much
    higher chance of obtaining that game than if the same amount of time
    was spent in the public hunting areas, and provide a variety of game
    animals that a hunter may otherwise never have the chance to take.  I,
    for one, don't want to see that option dissappear. 
    
    Roy...
    

    Roy:
    
      You're a sportsman... You're just too stubborn to admit it :-)
    
      If you're going out there with a handgun, you're limiting yourself
    to a degree. This very act adds a level of "sport" to the pursuit.
    
      Think of the Market Hunters with their "punt guns". There was no
    skill in just leveling this gun on a pond of swimming ducks and
    blasting away. Therefore, there was no sport. Put that same guy
    using the punt gun in a duck blind with a 12 gauge in his paws, and
    he is now pursuing ducks in a "sporting" way... Fair chase and all
    that...
    
      If you're an "ethical, law abiding hunter" today, then you are in-
    varibly a "sportsman/woman"...
    
      Just MHO  :-)
    
    Joe

    
    Joe,
    
    I don't use a handgun to give them a sporting chance, it's just because
    I'm getting LAZY  :-).
    
    Roy...