modern equipment?

[chuck-ia]

Watched a couple hunting shows on t.v. yesterday (boring) I think it was the V.S channel? A guy was bow hunting, his bow didn't really even look like a bow with all the do dads on it. Course you have to have an atv allso. I guess this is ok for the modern hunters. Now, how about hunting with a muzzleloader? Where do you draw the line? Are you ok with using an atv? What about trail camera's? Maybe a range finder? I will leave clothing out, just not practical wearing period correct clothing, besides we have to wear blaze orange. And yes, I do drive to my hunting area, but from there it is on foot, I guess I do carry a cell phone in case of emergency. But don't use any other modern equipment, unless you consider a homemade deer cart (if I get lucky) modern. I am talking deer hunting. I have no problem with baiting for bear, but what is the advantage in trail camera's for a traditional hunt? Just curious. chuck

 

[rabjr]

Are you ok with using an atv? What about trail camera's?

Yes I do but only on private property so I so I don't bother anyone.

 

[roundball]

Now, how about hunting with a muzzleloader?

Speaking just for myself, my interest has been getting up to speed with the technology of the Flintlock rifle and smoothbore to take the same kind of game as I did while hunting with centerfire rifles and shotguns...but never had any interest in period clothing, etc.

I drive to a hunting area in a nice warm truck, wear clothes, raingear, and boots made with flannel, fleece, thinsulate, and gore-tex. I carry a cellphone and walk in / out of the dark woods with a high power light on a headband.

But once I get back in to where deer, squirrels, or turkeys are and prime the pan, as far as I'm concerned I'm hunting like a settler did...love it too.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

atv is fine for me, especially in the mountains. They dont scare game away, in fact they've stopped game long enough for me to get my rifle and check them over. We have a lot of ground to cover out west, its not like out east where you are hunting private land or hill country. Game is always on the move. However the area we hunt. its maybe a 20 minute atv ride to where we park them and then hike in. They just get you a little closer to your starting point. Still have to follow the rules and stay on trails marked properly. Trail camera on public land is a good way to lose an investment :haha: We carry a range finder but 98% of the time its worthless. Clothing, im going to wear whatever is comfortable to be in all day, especially footwear.

Watched a couple hunting shows on t.v. yesterday (boring) I think it was the V.S channel? A guy was bow hunting, his bow didn't really even look like a bow with all the do dads on it. Course you have to have an atv allso. I guess this is ok for the modern hunters. Now, how about hunting with a muzzleloader? Where do you draw the line? Are you ok with using an atv? What about trail camera's? Maybe a range finder? I will leave clothing out, just not practical wearing period correct clothing, besides we have to wear blaze orange. And yes, I do drive to my hunting area, but from there it is on foot, I guess I do carry a cell phone in case of emergency. But don't use any other modern equipment, unless you consider a homemade deer cart (if I get lucky) modern. I am talking deer hunting. I have no problem with baiting for bear, but what is the advantage in trail camera's for a traditional hunt? Just curious. chuck

 

[longcruise]

I guess this is ok for the modern hunters. Now, how about hunting with a muzzleloader? Where do you draw the line? Are you ok with using an atv?

ATV use is a real sore point out west. In CO, there are bow and ml hunters who will destroy an ATV if they find it off a designated trail. :shocked2: I am not one of them but restraint is required

There are only a few trails that are open to atv traffic both two and four wheeled that you can't navigate with your truck/suv or even a two wheel drive car. You must get beyond all motorized traffic once the season is started if you want to be successful hunting elk. For ML hunters, the bow hunters have already been pushing the elk for two weeks in CO before the ml hunter hits the sticks. Sure, you will occasionally see elk from a vehicle but that is not at all typical! When renegade atv users push onto closed ground they are only pushing the elk that much further in.

I could care less if guys want to ride from camp to their hunting areas on atv's even though they could easily get there in their car or truck! If they want to freeze there a$$es of, they are welcome. :haha:

Otherwise, I don't dress any special way but do prefer to carry all my shooting gear in a shooting bag and powder in a horn. I used speed loaders for a few years but found they are not necessary and the trad way is more fun.

My hunting gear is in a modern back pack with chest and waist straps for stability and comfort. The stuff in my pack is pretty modern; rope, compass, knives, game bags, water, food, matches, etc.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Gets a whole lot more fun too when you look down and find that your powderhorn stopper fell out :haha: Thats when the swearing starts to roll over every mountain/valley around you.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Trail cameras are used in Pre-season scouting to locate areas that have deer, and figure out which trails are used at night, and which during daylight hours. ( if you don't track, and don't know how to read tracks to determine night trails from day trails, the expensive trail cameras help you get past your lack of education.)

I hunted the same clear cut area two years in a row. The first year, I took a large doe just into the woods about 1/4 mile from the edge of the clearing.

The next year, weather conditions were very dry, there was no water in the ponds on the hills, and poachers had been driving into the area and taking the deer. I found NO deer tracks younger than 30 days, and very few of those. I saw no deer that second season, even after expanding my area to hunt.

Trail cameras, which were not then available, would have told me quickly that the deer were not using that square mile of forest, in spite of the new growth in the clear cut area. I don't believe trail cameras are of much actual use during a hunt.

If you are hunting vast tracts of private property, then having lots of these cameras to put out at likely spots, even during the season, may help you decide where to move to improve your chances of seeing deer, and when they are present during the day.

 

[rabjr]

I actually don't have a trail camera yet. I keep threatning to get one or two. But right now I have a day/night vision survallance real time camera setup to a 13" monitor that over looks part of the field out in the back 40 and the heavist used deer trail out there.

Amazing while laying here watching TV, I see come across the small monitor. Lots of deer, some very nice bucks, red/grey foxes, Fisher cats and of course coyotes. Also I have some resident rabbits which always seem to know when not to be anywheres near the field. Foxes are pretty smart too, always seem to come through and hour or two ahead of the coyotes.

Anyways, usually bettr TV than whats on regular TV most nights. :thumbsup:

 

[Rancocas]

I'm pretty much of a Luddite. I do wear modern clothes, but most of my hunting gear is homemade and old style.
I tend to hunt big game in fairly remote areas of public land, but where atv's are not allowed. I'm now 61 years old, but I still hike into the back country and camp, carrying all I need on my back. I used to have horses, but don't any more.
In general, I despise atv's as noisy machines that interfer with the back country solitude that I worked hard on foot to get to.
I've lived and hunted in Arizona where I either used horses, or went on foot.
I've lived and hunted in the great white north where I used wooden snowshoes, and I made myself a toboggan to haul my gear into the wilderness.
Now I live and hunt here in the mid-south. Although I now hunt in remote areas of the Cherokee National Forest, nevertheless I don't think there is anyplace in the entire eastern half of the US where I can get more than 10 miles as the crow flies from a road of somekind. I've made myself an "Alaskan Packboard" that I use to haul in my gear and haul out big game in quarters.
I dislike electronic devises of all kinds, including cellular phones, and GPS. When I go into the back country I carry an old fashioned compass. I let people know where I'm going and when to expect me back. If I don't show up within a day or two of when I said that I would, then they can send in the search party.
For 40 years I used modern firearms. However, for the past 15 years I almost exclusively use my homemade caplock .50 southern mountain style longrifle with round balls and real black powder. I made my own powderhorn, powder measure, and many other accoutrements.

But, that's just the way I am. :v

 

[longcruise]

Gets a whole lot more fun too when you look down and find that your powderhorn stopper fell out Thats when the swearing starts to roll over every mountain/valley around you.

I had that happen once. Going through a swamp loaded with willows and beaver ponds. I emerged with most of my powder lost and without a $150 dollar watch that snagged and fell off somewhere along the line

 

[luieb45]

I haven't went on a ml hunt yet since this is my first year but I am planning on using a four wheeler if I get a deer because I am not planning on dragging it a mile. But I won't be carrying anything modern besides my clothing, my cell phone, and I'll be using a regular modern ladder stand. Another thing I thought of when I watch a hunting show where they hunt with a inline, why don't they have a show where they hunt with traditional muzzleloaders. They have modern bow hunts on tv and I see quite a bit of traditional bow hunts. Why isn't there a traditional muzzleloading show?

 

[roundball]

Why isn't there a traditional muzzleloading show?

I suspect its because of the tiny, almost non-existent market segment

 

[John Wasmuth]

You are prolly right RundBall. Last timeI saw anything close to it was years ago when Brad Harris (?) was hunting on the ground near a pile of old fence posts using a .45 long rifle, percussion if I recall right. Not many people have enough faith in the traditional styles to get anything going as far as the media goes. Sure would be nice to see some footage on the air of some traditional hunting.

 

[Vaino]

I guess I'm in a minority in not using any of the modern "gimmicks" ,eg...ATVs, trail cameras, cellphones, etc. Legs are better than ATVs, good scouting is better than using a trail camera and smoke signals are better than cell phones. It's kinda puzzling that when inlines are used, it's "violating" tradition , but using any or all of this modern stuff is OK? I really don't give a rat's behind what people use, but just thought it paradoxical or? So the record is straight...I don't use inlines....Fred

 

[Idaho Ron]

It's kinda puzzling that when inlines are used, it's "violating" tradition , but using any or all of this modern stuff is OK?

This is SO true. A while back I was tossed under the buss for shooting a paper patched bullet, pyrodex, and lyman peep sights.
The same guys that don't think I should use my Suped up Renegades use trail cams, ATV's, gortex, lazer range finders, and all the rest of the goodies But they do have PC rifles, and they shoot black powder. I guess the black powder and the PC rifle makes it all better in their minds. Ron

 

[John Wasmuth]

Puzzlin, aint it? By the by, I'm with you, nothing modern in my bag, or on my person, I dont even own a watch, havent since I retired. No bino's, no cameras, no ATV, not even a game boy! LOL!

 

[rabjr]

I use an CATV, I know how the use of these can get heated and they do not belong within the Tradional hunting equipment. But I'll argue my use and anyone elses that cannot use their legs. I'm not going to give up and stay home just because I can't get into the woods anymore. Not when I have a vehicle that becomes my legs and can get me in there. I said in my first post the gun, the bag full of hand made accoutrements means the most to me.

 

[chuck-ia]

I like to be as traditional as I can,(except for the cell phone) I actually hate cell phones, carry it for work, when going on a test drive, and hunting in case of emergency, or maybe even calling the DNR if I see a snowmobile or atv where it not spose to be while out hunting, other than that I use it maybe once a month and maybe get a call once a month. I like to put myself back a couple hundred years when hunting,I think there should be a certain amount of work involved in muzzleloader hunting, I am not into the quick and easy hunting. I will go out squirrel hunting in a few weeks with a gun I built from a blank and do some scouting at the same time, maybe find a couple spots and make a simple ground blind, come deer season I will be using another gun built from a blank and maybe use one of the ground blinds I threw together while squirrel hunting and see what happens. I work with guys who think I am a little weird as they use inlines, 2 way radios, atv's,range finders. Basically anything to get a deer. If I get lucky and get a deer with my homemade flintlock, I feel I really deserve the deer. I actually don't mind hauling the deer out on my homemade deer cart, even if I have to walk a mile back to the truck to get it. I need the excersize. flinch

 

[roundball]

I guess I'm in a minority in not using any of the modern "gimmicks" ,eg...ATVs, trail cameras, cellphones, etc. Legs are better than ATVs, good scouting is better than using a trail camera and smoke signals are better than cell phones. It's kinda puzzling that when inlines are used, it's "violating" tradition , but using any or all of this modern stuff is OK? I really don't give a rat's behind what people use, but just thought it paradoxical or? So the record is straight...I don't use inlines....Fred

:grin:
And judging from the countless past cycles of this very same thread, I think its about now that after a post like yours the counter points are usually made like this:

1) So you ride a mule to your hunting area?
2) So you hand made all your own clothes and they're traditional garb?
3) So you made all the components of your Flintlock?
4) So you don't use modern eyeglasses?
5) So you don't use modern meds?
6) So you leave your pacemaker at home if you normally use one?
7) So you leave your insulin supplies at home if your a diabetic?
8) So you use no flashlight?
9) Etc,
10) Etc,


It's difficult to draw a hard line in the sand...the common ground for most people is the firearm...and then the amount of other related traditional items radiates out in varying degress from that starting point...whether thinsulate or home spun...depending on each individual's interests, time, money, etc.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I don't use the new stuff, either. I do drive to my hunting area, because its the only practical way to get there. But, I scout tracks, and sign, I don't have anything new- would know how to use a GPS thing if I saw one- a compass works, with a map. Clothing- well I dress to be warm, but avoid most synthetics, unless needed to stay dry. In December, our second half of deer season often falls on one of the coldest weekends of the season, and I wear a parka on those occasions. We have to wear blaze orange, and I can't find a vest made of plain cotton. But, I have a knit hat in blaze orange that is made of wool that I wear. It draws comments all the time. I would prefer to hunt in my buckskins, without the blaze orange, but its just no safe to do so here. Too many nuts that shoot at anything that moves, and too many fools who have no clue where the boundaries of their properties end. It takes a conscious effort to hunt traditional, and its worth all the effort to do so. The few compromises required to fit a hunt in a shortened time frame, and meet travel demands can be forgiven. We can't all live on the edge of thousands of acres of public lands, where we can hike from our back doors for days to get to a favored hunting spot, where the only sign of human beings are the contrails overhead. If you live east of the Mississippi, you are likely no further than 10-15 miles from some roadway in any location that exists, no matter how much forest surrounds you. Here in the flats, on a calm day, its impossible to find a location where you can't hear distant road traffic, in addition to trains, and planes overhead.