Abolish Bowhunting!?!

Oh for goodness sakes!
 
Some dunderhead took one heck of an ill-advised bow shot at a doe mule deer and has created a nightmare for all bowhunters.  Check out the link:
 
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/abolish-bowhunting-and-end-the-brutality
 
I let "Tia C" know via E mail what I thought about her claims about bowhunting and bowhunters in general in a respectful, non-threatening manner, although I'll admit it was hard to keep my cool. 
 
If anyone would like to voice their opinion I would suggest doing it with supreme tact and diplomacy.  We don't need any more fuel to be put on an already blazing inferno of controversy.  However, do not voice your opinion on the petition.  It will just add your name to the growing list of uneducated people who are supporting this "cause".
 
Geez... As a conscientious bowhunter and sportsman I know feel like I am sporting a black eye to the general public all due to one bow-toting idiot who can't shoot straight.  I realize accidents happen and sometimes a shot goes astray, but dang! 
 
Please, please, please whatever you do -- and I know you guys and gals do -- try to be vigilantly conscious of the shots you take this season.  With everything going on in the world these days we don't need any more reason for our way of life to be threatened by extremists beliefs.
 
 
Here's part of my message to Tia:
 
 
First of all you need to do some research before you go off and make such ridiculous claims about hunting with archery equipment.  More deer are killed every year by automobiles and natural causes -- starvation and disease -- than by all of the bowhunters combined.  And, if weren't for bowhunters and hunters in general animals such as, deer, elk, bison, etc., would have become extinct long ago from years and years of uncontrolled bounty-hunting, which should not be confused with today's organized and regulated hunting seasons.
 
You may want to look up the Pittman-Robertson Act -- http://www.animallaw.info/statutes/stusfd16usc669.htm -- that was signed into law some 72 years ago, i.e., September 2, 1937, which mandates that an excise tax is charged on all hunting and fishing licenses in every state and on sporting goods equipment and ammunition sales.  This tax is used, and has been used for the last 72 years -- much longer than you have been alive -- for wildlife restoration, conservation of wildlife and all sorts of other programs designed to aid in the prolonged existence of wildlife in this country. 
 
It has been the money that hunters and sportsmen have paid over the past 72 years that has been the main reason you and everyone else in this country have the privilege to see deer, bison, elk, etc., in the great numbers that exist today.  At no time in history have there been more numbers of animals roaming the face of the Earth, and that is due to the money hunters and sportsmen have paid out in excise taxes.  And, it's also the reason you have the privilege of visiting National Parks, Conservation Areas and Wildlife Management Areas.  How much money have you donated to wildlife restoration?  My guess would be zero.
 
A true hunter is saddened by the suffering of ANY animal.  As a hunting archer I strive to make the best shot possible so the animal is dispatched in the shortest amount of time possible.  I have taken deer with my bow that have died in less than 30 seconds from the time the arrow passed through their bodies.  Compare 30 seconds to months and months of starving to death during the long, cold and u

Good response! I agree with you all the way. It only takes one idiot to cause this response from the antis. My guess would be the idiots that take "head shots" and think it is fine to do so. What they don't say is the reason you wait so long is to be ethical and not make the animal flee, you want the arrow to do it's job and allow the animal die a peaceful death. You do the same thing rifle or ML hunting. What about the way livestock is raised and killed so all these antis can eat?

All hunters must stick together for our sport. I just wish we could get the idiots out of the sport but that is how I see society changing. The ethics are not what they use to be when I was introduced into the sport of hunting. Both hunting ethics and living in society ethics are going downhill. I have seen rifle hunters and ML hunters blast away and then not go check to see if they hit the animal when the animal runs off. My first ML buck had been shot through the nose, by road hunters, about thirty minutes before he ran by me. I am assuming they were shooting for the head. I ran into them when they came up to find him again but did not know they had hit him, they were just trying to get in the area they knew he went in. So I agree with you on trying to take the best shot possible or don't shoot in iffy situations.

"It is better to rule than serve"

Well said Steve!  All I could come up with after reading your post was..."Give me a flippin break!" 
 
Yes, some jerk made a bad shot and this deer would have died a slow agonizing death.  I am glad this deer was euthanized humanely. 
 
I wonder if she considered the possible spread of disease from having so many animals congregating in her backyard for a food and water source.  Colorado got tough on folks feeding deer and elk back in the early 90's because of the spread of CWD and other diseases.

Love playing that string music and sending a Muzzy flying!

Well done Steve. A very good response to this womans allegations. It's hard to argue with people such as this because their ideology is so far out there that they can never look at both sides of an issue. Your point on the much larger death toll produced by starvation and disease is right on target. The biologists of each states G&F, WC's, D&R's meticulously research the general deer population each year and the rules governing limits on these animals are the direct result of this research. Far more deer and other wildllife would die a very miserable death from starvation or disease if their numbers were not controlled.

Of well, I guess some people just do not get it. Maybe they should speak with the state biologists to get a better understand of things.

Regards,

Martin

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

TWELCH---The first thing I thought of when I read the post by Steve is the headshot thread on the NAHC BB.  I couldn't have written a better post than yours and my feelings are identical.  I guess that is why we hit it off so well quickly on these BBs.  I really feel we need to police our ranks, but I hear some say that others should be able to do whatever they want.  Just look where that lack of ethics and philosophy is getting us!!!

Mike Stephenson
aka Topgun----30-06

I just scrolled through the list of those who have signed that petition and most are from foreign countries!  Are they trying to go through the UN or something to do this?  What a bunch of baloney and that would be real scary the way that organization operates!!!

Mike Stephenson
aka Topgun----30-06

Congrat's to you Steve for your repsonse. In not so many ways you said what you had to say to her and in a polite manner. The rest of us knew what was between the lines. Good job.

Gary Scheel
NAHC LM,RMEF LM,NRA Member, Lonestar Bowhunter, TexasHogHunter Pro Staff Member

I just watched the video and read all of the captions. She knows not a thing about bowhunting at all. Further more she should be petitioning her local state gov for their lack of support for getting out there to investigate. Secondly, How does she know that that was Miss Doe's fawn? Did she see the birth, tag both animals so that they could and would be noticed later on? What a crock of crap. A well place arrow will dispatch an animal with a few min's after the hit. Yes sometimes we do make that not so good shot, but as Steve stated, death by starvation is alot worse. Or maybe death by being eaten alive by wolves,Mt. Lions or Bears. Guess we should go out and abolish them also since they are doing just what we bowhunters do. It would be my guess that this does not get very far with anyone. We should ask her how she likes her steaks done, med or rare and then show her video's of the slaughter houses where they take a 16 penny nail under pressure and thump the cows between the eyes to kill them. Hummmmmmmmmmmm, guess that steak don't tatse so good anymore huh Tia. Man this ****es me off, but this is America and everyne has their right to speech. Just means I don't and won't listen to it.

Gary Scheel
NAHC LM,RMEF LM,NRA Member, Lonestar Bowhunter, TexasHogHunter Pro Staff Member

OK ... so I have a problem or two with this ...

Firstly, Steve ... I doubt she's capable of comprehending the written word, so I'd be surprised if she can even read your email ...

Next, I clicked on the site (saw all those people from other countries tryin' to tell us how to live our lives), and couldn't find a way to get her email address ... without signing in for somethin' as a "member" ... I won't do that ... too many spammers out here already who have my email addy ... and I won't click in to up their hit count so they can raise their ad rates ...

Otherwise ... great job ... (of course none of my naggin' is YOUR fault ... I'm merely gettin' a good start on today's crankiness ... I'm old, I can do that ... I've got a license for that activity ... )

I wonder whut sort of footwear she wears ... if leather, we all know how to carry that concept to refute her lack of mental capacity ... if anythin' else but leaves, bark or cotton, and it's most likely a product that uses a great amount of petroleum in its manufacture ... so we can blame her for the Iraq war and a huge chunk of the pollution in the world ...

Nah ... fergit it ... this type of "people" have no clue, and they refuse to learn and resist all attempts at educating 'em ... they're RIGHT, and nothin' will get 'em to change their minds, unless it's the dingbat who told 'em all that crap in the first place ...

Merely one of the traits of this sort is anthropomorphism ... she sez the injured deer had a
"bad Christmas" ... WTD??!!?!?!?!?!?! ANIMALS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS? GAFB!!!

These idjits are great at this ... a lot of their deranged ranting arises from their ignorance of Real Life Its Ownself ...

BTW, I din't see any reference as to which state the video came from, or where she lives ...

And ... if she likes stuff the way it is in all those foreign countries, why doesn't she go there to live? (Rhetorical question ... don't worry about it ... )

OK ... I'm about done venting for now ... but don't get me started again ...

And tnx muchly for postin' this ... merely one more way to stay informed ... I'd've not seen it otherwise ...

All of life is six-to-five against, just enough to keep you interested. (Damon Runyan)

Gravity makes all the important decisions ... (John R. Powers)

NRA, REMF, PF, NAHC-L, NAFC-L, KC, NPPA

It's saddens me to think that these idiots are the people that make all of the ethical outdoorsmen work so hard and spend so much money to ensure we can hunt and fish the way we have for decades. If these kinds of completely ignorant people had half of a clue, all of our hard earned money could be spent more on wildlife research, managemnet, and land rehab instead of being wasted on some dumb law or lawsuit or other legal battle trying to get pushed through by these rejects. Good response Steve!!! Maybe she'll do a little research next time. Obviously she's an idiot if she's accepting foreigners to sign her petition. I highly doubt this is gonna have any weight in any legal system. Good post though, thanks for keeping us informed.

Kraig Osborne
Hunter since birth, NAHCLM, USN

Thanks guys!
 
I'm glad you all took the time to check out this information.  However, you're all probably correct.  More than likely she will simply refuse to comprehend or understand what I wrote even if it makes the most amount of sense.  That's the way these crazies think.  It doesn't matter if the issue makes sense or not only that "the cause" fits into their warped way of life or ideology. 
 
Nevertheless, at least I got a message out to her that hunters and sportsmen, and the money we've paid out by taxes are the primary reasons game animals are healthier, better managed and more abundant than ever before.  I tried to make it very clear to her that it's NOT because of their silly "efforts".  And, that we won't sit idly by and let them arbitrarily spout on about absolute, uneducated drivel.
 
Take care and Good Hunting!
 
Best Afield,
 
Steve
 
 

I was watching Keith Warren and the show about deer management last night before bed. He said something I never thought of. How many animals are managed so they can eat veggies if they are none meat eating anti's. Deer and other animals are managed or they will ruin a farmer and his crops. Something like 750,00 acres of crops are ruined by just deer, about 2/3 of the total damage. I never thought about that so I am sure the anti's haven't either, but then again you have to have a brain to think.

"It is better to rule than serve"

TWELCH:

Here's some info  -- albeit, somewhat dated -- on crop damage:

Economics of Damage and Control
 
A national survey conducted by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service in 1992 identified deer damage as the most widespread form of wildlife damage. Forty percent of the farmers reporting had experienced deer damage. No estimate exists of nationwide annual crop losses to deer, but damage estimates have been made for some states. In Wisconsin, a 1984 survey of farmers suggested minimum statewide deer damage of $36.7 million annually. A similar study in Pennsylvania estimated the annual crop loss at $16 to $30 million. The situation is similar in most agricultural states with moderate to high deer densities. Estimates by Hesselton and Hesselton (1982) suggest that the cost of deer-vehicle collisions may exceed $100 million each year in the United States and Canada. In fact, the cost of deer/ vehicle collisions was estimated at $100 million in Wisconsin alone in 1990.
 
Deer also damage nurseries, landscape plantings, and timber regeneration. However, as established earlier, deer are a valuable public resource. Cost estimates for control techniques are presented with the appropriate techniques. A cost/benefit analysis is always advisable before initiating a control program.
 
Two additional economic aspects are worth consideration. One involves farmer tolerance for deer damage. Two summaries of social science research related to deer damage (Pomerantz et al. 1986, and Siemer and Decker 1991) demonstrated that a majority of farmers were willing to tolerate several hundred dollars in deer damage in exchange for the various benefits of having deer on their land. Thus “total damage” figures are misleading because only a small percentage of the farmers statewide or nationwide are suffering sufficient damage to warrant control or compensation.
 
The second economic consideration involves state-funded programs of subsidies for damage control materials or direct compensation for crop losses. Such programs can be very costly but are probably necessary where large deer herds are maintained in agricultural landscapes. As an example, the Wisconsin Wildlife Damage Program expended $2.25 million in 1992 for abatement materials, claims, and administration. The program is a collaborative effort of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, USDA-APHIS-Wildlife Services, and Wisconsin counties and is very effective. Individual states vary greatly, however, in their degree of financial or technical assistance. Consult your state wildlife agency for information on compensation or cost-sharing programs. Also, many states have local publications on deer and deer damage--Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and New York, for example. Consult your local Extension office or state wildlife agency.
 
 
Take care and Good Hunting!
 
Best Afield,
 
Steve

I never actually thought about how much crop damage they do. I know they have depredation hunts here but I usually thought that was because ranchers wanted more land tags. I know bad for thinking that way but the way it has been written in the papers leads you to think that. Then thinking about it you could almost set your watch by the mulies going into the chile fields down by Hatch. It is a good point to bring up to the antis and I have never thought of arguing from that point of view.

"It is better to rule than serve"

In central Wi, we not only had the deer to deal with in the crops but the "wonderful, never eat too much Sanhill Cranes and Geese". They can desimate a corn field in a matter of days.  

Gary Scheel
NAHC LM,RMEF LM,NRA Member, Lonestar Bowhunter, TexasHogHunter Pro Staff Member

Yeah, deer (elk, moose, pronghorn) and ducks/geese/cranes (ducks will clean out a field of durum faster than geese will, usually ... more of 'em and they get there earlier in the a.m.) ...

Steve,

Bombard her with stuff such as that article you posted on depredation. If she blocks your address, pass hers on to us, and continue ...

Keep pelting her with FACTS AND HARD DATA ... even if she can't comprehend the science of it, mebbe sum of it will sink in ...

All of life is six-to-five against, just enough to keep you interested. (Damon Runyan)

Gravity makes all the important decisions ... (John R. Powers)

NRA, REMF, PF, NAHC-L, NAFC-L, KC, NPPA

O:
 
Don't worry I have!  LOL!
 
Take care and Good Hunting!
 
Best Afield,
 
Steve

Right on Steve. She will get so tired of the negative slamming emails that is will pass.

Gary Scheel
NAHC LM,RMEF LM,NRA Member, Lonestar Bowhunter, TexasHogHunter Pro Staff Member

Don't forget wild hogs either, they cause multi-million dollar losses in crops every year. So thick that in many states there are no season's or limit constraints. There is even a business in Georgia that a farmer can call to hunt them with night vision scopes and silencers but they still cannot keep up with the exploding populations.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

tune,
 I have a bunch of friends here that hunt them at night with night vision goggles, thermal imaging and those expensive Raptor scopes at 7k per.  A bit rich for my blood but I'll spot the hell out of them any chance I get.

Gary Scheel
NAHC LM,RMEF LM,NRA Member, Lonestar Bowhunter, TexasHogHunter Pro Staff Member