Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/575593
S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 4 1 T echnology has frequently been the sticking point in personal and public debates about hunting. When is it excessive? At what level does it become unfair, unsporting, or even self-defeating? And goodness sake, which super-magnum will finally be enough? To answer these questions, each of us must first try to examine why we go afield with rifles in hand and big game in mind. Then we must consider good public relations. Several years ago a Colorado outfitter was hosting three hunters in one of the best trophy whitetail units in the state. B&C heads weren't guaranteed, but they were probable. Over the years the outfitter had led clients to several bucks in the 160- to 180-point category, plus the 270-point state record non-typical. On this hunt, each client filled his tag with a mature buck scoring between 135 and 145 B&C points. The fellow lucky enough to take the biggest buck was dissatisfied. Not big enough. The next year he reportedly hunted at a "better" trophy ranch that had sent him photographs of various bucks so he could prejudge their antlers. He selected a suitable subject, which was turned loose when he arrived for his "hunt." I've been told he went home happy. A client on a guided elk hunt had his heart set on a 350-point bull, his personal magic number for trophy of the chase we may fudge the legal shooting hour by a minute or two, cross a private fence to detour around a steep canyon, or perhaps take advantage of a buck inadvertently flushed by a rancher's pickup truck. Still, our intent is to match woodmanship against a natural quarry, usually a fully mature male that has spent five to a dozen years honing its evasive skills. We hunt to savor mankind's greatest freedom, the freedom to roam open country, unbeholden and unfettered, to taste the simple joy of our heritage as hunter-gathers. We find our satisfaction in surmounting a difficult peak, enduring harsh weather, discovering a fresh scrape, following a track, stalking within "can't miss" range, and shooting well. We all enjoy a lucky break, but generally we gain our deepest reward when we succeed by our wits, skills, and hard work. That being the case, when do technological advantages become excessive? It would seem one could start with bare knuckles and move up, drawing the line nearly anywhere. Bows and arrows are okay, but muzzleloaders are unfair? Muzzleloaders are fine, but sabot slugs are cheating? Handguns are sporting, but only with straight-wall cartridges and cast bullets? Centerfire he author watches for elk on a rugged mountainside in Idaho. T Are hunters approaching the point where we've become too smitten with the wonders of our high-tech world? status. After a tough hunt, they found and shot a bull, by all accounts a splendid specimen that had given both guide and hunter suspense, thrills, and challenges. But instead of acknowledging the magnificence and cunning of the stag, the hunter merely laid a tape to its antlers. The numbers totaled 348. He went home disappointed. With such attitudes, debates about the ethics of technological advantage are superfluous. Anyone who would shoot a hand-raised buck in a small enclosure and proudly display it on his wall wouldn't blanch at a heat-seeking missile to dispatch it. Most of us at some time or another are prone to ethical lapses. In the heat Ron Spomer i f l e s R