I read Dick Nelson's column the other day. His diatribe on crossbows and the pathetic stance of the "New York Bowhunters" was reading just fine until he mixed in his usual nonsense about antler restrictions. See, Dick is still mired down in the rhetoric that surrounds antler restrictions. To most opponents, antler restrictions equate to trophy hunting. They all spout the same crap, "ya can't eat horns" or "I have to feed my family" or the classic "its about personal freedom". I am sick of it! This is retardation at it's best!
These rationalizations, and that is EXACTLY what they are, draw a direct correlation to what is wrong with "sportsmen" today and why our tradition is dieing. SELFISHNESS! To posture one of these excuses is downright selfish and contentious, to say the least. Thank God, that Dick Nelson and his ilk are the minority in this debate because otherwise, all hope for the resurrection of our tradition could be lost!
Now, selfish is a strong word, but that is exactly what comes to mind first, every time I hear some "expert" using the "personal freedom" mantra. It resonates ME ME ME! Sportsmen, are supposed to represent what is great about our tradition. They are supposed to embrace their role as a deer management tool while enjoying all that nature has to offer! In this case, the quarry and its healthy proliferation are supposed to be what is important to deer managers and hunters alike. When that importance is not evident, well, then it becomes all too easy for the antis to paint our picture with broad strokes using depictions and words like "bambi-killers", "blood-thirsty" and even "murderers". We are tools of deer management, borne from primordial needs, but we are supposed to have consciences too! We are supposed to respect our quarry and nurture their healthy management. Gone are the days when men (in general) had to go afield to feed their families. Rarely, is it a necessity in America for men and women to take weapon in hand for the express purpose of putting food on their table. Those days are over!
I believe that to negatively connote and disparage, those of us that realize that antler restrictions can help insure a healthier herd is myopic; and to a degree slanderous. If nothing else, it is an attempt to shed poor light on the people who truly understand the positive effect that yearling buck protection can play on the animal; in conjunction with the herd health and hunting tradition.
Mr. Nelson really manifests his ignorance on antler restrictions when he postures and panders his negative rhetoric:
"If proponents of this restriction are so obsessed with shooting older deer, why don’t they hunt in those units. Unless, of course, they don’t want to stray too far off the road.
One has to wonder, does he really believe this crap and just what is he trying to infer?
Does he really believe that better deer management plays into the anti-hunter's agenda?
Mr. Nelson needs to wake up and realize that his perspective on deer management is part of the negative equation, as to how and why, our hunting tradition is sinking into an abyss. Our generation has FAILED to stimulate regeneration, because men like himself have become enamored by mediocrity. They choose to remember bygone days as the 'good old days' instead of understanding the reality of our failure to improve hunting conditions (habitat, access and the nurturing of the specie) as they will relate to the future!
Mr. Nelson's column can be read at: http://www.registerstar.com/articles/2010/05/27/columnists/outdoors/doc4bfdf99d4b903273176495.txt
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