The Hunting Heritage

January 28, 2009 by admin

By Doug Leier

Hunting and outdoors circles the past few years have been abuzz with rather subjective terminology.

At the coffee shop or gas station, topics such as hunting pressure, fair chase, ethics, hunting heritage and the essence of the hunt often lead to lively conversation and the need to make another pot of coffee.

I bring up these buzz words or phrases because nonhunters, or even hunters who may not have been active for a few seasons, may not be familiar with these terms, and even long-time hunters may have differing definitions of what these terms mean.

Now, there isn’t much question about practices that are legal and those that are not. Ethics and fair chase deal with what’s allowable within the law, but different people have different values or ethics about what’s acceptable within the law.

For instance, shooting a duck sitting on the water is perfectly legal. However, how many waterfowl hunters do you know who routinely shoot birds on the water? Any?

Other situations aren’t quite so one-sided. I wouldn’t dream of jumping out of a vehicle to try to get a quick shot at a rooster in a ditch next to a gravel road, even if the adjacent land wasn’t posted so I wouldn’t be violating any laws by doing so. I just don’t think a vehicle stopped in the middle of the road, accompanied by a guy running down the ditch with a gun, creates a very positive impression of hunting for anyone who might drive by at the time.

I don’t judge others for taking advantage of such opportunities, I just won’t partake myself. Same goes for practices like baiting of big game on private land. It’s legal, but a lot of hunters think it violates the premise of fair chase in hunting.

That’s the beauty and unique aspect of hunting. Each individual answers to themselves for decisions which they make within the legal constraints of existing law.

When I began hunting in the early 1980s, I don’t remember hearing much, if anything about hunting guides. I remember the late New York Yankees manager Billy Martin hunting geese in LaMoure County, and he stayed at the Omega Motel in LaMoure, not at a hunting lodge. I don’t remember if he hunted with a guide, but do know there weren’t any official hunting lodges and nobody knew of any licensed guides either.

As with most things in life, times change. I can’t imagine any professional athlete nowadays just pulling into LaMoure and getting a room for the night. Expectations and available services have changed dramatically, but the essence of the hunt remains intact in North Dakota.

I’m thankful that North Dakota leaders over time have had the wisdom to protect the essence of the hunt, sometimes with laws that transform ethical issues. Preserving and protecting our strong hunting heritage should never be taken for granted.

And when it comes to fair chase, I won’t be one to judge a legal user of robotic ducks for waterfowl hunting or scent blocker for archery hunting. In fact, I vividly recall an old angler reminiscing about the invention of monofilament line and how critics argued it would ruin fishing as it was invisible. I’m living proof that no matter the line or lure, you can lead a fish to water but you can’t make it bite.

This fall, take a few minutes and recall hunts of the past that match your definition of hunting heritage, ethics and fair chase. Doing so may serve to balance your expectations and enhance your appreciation of those days when the game just doesn’t cooperate.