Are you an "Avid Sportsman" or a "Passionate Hunter"

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Are you an “Avid Sportsman” or a “Passionate hunter”?

This is a question that sheds light on the mandatory antler restriction discussion. I must say that there are no absolutes on this theory, but as you will see when the subject matter is discussed, it is a more often than not kind of reflection.

Avid by definition means, “Ardent, keenly desirous, eager or greedy”. When I think of an avid hunter, I see someone who has hunting on his mind, 24/7/365, and someone who may consider themselves a “sportsman”. Therefore an avid sportsman is someone who has let hunting become a mind thing rather than a heart thing. For the avid sportsmen, its more about things, weapons used, tree-stands, scents, binoculars or FPS that make hunting more of a competition than a personal experience.

Passionate on the other hand means, “Ruled by intense emotion or strong feelings”. Therefore, a passionate hunter is ruled by the heart. They are more driven by the experience than by the conquest. They appreciate the inner experience and their surroundings more than the conquest. It’s less about the tangible and more about the intangible moments and things about hunting that they find their pleasure in, seeing wildlife, their surroundings, weather and just spending time in the woods.

I have always considered myself an avid and passionate hunter. I will no longer describe myself as an avid hunter as passionate more aptly describes my reasons for hunting. I have for years refused to call myself a “sportsman” for much the same reason. I hold the belief that killing an animal should never be connected to the word “sport” or competition.

Many of the pro-MAR’s supporters fall into the “avid” hunter category as their main goal is the achievement of their conquest rather than the experience itself. They consider themselves “sportsmen” instead of hunters, and many of them ridicule hunters not supportive of their extreme agenda. These pro-MAR’s agenda pushers have no problems with negatively affecting your hunting experience while selfishly advancing theirs. With them it is strictly a head game that they play to break the hearts of the passionate hunters, and with help from the MDNR and the NRC they have been successful in over half of the state.

Now a word to the passionate hunters in Michigan, DO NOT DESPAIR. The tables are turning. No matter how much they declare that they are winning, they are NOT! The data does NOT support the extreme MAR’s agenda. No matter how hard they try to corrupt the data, the truth will come out. Hunters Choice has destroyed hunting in the U.P. Harvest of antlered deer in the NW-13 has consistently dropped. They rejoice at the percentages but try to hide the overall harvest numbers. As antlerless harvest increases and populations plummet as in the U.P., people will wake up and smell the deception and collusion.

Boone and Crockett and Pope and Young entries have dropped 56% in Michigan, (2014) from a previous five year average. Although the pro-MAR’s people ignore this statistic, because it does not help their agenda, it is directly related to this failed agenda. As yearling bucks are taken off the table, it puts more pressure on the 2 ½ and 3 ½ year old age groups and fewer of them reach the older desirable age classes that make for record book bucks. (Field and Stream Feb.-March 2016 issue)

So I ask, do you hunt from your head or your heart? The answer to that question will determine whether you are part of the problem or part of the solution.

A Michigan Wildlife Resource Advocate,
Curtis Stone
[e-mail] 4-7-16