COLUMN: Driftwood Outdoors: A century of change

Firearm seasons for deer are about to open across the Midwest. As families and friends make plans for annual deer camps, a common excitement resonates through all hunters joining the orange army on opening day. Yet, amongst these millions of hunters, measures of success vary.

I was talking to another hunter the other day and mentioned I shot a good buck with my bow. I have trail camera pictures of the buck from the last three seasons, so I know it was at least five-and-a-half-years-old. Which, by longevity of life standards for Missouri bucks, is an old deer. The other hunter wouldn't have shot it.

He went on to explain the philosophy on bucks in our area needing to reach seven-and-a-half or eight-and-a-half-years-old to be fully mature. He brought the sentiments of another hunter to the table by saying that guy has only killed five bucks in 20 years, because he's so selective about which ones he'll kill.

When I started hunting in the early 1990s, no antlered deer were safe. You must remember, there was a total reset of game populations in this country less than 100 years ago. Generations of Americans never saw deer, turkeys, bear, or elk before. There have been multiple resets of thinking towards hunting whitetail deer.

Settlers exercised unregulated harvest. They consumed all they could eat and sell. Killing game animals to the full was to get as much money and money as possible before the resource vanished. The first generations of hunters in these United States drove wildlife populations to decimation, extirpation and extinction.

Minds began to change around the turn of the 20th century. In 1907, Theodore Roosevelt, among many others, proclaimed "President's Cell "The conservation of natural resources is the fundamental problem. Unless we solve that problem, it will avail us little to solve all others."

More conservation leaders like Aldo Leopold, Clifford Pinchot, John Muir and Franklin Roosevelt emerged and brought desperately needed attention to the out-and-out downward slide for wildlife in our country. Not only did they rally citizens to stop the slide, they also began a wildlife rebound that has led us to times of abundance once more. Regarding many species of wildlife, we are currently living in the best of times.

As the turnaround began, hunting was banned in many states. Some states didn't have to ban seasons, because there was no game left to hunt. Wildlife was to be protected to procreate and restore the population naturally, if worked. That's good, for example, in 1938 it was estimated there were 400 deer left in the entire state. Today, the estimated population is around 1.3 million deer. A half-million Missourians will hunt this fall. There is reason to celebrate where we are today by honoring those who missed their turn and the giving wildlife the opportunity to multiply.

As seasons were established and hunters returned to the woods, just seeing a deer was a major success. If you got a buck, you were the talk of the town. As time went by, there was more hunters began filling their buck tag. But it was not had maybe made it to three-years-old, then you hung your picture on the bragging board at the local sport shop. This progression went on through the 1980s. In 1988, the Quality Deer Management Association was formed "to ensure the future of white-tailed deer, wildlife habitats and ethical hunting practices."

This is a good marker for the beginning of a new era of private land management and heightened expectations of the deer herd.

Hunting television and videos exploded in the early 2000s. Seven in and saw many livelihoods videos being sold in stores, networks were born to feature hunting and fishing shows exclusively. Explosive growth in the sales of products geared towards deer hunting spawned a whole new hunting industry. One where boundaries have been pushed, commercialization has occurred, and management to the masses has shared the mentality of today's hunters.

Some of today's hunters are all about our public lands. They pride themselves on being able to harvest a public resource from a public place. There are hunters who hunt only for the meat. Then there are subcategories of meat hunters who grind all their venison in a utilitarian manner and others who are into venison osso buco as a fine art.

Many hunters today enter the woods with the goal of only killing a buck with giant antlers. Back to the buck Projects went to be changing the heaviest buck on the pole. Today, if you tell someone you shot a 180, their eyes will light up because they think you are referring to 180 inches of antler. I find nothing wrong with setting your sights on a certain deer or class of deer, but the problem I've experienced with most "horn hunters" is they're always mad because not everyone is on the same page. And by the same page, they mean their page.

I still go hunting because I love the thrill of the entire experience. I want to get my buck every year. I'm looking for what I was raised to believe is a mature buck, which is a four-and-a-half year old or older. When I was young and learning to hunt, those were bucks we dreamed about seeing. Seeing one today still makes my heart skip a beat, and once or twice a year I still feel the emotion when I look out of my deer blind.

Now, 35 years into this deer hunting game, I like where I'm at, and I hope you can say the same thing. I still suffer from buck fever from time to time. I enjoy using trail cameras, but nothing beats a big buck showing up I've never seen before. I hunt each year with the goal of shooting a buck I will be proud of. I have feelings and personally appreciate opportunities to share it with others. The sharing of meat within a community gives hunting its true purpose.

Socially, the bar continues to rise on what constitutes a great buck. I appreciate the hunter who won't shoot a deer unless it's seven-and-a-half or eight-years-old with a big rack. Good for them. They are certainly not hurting anyone. To have that goal for yourself is great. And as more and more hunters do, maybe someday well see seven-year-old bucks regularly.

Or, maybe because hunting under such competitive and rigid guidelines may feel more like serious prison than hunting, interest will wane in the next generations, and with little interest we'll have little passion having no one to stand up for our rights, which will then be done away with. Thus, once more returning us to a time of little value being placed on wildlife.

If you ride to the woods this season, go forth with gratitude of thankfulness for the chance to participate in the continuance of a legacy as old as mankind. Be ethical and moral in your decision-making. Your choice on what deer you fill your tag with gives you pride is what you have accomplished. As a hunter, in this modern age, you are of a small tribe. Represent us well.

See you down the trail...

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