Let's Get Back to Enjoying the Outdoors

Public Land Arizona Early Archery Bull 2019

There are so many outlets covering the hunting, fishing and outdoors industry right now it that it's difficult for someone new to the lifestyle to find the resources and information they are looking for. 

Prepare for some blunt truths. 

A simple google search turns up a plethora of opinions and how-to lists and videos that one might be overwhelmed wondering whether or not they have found legitimate help or just another thread blasting everyone who doesn't use a specific camouflage pattern, bashing the opposite sex or telling you that you'll never be successful if you don't use specific products. 

Here is the thing. Those folks doing the bash-writing need to get over themselves. And those reading or watching these articles and videos need to take it all in with a grain of salt. Some people are paid to promote a brand and some have just found a product that works for them. Remember, it is all just an opinion anyway. 

There are really only two topics that are more than an opinion and are based on science. Topic one is the ballistics of rifle cartridges. You have to make an educated decision regarding your ability to take down game at known distances ethically. Topic two is the temperature to cook your meat to so you don't, well, you know where this is going. 

Now on to the opinions.

The male/female bashing needs to stop in this industry. Men, women have always been providers and do in fact have the ability to perform just as well in the field. Stop belittling someone based on their sex when they walk in to purchase a firearm or bow or fishing rod. And stop belittling them on what they wear, clothing or makeup wise when they are shooting, hunting or fishing etc.

And men, women are going to have their periods and pull their pants down to pee so have some patience and deal with it.   

Women, stop thinking you're better than men and just do you. You're going to end up on your period at some time or another while you're out there so go prepared and pack everything out with you. If you need help or suggestions, lets have a conversation.

If you're confidence is low because you're afraid to fail, just ask and keep asking until you find someone who will help you. Wear appropriate clothing for the task at hand. Wear makeup if you want. And stop criticizing other women who hunt and fish in less clothing than you because gossip doesn't make you pretty.

And men are going to belch, fart, forget their deodorant, not wash their faces etc. so get over it. 

This might be easier said than done, but the social destruction of society has made a lot of people quick to judge, quick to slander and deathly afraid to reach their full potential. So instead of lifting each other up, we find everyone hiding behind a keyboard putting down everything on every social platform.

It doesn't matter what color or pattern your camouflage is. It just doesn't. You're going to be seen if you move regardless of what you're wearing. Your outline is not natural in the environment and every animal is going to notice you.

You can kill animals wearing blue jeans. It has been done successfully for decades. 

You cannot hide your odor. No matter how much scent away spray you put on yourself, or your breath, or if you cover yourself in the urine of the animal you're after, you will still smell like a human and your quarry will still detect your stench. 

Without naming a specific brand of clothing that claims to block your body's magnetic field, spend the extra money if you want to, but if you're worried about some sort of hum, turn your phone and cameras off when you're hunting. 

Do your homework.

Use the wind and the terrain as your friend and strategy and learn right here and now that you're going to go home empty handed at times and that in no way means you were not successful. 

There is more than one brand of rifle, shotgun, bow, crossbow, ammunition, broadhead, arrow, tree stand, ground blind, turkey call, corn feeder, backpack, hiking boot, tent, cot, sleeping bag, game bag, skinning knife, bug spray, water bottle, rifle scope, binoculars, spotting scope, bugle tube etc. and they all have their purpose and they all work in one situation or another. 

Without venturing outside the United States, there are  more forms of hunting than there are species to hunt. Some states are high-fence, some are public land. Some require leases and some are an over the counter free for all. Some states allow baiting and in some it is against the law.

Just because you hunt public land in the west doesn't mean you're any better of a hunter than a high-fence or tree stand over a corn feeder hunter in the south. 

And someone please tell me who cares if you use a guide? Some people don't have time to scout and realize they need help. Some folks draw highly coveted tags that you might have a once in a lifetime chance at and they want to make the best of it so they hire a guide. Some people hunt out of state and need a guide to get onto land or learn their way around. 

Good night. And then there is trophy hunting. What exactly is trophy hunting? Did you know that a trophy is a decorative award given due to victory or success? This would make every animal harvested a trophy.

Every piece of animal protein consumed is a trophy.

Every feather or antler, horn, skull, hide etc is a trophy of a hard fought and won success. Proudly displaying them does not make anyone a blood lust psychopathic killer. I am not quite sure how to educate others on this topic yet but sometimes we don't have to. And when someone does slander you on social media, tell them to have a nice day and move on. 

Why are we judging?

Why are we not embracing each other and lifting each other up as brothers and sisters and friends and family when we all have a similar hobby or lifestyle?

Why are we jockeying for a made up position in social media wonderland when in the end it doesn't matter anyway? We are not helping ourselves by providing gossip for the doomsayers who think hunting is going by the wayside or on a sharp decline by constantly arguing over who is better than who in this industry. 

It is beyond time to leave the heyday of telling people they're stupid for believing someone or something they read. It is beyond time to drop the fake marketing of yourself as the best and instead share and teach experiences and let people come into their own so they are excited to share and teach when they reach their own confident level of success. 

Let's get back to the heart of why we suit up and head out into the wilderness or onto the lake. Let's get back to enjoying the outdoors.