How many different skill levels are there, big buck hunters?

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JoeRE
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Re: How many different skill levels are there, big buck hunt

Unread postby JoeRE » Sun Mar 30, 2014 2:47 am

I was wondering if this conversation would go down this path. This might be a little unpopular but its what I think.

There is no denying any ranking system has a good deal of ego in it - how can it not? Ego & pride are natural human attributes that can drive us to succeed, and just like many other human emotions when they start to control our behavior its a problem. To be honest, deep down part of me thinks those that pay most attention to skill levels/rankings are the most insecure about where they are at for whatever reason, the want some re-assurance the are better than most or in just being associated with a "great" hunter. Most of the ones who have reached the pinnacle of success don't feel the need to prove or validate themselves. Why? I can't say for sure because I definitely am not there, but I suspect they have found far more important things to concentrate on instead of what other hunters' opinions are of them. Any kind of hunting at its best is a deeply therapeutic experience. These are some of the reasons I would not want to participate in ranking big buck hunters.

There is no context when all you see are posts - or even pictures - in an online forum without getting to know a person face to face, knowing what its like to walk in their shoes a bit. That is the only way I would judge a person's skill level. Every single one of us has something unique going on. Pictures of deer killed/passed/whatever that get posted are fun to look at but don't tell you anything about circumstances either. Unfortunately sometimes people write something, pics included, just to validate themselves in the eyes of others - ego. We probably have all been guilty of that at some point.

I love the Beast, its a great place to swap stories and get ideas, even discuss things like this and most of the time its not a you-know-what-measuring-contest either. Rock on!


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Dewey
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Re: How many different skill levels are there, big buck hunt

Unread postby Dewey » Sun Mar 30, 2014 3:46 am

JoeRE wrote:I was wondering if this conversation would go down this path. This might be a little unpopular but its what I think.

There is no denying any ranking system has a good deal of ego in it - how can it not? Ego & pride are natural human attributes that can drive us to succeed, and just like many other human emotions when they start to control our behavior its a problem. To be honest, deep down part of me thinks those that pay most attention to skill levels/rankings are the most insecure about where they are at for whatever reason, the want some re-assurance the are better than most or in just being associated with a "great" hunter. Most of the ones who have reached the pinnacle of success don't feel the need to prove or validate themselves. Why? I can't say for sure because I definitely am not there, but I suspect they have found far more important things to concentrate on instead of what other hunters' opinions are of them. Any kind of hunting at its best is a deeply therapeutic experience. These are some of the reasons I would not want to participate in ranking big buck hunters.

There is no context when all you see are posts - or even pictures - in an online forum without getting to know a person face to face, knowing what its like to walk in their shoes a bit. That is the only way I would judge a person's skill level. Every single one of us has something unique going on. Pictures of deer killed/passed/whatever that get posted are fun to look at but don't tell you anything about circumstances either. Unfortunately sometimes people write something, pics included, just to validate themselves in the eyes of others - ego. We probably have all been guilty of that at some point.

I love the Beast, its a great place to swap stories and get ideas, even discuss things like this and most of the time its not a you-know-what-measuring-contest either. Rock on!

Been thinking about this subject and I think your response fits best with how I feel. Never felt a reason to rank myself against other hunters and could careless about what they think of my skills. When you need to compare yourself to someone else to inflate your ego that cheapens the whole experience IMO. I hunt because it's what I love to do for myself and don't feel the need to have people looking up to me. Some guys seem to always be seeking attention or going out of their way to try and impress others and that always rubs me the wrong way. I steer clear of these people as much as possible, never found them as fun to be around.

As far as pics we all love to look at that stuff and a lot can be learned from them. I like to post scouting and hunting pics hoping that what I learned can be passed onto someone else. I think that is what sets the Beast apart from anything else because we truly like helping each other out.

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