Commercialization vs Realization

The argument, no, the excuse, I hear often is the time factor. I honestly understand and support the immediate need to hunt as often as possible. But I also understand that most people would want to make their hunt as productive as possible. You don’t run to your blind once you get off the machine do you? Why not? You only have this little bit of time to hunt. You’re in a freakin’ hurry man. Get your ass in there as quickly as possible, plop down, and catch your breath! You see the scenario here? I would much rather have the opportunity to hunt 45 minutes of quality time than 1 hour in which the approach was nothing short of reckless.

A lot of people claim they condition the deer to the sound of the four-wheeler. I never hear them claim they condition the deer to the odor. But I’ll fall onto the side in which deer can be conditioned to many instances and that may include the sound of a four-wheeler approaching. A deer can become accustomed to many sounds and, if it hasn’t reasoned that the noise represents a cause for alarm, this just might work for you. Notice, I generalize the statement with the word deer. Tell me that you’re trying to condition mature bucks to the sound of you’re four-wheeler and I’ll ask why. I’ll probably even plunk the word idiot or maybe an oldie like idgit in there somewhere. Would you even think about driving that machine to your hunting spot if you knew a world class buck were in the area? Would you? But you’re pretty sure that a buck of that magnitude simply doesnt reside in your neck of the woods so, it’s alright. Right?

Let’s jump back and see how our host is doing.

The camera pans across the terrain in an over-the-shoulder shot from behind the host. The images show numerous trails coming together in a spoked pattern which alone is enough to get your heart racing. At that moment the dubbed music begins to play and the hosts whispers become inaudible over the poorly developed editing job that took place months after the hunt. The buck walks into the arena and pauses behind some brush seemingly closing the deal for the host just as he was about to draw his bow. The music fades into the background as time stands still and the camera zooms in where the arrow is unable to penetrate. In the heat of the moment the buck moves forward and the music begins to roll in unison with every movement of the deer as he approaches the shooting lane. In a slow motion recapture, the arrow flies and strikes the target true before panning down to our host who is now clenching his fist with his thumb in the air trying to speak through wavered breathing patterns. The final scene fades as the host once again exclaims the importance of concealing your scent on every hunt while he counts antler tines.

This is where the realization becomes muddied with the commercialization. In reality, the hosts sequence of events were completely inadequate and sent a message to the novice hunter that using scent control products is a cureall for many applications. The approach to the hunting area lacked the realism and basic respect for the knowledge of the viewing audience. The complete production was based on supporting those who support them and that, in this case, were the sponsors. Although I understand the obligations for paid sponsorship, I realize that the main objective is the production that connects to the viewer on a personal level by relaying the knowledge that actually works rather than mis-leads.

I invite you to leave the corporate and commercialized world behind on your next hunting trip. Walk to your blind and treat every step as part of the hunt. You may be pleasantly surprised and justly rewarded or, you might just find that the trail is a bit more twisted than you once remembered.

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