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It’s an odd sort of cultural flaw. Archers seem to “get it,” you can go out, do everything right and come home empty handed and it is still a good day and good

It’s an odd sort of cultural flaw. Archers seem to “get it,” you can go out, do everything right and come home empty handed and it is still a good day and good use of time. You can always learn something and grow. As a society, we tend to qualify the investment by the output alone. Aside from the tiny percentage of subsistence hunters, I’d say that if you feel it was wasted time or you’re frustrated after a hunt, you didn’t actually do it or do it right. The gear cost equation is dramatically out of sync with “saving money on meat” any more. You can buy years worth of beef for a family of four for the cost of a crappy used ATV. Now ATVs are fun, and shooting nicer weapons is fun, and there is a lot of cool gear and hunting and fishing can be a very very fulfilling hobby and use of time, but “saving money” is just a rationalization.

jfoutz 3y ago
Well, yeah. Let me clarify a little bit. I think there are some folks that just like killing. And some of those folks have the money to spare. I can think of a family or two that didn't have a lot. But a truck and a spotlight, not to hard to come by. One guy driving and another shoots from the bed of the truck at 3 in the morning. Is that sporting? is it fun for them? Did the meat go to waste? Maybe they just like killing too. But internally I give a little more leeway.
- ethbr1 3y ago
  Large swathes of modern society have lost an understanding of the difference between {nothing} and {anything}, especially in relative distance to {anything} and {the best}. A beat-up rifle and 3 bullets is incomprehensibly far from no rifle and no bullets. A $x0,000 custom AR isn't that far from the beat-up rifle. To me, that's what time in nature is -- resetting our baselines. Without that periodic reset, it's easy to get subjectively out of whack and a bit crazy.
javman 3y ago
"Archers seem to 'get it'" is like saying "Mac users seem to 'get it'". There are good apples and bad apples in every user group. I've been hunting for 30 years. Some years I hunt with a bow, muzzleloader rifle, or modern rifle – some years I have hunted with all three of those. Archery has changed a lot in the past 15 years, mostly due to the internet and social media. The number of archery hunters has exploded, and with it there has come a lot more good/bad apples. Archery also has seen the most applications of technology the past 20 years. My newest bow cost more than my newest rifle. You are somewhat right that hunters are not "saving money on meat." Some years we do and some years we don't. But a big attraction is just knowing where your food comes from (at least some of it). Processing it yourself.

jfoutz 3y ago

Well, yeah. Let me clarify a little bit. I think there are some folks that just like killing. And some of those folks have the money to spare. I can think of a family or two that didn't have a lot. But a truck and a spotlight, not to hard to come by. One guy driving and another shoots from the bed of the truck at 3 in the morning. Is that sporting? is it fun for them? Did the meat go to waste? Maybe they just like killing too. But internally I give a little more leeway.

ethbr1 3y ago
Large swathes of modern society have lost an understanding of the difference between {nothing} and {anything}, especially in relative distance to {anything} and {the best}. A beat-up rifle and 3 bullets is incomprehensibly far from no rifle and no bullets. A $x0,000 custom AR isn't that far from the beat-up rifle. To me, that's what time in nature is -- resetting our baselines. Without that periodic reset, it's easy to get subjectively out of whack and a bit crazy.

javman 3y ago

"Archers seem to 'get it'" is like saying "Mac users seem to 'get it'". There are good apples and bad apples in every user group. I've been hunting for 30 years. Some years I hunt with a bow, muzzleloader rifle, or modern rifle – some years I have hunted with all three of those. Archery has changed a lot in the past 15 years, mostly due to the internet and social media. The number of archery hunters has exploded, and with it there has come a lot more good/bad apples. Archery also has seen the most applications of technology the past 20 years. My newest bow cost more than my newest rifle. You are somewhat right that hunters are not "saving money on meat." Some years we do and some years we don't. But a big attraction is just knowing where your food comes from (at least some of it). Processing it yourself.