A recent visit to one of the other bowhunting sites reminded me how much I appreciate the caliber of folks who participate in these forums. Here I find a wealth of knowledge and wisdom paired with an overall sense of humility and respect. Not so on some of the other bowhunting/archery sites.
My first complaint is that they feel more like virtual shopping malls than communities of bowhunters. Second they tend to be fertile ground for agitators and gossips. My third (though far from final) complaint is that they tend to be dominated by people who seem to be seeking attention.
An example is a thread that was complaining about crowded hunting in a popular public area with which I am very familiar. One self-described expert attempting to bolster his creds claimed he had been hunting the property since 1990. He emphasized and repeated that statement several times. Problem is the property was in the hands of a power company who had closed it to all hunting for decades until late in 1993. It wasn’t until the fall of 1997 that the state first opened it for limited access pheasant and quail hunts. Bowhunting was allowed for the first time the following year.
So I wonder was the expert who claimed he had been hunting there since 1990 a poacher or merely a liar? It seems to me that the motivators for attention seekers would be hard to find in a “low scoring sport” like bowhunting. Solitude and kinship with nature are incompatible with popularity and cutting edge.
Am I a minority for thinking that way? If the popularity of these other sites is any indicator then I’m afraid I may be. To Webmother and all who participate here I say keep up the good work.
