Nugent, redux

[David Petersen]

#6762

Here’s an unemotional and fair-minded take on the Nuge from a hunter. Sometimes I wish I could write about the enemies of hunting, civility and truth with such cool detachment, but most of the time I’m happier to cuss ’em out, which is the only language too many understand. 😛 Someone has to do it. 😀

http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20120603/OPINION02/706039862/-1/Opinion

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#54735

I believe Pat’s essay originally appeared in High Country News this spring. He hits the nail on the head, as far as I’m concerned.

Nugent is an egocentric, attention-starved, has-been rock star (three descriptors that all too often seem to go together). Unfortunately, he has turned this into something that some have mistaken for some sort of passionate “grassroots advocacy.” But when you peel away the abundant effluent, it becomes pretty evident you’re still just dealing with the above description. Or worse.

He has been busted poaching numerous times (11 charges in 2010 alone…). He advocates against sane and reasonable game management laws (and even seasons). He is not a hunter, in my opinion, he is an advocate for self-absorbed stupidity and nothing more.

And ultimately, Pat’s final sentence resonates:

“…will the NRA leadership continue to support a twice-convicted game-law violator who openly threatens the president of the United States?”

[james gilmer]

#54753

amen.

[wolfkill220]

#54860

not sure where he went wrong love his music but not such a fan of the man

[wahoo]

#55450

great article. Thasnks

[3blades]

#56225

Gonzo Man is great with the guitar but not so much with the personality. 😉

[skifrk]

#56399

Great article and while he is a confirmed wildlife violator. Yet plenty of places still host and encourage his kids camp, which I find very interesting.

[David Coulter]

#56465

Obviously, the Fever man still has quite a bit of power, in his ability to draw a crowd. Pat mentioned Hilton and Kardashian as two more examples of people who can get plenty of media (not to be confused with news) just by showing up. If you have this kind of power, lots of folks will turn their heads to let him act as host so their events book solid. A full house might be more important than who is sitting in the seats. It’s interesting alright.

It goes to show you the depth of the NRA and what their real interests are, which my guess is making money. It’s not an easy time to be an optimist, but there is still some peace in the woods. dwcphoto

[JodyS]

#56540

Well said fellows. I agree. The really troubling part to me is that our culture, including hunters at times, believes that the single voice of a celebrity (remember that fame isn’t always merited based on intellect, work ethic, or ability; sometimes it just lands in the lap of the wrong folks) carries more weight than that of a thousand reasonable, fine folks. In other words, our society, and hunters at times, seemed starved for someone who is big/famous to gain attention for us and then speak on our behalf. The problem here is that those who are famous and then speak on our behalf rarely have the character, thoughtfulness, or down-to-earth-mindedness that we do. They fall, and then we do too, all by proxy.

Here is a rule of thumb for those celebs in the hunting world out there: If you are an avid self-promoter, you should always practice self-examination. At best, you become a more thoughtful and moral person by doing so, at worst, your narcissism doesn’t devolve into criminality.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#56613

Well said, DWC & Jody.

I’d much rather see people like Steve Rinella, who spoke at the recent BHA Rendezvous, being advocates for our sport. But unfortunately, calm, rational people like Steve rarely grab the headlines the way attention-starved wing nuts like Nugent do.

[lyagooshka]

#56762

I may be oversimplifying this beyond belief, but here goes… The way I understand it, the law Ted Nugent broke in Alaska is continuing to hunt without making a legitimate attempt to recover an animal he had wounded. Doesn’t this fall under ethics? Even if it wasn’t the law, shouldn’t someone with a hunting show push ethics in hunting above all else? That is the problem I have. If he was an ethical hunter, he wouldn’t have needed to know this law as it would already be a way of life. Just a thought.

[bruc]

#56850

Sorry but I don’t know a lot about the man. the only thing I do know is that the music can’t be that good, because I’ve never really heard of it. Certainly can’t be a “Neil Young”

This has nothing to do with Neil being Manitoba born:wink:

Bruce

[Stumpkiller]

#56851

He wouldn’t be hunting on my property.

At least not with my permission.

[JodyS]

#56867

Well, the “E” word has been brought up in this discussion. 8)

I didn’t want to be the one to break out the ethics word :D. But, here it goes…

There is a tremendous difference between lawful and ethical. We can assume that an ethical hunter is a lawful one, but a lawful one will not always be an ethical one. Now that the celebrity in question has pleaded guilty to breaking some hunting laws, I wonder if he will fully disclose some of his practices in an attempt to clear his name in the eyes of the “hunting public.” I think it is safe to assume that if he does not come out and disclose his practices (because he is one who likes to declare things publicly), then we can assume a lack of ethics such as baiting for the camera hunts, hunting high-fence areas, etc.

Sorry for the rant…sort of.

The true “hero” hunters in my mind are guys who hunt fair chase, pursue hunting with a passion that is informed and pure, introduce the next generation to ethical hunting, and through consistent conservation efforts –whether on a local or national scale–preserve the land and wildlife for our children and grandchildren. I don’t mind those kind of folks speaking on my behalf.

Hunting-celebs, no thanks, go hawk your products and parrot your cheap talk elsewhere; I ain’t buying either.

Jody

[skifrk]

#57606

The problem with the hunting celebs though is that they are then toted out in Teds cass at a camp for kids as being role models of who to be like. This is not a good thing since then the kids are given someone to hero worship that is a horrible role model and as a spokesman for archery he keeps giving it bad rap by breaking laws and ethics that others hold important. This ends up giving all of archery a black eye to the non-hunting public.

While a lot of us who have been hunting for awhile may not buy his crap novices and others who don’t know better pay attention and then hunting becomes worse for his involvement then. in my humble opinion

[pewanogo]

#58050

TRUE STORY……I’ve met “Uncle Ted” in person on several occasions and at one such event he was hawking his goods at a display table and one of the items was a glossy 8×10 photo of Ted himself. This little kid wals up to the table thinking all this stuff was free and asked Nugent for a photo. Ted told him for Five bucks he could have a photo, pin it up on his wall an someday be just like me(Nugent). I’m thinking that kid who was so dissapointed at the time, may now be happy he did’nt have the five bucks to waste on the likes of one whom has probably done us more harm than good through his continuing hypocritical behavior. He has stated, as well ,he purchased property in Texas

because he was unable to keep poachers off his Michigan Property.

[john borgeson]

#59701

The article in the Durango Herald is well written. I completely agree that Mr.Nugent should not be my representative either. I believe he is not a good role model and I would not want any of my 6 kids to emulate him. I do believe in God, The Constitution of the United States (which I defended as a Soldier and a Marine from 1974 to 1994)the right of free speech, and the fact that Under God we have inalienable rights.

But, as a man of action, I also believe that it is a time for a man or men to become that “Gladiator” andto step into the “arena” of hunting rights and legislation. I am not qualified for that. I have limited hunting experience, but I have read much about many various state and national hunting organizations and because of the current atmosphere, I helieve it is now a time for a leader to step up not just in the NRA but also in the state organizations that support hunting. This man or men must have integrity, must have values and a life style that is Biblical (no “guys” in “pink” please)and by that I mean that his values and character must be irreproachable as much as possible. There are men among you who have these qualities. I know this as I have met some of you over the years. Yes this would be a great challenge for that man or men but the reward would be incredible. Speak among yourselves and write and encourage each other to find this man/men to step into these leadership positions. Why? Because the right to hunt is God-given. And…..we need some men with true character to step up. I will support you, I will also support initiatives, programs, forums etc, that would place these men in these positions any way that I can. I am not rich, nor extremely intelligent (just ask my wife!: 😀 ) but I will work beside you to to help to attain these goals. I know there are many others like me. The proof is in the fact that you write to this and other forums. So organize, communicate, but most importantly ACT. For America is the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. Lets work to keep it that way and protect our right to hunt.

Gen 27:3 “Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me.”

[coyote220]

#24852

I watched the video of the bear hunt in question. Viewed in both standard and slow speed. The hunter and his witnesses stated that the hunter spent several hours searching for additional blood, etc. The hunter and witnesses reported that no further evidence of a mortal wound was found.

Conflicting witnesses also reported very little effort was made to search for additional blood, etc. These witnesses supported the hunt video as accurate and unaltered.

Justice should be blind to the worlds’ opinion of the hunter. Only facts and evidence surrounding this event are relevant to the findings.

I find the hunter not guilty of this charge based upon the facts presented.

[Jason Wesbrock]

#25085

Coyote,

Where he was hunting, a wounded bear (not necessarily mortally wounded) counts toward the hunter’s bag limit. He shot one, wounded it, and then killed another. There’s really no gray area here. He broke the law and admitted to it.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/04/23/NugentPlea.pdf

[Bender]

#25139

This has been a long time coming and is overdue. I liked his music as a kid. But I never liked him as a self proclaimed “representative” of the hunting community. Not one bit.

[vajd]

#25749

I don’t care for his personality, I have to wonder if its an act. But compared with the Peta wackos, he not all that evil.

[lyagooshka]

#25806

Vajd,

I couldn’t agree more. I would rather be around 10 Teds than 1 PETA wacko. BUT…

Anti-hunting laws will not be decided by the 10% of the population that are PETA wackos (anti-hunters, nor will they be decided by the 10% of the population that are hunters. They will be decided by the 80% of the population that are non-hunters. That is why keeping a positive image in the eyes of the non-hunters is so important. For that reason, I do not feel T.N. is a good representative. Nothing against him. I have heard him talk and agree with much of what he says. I just feel there are better representatives of our way of life (I don’t like calling it a sport as it seems to me to cheapen the life of the game we take) than him.

Alex

🙂

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#25845

When ever PETA-heads start pontificating, I have one simple question for them:

“How much has PETA, who claims to care so much about the welfare of animals, donated or done to help wild habitat protection and restoration?”

Zero. That usually shuts them right up.

But people like Nugent are just as far on the other end of the wacko spectrum, and I’ve got no time for either extreme.

[Hiram]

#26372

Thanks Dave!8) Ted is too much into crossguns and rash statements to represent me on anything! Do NOT!!!!!Want him to represent me on Bow Hunting in any form or fashion!! 😀

[dcahilly]

#32471

Hiram wrote: Thanks Dave!8) Ted is too much into crossguns and rash statements to represent me on anything! Do NOT!!!!!Want him to represent me on Bow Hunting in any form or fashion!! 😀

pretty good article,ive had enough of teds bull and his crazy antics certainly dont help us with the people who are on the fence about hunting and gun control

[Nate Bailey]

#42047

There are many media outlets out there that are more than willing to use the good beliefs of others to advance their own popularity, or wellbeing. I dont question the message, rather I question the motive — this man will say or do anything for a buck(no pun intended). The problem is this is how a ton of bowhunters(hunters in general) see themselves- whack’em and stack’em!

[Don Thomas]

#43858

A brief response… Stay tuned for the editorial in the upcoming O/N issue. Don

[Konrad]

#53698

It doesn’t bother me that Mr. Wray complains about lack of a charismatic hunter to represent his position in the media.

What does bother me is his easy willingness to cast stones at someone willing to stand in support of both firearms ownership and hunters’ rights. I have no doubt that the NRA (of which my wife and I are both members) will review Nugent’s charges and take appropriate action.

Until our Mr. Wray comes up with his mythical perfect representative, I am afraid I will have to accept Mr. Nugent’s help in these matters. I would gratefully accept Mr. Wray’s constructive help too.

The tone of his missive makes me wonder if he wasn’t one of those embarrassed by Charlton Hesston’s rhetoric as president of the NRA.

Eating one’s own proves nothing of one’s own righteousness or the justification of one’s own positions.

[Author]

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