Hunting Stages?

[Rich M]

Help me out here. Some say that there are stages of hunter development:

1) Shooting Stage · 2) Limiting Out Stage · 3) Trophy Stage · 4) Method Stage · 5) Sportsman Stage · 6) “Give-Back” Stage

I got my first hunters ed card in '78 so I predate this teaching. Haven't heard it before or forgot I ever heard it.

Guess the shooting and limiting are first. Most folks like to make a kill when they hunt, or they wouldn't carry a gun, bow, ML. We never leave these "stages". Without them, we are not hunters.

Trophy hunting is always shown as the pinnacle of hunting - they have restraint/self control, knowledge to get on the biggest critters, able to make the shots, etc. Most trophy hunters I know or have seen on YouTube will do whatever it takes to make the kill, so the Sportsman aspect is sometimes fleeting.

There were/are always guys who preferred the method to the hunt or the kill, but not everyone gets that attached to a method or technique. These are the guys in buckskins with a flintlock ML. In love with the idea of the ML, not the hunt. Possibly the LR guys fall into this? Some archery guys do - you can tell by mentioning x-bow and seeing if they fly into a tizzy.

There are some folks who are sportsmen first and foremost. They'll give ground when they encounter you in the woods, share info, and seem to have it all together. Not threatened by you or threatening to you. This is more or a mindset vs a stage. These guys aren't uber competitive.

There are a lot of guys who are gung-ho to give stuff back on day 1 but the other hunters usually turn on them and choke it out of them. This was true pre-internet and is surely true now. We also have more groups willing to take your money so you feel good about giving.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

As best I can tell I'm somewhere between limiting out and trophy, hopefully sprinkling in some sportsman along the way. Rarely will I shoot the first forky I see on a deer hunt (trophy) but bringing meat back from the field (limiting out) is of high importance to me.

Helping other hunters in some regard (both strangers and friends/family) is an annual occurence but it's mostly circumstantial and opportunistic; meaning I don't set out in the morning with the mindset of "I'm going to help another hunter today" but if the situation arises I will help someone pack out or with info etc.

Since I've been hunting for over 25 years I'm not sure I'm progressing very fast on this scale. Stuck in my ways I suppose?

 

[LongWayAround]

I've heard this a number of times over the years.

I don't believe that it's as much of a linear trajectory as you present. In my opinion, any one person could embody any of the stages on a given day. Even assuming the stages are roughly a progressive series, they're not necessarily experienced in the same order.

For what it's worth, I would say that I'm a pretty competitive sportsman who emphasizes the method. I don't do a lot of "giving back" lately, but have in the past. I am a poor excuse for a trophy hunter but definitely don't want to be eating all of my tags. Some days, shooting or not shooting is a high priority. Other days, I don't really care. It largely depends on the pursuit of the day and how invested in it I am.

 

[Doghed]

I've never heard that either.
I'll always be focused on putting meat in the freezer. I'm definitely at the limiting out stage with a bunch of that other stuff sprinkled in there at times.

 

[Maverick1]

Depends on many factors.

 

[AndrewMT34]

For me it depends on what I'm hunting. If I have a quality tag I'm going to be more picky and look for a quality mature animal, otherwise most of my hunting would be in the method-sportsman stage.

For my new-ish passion of upland hunting, it's all about the experience and quality dog work for me.

 

[Jethro]

Although I don't care for @Rich M description of the stages. I've been through them and back to sportsman.

First 2 stages when I was young and through my 20s.

Trophy - all relative. For me could be as simple as not a young buck or doe. Horn size irrelevant.

I've had lots of method stage desires over the years - wanted to shoot deer with hand gun, accomplished. Wanted to shoot one in winter archery, accomplished. Wanted to shoot a grouse, accomplished. Wanted to shoot rabbit and pheasant with bow, accomplished. Wanted to shoot deer with bow during our rifle season, tried not accomplished. Last season tried turkey with bow, no blind. That's a tough one.

Sportsman, then Give Back a few years with my teen age daughter. She didn't hunt this past year and I found myself back at sportsman. Didn't need meat, could have filled all 5 tags, but filled none. Enjoyed every minute.

 

[JohnJohnson]

There were/are always guys who preferred the method to the hunt or the kill, but not everyone gets that attached to a method or technique. These are the guys in buckskins with a flintlock ML. In love with the idea of the ML, not the hunt. Possibly the LR guys fall into this?

I wouldn't say all the LR guys fall into it but I'll admit that I do for now. I see LR shooting, especially positional LR shooting, as a very rare skillset among hunters (and shooters) that I want to cultivate.

 

[Minute_of_Antelope]

Maybe I missed it but where does the freezer filler/nice-antler-admirer hybrid fit into all of this?

 

[Btaylor]

I am at the stage where I am sort of a mash up of trophy, method, sportsman.

 

[KurtR]

Depends on what and where im hunting. I have killed a boat load of deer and a couple big ones so unless its bigger than what i have killed i wont pull the trigger i hunt both 10 minutes from my house. My wife and son kill enough for the freezer. If I am hunting elk out west im killnig first thing i see. Waterfowl if i cant bring my dog im not interested and then the goal is to pile birds up for him to bring back and its my favorite game to hunt and eat.

 

[Danny Hoey]

For me, it depends on what I am hunting.

Elk, it's to fill the freezer.

Deer, I want to shoot something the 4 or 5 day of hunting.

Birds, I'm shooting for the dog but I'm not gonna hike dawn till dusk to get a limit. If he's happy with 2 roosters, that's ok with me.

 

[steelheadmike]

Depends on a lot of things and it's not a linear track. Take duck hunting for example: one day I'll shoot anything that quacks, another day its green only under 15yds with a 20g.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

I would very strongly agree with it. I could boil it down to Blood Lust.

As a 10 year old with a Crossman pellet gun...I could kill EVERYTHING.

My blood lust has REALLY waned over time. At 52....I really think before pulling the trigger. I take lots of photos.

Hunting with a revolver interests me. But there are now many things or methods that wouldn't interest me.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

As a die hard Waterfowler...I would agree with SHM. Now it's certain ducks and better scenarios. No more Buffleheads. No mergansers. Drakes only. You get it.

 

[ODB]

I hunt a lot. Shoot a little. I am never anxious to pull the trigger unless everything fits into a narrow window. So that’s…method?

Then again inthink as was said above you can be in many stages at once.

 

[WCB]

I can't really vote as it all depends on what I am hunting. I've mostly given up things like jump shooting Snow Geese and really just decoy them and try to finish them feet down before shooting. But if all they give me are 40 yard shots...I'm shooting. If I am dove hunting I want volume, Coyote hunting however I can get a shot (within the law).

Deer I pass tons of deer to kill a "trophy" but that is dependent on location. General waterfowl 99% of the time I am going to kill my limit so I don't shoot hens and don't need to shoot only Greenheads in a picked corn field. Big water, slough, corn field, pass shooting don't care. I'll shoot Mergansers because they are a separate limit.

I've always tried to give back....whether it is habitat improvement, donating time and money, teaching a new hunter etc. I try to be a sportsman but like last year snow goose hunting...sitting on a feed till dark then going to set decoys. A couple guys pull up and said they were going to hunt that field tomorrow.....Well guess what I'm sitting on it and was for 3 hrs and never saw them once until they pulled up with no trailer. Geese had been in that field for 3 days and I never saw that vehicle in the area that whole time. I did extend the offer to hunt together but no way I was going to give up that field to be a "sportsman". But I did help a young man harvest his first Antelope and even let him use my rifle.

 

[Dos Perros]

I think I'm transitioning from trophy to method. And not because I've been incredibly successful at the former, think I'm admitting consistently killing big stuff is hard, and maybe not always fun, so moving to method (like I'm getting into traditional black powder stuff). Also, with kids coming of age the focus is shifting to them, and our enjoyment of the outdoors together.

 

[william schmaltz]

I’m in the stage where I probably won’t get to shoot anything but small game for the next 15 years. Oldest is 5 and him and his brother are very into hunting. So they will likely be taking my tags and I’ll be happy to plan and tag along with the checkbook. As long as we get at least one moose for the family every year, I don’t care who is shooting!

 

[IDVortex]

I'm mixed, trophy but also limiting out.

This spring I'm doing bear for the first time in my life, any bear will be a good bear for me plus meat.


This fall, I'm working on scouting and doing a mule deer hunt, that is going to be a "trophy" hunt, I'm going to have a min standard and if I don't get anything so be it.

Planning on also doing archery elk this year too, that is either a meat hunt or trophy. If my scouting gets me on a bull it's more of a trophy hunt, if all I see is small bulls I'm fine with a nice elk roast.

Now if I draw a OIL sheep tag, that's a trophy hunt.