| What is the single most important piece of hunting | | | | jacket really that much more of a hunter than |
| gear? If I wanted to be poetic, I would say that it is the | | | | someone wearing Gore-Tex? Just because one |
| hunter: a hunter must be well-tuned, skillful, watchful, | | | | hunter prefers to stay warm and dry and healthy does |
| aware, patient, and ready. Of course, in truth, the most | | | | not make him or her less of a hunter, right? |
| important piece of hunting gear is the gun or bow. | | | | And just because a hunter takes a GPS and a satellite |
| Beyond that, all hunting gear is simply "fluff..." Or is it? | | | | phone and special topo maps does not make him or |
| After all, did the hunters of centuries ago have GPS, | | | | her any less of a hunter. After all, safety is key, and |
| Gore-Tex, sound-amplifying earmuffs, laser | | | | these new items of "hunting gear" could mean the |
| rangefinders, pocket-sized digital wind meters, satellite | | | | difference between life and death for a hunter. |
| phones, and other technologically savvy hunting gear? | | | | And even if a hunter does use sound-amplifying |
| No. Back then, the hunt was a matter of man vs. | | | | earmuffs to improve his chance of hearing a deer |
| nature, man vs. beast. Now it seems that it is | | | | coming, he still has to be able to shoot it. And if he |
| technology vs. nature. | | | | uses a pocket-sized digital wind meter to see how the |
| These days, a hunter does still need skill, but not as | | | | wind will affect his bullet, he still needs to understand |
| much. If he loads up with all of the latest hunting gear, | | | | how to use it and where he should then aim. |
| he can go out into the wild and bag a deer during the | | | | And so what if a hunter uses a laser rangefinder? He |
| day and then be back in the city, dining in a fine Italian | | | | still needs to have spotted the deer in the first place |
| restaurant by that night. | | | | and he still needs to have remained calm, quiet, and |
| It seems that hunting is no longer about the hunt and | | | | patient. |
| connecting with nature. It seem that hunting is now all | | | | Wait a minute... maybe all of this new hunting gear is |
| about shooting and scoring. Even the most city-bred | | | | not as bad as I thought. Or maybe it is just too easy to |
| CEOs can now go on a hunt and expect to "win." | | | | get carried away with it. After all, there is some pretty |
| After all, they can afford all of the latest hunting gear: | | | | amazing technology that is used to come up with such |
| and they will buy it, even if they only plan on hunting | | | | advanced hunting gear. |
| once or twice. | | | | As a hunter, the thing that you need to learn is where |
| So, does all of this new hunting gear remove the | | | | to draw the line. It is good to use a few of these new |
| hunter from nature? I say that yes, it does. That being | | | | items of hunting gear, but you need to decide which |
| said, though, many pieces of new hunting gear do | | | | pieces to use. If you use them all, hunting becomes |
| have their place. | | | | less like hunting and more like a video game. |
| After all, is a hunter wearing a basic cotton camo | | | | |