welcome to the site and good post..
yes, hunting has turned into a sport measured in the most inches rather than what the tradition values are, such as making memories with family, friends and getting youth in the sport..A kid cant shoot a forked horn deer without another getting mad about it being a young buck.. Were are the taditional values to hunting in that?? I read an article about a kid who shot a really nice buck.. Yet, it caused a big stink because there was a farm next to it that had been bowhunting that big deer all year and had passed on severaal big buck just for that one...They even compl;ained to the kid that a buck of tha caliber should have been hunted by bow and not gun and should have been killed by a hunter who "earned it".. This sends a bad message every were..What has hunting turned into for some people?? We should have celebrated for the kid and not shamed him using a gun..( i would have been happy to take tis buck with a gun) There are fewer and fewer kids getting into hunting and its many reason like mentioned above.. Its our job to teach them about the huntng values where success shouldnt be measured by the kill but by the memories and fun we have while in the woods.. Every trip to the woods is a successful one because i always learn something bout land terrain, stand placement, deer pattern, etc..Thats what we should be teaching the youth..