The UGLY of My KS Hunt - 2012

I consider myself realistic. That said, I wish I could also say all was great, perfect, and just peachy about my hunt before, during, and after. Read the following to catch up with my story, with the bloggers and tweeps that helped propel my story and passion. To them, I am so greatful!

@SoleAdventure: The story of Alex Tagle's (HuntingFreakz) giant KS buck is up on @WiredToHunt. You don't want to miss this one!... http://t.co/CT1AQCfk

@DeerPassion: "So, so, so proud of this guy and his hunt!! Read the story hereht"tp://t.co/1XJ6cOrF …
@HuntingFreakz "Pfftt.. It was your patience, your perseverance, and your knowledge.. and you rocked it. Is he gonna be a wall hanger?" "Love it! It's a great story and an awesome deer! You inspire me to keep getting out there.. despite the frustration sometimes"

NOW THE UGLY.

I won’t spend too much time on these two. Ugly 1: I was asked by a co-worker, what high fenced ranch I went to. I laughed because I thought he was joking…, HE WASN’T. He wanted to know how much the deer had cost me. Really? Ugly 2: I showed pictures of my buck to some fellow public land hunters, and they all had someone else they knew someone who'd killed a bigger buck. Really?

Ugly 3 (and the ugliest): In my story, I mentioned I was complimented by other hunters. There was a father and son team, and I nearly allowed them to steal my thunder. They congratulated me, and without my permission, the father at some point scored my buck. He downplayed the size of the brute I had just killed.., by 40 inches. Keep in mind, I did not give much importance on “score” or the size of the rack in my story. I STILL DON’T. The buck is a trophy TO ME in so many other categories. His actions felt invasive. Adding to the ugly, the day after I tagged out, they announced they were leaving because they were not seeing much activity. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? They were reporting more activity, “pushing”, bedding near them, etc. I nearly allowed myself to feel guilty for having killed such a buck, but I was better than that. The son, very young, was the driving force behind the, IMO, naive father’s feelings. The father disclosed the young man was very intelligent, well versed, and educated on hunting, via internet “hunting stuff”, TV hunting shows, etc.

A-ha!!

Are celebrities who choose to stage hunts to sell product to blame? Are TV and internet “Hunting Professionals” at fault for setting unrealistic expectations (there is a show I REFUSE to watch, showed an arrogant hunter in Iowa passing up 170” & 180” class bucks, because “that’s not what he was after” – he killed a bigger buck, never broke a sweat)? OR is it the RESPONSIBILITY of the hunting teacher, role model, mentor, father/mother, etc. to prepare future and/or beginner hunters? I’ll let you answer the questions. I can tell you this, I always told my older children, “Spiderman is not REAL, and it’s just a movie. Those are stunts, and it’s staged by trained people”…..

The young man came to KILL A BIG KANSAS BUCK! They spoke with “friends” that were in another fully-guided-more-expen$ive-food-plot-stands-placed-for-you deer camp and got great reports of deer activity (note: I am not against those kinds of camps – to each his/her own, it’s their business and it’s a business). Did I mention this was a DIY (do it yourself) hunt. No food plots, no baiting, no stands placed for you, no lanes cut for you, no dropping you off near your stand, no telling you what deer you have to pass or shoot, no trophy fees, just a small access fee to the leased farms, lodging, maps, at a ridiculous low cost! Forget the cost, IT’S HUNTING. Let me repeat it one more time…., IT’S HUNTING!!!! As I am writing this, my blood is boiling. I get so upset with hunters that have “experience”, have killed deer, go out of their domain to other states and expect to kill deer, expect the same deer numbers, expect the same deer behavior, EXPECT, EXPECT, EXPECT!

Besides the unrealistic expectations, let me share other facts, NOT judgement. The father-son team were waking up at 5:30 - I was on my stand (40 minute one way drive included) by 6 a.m. I used scent-free soaps, deodorant, and sprays - they used Suave and Old English products. I was getting off to be strategic and eat a quick sandwich late morning – they were at the lodge by 10 a.m. (when I was quartering my buck, my jaw dropped when I saw them back at 9:15 a.m.!) I hunted a total of three different spots, one farm – they hunted on three different farms, moving stands constantly within those farms. The father accused Dave, Abilene Outdoor Adventures of misleading them. The son told me Dave was a good salesman. Never did they make themselves accountable for their actions!

Months ago, on my YouTube channel, I wrote: “My hunting philosophy: If you WANT to kill something, don't hunt - if you want to hunt, welcome to my world.” Does it make sense?

On an old blog, I quoted: “‘We are losing a young generation to apathy and twisted values of entitlement’. I don't want to be part of that sick bandwagon nor my son a victim!”

IMO, this father really needed to take his son to a fully guided hunt, maybe even a high fenced, 100% success guarantee hunt. God bless, and kid…, welcome to hunting!

- "Don't Quit!", just saying.