TILLAMOOK STATE FOREST, Ore. - Gary Yeager is an Oregon hunter who has discovered deer hunting the old fashioned way: he uses a “muzzleload” rifle, blackpowder and a lead bullet.
“You load the powder, the bullet, ram her down and you’re ready to go,” noted Yeager during a recent practice session in the state forest near Tillamook.
“Scopes are not allowed,” he added. “So it's totally open sights – plus you have to keep your powder dry in a soggy rainforest.”
For years Yeager had shot high-powered rifles that hit targets hundreds of yards away. (He confided that he can accurately hit targets with his muzzleload rifle at about 80 yards.) But he wanted to get back to basics to better test his hunting skills.
“Hunting is certainly a lot different from our forefather’s experiences, there’s no doubt about that." he said. "I think in many ways most of us have gotten away from the true hunt-and-stalk hunting experience. I’d like to get back to that.”
You can see what Yeager means on a visit to the sporting goods counter.
Bob Leis is a buyer for Joe’s outdoors, and he told KATU that these days there’s an amazing array of gadgets and gear designed to make the hunting experience simpler, easier and more comfortable.
“There’s all kinds of stuff out there: lights, scents, optics, sound recordings, clothing ... materials and products that didn’t exist even a decade ago,” he said.
Leis showed off lightweight, fleecy neoprene clothing with built-in scent blockers, waterproof scopes and range finders, portable trail cameras, audio playback devices with game calls – and even spray cans with scents that the animals can smell.
“There are many different kinds of spray scents: a bull or buck smell, sage or cedar or even dirt," Leis said. "Scent has become a huge part of hunting.”
With such varied and new products, you wonder: is it still possible to find the “sport” in sportsmanship using technology?
Leis told KATU: “Oh, yes, I think you can. Many of the technological advances just allow you to enjoy the experience a little bit more.”
But sometimes the technology crosses a line of fairness – for example, “Robo-Duck” was a popular device in the late 90's.
Batteries operated a small motor inside a duck decoy that made the wings rotate. It was the wing movement that attracted the ducks.
But Oregon wildlife managers banned the devices because they were electronic in nature, required batteries and didn’t seem fair.
Don VandeBergh, ODFW Biologist, told KATU: “The department looks at new technology with a critical eye to see if it gives a high advantage that may not be appropriate for the species that you're hunting.”
Ever since “Robo-Ducks” were banned, waterfowl hunters like Bob Foote and John Jordan have gone low-tech: they use strings attached to their anchored decoys to give ripple-like movement on the water.
They agree the ban was not needed because the battery powered decoys didn’t work as well as the wildlife agency believed.
Jordan told KATU: "Frankly, I think a lot of these things are just to get the hunter to open his wallet and buy more things. I really don't think they are an advantage to the hunters.”
“If you really want to be a purist,” noted Foote, “get your bow and arrow and go out and sit in the corn wearing a loin cloth and shoot geese or ducks that way – technology is a part of hunting and allows us to be more comfortable.”
Yeager agreed that technology is a part of hunting but worries that too much detracts from the heart of the sport.
He says he’s committed to muzzleload hunting so he can hone traditional “hunt and stalk” skills: “As hunters, we need to remember to teach our kids what the true meaning of what hunting was, what it is and how it should be,” he said.
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