I am sitting here watching some hunting shows, marvelling at the multiple gizmos that these fellows use and seem to require, to be successful. Some of it I agree with. Quality optics ( if you hunt long range) and range finders ( for bow, frontstuffer or long range). But some stuff... Not so much. Last time I looked for a new scope, I couldn't believe all the junk cluttering up a nice field of view. Too confusing to the eye.
Combine all this with the blinds, ozone generators, trail cams, feeds/attractants etc and its enough to make you wonder how we ever shot a critter without them!
Along that same line, all the new calibers, that truth be told, don't do anything the old ones couldn't do. Nothing wrong with new per se, but nice and necessary don't always mean the same thing.
I'm still old school. I like my muzzleloaders and I've recently acquired a superb old Savage M99 30-30. The frontstuffers are aperture sighted and the 30-30 soon will be. Scopes are nice, and sometimes do help, but as most deer etc, are shot this side of 150 yards and a lot a LOT closer, taking shots way out there almost seems like shooting rather than hunting. To each his/ her own. I do admire the skill though...
I believe that when you take an animal's life, you owe it the quickest death you can give. But hunting is the totality of the experience, not just the kill. To the average non- hunter, I wonder if all this gives the impression that we're all about the kill and filling tags instead of being enriched by the experience.Maybe , someday, they'll make an app for that too. Meanwhile, I'll take my old peep sighted .30-30 M99 and stumble around in a spot that looks good. Maybe sit under a tree for a spell, and wait for something plump and tasty to walk by...