By Cassie Gasaway, Freelance Writer & Outdoor Content Creator
While scrolling Facebook, I read a post on a local hunting group that asked, “Do y'all think technology has taken a lot of the fair chase away from deer hunting?” Internally, I responded, “Duh” and kept scrolling, but something told me to go back and read the comments. I was shocked when 75 percent of the respondents said technology didn’t affect fair chase.
Today, we have better equipment, calls, decoys, cameras, scouting tools, attractants, weapons, etc. than ever before. We see new, innovative products and technological advancements all the time. All these things have helped us become more efficient and effective hunters. Meanwhile, deer and other game animals — as majestic as they are — have the same senses and abilities as their ancestors 1,000 years ago. It’s ignorant to say technology isn’t interfering with the fair chase of hunting deer. For the record, fair chase doesn’t only apply to deer and technology; it extends to all animals and other hunting aids like baiting and modern weapons.
The Boone and Crockett Club defines fair chase as “the ethical, sportsmanlike, and lawful pursuit and taking of any free-ranging wild game animal in a manner that does not give the hunter an improper or unfair advantage over the game animals.” In other words, hunters must balance their skills and equipment with their prey’s ability to elude and escape.
Because the definition doesn’t dictate what hunting aids hunters can and can’t use, there’s room for them to make decisions regarding how they hunt, within the limits of laws and regulations. As such, many hunters use every tool, gadget, gimmick and strategy available to kill game animals. The decision to stack hunting aids atop one another and use them simultaneously often gives hunters a significant advantage, threatening the premise of fair chase.
Then and Now
Hunting started as a necessity to survive. To be successful 100 years ago, hunters had to physically walk through the woods to find animal sign, patterns and food sources. Finding a good hunting spot took intentionality, effort and sweat. After setting up, the hunter would have to wait patiently to see an animal, likely eyeing it for the first time, and hope it’d come within shooting range.
Modern hunters can devise a successful plan mainly from the comfort of their couches with the use of extras. In some states, a hunter can view digital maps, start baiting and use cellular cameras to monitor real-time animal activity to determine exactly when and where to go. Couple that with powerful firearm capabilities and they can shoot an animal that’s unable to detect any nearby threats.
Compare the scenarios and you’ll notice wildlife have more working against them than they ever have. People also have the option to be active or passive hunters. For many, their approach to hunting is not as fair to the animal as it once was — and that’s problematic.
Why Fair Chase Matters
Fair chase is the premise of legal, ethical hunting that focuses on the challenge of the chase rather than the killing of animals. It’s about respecting the resource, being an honorable hunter, and leaving a good representation of hunters through decisions dictated by balance and acceptability. Responsible hunters do not take unfair advantage of their prey.
By striving for a fair chase approach to hunting, we can:
·avoid hunting methods and technology that can overwhelm and disadvantage game species,
·benefit from more authentic, rewarding, hands-on hunting experiences,
·create memorable hunting stories with depth and significance,
·level the playing field for all hunters, removing the “pay to play” aspect of hunting,
·help nonhunters view hunters and the hunting community in a positive light,
·elevate and emphasize the importance of conservation through our actions.
We Can All Improve, Four Ways to Start
1. Check Yourself, Analyze Your Strategy Annually
Many people have become so accustomed to buying and using what’s available that they may not realize how inflated their hunting strategies have gotten. That’s why everyone needs to evaluate their hunting approach. Take an inventory of everything you use to hunt, making sure to understand the influence and power of each hunting aid. Then, think about your quarry’s senses and abilities. Are the lists balanced?
Few individual aids threaten fair chase principles on their own, but the combination of multiple aids used at the same time can dramatically stack the odds in a hunter’s favor. Just because a hunting aid is legal, that doesn’t mean it’s right, fair or beneficial to the resource and the hunting community in every circumstance. The law can’t cover everything, nor can it change as quickly as technology advances, so we must police ourselves.
2. Reduce or Rotate the Hunting Aids You Use
Because conservation benefits from funds collected on firearms, ammunition and archery equipment through the Pittman-Robertson Act and all other hunting gear purchases help keep the outdoor industry – and companies within it – strong, there’s no shame in buying products and letting the industry innovate. And as long as the items on your list are legal, you’re allowed to use them, but for the sake of fair chase, consider their use more carefully.
Ask yourself if their use is morally and consciously correct. If your gut tells you yes and you opt to use an aid or two, vow to use them in moderation or alternate between them to ensure your predatory capabilities are equal to the animal’s senses and evasive capability. Use math to help equalize your abilities with your prey’s. If you add something to your approach, subtract something else. Keep calculating until the predator-prey relationship is even, and recalculate when you add a new aid to your arsenal. Remember, humans are the only creatures on earth that use hunting aids outside of our own physical capabilities to pursue prey.
3. Take an Online Fair Chase and Hunter Ethics Course
The NRA Hunters’ Leadership Forum provided a grant to the Boone and Crockett Club, allowing the organization to create a fair chase course in Feb. 2024. The course teaches responsible and ethical hunting practices to new, novice and veteran hunters, and the non-hunting public. Whether you’ve been hunting for five years or 50, you can benefit from a refresher on the history and ethics of responsible hunting. The course is free and takes about an hour.
Luke Coccoli, director of conservation programs for the Boone and Crockett Club, led the development of the curriculum. He said it’s a great course for hunters who find themselves in moral dilemmas and for nonhunters seeking to understand a hunter’s appreciation for wildlife and conservation.
4. Encourage Your Hunting Peers to Pursue Fair Chase
Most hunters are united in their love and passion for hunting. Use that sentiment to discuss fair chase with your hunting peers. Recognize that we all have different standards and moral codes and that’s OK. Hunter ethics are very subjective and personal. There’s no need to belittle or bicker with others, but an open dialogue about our approach to hunting helps hunters recognize potential fair chase violations, while encouraging and inspiring others to respect the resource and act accordingly.
Final Thoughts
Nonhunters value fair chase hunters. Because 95% of Americans don’t hunt, we, as hunters, must act favorably to ensure society accepts hunting and continues to vote on our behalf.
To protect our right to hunt, we must be good stewards of wildlife and wild places. Everything we do contributes to individual hunting stories and an overarching hunting legacy. Make sure your stories are unique and worth telling and ensure your approach to hunting is something you’re proud of and respected for.
Cassie is an avid big game bowhunter who enjoys all outdoor activities, especially hiking, fishing, backpacking, gardening, and spending time afield with her husband and two kids. Her life centers around God, family and the outdoors. As a freelance writer, she covers a wide variety of topics from outdoor recreation activities and participation trends to industry news and controversial legislative issues. Cassie started her professional career at the National Wild Turkey Federation as the web content specialist. She spent the past eight years as the communications manager for the Archery Trade Association.
