By the way, I have hunted both public and private land in the Midwest. In fact I've hunted over half the states and provinces in the U.S. and Canada, and even hunted deer in several other countries.
I will admit I'm impressed. But I'd be more impressed if it was your avocation rather than vocation. And you guys want to talk about "ego?"
smokepole, Oh, I freely admit that my non-understanding of other hunters' non-curiosity about the wild outside of their own corner of the world isn't rational.
Nice try to re-frame the discussion as DIY local hunters being parochial and small-minded. But you missed my point.
I am curious about Africa, and would like to see it some day. But up to this point it's been about other priorities like getting three kids through college. When I do go I'll be just as happy tripping a shutter as I would pulling the trigger.
Because having someone else take care of me, cook my meals, lead me to animals, and tell me when to pull the trigger is not what I want to get out of hunting. I'm not knocking it but pulling the trigger is not why I hunt. If I'm going on a trip where everything is taken care of, I'd rather have my wife along to enjoy that and she doesn't hunt.
When I hunt, I want to be the one who figures out where the animals are, how to stalk within range, and when to pull the trigger.
And I want the outcome to be in doubt. Listening to guys talk about prices and which/how many animals you can kill for X dollars is a turn-off for me.
And I want some solitude. Kind of hard to get that on a safari.
It has nothing to do with curiosity about other parts of the world.
