Thread: Thermal gear. Should we have it?

I can understand where you're coming from, OP. Your stance is very 'tweed coat and top hat'; one which goes against the grain of today's thinking. Perhaps you could take a time machine back to the 1920's? And be sure to take a thermal with you.

I agree that going bush with only a 'pack and rifle' (the basic necessities) and doing more with less, can be liberating. It's also a touch more sporting, and an effective way of building character - i.e resourcefulness and resilience. (The fewer crutches you have at your disposal, the greater the chance of failure. And it's failure which breeds perseverance, not easily-won success).

I also feel that lugging increasing amounts of gadgetry into the outdoors, while perhaps 'convenient' (until a battery goes flat!), dilutes the experience of being at the mercy of something far greater than ourselves (nature). It may lead to a form of arrogance, whereby we believe we should always have the upper hand over it - i.e rather than negotiate obstacles by relying on our wits and being responsive to our surroundings, we should reach for a gadget instead and just cruuuise, baby!

Does this mean thermal devices should be illegal, or that they're inherently bad; or that, in using one, you're somehow inferior as a hunter?

I've met old school hunters (who learned how to hunt the hard way) who are now using thermal devices in their later years. They've already paid their dues. They live busy lives. And the thermal devices are just a way of tipping the odds in their favour. And there lies the crux of it - whether a method is valid or not probably depends on your intent. A lot of people are comparing thermal use in trophy hunting, with their use in commercial shooting, or recreational meat hunting etc. It's comparing apples, pears and oranges!

Not all hunters are preoccupied with self improvement or acquiring badges of honour from the sporting fraternity. The goal may be something as simple as filling the freezer with minimal fuss, or it may be about capitalizing on your time (if you're a professional culler, for instance).

As long as animals are killed ethically, and you're not putting anyone's life in danger, I don't think the method(s) are of much concern.

Poaching has always taken place, and it will continue. Thermals or no thermals.

But! There may actually be some merit in encouraging recreational hunters (particularly younger hunters) to go about things the simple way - at least to begin with. Why overwhelm one's debut into hunting with expensive buttons and freakin' laser beams - when hunting's unique attribute (which separates it from any other activity) is that it allows us to forgo the complexities of modern living and embrace a much rawer existence?

Furthermore, we are living in an internet age where image is everything. It's come to my attention that the general public often pick up on the hypocrisy of recreational hunters claiming to hunt for the sake of 'getting closer to nature', yet they'll exploit every piece of modern technology available to them to kill an animal. Often unnecessarily so.