Fury wrote:Just thought I'd comment on a couple of points.
Orange clothing - there are different requirements for hunter dress depending on where you live. In Manitoba, you must wear an orange hat or toque (or "beanie" for my US friends....) and a minimum amount of torso area must be covered in orange. Most people wear a vest to satisfy the second requirement. Orange hunting clothing makes sense, but if you're like me and don't wish to spend money on dedicated hunting clothes (I actually use old insulated coveralls from the farm) it's easier to drop a few dollars on a vest.
Hunting age/supervision - Not all jurisdictions are the same (again). A 14 yr old can't hunt unsupervised in Manitoba (and I doubt that they can in any Canadian province though I wouldn't be surprised if that differed in the territories).
Fort Mental - you raise an interesting point about those that hunt vs. those that spend time in the woods. Most of the people I interact/socialize with during deer season are well connected to the land they hunt on because they own the land (i.e. farmers, my father in-law is a cattle farmer) while others do spend time scouting. That said, there are a number of city cowboys that never get out until hunting begins. These same people rarely practice with their firearms (another issue in my book).
BTW - I am happy to say that I don't personally know any hunters that drink when they hunt.
I've been hiking my whole life, and hunting for most of it, and I can safely say that the only serious (and predictably constant) drinkers during hunting (that I've ever met, in any case) are duck hunters. Stalking-type hunting that I do, for pig/turkey/deer, doesn't lend itself at all to flailing about, bad balance, being loud, etc....
That said, I don't recall ever actually liking any of the duck hunters I've ever met, for that matter. Political, conspicuous consumption types, already loud and obnoxious. I've met too many who are/were car dealers.