Ethical Hunting & Fair Chase
Mountain Pursuit members practice ethical hunting in the tradition and principle of of "Fair Chase." Fair Chase mandates that the game have a chance to detect the hunter, and if detected, elude him. Anything which unfairly tilts this balance in the hunter's favor, including technology, violates the principle of Fair Chase.
Ethical Hunting includes strictly adhering to wildlife laws, not overwhelming game with technology, and not damaging the environment or wild places in pursuit of game.
Ethical Hunting encompasses pursuit not only of game, but knowledge of animal’s biology, habitat, movement, fieldcraft and mountain fitness.
Ethical Hunting is rooted in respect: respect for the game, the law, other hunters, the environment and the hunting tradition.
To the Ethical Hunter, the kill is secondary to the quality of the chase, challenge of the game, and appreciation of the wild places where the hunt occurs.
What matters isn’t the kill, but the experience of the hunt.
More on Mountain Pursuits specific positions:
Opposition to Technology in Hunting that Leads to an Easier Hunt
The essence of "Fair Chase" is maintaining the balance between the predator and prey. Specifically, game animals should have a reasonable chance of avoiding detection and if detected, eluding the hunter. Technology which tips this balance in favor of the hunter is simply unethical.
The regulatory challenge with hunting technology is keeping up with it. Every year a new gizmo or technological innovation seemingly comes onto the scene and threatens Fair Chase. On the weapon side, often this technology is aimed at extending the shooting range.
The same technology which increases the weapon range can work against Fair Chase by putting the hunter outside the range of being reasonably detected by the animal. This leads to an easier hunt.
However, this same technology often increases the accuracy of the weapon, and thus leads to a cleaner kill. In terms of hunting, a cleaner kill is always better and more human.
For this reason, Mountain Pursuit supports maximum shot distance regulations - specifically 400 yards for rifle, 100 yards for back powder, and 50 yards for archery. A maximum shot distance rule/regulation eliminates the need for rule makers to keep up with the latest and greatest technological evolution as it still forces the hunter to get within the detectible range of the animal/game. A maximum shot distance rule/regulation also allows the “cleaner kill” element of improving technology to be deployed without sacrificing Fair Chase.
See below for more specifics on Mountain Pursuit’s specific positions on Fair Chase and technology:
Mountain Pursuit opposes:
The use of Crossbows during archery season for hunters physically able to draw a 50-pound bow - unless the state has regulations limiting maximum shot distance to 50 yards.
The use of drones for scouting or hunting.
The use of radios or other communication devices to coordinate hunter movement toward game.
Constructing new or use of seasonally closed motorized trails during hunting season to access hunting areas or recovery downed game.
Any method of scouting or game reconnaissance which does not put the hunter directly in the field him or herself including:- Game/trail cameras- Contract scouting services solicited to find and keep track of a specific game animal over an extended period of time - outside of services normally provided by licensed/permitted guide or outfitter
Artificial baiting of any kind to hunt bears.
Use of electronic calls for predator hunting.
Running down coyotes, fox, wolves or any predator or animal with a snowmobile, ATV/ORV or any vehicle.
Mountain Pursuit supports:
Limiting all archery hunting shots to 50 yards or less. More HERE.
Limited all black powder hunting shots to 100 yards or less.
Limiting all rifle/firearm hunting shots to 400 yards or less. More HERE.
Hunting-related penalties for ORV road and trail violations during hunting season. More HERE.
Ethical standards for coyote hunting. More HERE.
Prohibiting Trail Cameras for the taking or aiding in the taking of game. More HERE.
Significant License Preference for Resident Hunters
Mountain Pursuit is a western-states organization and to this end advocates prioritized license allocation for resident hunters in Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.
Non-commercial, resident hunters should have stated, and significant priority for all big game tags over non-residents and commercial big game hunting outfitters.
While much of the big game hunting in the Western United States is conducted on federal US Forest Service and BLM land, the wildlife itself is owned and managed by the state, and state game and fish agencies manage license allocation.
Click HERE for our specific positions on hunting tag allocation.
Click HERE for Mountain Pursuit's articles about Resident Hunter Preference.
Click HERE for 307hunter.com - our specific website to change Wyoming’s tag allocation.
Strong, Healthy Wildlife Habitats and Populations
Strong, healthy wildlife populations enhance backcountry experiences for hunters. Healthy wildlife populations are not possible without large, undisturbed backcountry landscapes and drainages.
At heart, backcountry hunters are conservationists and to this end Mountain Pursuit is a steadfast and fearless advocate for wildlife, wildlands and wild places.
Mountain Pursuit believes the traditional hunting organizations have left the hard, controversial fights for wildlife to the environmental groups and instead pursued the non-controversial “heroism through money” approach of buying habitat, funding yet another study, etc. While heroism through money isn’t controversial, it’s also not very effective. Wild Sheep and moose especially, are far below population objectives in many Western states, while mule deer, antelope and elk populations in many areas are threatened by real estate development, growth, oil and gas development, migration corridor disruption, etc. These are tough issues, and we believe hunters need to get into the fight.
Click HERE for Mountain Pursuit's articles about Conservation.
Protect the Hunt
Nation-wide, hunting is a dying tradition in the United States. Hunting's roots lie in rural areas and rural populations, and as the nation urbanizes, fewer young people are being introduced to hunting.
While rural America has been slowly dying, the interest in western state hunting has exploded - driven primarily by industry marketing and celebrity hunter self-promotion.
Mountain Pursuit strongly believes in the Depublicize, Deglorify and Demonitize (DDD) movement as it applies to western state hunting.
De-publicize, De-glorify & Demonetize Western State Hunting
Self-promoting hunters and the hunting industry leverage social media to post dead animal trophy pictures and hunting videos to attract audiences, which they aim monetize via subscriptions, apparel sells, sponsorships, etc.
East and Midwestern state white tail hunters and non hunters interested in western big-game hunting are the primary target audience for the hunting industry marketing/media onslaught.
Within the hunting industry, a corrupt “circle jerk” of celebrity hunters, hunting movie producers, gear/clothing manufacturers, internet hunting service companies (gohunt.com, etc.), podcasters, and misguided hunting nonprofits, stroke each other daily to keep content machine producing and the money rolling in.
All hunting TV shows, movies, YouTube videos, and podcasts, glorify western-state hunting. Hunting by a controversial activity and its glorified over-promotion will only bring unwanted attention and scrutiny from anti-hunters and non-hunters, and increase political opposition. Filmed kill shots and dead photos, especially, are political suicide for the future of wester-state hunting. Glorified, self-promoting hunting content is a direct political threat to the future of hunting in with western-state US.
Hunting media also increases hunting hype and hunting pressure on western-state public lands. Self-promoting celebrity hunters and the hunting industry value money from new hunters over maintaining uncrowded, quality hunting experiences for current hunters.
Hunting at its core is about seeing, not about being seen. Cameras, microphones and film crews violate the true spirit of hunting, increase hunting pressure and bring hunting unneeded attention and scrutiny from anti-hunters and non hunters.
Mountain Pursuit will work to make hunting social media posting taboo and to forcefully embarrass/discourage self-promotors from hunting.
Mountain Pursuit's efforts to Protect the Hunt include:
forcefully advocating high ethical standards to keep hunting in a good light for the non-hunting population
forcefully advocating for high, common-sense hunting industry social media standards. More HERE.
researching and analyzing the major anti-hunting groups, their strategies and tactics. More HERE.
forcefully calling for the end of Wyoming G&F Commissioner and changes to the Wyoming Governor Tag system.
forcefully calling for the end to the Lander One Shot and Women’s Antelope tag giveaway.
calling out the Wild Sheep Foundation and Mule Deer Foundation for not standing up for Fair Chase
forcefully advocating for subsistence hunting ... i.e. hunting for food
fighting for wildlife populations and habitat - including suing the USFS over MTB and OHV use in Wilderness Study Areas
calling out the Governor of Wyoming for not protecting Migration Corridors
Forcefully discouraging hunting self promoters, and glorified hunting social media content
Click HERE for Mountain Pursuit's articles about how to Protect the Hunt.