Why can't hunters just get along?

Like beauty, hunting ethics are in the eye of the beholder.

To many hunters, if it's legal, it's ethical. To others, if changes go against the grain of tradition, they are bad news.

Tennessee deer hunters turn their noses up at those from states where hunting over bait is legal or white tail are pursued with dogs. Hunters from states where they hunt bears like deer think chasing through the woods with a pack of hounds is barbaric.

One bunch of duck hunters will outfit a blind with every mechanical decoy they can get their hands on. Another group thinks the spinning, splashing gizmos are Satan's spawn.

Traditional archers don't like compound bows, and guys who hunt with compounds look down on people who want crossbows legalized.

Just look what's going on in Alabama: The state's Conservation Advisory Board is recommending -- the horror -- allowing turkey hunters to use decoys, allowing deer hunters to put scopes on muzzleloaders and legalizing crossbows during the archery season.

Now the word "unethical" is being thrown around in 'Bama like booster money after a Crimson Tide football game.

Some hunters are saying the changes are being pushed by businesses with products to sell, while others are blaming unskilled hunters who are seeking an advantage. It's not that different from Tennessee last year, when those opposed to legalizing crossbows during archery season blamed everything from slob hunters to a "crossbow lobby" for even bringing up the matter.

A former member of the Alabama Conservation Advisory Board told the Associated Press the changes will devastate hunting.

"My biggest concern is the hunter ethics they are destroying," Bud Cardinal told the AP. "If they just want to make it easier to kill, go to the (blankety-blank) shooting gallery."

About half of Tennessee's turkey hunters take a decoy, and crossbows will be allowed during the gun and muzzleloader seasons.

But my point isn't about crossbows being good or evil or a turkey decoy giving a hunter an unfair advantage; it's about how we hunters talk to each other.

Three years ago I wrote about going on a deer drive in Illinois and having the time of my life. A year later, during a rainstorm, I used the same tactic in Tennessee and it worked three times in the same day.

It was fun, but a couple of guys went berserk, sending me e-mails that stated driving deer was akin to jack-lighting or shooting out the truck window.

A not-so-famous person once said, "Can't we all just get along?" There are enough people out there willing to attack hunters without us lending them a hand.

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