My 70-year-plus American Dream adventure blitzkrieg has been rather interesting to say the least, so far. Nonstop rock-n-roll and bowhunting has made it possible for me to hang with people from all around the world and every imaginable walk of life.
At a very early age I began to figure it out that my quality of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness would indeed be determined by the quality of people I associate with. Hence, I began to ostracize liars, dopers, drunks, scammers and negative dirtbags of every stripe.
I have been blessed beyond measure to hang with and become friends, even BloodBrothers, with the best of the best.
I mean, come on! I bowhunted with Fred Bear, learned how to race offroad with Mickey Thompson and Parnelli Jones, communicated with Elmer Keith about handgun hunting, played bass with Chuck Berry and Bo Diddly, jammed with the elite of the elite and shared sacred campfires with the kindest, warmest, compassionate workin’ hard, playin’ hard American hunting families one could ever dream of.
And then of course, blessing beyond blessing, I married the Queen of the Forest!
As we throttle onward in this 2019 year of our Lord, I do believe it is more important than ever in the history of America and beyond to take a good, hard, honest look at the world around us, and as hunters, turn up the heat to maximum scorch mode in this culture war that would end our very way of life.
For those of us paying attention, the threat against conservation has never been more volatile or intense. When the simple patriotic battlecry of America 1st drives crazy people into a frothing fit of vicious hate and madness, it is time to get serious.
When my social media explodes with threats of murder against my wife and children because we “murder defenseless animals,” you know the crazies have lost it to a dangerous degree.
Throughout each fall and winter hunting season, I share Sunrize Safaris campfires with the nicest people the world has ever known. This season once again it will exceed 100 great folks.
This past weekend in the wilds of South Texas at the historical 777 Ranch near Hondo, owner and professional hunter Jeff Rann and crew put on what can only be described as a world-class adventure.
Hunters from across America descended on this game-rich paradise for four days of serious fun hunting with old Uncle Ted, and based on the gushing testimonials, these lifelong hunters each had “the best hunts of our lives!”
And it wasn’t just the incredible trophy-caliber critters they killed, or the phenomenal meals, setting and wildlife.
As is the case with every hunting camp that I have been privileged to be a part of, it was all about the spirit!
Each hunter had the spirit! Each hunter understood the deep and powerful spirit of a conservation lifestyle and how the annual harvest is scientifically essential for balanced, healthy, thriving wildlife and the habitat that produces our life-giving quality air, soil, water and spirit.
Each hunter was a member of the National Rifle Association because they are all painfully aware of the vile culture war that would force all Americans into unarmed helplessness while further forcing us to pay for our elected employees’ armed security details.
That same soulless insanity exists in the disconnected bureaucratic abuse of power when it comes to hunting.
You see it in numerous states where we the people are forbidden to utilize our wildlife resources while gobs of tax dollars are wasted hiring so-called sharpshooters to kill our deer, bears, elk and other game for us.
I would hope that readers of Deer and Deer Hunting do not need to be educated to the runaway examples, after ugly examples of malpractice by our government that is all too often steered by the same nature haters that threaten hunters’ lives.
There is not a single state in America that isn’t strangled by hunting regulations that defy sound science, and that are at the root of the epidemic of attrition and suicidal failure to recruit new hunters.
Having a great time around the campfire each night sharing exciting hunting stories and genuine concerns for America, it is very encouraging to hear the glowing truth, logic and commonsense that is alive and well in the hearts and souls of such good, smart, thoughtful, caring and engaged Americans.
But I fear we are either outnumbered, or just out-engaged. Some states have been lost. Many states are losing hunters by the hundreds of thousands, which equate to billions of dollars in lost conservation revenues, and in some cases, a devastating hit on entire regional economies.
Hunting has to happen. Killing surplus wildlife has to happen. Nature needs hunters.
Either we all unite at the front lines to tromp the enemy, or we are done. That is not the hysteria of a goofy guitar player. The statistics are irrefutable.
We can’t just hunt. We all must fight for our rights together regardless of preferred methodologies, individual choices or favorite equipment.
With little or no progress from existing sports groups or the industry, I would humbly request that everyone who wants to ban political correctness from our hunting lifestyle look into HunterNation.org.
Just go to the website and hear us out.
And if you are at all interested in sharing a campfire with the greatest Americans out there, go to my Facebook and check out our Sunrize Safaris hunts for the upcoming season. We have way too much fun and get right down and dirty with the most important issues facing America today.
Be in the asset column of the natural world. Hunt, fight, hunt and fight some more.
Multi-platinum guitar legend TED NUGENT has a new full-length album THE MUSIC MADE ME DO IT, on Round Hill Records. The album is available everywhere, and the title track “The Music Made Me Do It” is available to download and stream wherever music is sold.
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With more than 40 million albums sold, rock legend Ted Nugent is equally well known as the nation’s most outspoken proponent of our 1st and 2nd Amendment rights, conducting thousands of pro-gun, pro-freedom, pro-American interviews in major media worldwide. Nugent is a New York Times best-selling author whose works include Ted, White & Blue —The Nugent Manifesto; God, Guns & Rock ‘n’ Roll and Kill It & Grill It.This year, his award-winning Ted Nugent Spirit of the Wild TV show celebrates its 500th episode! For all things Nuge, visit www.tednugent.com
