Has Hunting Become Too Easy? Barta Sounds Off.
Tred Barta is a well-known hunter and angler with a television show on the VERSUS cable network. Barta has strong opinions about modern hunting methods — he thinks they have made things too easy, so the ethos of hunting has been lost. Modern hunting aids have transformed a noble pursuit into mechanically-aided harvesting. Barta wants hunters to return to simpler methods — to earn their trophies the hard way.
As a fisherman, Tred has set several world records. He has caught more tuna on rod and reel than any other man alive. Tred’s motto is to do things “the hard way, the Barta way.” He believes that the pursuit can be as meaningful as “bagging the trophy”, so he avoids using modern gear such as game cameras and feedstands. In fact, he usually hunts with a longbow and homemade cedar arrows.
In a recent interview on the Women’s Outdoor Wire, Barta observes:
“We’re lazy today, and we’ve lost the morality of hunting. Before you go out, you spray on nine chemicals to kill your scent, put on $2,000 worth of odor eliminating camo and download the photos from your nine game cameras [.] Then you get on your ATV and ride to your box blind that has windows, heat, and an internet connection because we don’t want you go get bored while you’re ‘hunting’. Then you take a customized rifle capable of taking an animal at 650 yards and whack one. The animal gets winched onto your ATV, driven to your truck, hoisted into the back, and then hauled off to the butcher. And you call yourself a hunter.”
Hunting Should be Simple, But Not Fishing?
Barta’s views on hunting appeal to those who want a return to the “simple ways”. We agree, in principle, that hunters should learn the skills of the stalk and “work for their prey.” Part of the core experience of hunting is the “walk in the woods” and the age-old challenge of out-witting a wild animal. So, there is merit in Barta’s message.
On the other hand, Barta can be criticized as employing a double standard. He advocates using “primitive” skills when hunting, but when fishing, it’s a different story. When Barta goes tuna fishing, he’s not using a dugout canoe and a home-made spear. Instead he employs a modern twin-diesel, 33-foot Rampage sport-fisherman. This is a $400,000+ yacht, equipped with full electronics, including radar, GPS, and fish-finders. Tred sure enjoys his high-tech fishing boat, yet he mocks hunters who use an ATV to haul in their game. Hmmm, that doesn’t seem right…
While we’re sympathetic to Barta’s philosophy, we don’t think going all the way back to bows and arrows is the answer for everyone. Barta acknowledges that he fails to harvest an animal 70% of the time he hunts. That may be fine for Barta, who gets paid to hunt where-ever and whenever he wants, but for the “regular Joe” who has saved his hard-earned dollars for a once-in-a-lifetime Alaskan hunt, it makes good sense to use equipment that improves the odds of success. Should a hunter carry an inaccurate rifle, or leave behind the binoculars, just to increase the difficulty factor? We don’t think so. That’s no knock on the bow-hunters or those who prefer to hunt as native Americans did. We just think that one can remain true to the “hunting ethic” even when using modern equipment.
Photos courtesy VERSUS Country and Rampage Sport Fishing Yachts
I’m not going to take a side on this argument yet but I don’t think that is a piece of hand-sharpened flint on the tip of the his hand-crafted arrow.
Can’t say I really give a damn about fish. Hunting mammals should be a more honorable pursuit.
Mr. Barta should enjoy his sports the way he wants and let everybody else enjoy it the way they want to. A hunter useing a laser range finder and a flat shooting rifle to harvest deer at extended ranges is no different than an angler with a $40,000 dollar bass boat with all the bells and whistles. just my opinion, Darrell Blanchard OKC
Mr. Barta is entitled to his opinion. He should treat it just like religion and not try to tell others how to hunt or fish. As long as the rules of fair chase and the state and federal laws are observed hunting should remain a privledge for those who seek their own method. Mr. Barta sounds like a Democrat when it comes to regulating hunting and fishing.
Nat Lambeth
I admire anyone who can go truly primitive, but I’m not there yet.
I’m not rich, so when I spend a small fortune on hunting (gun, ammo, target range, camo, gasoline, time that I could spend earning money to pay bills), it’s pretty important to me to come home with some meat for the freezer. I’ve been hunting for just two years, and as I get better, I’d like to challenge myself more – but not to the point where I consistently come home empty-handed. That’s a luxury I can’t afford.
That said, I like Tred Barta because he’s such a nut, and we need people like that to keep things interesting and to challenge our thinking, even if we don’t agree. I like Ted Nugent for the same reason, even though he’s pretty much the opposite of Tred Barta. At least you know you’re hearing real opinions when they say something – not just infomercials.
Let Mr. Barta take game – on hoof or fin – with tools he’s made himself & I’ll listen to what he has to say. Anything beyond that is just advertising….
HOW DO YOU SPELL HYPPO_CRITTT…low tech hunting and high tech in his world and wallet.. please !!!!..a canoe and spear should be his choices..now I know why I turn the channel when he appears…HYPPOOO-CRITTTTTT…what’s that about forked tongue….
Don’t care for him and turn the channel when he comes on TV. I’ve seen enough of his show to make the educated guess that his way of hunting results in more wounded game than my way.
Did anyone see the episode where he killed a pig with a knife? He killed a pig that other people tracked and held for him….How was that hard or honorable?..It wasnt either it was a dumb stunt.
I think you should really look at what he was doing with all the expensive gear. He pretty much only fishes for world records first of all, and the fact that he could hook up with a 65lb tuna with 6lb line and know for a fact that if it dives up to 250 feet the weight from the line alone would snap him off, or maybe that every reel that he used was stripped of its stock parts and replaced with smoother, higher speed alumminum parts, do you know why he did this? because any shmuck can go out and catch a big fish with a harpoon, but not every idiot can land one with 6lb line. so i guess what im saying is that no matter what he does, he makes it challenging, because if its not a challenging chase. then where exactly is the fun?
Dont shun the man because he likes it the hard way. pat him on the back for doing it differantly
His shows are entertaining at times. Much like watching Bill Dance fall out his boat or drop his battery on his foot. I can relate to the purist hunting ideals and all that but down here we meat hunt. I want to see him stalk a deer in the woods of the deep south swamps if he likes the hard way.
It is rather hypocritcal to call out folks that use motion detection dig cams to scout and area when your out in your boat with what appears to be some state of the art sonar and fish finding electronics on your boat. Why not just troll and hope for the best? Could it be because you want to know there are fish under you while your burning time and gas? No different than a lone hunter with much more limited time and finances using a dig cam to scout an area for potential hunting spot. The electronics on display in your cockpit far and above exceed the camo carbon suits and cover scents.
I would also agree with the other poster that after watching him wildly fling arrows on several shows he is prone to wound more game than I anyday even with a bow myself. And yes those people held that hog for him and watching him “train,” for the hog hunt was ridiculous as well.
Oh one more thing. How does anyone know he has caught more Tuna on rod and reel than anyone else. Is there some official score keeping someplace?