Well, Imagine That!

I’m still not completely sure what to make of this, but it seems that one of the hottest new arcade games on the market today happens to be a game called Big Buck Hunter Pro. Now you’d expect this game to be widely popular in places such as…oh, say the Midwest, the deep South or other locales where hunting is a way of life for many…but how about New York City! Yup, deep in the heart of Gotham City miles away from any true hunting opportunity this game is raking in hundreds of dollars weekly totally shooting down its arcade game competition.

BigBuckHunter

It appears that to many city-dwellers, some of whom rarely ever leave the bright lights of the city are discovering a new fascination with the notion of hunting — at least doing so electronically. It is now being viewed as quite “hip” to be plopping quarters into these machines in exchange for a chance to waylay a big buck. In bars and arcades across the country this new game has captured the imagination of folks whom you would not ordinarily find traipsing in the woods. To read more on this new trend click here.

So, should this be a positive sign for the future of hunting? Initially I tend to think so. In a world where it appears that more and more people are repulsed by our sport in an odd way it is sort of refreshing to see non-hunters…well,…pretending to be hunters! I know, I know just because they pick up a plastic toy shotgun and start blasting away at animated deer doesn’t mean they will someday become the real thing. Still, I don’t know if that’s really necessary. When I first read this story my initial reaction was this game could become a great public relations tool to reach the minds of those folks we ordinarily couldn’t reach.

I mean let’s face it. The chance of some urbanite who has never experienced hunting or shooting a real gun trekking out of the city into the woods is quite remote, to say the least. Yet this same person might better understand and accept the challenge that hunters face who do this activity for real. Why is that important? Well, like it or not the future of our outdoor sporting heritage might someday rely on the voting attitude of a person who is largely apathetic about participating in the sports we love. Yet, if their attitude fosters a certain tolerance for shooting wild game or fishing…that person might just be swayed our way more easily in terms of accepting our sport when they step into a voting booth.

In the article linked above Russell Thornberry, Editor in Chief of Buckmasters Whitetail Magazine in Montgomery, Ala. was quoted as saying:

“I thank god they are doing it in a bar. I’m not sure I’d want them hunting anywhere near where I was hunting. They’d be a danger to me and the deer.”

Okay, I don’t personally know Russell but I will give him the benefit of the doubt here. I’m guessing that quote had to be taken out of context. Why would the editor of a whitetail hunting magazine say anything to discourage participation in the sport of deer hunting. After all, shouldn’t it be his job to inspire hunters to advance their interests in the sport…no matter what that level of interest might be? Moreover, commenting about the danger element is totally unnecessary and only reinforces the public’s already mis-conceived notion that hunting is such a dangerous sport.

No, the more I think about it the stronger I feel that sportsmen should be better capitalizing on games such as this for our own public relations benefit. For years now the animal rights folks have been tainting our children’s school books with their misguided, slanted rubbish. Isn’t it about time we expose to a non-hunting public just how much fun the challenge of hunting can be—whether its real or not? I realize that Big Buck Hunter Pro is a poor excuse for actually hunting some ol’ woods savvy buck, but it’s a start…isn’t it?

I’m thinking that the next time I walk through a shopping mall I might just have to sneak into the arcade for a moment or two and seek out this game. Of course, I wouldn’t be doing so in an effort to feel more “hip” or cool about myself. Nope, instead I would be voting with my quarters and telling the arcade owner that games such as this one exposing the excitement of hunting needs to continue to find space inside his arcade. So…how do you feel about hunting-themed arcade games?