Eastman decries big-money hunts – The Denver Post

By Charlie Meyers

The Denver Post

Posted: 01/25/2009 12:30:00 AM MST

The Eastman ethic of fair chase has come down through six generations of westerners, the last three famed outdoor filmmakers.

So when Guy Eastman, latest in that famous line, speaks of a serious lag in those standards in many Rocky Mountain states, perhaps it’s time for the rest of us to pay attention.

Eastman, 38, operates with brother Ike the Eastman group of outdoor enterprises, including Eastmans’ Hunting Journal and Eastmans’ Bowhunting Journal magazines and the show “Eastmans’ Hunting TV” appearing year-round on the Outdoor Channel.

He’s currently appearing at the International Sportsmen’s Exposition that concludes today at the Colorado Convention Center. His booth features 12 spectacular mule deer mounts, including the second-largest atypical rack ever taken in Colorado.

His grandfather, the late Gordon Eastman, often visited Denver, starting in the late 1950s with barnstorming auditorium shows that set the stage for the current bloom of outdoor films.

In an extensive interview last week covering everything from officially sanctioned big-money hunts to the abuse of landowner tags, the Cody, Wyo., resident took a hard look at the prospects for public hunting. He didn’t particularly like what he saw:

On big-money driven hunts: “We’ve taken a stand against things like the governor tags where animals are pursued almost year-round in some states,” Eastman said of wildlife agency-sponsored tags that sometimes sell for as much as $100,000.

That practice recently came into focus with a Utah hunt that produced a world-record elk. The story that evolved was of a giant bull hounded by teams of paid spotters until the hunter arrived, even rumors of other hunters being harassed when approaching the area.

As Lou Phillipe of Fort Collins observed in a recent e-mail: “Is this ‘hunting?’ Debatable. But it is what much of western ‘hunting’ has become these days when big money and trophies are involved.”

While acknowledging the Boone and Crockett Club had no choice but to accept as a record an animal taken on public land, Eastman decried an arrangement that allows targeted animals to be hounded over long periods, even in midwinter in deep snow.

“The notion is to raise money for good causes and it was OK when it started. But over time it’s been twisted by the big money. The sportsmanship has gone out of it.”  Clink link below for full story!

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