KHO Appreciator Shines Some Light on the Dark Practice of "Spotlighting"

Hi All,

When the sun wakes from it's slumber on the morning of November 8th, a familiar site will present itself for all to see. Thousands of Minnesotans - surely many of those presently reading this fine blog- will be locked, loaded, and decked out in blaze orange, ready to participate in the festival of life that is the Deer Hunting Opener! While the mere mention of this grand tradition surely brings a smile to the face of the most grizzled among us, it is a serious -possibly tragic- matter that I must presently address, to insure that lives aren't needlessly lost.

The topic of this blog, my friends, is the dark art of "spotlighting". Surely, many of you are aware of the practice. maybe you partook in your youth and have since moved on. Maybe you publicly denounce it while secretly engaging in it with your most trusted hunting buddy. Whatever the case may be, a few words are in order, to encourage those on the straight and narrow to stay on that path and to convince those that continue to tempt fate that this is the year to consign antiquated practices to the dustbin of history.

For starters, let's briefly define "spotlighting". In it's most simple form it involves a two or three man team of hunters tracking prey in the dark of night. One man, armed with his rifle, is the shooter. The second, equipped with a flashlight or floodlight, is the spotter. The (non-essential) third man will typically be driving an ATV. The spotlighting team sets off, on foot or atop their all terrain vehicle, into the night, hoping to catch their prey off guard. The spotter, using his finely honed senses, tries to hit the prey with his light and temporarily stun it. When he succeeds, it falls upon the shooter to seize the moment and fill the prey full of lead. Simple enough.

But it isn't quite as simple or harmless as it sounds. Every year hundreds of hunters are seriously or fatally injured while spotlighting. While one might think that knowledge of this statistic, the rules and regulations published annually by the DNR, and a little common sense might dissuade hunters from spotlighting, it simply isn't the case. Many of you reading this will still do it. I know that I can't convince everyone out there that daytime is the time to hunt and nighttime is the time to put back 12-36 Hamms and some peppermint schnapps. Nonetheless,I will ask you to try out one simple experiment that, I think, proves the danger of spotlighting and then leave it at that.

Call your son into the living room. Turn off the TV. Turn off the lights. Turn everything off. Have him hide somewhere in the room. Then, once you think your sense of hearing and smell have pinpointed his location, hit him with the floodlight! In that instant, I want to ask yourself, "When I'm out with the guys at 11pm on the night of the 8th and we've each put back a goodly sum of Hamm's, will I be able to make the right split second decision? Will I know that Dale has spotted a sixteen pointer and not my sixteen year old? Can I, in good conscience, be the shooter in this scenario? Is it worth it?". I think these questions answer themselves! I trust that many of you will come to the same conclusion.

If I haven't convinced you yet, please watch the following two-part, spotlighting related "Unsolved Mysteries" (be sure to read the comments if you're interested in the Clinton family tie-in! @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NV9x3GhE8c):

Well, I think I'm going to get down off of my high horse now. I've got some stuff I need to go pick up at Cabela's!

I hope you'll think about the stakes involved in spotlighting and make the smart and legal choice this November.

Until next time!

KHO Appreciator