Howdy, Hunting Wire nation!

Lately, I've read about the advancements in thermal optics, which is excellent. Some say these advancements could trigger (pun intended) a decline in ethical hunting or raise the question of what ethical hunting is.

Some tremendous outdoor voices have recently written passionately about this topic. I'm going to approach this from a different perspective.

Ethics belongs to the individual, period.

Equipment advances have nothing to do with it.

You can hunt with the world's most advanced optics system, rifle, cartridge, clothing, and support equipment and be an ethical hunter, or you can go afield in clothes you made yourself armed with a bow you built yourself, and be the most unethical hunter the world has ever known.

Decide if you're ethical or not. Then every choice you make moving forward, whether it's gear, geography, or groups, will be governed by your ethics, or lack of them regardless of your kit.

After all, the latest thermal optic advancement won't pull the trigger on a buck before, during, or after legal shooting light. That's your decision—it always has been and always will be.

Jay