are there any people out there that are animal lovers AND gun lovers?

I eat bears.

I eat mostly what I shoot, and leave what I don't eat for the crows and magpies. In all honesty, I would rather save the deer and elk for myself, and kill the dogs. I am the dominant predator(in my own mind).

Most properly cared for meat is good to eat, including bear.

it depends...If they are cuasing a prob, then yes I could and have.( Killing live stock) This also applys to things like rats/ mice.

I love animals - they're delicious.

I love guns and I love animals. I don't shoot animals, though I'd like to go hunting (I consider it kinder than eating something that was cruelly caged its entire unnatural life).

I'd say most hunters like animals.

Animals are wonderful.
Much simpler than humans, much more...
Damn, I love nature. I get a real clear head when I just go out into the woods in Southern Maryland... Pretty land.
Animals are great. I really do love them.
And no, I am not averse to hunting, though I haven't killed anything larger than a skink before (and that was by accident).
I think the American Indians had it right when they killed an animal.
Thank it. It's part of the natural order that it should die and you live, but thank it. As you would a soldier or hero.
Thank them for giving up their life that you might live.
Call me a hippie, but at least I am a hippie with a gun.

I love animals, hunt as well.

Can't stand to see those commercials with the abused animals though, makes me sick to my stomach. Part of the reason I hunt is it's far more humane than factory farming... Healthier too.

I am a dog lover so to me killing a coyote for sport, well it's just not something I'm going to do.

As for Bears, I run into a lot of them in the woods around town and I think it's just so cool to watch them I couldn't imagine killing one for food or the skin.

Bottom line I would hunt for survival or kill a nusiance animal but not for sport even if I used every scrap of the animal.

Its kinda like this for me. I used to hunt all the time. Every season. When I was around 18 I realised that I would just as well like to sit in the deer stand and take pictures of the deer as kill them. I love to eat deer. Do it every year. I am one of the fastest butchers around here too. My dad uncles and cousins like to have me cut up thier deer every year. I dont have moral issues with it, I just choose not to. That being said, its something that has to be done. I like in Illinois and the deer population has to be controlled by hunting or else we will be over run. I used to love rabbit hunting but anymore its too much walking when its too damn cold out. I still squirrel hunt with a buddy of mine. His family eats them, so Idont mind shooting them and letting him have them, I personally wont eat one of those tree rats, although I do miss eating rabbit.

As far as loving animals:

My little girl


And our newest edition

I've always thought I would only hunt in a survival situation. However, without the knowledge/experience of killing and cleaning an animal, I can't really know if I would be successful.

I am certainly a gun lover and an animal lover. I have no great desire to go out hunting, but I have nothing against it. I think I could go hunting and enjoy it, but I find it hard to justify to myself.

I'm like you OP. Seems like a lot of us here are. (This topic is a good example of the "Gun owners can't be classified as hunters" issue)

I am all for hunting for food and appreciate the enjoyment that that kind of self sufficiency brings. Though, I really don't get the hunting of non food animals. I don't need or want to kill something solely to kill it.

I am one of the great animal lovers of all time. If you ever see me shoot an animal you will know that my family is hungry.

The reason I won’t hunt is my morbid fear of wounding one. If I knew that it would drop dead in its tracks without suffering I wouldn’t mind. I do, in fact, like a variety of wild game. I wouldn’t have a problem killing an animal I just don’t want it to suffer in the process.

I love nature and I've had both cats and dogs as pets. LOTS of dogs. I won't hesitate to shoot an animal I intend to eat, or shoot one that's attacking my own animal. A grouse literally looks to me like a hamburger with wings. I salivate when I see one and have to stop myself from shooting them by the side of the road.

I do try to appreciate them, though. I've even been trying to appreciate spiders and harvestmen lately. That hasn't been easy. Some insects just seem to have come from the black pit of damnation. Some fish, too.

Every Veterinarian I know is a hunter.

I don't know any hunters that don't like animals. In fact the hunters are the folks that have always saved habitat and animals world wide, oh and of course pay for it.

I don't know many "animal lovers" that don't hunt that put their money where their mouth is. At least not on any regular basis.

Make what you will of that.

Go figure.

Fred

And Animal Luver And Gun Lover Checking In~!

I don't hunt, drink, do drugs, or chase wild women~! What a boring life ~!

But, I do LUV animals- as I have three dogs, and a 25 lb. Siamese cat~!

And, I do LOVE quality firearms~~!!!!

chieftain: I don't know many "animal lovers" that don't hunt that put their money where their mouth is. At least not on any regular basis.

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2 dogs and a cat here, one deer (very little left) in the freezer. I love animals and treat my dogs like they were my kids. I'd be one nasty bastard to deal with if you hurt my dogs.

I love to hunt as well . . . I'm of the belief that if you can't put a bullet where it should go then you don't have the right to be out hunting. Do people wound deer . ..yes, it's an unfortunate fact, some of it caused by lack of practice and some of it is just life. I'm as sad when I see a deer killed by a bad shot as I am when I see a deer dead along side the road.

When I shoot a deer I'm actually sad for a few seconds just before I start field dressing it, it's hard to explain but I have the same feeling when stuff a pheasant into a game bag. The sadness is brief and has never stopped me from feeling like a little kid at christmas just at the thought of going hunting.

+1 on not understanding the killing of animals for "sport". If it's not causing me problems and I'm not going to eat it then it's live and let live.

I think the anti-hunting yahoo's are people who don't understand what happens if you let a population grow past what habitiat there is to support it. They're the same type of people who believe that no one should ever defend themselves and that the police will be there instantly if they need them.

Just my .02

Regards,
Dave

I'm a veterinary student and I hunt(pheaseant and deer), I'm not really into hunting predators(though I've shot a couple foxes eating my mothers chickens)

I hunt a few species: Deer, elk, rabbit, and coyote to name a few.

I also have a dog and a cat. In the past I have had rabbits and parakeets as pets also.

I don't hunt very much any more, but I certainly did in years long past.

Love dogs, too. Cats? not so much

I have passed on shots many times because I wasn't sure I could make a clean humane kill. I once ran across the remains of a deer that had ben "gut shot" MANY times...looked like the deer had taken hits from several buckshot rounds, NONE in a "vitals" area....mostly in the intestinal and back leg area. Still makes my blood boil when I think about it. Peritonitis is a long painful rotten way to go.

I hunt deer because I like venison.

Predators end up DRT if I catch them messing with my livestock, otherwise they're left alone.

While there are exceptions, I think hunters are generally much more appreciative of wildlife (and animals in general) than nonhunters. They certainly have a better understanding of wild animals, their habits, and the natural lands they require. Hunters have been the ones that formed the basis of the modern conservation movement, and the ones that have forked over gobs of money to help that happen. Teddy Roosevelt began this campaign, and he certainly was an animal and pet lover. Eleven percent of the purchase price for all retail guns and ammo go directly to conservation purposes (federal Robertson-Pittmann Act).

All the hunters I know have multiple pets and love them dearly. I work with lots of wildlife/conservation professionals, and they also are all pet owners. They are not, however, members of PETA!

Oh, and by the way, I am the hunter of many things and have been for decades.