Coming out of the closet

[Brutuskend]

I like shooting too test myself and maybe a little because of my Marine back ground but I feel bad killing anything, so I don't.

Years ago I shot this tweety bird with my .22 just to see if I could. It was a long shot, and I got it but when I looked down at that dead bird, all I could think was "Maybe that bird had a family" and I haven't killed another animal since. Don't even kill bugs if I can help it. I support the 2nd because I feel it IS important, but the only thing I will ever put a hole in again is a target. I wasn't raised by hunters so I never really got indoctrinated into the hunter culture and honestly I cringe a little everytime I see a dead animal. I suppose that makes me weird, and I get it if you think I am, but that is just who I am. This is not me being a drama queen and checking out. I think there are a lot of great folks here and I don't want to go anyplace, this is just me telling you who I am. I am a target guy.

 

[Alex Clayton]

I was an avid hunter from the time I was a kid until mid adult life. Not sure why but I too just got to where I did not want to kill animals any more. Still eat meat, have long joked if I was not supposed to eat it the stuff would not taste so damn good. I do STRONGLY support hunters who do it legally. The money they pay in supports the people who make sure the wildlife is healthy. I just do not want to do it any more. So all my shooting is paper now to.

 

[LoonWulf]

Nothing wrong with that. We all have different sensibilities, experience, and desires. A gun is just a machine, perhaps an extension of who we are at most, but what we do with them is solely dependent on us.
As long as your being safe, considerate, and legal, then I say enjoy your firearms any way you want.

 

[Spats McGee]

So be a target shooter. Nothing wrong with that. Mrs. McGee likes target shooting, but has no interest in hunting or any other kind of shooting.

 

[Mark 40]

I wasn't raised by hunters so I never really got indoctrinated into the hunter culture and honestly I cringe a little everytime I see a dead animal. I suppose that makes me weird, and I get it if you think I am, but that is just who I am.

Brutuskend- if you are weird, then I am too. And although not a hunter, I agree wholeheartedly with Alex's quote below.

.I do STRONGLY support hunters who do it legally. The money they pay in supports the people who make sure the wildlife is healthy.

 

[DoubleMag]

EVERYTHING we shoot at is a target. So, we are ALL target shooters.

 

[DustyGmt]

I can identify with everything you just said. I wasnt brought up with hardcore hunters but I do still hunt. Whether I will pull the trigger when Herbie Hatrack comes along remains to be seen. I went out and killed some squirrels with my .22's and just kind of felt like crap about it in large part because i used them as targets. If i had to feed my family I wouldnt flinch, but that wasnt the case. I also feel bad for road kills, I break/swerve when safe to do so for most critters. If I'm being honest I dont look favorably on people who kill things unnecessarily, just feels cruel. You are not alone....

 

[bearcreek]

I support the 2nd because I feel it IS important, but the only thing I will ever put a hole in again is a target. I wasn't raised by hunters so I never really got indoctrinated into the hunter culture and honestly I cringe a little everytime I see a dead animal.

The 2A has nothing whatsoever to do with hunting, so I see no inconsistency in your philosophy. Now, if you eat meat or use leather but have a problem with other people hunting, that'd be hypocritical, but still not related to 2A rights.

 

[stillquietvoice]

Years ago I shot this tweety bird with my .22 just to see if I could. It was a long shot, and I got it but when I looked down at that dead bird, all I could think was "Maybe that bird had a family" an

I target shoot to prepare for hunting season to help feed my family. What you felt is remorse for taking a life. I always feel remorse after shooting an animal and if a time comes that I don't it's time to stop hunting.

 

[WisBorn]

On THR we romance about firearms. They are only tools. They can do both good and bad. I enjoy both target shooting and hunting. I don't like people that just want to kill something. I believe in fair chase. Hunters need to be the conservationists of our beautiful animals.

For people that don't want to hunt I very much respect that. My time in the woods is what I enjoy the most about hunting. The truth is, I don't care if I shoot another deer in my life. I would like to shoot a wild pig because they destroy the habitat of other animals.

 

[stonebuster]

Nothing weird about not wanting to kill animals and just be a target shooter. One winter when I was in my twenties, out of work and hungry I lived mostly on rabbits, squirrels, pheasant and ducks I shot. I only killed for food but I did enjoy the hunt and the satisfaction of putting food on the table. I haven't hunted in 40 years but would do it again if I needed to. After all the small game I've killed, I felt bad last year when I killed a chipmunk with an air gun that had been raiding our garden. Go figure.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I dont do it for sport, so I wouldnt go out of my way to take a cape buffalo or anything- but if the hunt is what you enjoy and its legal, go for it.

Most of my hunting has been species that need population control, hogs mostly, and deer in Illinois. Without management, those little buggers cause all kinds of havoc on crops and other animals and large numbers would starve in the winter if the herd gets too big for an area.

 

[CDW4ME]

Did not grow up hunting. When I was 23 I bought a bolt action 30/06 because I liked guns.
My dad said, you didn't need that its for shooting deer, I was like I could shoot a deer. (challenge accepted)
I watched videos on how to field dress a deer, bought a ladder stand, had permission to hunt wife's grandfathers farm.
Zero clue what I was doing.
Went to put up 10' ladder stand, was like NOPE that aint happening; decided I've have to hunt on the ground.
Deer season I'm sitting at the base of a tree with a blanket and small buck walks up looking at me. Probably thought somebody died.
I go to shoot and shake so bad I can't hold rifle still, now I wish the deer would just leave, which he does.
Further away he got, more steady I got and eventually I took the shot which dropped him. Took me about 2 hours to field dress.
My dad could not believe it when I triumphantly show up with a deer.
In the next 25 years, I went on to shoot deer with muzzleloader, two dozen with a bow and one with a Delta Elite 10mm pistol. (30+ deer)
My wife also killed deer with rifle, muzzleloader, and bow; she killed 9 deer with a 40# bow.
By last year I/we was done with it, sold all our hunting stuff; no, not the Delta Elite.
The guy that looked forward to opening day of bow season like Christmas was just done with it. Never thought that would happen.

 

[DoubleMag]

A change of perspective on a single activity could very easily be based on age? I still loves mes some fall hunt'n, but no longer roll in the clover going 1st time to the tree stand. Ticks! Chiggers! Stinging weeds! And of course 30-40 yrs ago, these were all there. What changed? My perspective.

Used to be I would CAREFULLY disassemble a firearm for a deep clean say, semi-auto Glenfield 22LR rifle. NO pictures, manual etc. And (magic? LoL) No springs a-fly'in. Now? Would not TOUCH the project without a schematic.

Did I stop enjoyment of the bowhunt, or cleaning? No. Did it loose it's luster a wee bit? Well, maybe. Dunno!

Well, maybe since those springs are now made of unobtanium, and mysteriously ''disapper'' when flying through the air? Dissolving metal maybe? (LoL)

 

[hso]

I suppose that makes me weird

Nothing weird about it. Most members punch paper and don't hunt while others do. To each their own.

 

[whughett]

I like shooting too test myself and maybe a little because of my Marine back ground but I feel bad killing anything, so I don't.

Years ago I shot this tweety bird with my .22 just to see if I could. It was a long shot, and I got it but when I looked down at that dead bird, all I could think was "Maybe that bird had a family" and I haven't killed another animal since. Don't even kill bugs if I can help it. I support the 2nd because I feel it IS important, but the only thing I will ever put a hole in again is a target. I wasn't raised by hunters so I never really got indoctrinated into the hunter culture and honestly I cringe a little everytime I see a dead animal. I suppose that makes me weird, and I get it if you think I am, but that is just who I am. This is not me being a drama queen and checking out. I think there are a lot of great folks here and I don't want to go anyplace, this is just me telling you who I am. I am a target guy.

That feeling will get stronger as the years past. On the very last day I ever sat on a deer stand In 1998 I watched a large doe and two smaller “skippers” browse around not 25 yards away. There just wasn’t any point in shooting the Doe. I never carried a deer rifle in the woods again or shot a squirrel rabbit or bird. I stopped viewing the hunting forum as some photos are just too graphic.

 

[Robert]

To each their own. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[JDeere]

Nothing weird about it. Most members punch paper and don't hunt while others do. To each their own.

Yep, I still deer hunt but I am very selective as to what I will take and it goes on the table. The only thing I hunt at will and without abandoned is the damn hogs...

 

[rust collector]

I joke with my buddies that as I age, I identify less with predators and more with prey. I never understood desire to kill needlessly, but enjoyed the pursuit and taste of wild game. Now the emphasis is more on getting outdoors, enjoying natural things and getting together with friends. We all start our journey at different places and usually end up in different places. Daughter is vegan and I respect her choice, life is hard enough without imposing my template on others. Just enjoy it!

 

[jar]

I was a hunter until on one evening sitting around the campfire several others started talking about the great "sound shots" they had taken that day.

Hunting was fun and it provided many a wonderful meal but I find far too many out there in the woods and fields and rivers that simply don't follow common sense or the safety rules.

 

[jmr40]

I'm primarily a hunter who enjoys shooting. Lately I spend a lot more time shooting than hunting. Hunting isn't for everyone and I have no issue with non hunters. I do have issues with those who actively oppose hunting.

I'm also an avid hiker and camper. I simply enjoy being outside. But when I'm hiking or camping I'm VISITING nature. When I go hunting I'm part of nature if that makes sense. My mindset is just completely different. I'm more alive, all of my senses are in tune with nature. I see, hear, and smell so much more when hunting that I don't sense when just hiking in the woods.

I don't want to cause needless pain to any animal that I kill. And I don't kill a lot. I'm at the point where the hunting is more important than the killing. Taking a specific animal, or in a specific location or method is more important than bringing home a bunch of meat. And at the end of the day me killing an animal for the meat is no different than the butcher that kills the hog that was made into the bacon I had for breakfast.

 

[chicharrones]

I kill bugs simply because I don't like them on or in my house. Or on my flesh, speaking to you Mr. Mosquito.

I haven't hunted or had to kill an animal in a long time. Currently, we like to watch all the tree rats and birds around our house.

BTW, the red tailed hawks around here cull the squirrel and white wing dove population fairly well.

 

[BreechFace]

No problems with your decision here, but there are very good reasons to control populations of animals; with both nuisance shooting and hunting. Much of this nuisance shooting is a past time out west here; a way for a kid to hone skills also while learning how there needs to be balance in nature.

There are a lot of nuisance animals that I enjoy hunting/shooting. It is a sport that serves a very good purpose for the area. Whitstlepigs, ground hogs, rock chucks, ground squirrels, badgers, coyotes, foxes, feral cats,etc all cause lots of damage to crops, livestock, and their population needs to be controlled. Their carcasses do not go to waste as the carrions need food as well.

Our pasture lands out west here are full of holes from whistle pigs, rock chucks and badgers; livestock break legs stepping down into them.

I have friends and family that have orchards of almonds and tree fruit in which the squirrels by the thousands raid.

Coyotes terrorize the herd during calving season and and along with foxes terrorize peoples poultry.

I find enjoyment out of helping control the population of these species. They are all listed as animals in which there is population control needed so people with a simple hunting license can shoot them at any time or season. There is no way that shooters, shooting them for sport can control the population and if it gets to a certain point there will be other controls put in place such as poison or trapping.

Trophy hunts in Africa and the like serve a great purpose of cleaning up the gene pool (culling old genetics that have all ready passed along), provide great resources and food to the local region, provide a great attitude of conservation, and provide a respect for an animal in its ethical harvest,

Just my thoughts, but I’m not a heartless killer that some want to make me out to be. I don’t find it wrong that I get enjoyment out of having living targets for shooting that are legal to hunt and control. Many of the ranchers, farmers, dairyman, and neighbors appreciate controlling some of these animals. And the controls do next to nothing towards solving much of the problems. But there is a reason that animals doing their own thing need to be controlled. Just my opinions.

 

[lightman]

I don't think it makes you weird. You have the right to be who you want to be and the courage to talk about it. Thank You for Your Service.

 

[theotherwaldo]

I only hunt when there is need for food or when an animal needs to be put down.

I was taught at a very early age (3) by my neighbor, an Apache medicine man who used the name Push-Meh- Ta-Ha, that killing anything unnecessarily dishonors all life, including your own... .