Lots of non-hunters here--why?

[JohnKSa]

I've noticed that there are quite a few people posting on this forum (the HUNTING forum, not just on THR) who state that they are not hunters.

I'm curious to know why a non-hunter would spend time reading and posting on a hunting forum. (This is REALLY a question, I'm not trying to indict anyone.)

 

[Waxed Canvas]

Who knows? Maybe they want to hunt or are curious why we do. I make no apologies for hunting but i try not to rub it in someone's face who doesn't either.

 

[JohnKSa]

I hope it doesn't look like I'm trying to "rub it in someone's face." I just wondered why a person who, by choice, doesn't hunt would want to read about the experience he intentionally avoids.

What really got me curious was that some self-avowed non-hunters posted on the thread about hunting disasters. Just the sort of thing that I would think a non-hunter would want to avoid reading.

(Please folks keep this thread civil--I'm really curious to know the answer and won't get there if it gets locked or deleted.)

 

[Hkmp5sd]

Because the hunters use guns and I like to read and learn all I can about guns. I quit hunting around 10 years ago for a combination of reasons. Primarily the lack of time and the rising number of hunters on public land.

 

[stevelyn]

This site is for shooters with a forum dedicated to hunters. All shooters are not necessarily hunters nor are all hunters necessarily shooters or even dedicated to gun ownership and gun rights.
In this age of urbanization most adults have never had the opportunity to learn about hunting or how to hunt. I suspect the non-hunters visiting this forum are here for the same reasons we all are and that's to learn from others here.

 

[BIGR]

It might be that they are are curious. I have hunted since I was a young boy and have learned alot over the years. Hunter or non-hunter, gun owners are all unique. We all love our guns and are trying our best to keep them for life. Even if we might have different views about certain things we all must stick together in this deal or our guns and hunting will be a thing of the past.

 

[P95Carry]

My own hunting time John is quite modest . well, compared to many. I do tho enjoy reading stuff here .. as much as anything cos of ideas re ''the tools'' .. general suggestions for improving skills etc.

So - yeah ... I think it quite feasable that some ''non hunters'' may well frequent this place ...... maybe even some who are ''borderline'' but may yet go on to take it up seriously later.

 

[JohnKSa]

Well, from a practical standpoint, I'm pretty much a non-hunter. Not by choice but because that just seems to be the way it works out. I would if I could but various circumstances conspire against me. I've actually been hunting a few times but never was able to put everything together at once (me, gun, ammo, game.)

I understand the motivation of people who WANT to hunt but can't or don't for whatever reason. This site is almost a hunting substitute (perhaps a poor one) for people like that (like me, I suppose).

I was mostly interested to hear from the folks who have made statements like.

"I don't ever want to kill anything."
"I won't ever kill anything again."

In other words people who seem to be against the idea of hunting (at least for them--I'm not saying they're ANTI-hunting) and yet they read and post here.

 

[P95Carry]

Interesting point actually John .... I guess cos I am fast approaching 60 .. I have that older person's feeling of mortality ... and going with that is a greater respect for things living.

I have no wish to kill for killing's sake ... I have to find a rationale .. ''meat on the table'' etc ... even sometimes ''control'' when numbers need culled. I cannot condone ''killing - for killing's sake'' .... that I think is very much a product of aging!!

So ... ''justification'' is for me - ever more important ..... as it well may be for many ''borderline'' hunters.

I do tho ..... in anticipation of future occasional hunts ... feel it useful to browse these pages at times. Many might just be in this categroy ... not sure.

 

[LeonCarr]

I used to be a big deer hunter. In my life I have killed 30 deer with 32 rounds of ammunition. I still go occasionally, but I have become more of a shooter than a hunter. I guess going to a match and trying to outshoot 10/20/50/100/250 people is a challenge to me. I just don't find much of a challenge hunting. I will emphatically state that I am not anti-hunting. I feel that everybody who shoots, match shooters, hunters, etc, should be in the fight to keep and bear arms. Most hunters, in my experience, believe that the gun grabbers are only after military style rifles and handguns, and not "hunting guns". Don't believe it...they want them all.

Just my .02, without trying to offend anybody ,
LeonCarr

 

[Stand_Watie]

Johnska

I'm not much of a hunter myself, although I enjoy wildlife both alive and in my freezer, and I hunt in the "ramble with a gun" (read not very effective) fashion from time to time, and I won't pass up a shot a coyote.

I'm very fortunate to live right next to some very serious hunters who really provide a lot for my table, and they get to use my acreage as additional hunting land and another pair of hands for butchering and hauling and setting up/maintaining traps as well.

Is it your observation that there are anti-hunters on this portion of the forum?

 

[Art Eatman]

In the four years of TFL, and the year here, I don't recall but a very few anti-hunters. There were a couple of trolls at TFL, but the membership provided very calm and reasoned commentary.

I like to have anti-hunters come here. I wish we had more of them. Most of them have their anti- views from ignorance and emotion, and have never heard any of the reasons that hunters hunt. I just regard it as a chance to educate.

Art

 

[Logistar]

I think many people are either curious OR perhaps they used to hunt and want to "keep up" with hunting even though they no longer hunt. I am probably one of those. Here is a story that I think might be typical of a lot of non-hunters.

When I was a child I lived on a farm in rural Kentucky. We had chickens and cattle. I guess you would say we were fairly poor. Often, early in the morning my Dad would wake me and bring me my shotgun (.410). We would head off into the woods and return with a few squirrels for breakfast.

We also hunted bird, rabbits, etc. We often relied on these animals for food. We didn't need to ask the neighbors if we ended up crossing property lines. We knew them well and no one cared. Any hunter you heard in your woods was a neighbor who "ended up" at the edge of your property. - again no one cared.

As time passed, things changed. Working on a small hilly farm in Kentucky seemed to not support a family very well anymore. My Dad had to get a factory job. - tough to hunt in the morning when you leave for work at 5am. I (and many of my schoolmates) left for college, etc... at any rate most of us ended up in the city.

I never thought about hunting. It was just something I did. I enjoyed HUNTING but I took no special pleasure in killing an animal. That meant MORE WORK!. If I kill something it has to be dressed!

Anyway, more "strange" people entered the area where our farm is located. Neighbors became distrustful. Posted signs went up. Groceries became easier to get. "Free time" became more scarce.

This is what happened in my part of the country. We have a LOT less hunting than we used to. I "got out of the habit" and didn't hunt anything for many years. Last fall I went Deer hunting with my Dad. I enjoyed the "hunt" but I really wasn't upset that I never got a shot. I don't need the food anymore.

Sorry for the long post! Just thought I'd give you my perspective. (And I am not sure if you'd call me a hunter or not. Most people would probably say I am not.) But I do like to hear hunting stories and keep up with the latest thing in black powder, etc.

FWIW,
Logistar

 

[JohnKSa]

Is it your observation that there are anti-hunters on this portion of the forum?

I don't think so. I don't see people trying to dissuade others from hunting--that's my personal definition of an anti.

What struck me was that the "hunting disaster story" thread was pretty graphic--even for me, and I used to assist a veterinarian with his surgeries. I was surprised to see that some folks who obviously read all the way through it admitted to being non-hunters (not anti-hunters) by choice.

It's never ceases to amuse me that so many of the people who post here are the complete antithesis of what the general populace seems to envision when they think of gun owners and hunters. Also, it's interesting to see what a personal choice hunting seems to be. Even those who are not at all opposed to others hunting can be quite against participating themselves. And I thought it would be intriguing to see where and what kinds of lines people draw and why. Deer but no birds, no animals but fish are ok, varmints but no game animals, etc.

 

[P95Carry]

Have you still got a link John .. to the ''disaster story'' .. I really forget right now whether I did or didn't see it!

 

[Greybeard]

Yep, the gun community too is full of all kinds. A few years back, a Dad was dropping his teenage son off for a hunter education class. When he asked "Is my son going to get to shoot?" I said "Yea, a little. Ya want to take a peek in the range?"

When we stepped inside our little firing room, I commented that the range was actually designed for CHL training and testing, but that it also worked out quite well for target practice and shooting .22 rifles in hunter ed classes. He put his hands in his pockets and headed for the door, with the comment "I don't like handguns. I think guns should be used only to shoot animals - like deer- but that's all." And walked back to the parking lot.

 

[nico]

if only the gun owners who think guns are only for hunting and the ones who think they're only for non-hunting recreation/ self defense would get a little dose of reality, maybe a lot more would get done in protecting gun owner's rights.

 

[Stand_Watie]

What struck me was that the "hunting disaster story" thread was pretty graphic--even for me, and I used to assist a veterinarian with his surgeries. I was surprised to see that some folks who obviously read all the way through it admitted to being non-hunters (not anti-hunters) by choice.

Yeah, I thought it was graphic too - I think that the squeamishness of human nature is both a good thing in that it helps restrain us from unneccessary and unhealthy cruelty, and can be a bad thing in that it makes it difficult for us to cause neccessary pain for a greater good.

Those of us who have had to administer painful medical treatments to our children can testify that the fundamental human nature can be a two-edged sword. It should prevent you from abusing your children, but it also makes it difficult to administer healthy discipline or painful medicine.

Thank God for Doctors and nurses who are willing to sacrifice their own emotions for the well being of society - for police officers, for farmers, butchers and garbagemen. And for hunters.

 

[JohnKSa]

Chris,

It's actually a thread called "Your most disturbing shooting/hunting trip?" started by Thefumegator. I was just too lazy to get all the particulars right.

 

[c_yeager]

I hope it doesn't look like I'm trying to "rub it in someone's face." I just wondered why a person who, by choice, doesn't hunt would want to read about the experience he intentionally avoids.

You know i watch a LOT of movies about things that i would never voluntarily participate in. I absolutly ADORE watching private ryan. But, i wouldnt want tobe IN the situation. I guess there isnt much room for curiosity or vicarious entertainment in your world huh?

 

[Iain]

I post here and read here more despite never having fired a genuine firearm in my life.

Why? Because it interests me, and I would like to be able to ethically put meat on the table one day. And pest and varmint control is a necessary task. And trophy hunters who are ethical and skilled are well entitled to their craft as far as I am concerned, it's none of my business and they tell great stories.

 

[Stand_Watie]

I post here and read here more despite never having fired a genuine firearm in my life.

Hey St. John's if you're ever in the DFW area or East Texas swing by here and we'll remedy that for you. I've got a place to shoot and a few different calibers, and there are a bunch of others on the forum who are within driving distance that we could probably get together for a shoot - maybe even a hog roast.

In fact from the number of the shooters on the forum who express outright glee at getting the opportunity to introduce new shooters to the sport, if you ever come to the states at all, with a little preplanning you can probably find somebody to take you out shooting - you could get yourself a checklist of calibers to fire like a planespotter looking for their different planes

 

[BRONZ]

I think its mostly about time. Americans are a very time strapped society. It's hard to find time now in days. At least for me it is. I haven't been hunting in about 3 years. Hmmmmm I wonder if that has anything to do with having a 2 1/2 and a 1 1/2 year old.

I use to go shooting twice a month, now its about once say every 3 months.

 

[BIGR]

Hunting is an American Tradition that our Forefathers did years ago. They hunted for food and used the furs and hides for other purposes. Alot of times their food supply depended on hunting. These days some hunters hunt for the food and others like trophy hunting. I have hunted since a young age of 8 years old. I hunt for the food and if I just so happened to shoot a nice Buck on one of my hunts thats alright with me. In this day and age I think it is important to know how to hunt and take a steady food supply. If times ever get real hard, it would be a valuable tool for a person to use. I hope it never comes to me having to hunt just to survive but, if I have to I'LL know how. No I am not some wacko extremist thats waiting on Doomsday but, just an ol mountain boy who grew up hunting and fishing, loving the outdoors. It seems like these days the number of hunters has declined to low numbers due to urban spraw and other reasons. If you are not a hunter by choice or other reasons thats ok with me. If you are a gun owner and don't hunt you are still one of my friends. If you are anti gun then I don't know you so leave me alone.

 

[Art Eatman]

The whole package of shooting/hunting/outdoors was important enough to me that I worked pretty doggoned hard to rearrange my lifestyle such that being able to "play" was just a matter of leaving the house when the mood struck. Sure has made the last twenty years quite enjoyable, though.

, Art