I don't hunt and have no problem with those who do, but it seems to me a huge waste of time, on the order of playing golf, for example. I don't eat venison or duck or squirrel. If I want a steak, there are several markets and a couple of good steakhouses in town.
So am I a complete wussy or what?
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Mannlicher
Member
Friend, there is absolutly nothing wrong with how you feel about hunting. Just don't go try to change the world I live in.
I love to hunt, and go every chance I get. The killing is part of the hunt, not always the fun part, but necessary. This has never bothered me in some 50 years of hunting.
I love to hunt, and go every chance I get. The killing is part of the hunt, not always the fun part, but necessary. This has never bothered me in some 50 years of hunting.
That is pretty much a myth. At least in Colorado, wasting game meat is a FELONY. In my 40+ years of hunting, I've never met this so-called "trophy hunter".
And if you don't see the point of shooting prairie dogs, you haven't seen the mess they can make of a pasture.
i love to hunt. i enjoy stalking a deer, sniping a prairie dog, swinging on a pheasant, ambushing geese, outmaneuvering an antelope...
i like doing a post-mortem analysis on the critter (autopsy-lite) while dressing it out to see how bullet performance was compared to expectations. i like talking to other hunters about their hunts, and telling about mine.
i really love it that my girls are eating 'pure' meat - not the store-bought garbage that almost resembles meat, complete w/ its hormone injections, dyes, preservatives, and gases. i think its great that their favorite meat is antelope, followed by pheasant then deer... i am proud that we eat zero store bought meat in this house for 9-10 months out of the year (and we could go to zero store-bought stuff if i had more freezer space).
i don't like that tiny tinge of remorse for the split second that i get after taking the life of a beautiful animal.
however, all that does not make me any more or less of a wuss than anybody else here. hunting isn't for everybody. however, killing an animal is not the same thing as hunting - in fact, the kill is such a minute part of the experience that it is, in fact, anti-climatic!
last thing...for all the shtf guys here (and there's a lot of you because i see the threads posted non-stop)... if you don't hunt now, and don't know how to do it, and the s does htf, you will quickly find out that it is not as simple as running outside w/ your rifle in hand and plugging a deer (or whatever) to reap some meat... especially when everybody else is going to be doing the exact same thing...
i like doing a post-mortem analysis on the critter (autopsy-lite) while dressing it out to see how bullet performance was compared to expectations. i like talking to other hunters about their hunts, and telling about mine.
i really love it that my girls are eating 'pure' meat - not the store-bought garbage that almost resembles meat, complete w/ its hormone injections, dyes, preservatives, and gases. i think its great that their favorite meat is antelope, followed by pheasant then deer... i am proud that we eat zero store bought meat in this house for 9-10 months out of the year (and we could go to zero store-bought stuff if i had more freezer space).
i don't like that tiny tinge of remorse for the split second that i get after taking the life of a beautiful animal.
however, all that does not make me any more or less of a wuss than anybody else here. hunting isn't for everybody. however, killing an animal is not the same thing as hunting - in fact, the kill is such a minute part of the experience that it is, in fact, anti-climatic!
last thing...for all the shtf guys here (and there's a lot of you because i see the threads posted non-stop)... if you don't hunt now, and don't know how to do it, and the s does htf, you will quickly find out that it is not as simple as running outside w/ your rifle in hand and plugging a deer (or whatever) to reap some meat... especially when everybody else is going to be doing the exact same thing...
Vern Humphrey
Member
Nor have I -- and I've been hunting almost 50 years.
I have NEVER met a hunter who would discard a carcass. In fact, in Virginia, we NEEDED more hunting to thin the deer herds. The Fish and Game Department ran surveys to find out how they could encourage more hunting. The stumbling block was that hunters would NOT kill more than they could use.
So the F&G instituted a program to allow hunters to donate carcasses to charity.
Standing Wolf
Member in memoriam
I'm deliberately not making any flippant remarks about hunting politicians.
Marshall
Member
Very true. People will also find out that hitting a moving target that breaths is a completely different world than hitting a paper or steel target.
Vern Humphrey
Member
Take it to the varmit hunting forum.
dasmi
Member
I'm in the same boat as you. I don't disapprove of people hunting, in fact I support it, I just have no desire to do it. I do love a good piece of meat though...mmm...I need to make some dinner.
crucible
Member
As a 240lb former Marine that hardly considers himself a wussy, I feel the same way. I have family that hunts, and while I have once or twice, it's not my thing either: I'd much rather just watch them do thier thing.
(I too remember killing a bird or several in the manner spoken of earlier in this thread, and one rabbit as an early teen that I feel bad about even today as well.)
I support the right for folks to hunt however, but as for me, it's not my thing, despite being more than capable of doing so (pest control, putting injured out of it's misery etc. not withstanding). Of course there needs to be hunting, if even for controlling skyrocketing population growth, and the good that hunters do with extra meat is a great thing.
That said. I do get a bit angry at folks who do those canned hunts-lions and other magnificent animals behind some fence where they can't get away, then wooping and hollering like they've done something requring skill. Yea, that pisses me off a bit. (Remember that vid of the lion that almost got the shooter awhile back? That was a canned hunt too and I still root for lion more than a little bit.) That concept one step further: anyone I'd see shooting a bald eagle would get their ass knocked around.
People however are a bit different-not that I'd hunt a human as a civilian mind you, but doggone sure I wouldn't shed a tear at some of the evil that walks this earth getting a 30.06 in the temple.
Now fishing, well there's another story altogether
Chris
(I too remember killing a bird or several in the manner spoken of earlier in this thread, and one rabbit as an early teen that I feel bad about even today as well.)
I support the right for folks to hunt however, but as for me, it's not my thing, despite being more than capable of doing so (pest control, putting injured out of it's misery etc. not withstanding). Of course there needs to be hunting, if even for controlling skyrocketing population growth, and the good that hunters do with extra meat is a great thing.
That said. I do get a bit angry at folks who do those canned hunts-lions and other magnificent animals behind some fence where they can't get away, then wooping and hollering like they've done something requring skill. Yea, that pisses me off a bit. (Remember that vid of the lion that almost got the shooter awhile back? That was a canned hunt too and I still root for lion more than a little bit.) That concept one step further: anyone I'd see shooting a bald eagle would get their ass knocked around.
People however are a bit different-not that I'd hunt a human as a civilian mind you, but doggone sure I wouldn't shed a tear at some of the evil that walks this earth getting a 30.06 in the temple.
Now fishing, well there's another story altogether
Chris
bogie
Member
Bambi don't just leap merrily into the freezer by himself.
That said, I am not really into hunting - It ain't the shooting of the critter that I don't like about it - it's all the work right after you shoot it.
As for prairie dogs, that's on par with shooting rats at the dump.
That said, I am not really into hunting - It ain't the shooting of the critter that I don't like about it - it's all the work right after you shoot it.
As for prairie dogs, that's on par with shooting rats at the dump.
Standing Wolf
Member in memoriam
Sorry! I didn't realize vermin count as varmints. My mistake. Won't happen again.
You're probably right, however, the distances are a little more extreme. I dropped one this morning at a little over 200 yards. With my .17 HMR.
Besides, what's wrong with shooting rats at the dump?
Joejojoba111
Member
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2005
- Messages
- 1,056
"And if you don't see the point of shooting prairie dogs, you haven't seen the mess they can make of a pasture."
I have to second this. Shooting ground squirrels actually is a task that MUST be done. Reality is not always pretty, usually it's not, actually. Those ground squirrels are already dead, they are going to die one way or another. You have the choice, do they die from a bullet, or do they slowly starve to death, do they get eaten alive (some rodents do this in crowded areas, not sure about ground squirrels though), do they die of a disease which they help spread?
What are the options, poison them? Thus you poison all the other animals that eat them, animals you don't want to kill, because they eat ground squirrels. Poison=bad. You can pump flammable gas into the tunnel network and then ignite it, but is this really any better than shooting them 1 by 1?
And look what happens when you don't kill them, not only do the squirrels suffer en masse, other animals suffer, bigger animals. Who here has the means to help a horse recover from leg injuries? Water tanks and physio, anyone? If you don't like seeing a squirrel in pain you really won't like seeing a horse in pain, especially when the horse is practically your best friend. Plus you can get pretty badly hurt if you're on the horse when it tumbles.
Should there be more predators to take care of the ground squirrels? Yes. Was it probably a mistake to poison so many coyotes and ferrets and hawks? Yea, it looks that way. If people kept the hunting to bullets then the farmer a mile away could kill coyotes that are a nuisance to his chickens, while the farmer without chickens to worry about wouldn't kill the coyotes. It's targeted, by definition, and thus has a limited impact.
I don't see any way around ground-squirrels dieing, it's all about how they die and when, and the impact on other animals.
I'm not fixed in the opinions, I'll listen to reason from other people, I'd like to hear otherwise, but it still comes down to bullets or poison or disease or starvation.
I have to second this. Shooting ground squirrels actually is a task that MUST be done. Reality is not always pretty, usually it's not, actually. Those ground squirrels are already dead, they are going to die one way or another. You have the choice, do they die from a bullet, or do they slowly starve to death, do they get eaten alive (some rodents do this in crowded areas, not sure about ground squirrels though), do they die of a disease which they help spread?
What are the options, poison them? Thus you poison all the other animals that eat them, animals you don't want to kill, because they eat ground squirrels. Poison=bad. You can pump flammable gas into the tunnel network and then ignite it, but is this really any better than shooting them 1 by 1?
And look what happens when you don't kill them, not only do the squirrels suffer en masse, other animals suffer, bigger animals. Who here has the means to help a horse recover from leg injuries? Water tanks and physio, anyone? If you don't like seeing a squirrel in pain you really won't like seeing a horse in pain, especially when the horse is practically your best friend. Plus you can get pretty badly hurt if you're on the horse when it tumbles.
Should there be more predators to take care of the ground squirrels? Yes. Was it probably a mistake to poison so many coyotes and ferrets and hawks? Yea, it looks that way. If people kept the hunting to bullets then the farmer a mile away could kill coyotes that are a nuisance to his chickens, while the farmer without chickens to worry about wouldn't kill the coyotes. It's targeted, by definition, and thus has a limited impact.
I don't see any way around ground-squirrels dieing, it's all about how they die and when, and the impact on other animals.
I'm not fixed in the opinions, I'll listen to reason from other people, I'd like to hear otherwise, but it still comes down to bullets or poison or disease or starvation.
Zundfolge
Member
I don't have any interest in hunting (although it is a skill I should probably pick up "just in case"), but lately the desire to kill mass quantities of tree rats has been rising within me.
I have no problem with other people hunting, but I'm not all that interested. For one thing, I know hunters who go through a box of shells every season or two! I couldn't stand to carry a gun around and not shoot it much
Also (and this is sure to make me look all sorts of evil and stuff) when I read threads about people shooting dogs and such, I always feel bad about those. I understand you gotta shoot an attacking dog, but I always feel worse for the dog then I would for some thug trying to rob me (I've given this a lot of serious thought and I'm positive I will have less then 1/10th the angst over killing some thug then a dog who's main crime is having an owner who didn't keep him locked up )
I have no problem with other people hunting, but I'm not all that interested. For one thing, I know hunters who go through a box of shells every season or two! I couldn't stand to carry a gun around and not shoot it much
Also (and this is sure to make me look all sorts of evil and stuff) when I read threads about people shooting dogs and such, I always feel bad about those. I understand you gotta shoot an attacking dog, but I always feel worse for the dog then I would for some thug trying to rob me (I've given this a lot of serious thought and I'm positive I will have less then 1/10th the angst over killing some thug then a dog who's main crime is having an owner who didn't keep him locked up
)
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killing bambi
It took me about 25 minutes to pull the trigger on the first deer I shot. It was amazing that the animal stuck around that long. The guy who was teaching me how to hunt got very frustrated with me. Kept saying "When are you going to pull the trigger?". I have no problems now with it - the family would be very upset if I came home without a deer.
I can understand why someone would have trouble. I still have a little regret after shooting a deer - it is a life.
I had a discussion today with a sister-in-law today about hunting. She was very upset that I hunted. When I responded to her every question and then listened to her answers from my questions, I soon came to an understanding that she had no concept of how things work in food production. Her bottom line is - it is okay for someone else to kill an animal grown for food in a feedlot but not okay for a hunter to kill a free ranging animal. I told her that I thought confining an animal in a feedlot did not mean that the animals life had less value. I at least gave some thought to the animal I kill - how many people munching at McDonalds gave any thought to the animal they were eating.
It took me about 25 minutes to pull the trigger on the first deer I shot. It was amazing that the animal stuck around that long. The guy who was teaching me how to hunt got very frustrated with me. Kept saying "When are you going to pull the trigger?". I have no problems now with it - the family would be very upset if I came home without a deer.
I can understand why someone would have trouble. I still have a little regret after shooting a deer - it is a life.
I had a discussion today with a sister-in-law today about hunting. She was very upset that I hunted. When I responded to her every question and then listened to her answers from my questions, I soon came to an understanding that she had no concept of how things work in food production. Her bottom line is - it is okay for someone else to kill an animal grown for food in a feedlot but not okay for a hunter to kill a free ranging animal. I told her that I thought confining an animal in a feedlot did not mean that the animals life had less value. I at least gave some thought to the animal I kill - how many people munching at McDonalds gave any thought to the animal they were eating.
Shooting animals
I live in a county where all dogs and cats are required to be confined to their owner's property or be on a leash or be subject to detention by the county animal control officer, any dog or cat that is loose and does not have a collar and rabies tag is to be shot on sight.
This is a public health matter.
I, personally, do not shoot deer, because I do not like venison, I do shoot squirrels, rabbits, doves, quail , ducks , geese and feral hogs because I do enjoy eating them.
I have butchered animals for food since I was 8 years old, I have killed and butchered a number of cattle, hogs, goats, rabbits, squirrels, beavers, ducks, chickens, turkeys, guineas, pea fowl and even lambs, although I have a really hard time gaging down lamb.
In my opinion, everyone who eats meat should have to kill and butcher at least one example of each animal they eat, including fish, shellfish, bivalves, crabs and gastropods.
Don
I live in a county where all dogs and cats are required to be confined to their owner's property or be on a leash or be subject to detention by the county animal control officer, any dog or cat that is loose and does not have a collar and rabies tag is to be shot on sight.
This is a public health matter.
I, personally, do not shoot deer, because I do not like venison, I do shoot squirrels, rabbits, doves, quail , ducks , geese and feral hogs because I do enjoy eating them.
I have butchered animals for food since I was 8 years old, I have killed and butchered a number of cattle, hogs, goats, rabbits, squirrels, beavers, ducks, chickens, turkeys, guineas, pea fowl and even lambs, although I have a really hard time gaging down lamb.
In my opinion, everyone who eats meat should have to kill and butcher at least one example of each animal they eat, including fish, shellfish, bivalves, crabs and gastropods.
Don
Sindawe
Member
I just knew that was gonna come up.
The reality of the situation is the the prairie dogs are doing the same thing that WE do. Namely, changing the local environment to suit THEIR needs. Those needs don't happend to coincidence with ours, (different grass preferences, dig hole in the ground that our livestock is stupid enough to step into and break a limb, they carry disease) so they get labeled as "vermin", "rats" and all kinds of rationalizations are made for for shooting 'em, gassing 'em and the like.
*SIGH* that same rationalization can be, and has been, made for members of our own species. I find to no more convincing or correct when it made for so called "lesser animals" as it was for so called "untermenchen" in the previous century.
Killing 'em cause they make a good stew. Fine. Killing 'em cause that particular colony has an outbreak of Y. pestis (plague). Fine. Killing 'em cause they are "pests" and "vermin". Well, I think of another species that fits the definition of "vermin" a lot better than the prairie dog does.
DarkKnight01
Member
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2005
- Messages
- 391
Yes I agree entirely, Its too bad you cant just shoot the owner
I nearly had to shoot a dog lastnight, the children were in the front of the house catching fireflys, and a dog had gotten away from its owner, I believe he was out walking it and it got off the leash or something... not really sure, the children come scurrying into the house squealing and hopping like they need to urinate, I said whats the problem? they tell me someones dog is loose... Just then I look out the door and heres a dog with his front paws on the first step of my porch about to persue the children into my home... I tell them to get back, stand up draw my weapon and flashlight.... and walk toward the door at this time the dog was no longer working its way up the steps, so I go and step out onto the porch and in a stern voice told the dog to go home..... the dog turned and left, and up the street heard its owner calling for him... coming my direction... I had my weapon kinda behind my right thigh so as not to freak anyone out... the dog was no longer in sight, my end of the problem had been dealt with, I turned around and went back inside closing and locking the door behind me, and told the children they are to stay inside for the rest of the night now... too bad for them..... sure I could have helped the guy catch his dog... but thats not my problem... my problem is protecting me and mine... and I took care of my end.Sorry to wander off topic, just thought id share my experience lastnight, and this seemed like the time and place, to contribute to the original thread topic:
I dont hunt anymore, its nothing to do with not wanting to kill, its more of a dont have the time to do it, I do enjoy fishing when I get the time, and as already mentioned, my favorite part of hunting is just being out there among nature, but I can do that anytime without hunting....
Moondoggie
Member
I'm with most of you folks...I hunted as a youngster, and up until about 15 yrs ago but no longer have a desire to kill anything. I have absolutely no quarrel with anyone who does hunt. I don't think anyone who doesn't want to is a wuss.
As far as "store bought" meat goes, I buy mine 1/2 of a cow at a time, and it was living on a farm with about a dozen of it's buddies until the day it went to the processor...no feedlots.
Had to shoot a skunk in my back yard (in town!) last year. No animal control available, PD dispatcher said to go ahead and shoot it if I could do it safely. We'd 4 cases of confirmed rabid skunks in our county that year, and I had 2 small dogs & 4 cats in our privacy fenced yard. Still, I felt bad about having to kill it, although it's very likely that I was putting it out of it's misery...my common understanding is that if a skunk is running around in the middle of the day it's probably rabid.
If SHTF I'd have no problem resurrecting my hunting skills.
As far as "store bought" meat goes, I buy mine 1/2 of a cow at a time, and it was living on a farm with about a dozen of it's buddies until the day it went to the processor...no feedlots.
Had to shoot a skunk in my back yard (in town!) last year. No animal control available, PD dispatcher said to go ahead and shoot it if I could do it safely. We'd 4 cases of confirmed rabid skunks in our county that year, and I had 2 small dogs & 4 cats in our privacy fenced yard. Still, I felt bad about having to kill it, although it's very likely that I was putting it out of it's misery...my common understanding is that if a skunk is running around in the middle of the day it's probably rabid.
If SHTF I'd have no problem resurrecting my hunting skills.
duck_god827
Member
I hunt for food
I love to hunt and shoot. The main reason I hunt and raise my own critters for butcher is I do not like store bought meat or veggies that much. The food we raise just tastes better. Granted we do not raise all of our own food but I really enjoy what we do raise.
I love to hunt and shoot. The main reason I hunt and raise my own critters for butcher is I do not like store bought meat or veggies that much. The food we raise just tastes better. Granted we do not raise all of our own food but I really enjoy what we do raise.
jefnvk
Member
Good thing for us, the prarie dogs don't got guns
Animals
I have no idea how prairie dogs have become a major problem, several multiple year studies have shown that when the prairie dog has been destroyed, the prairie has disappeared shortly thereafter.
Cattle men have long blaimed the little rodents for eating grass the rancher wants for his cattle, the same ranchers have put several times the number of cattle on the range that the land and water can support on a sustained yield basis, the ranchers are destroying the basis of the system.
How did the Great Plains support many millions of bison, pronghorn ,sheep , elk and deer as well as all the small animals, prairie dog, ferret, burrowing owl, rattle snake, a number of rats and mice and other animals I pass over , and now much of it is either sage brush, creosote brush , thorn brush or bare rocky desert now?
Places that had millions of prairie dogs and belly high grass, now have scattered cacti and mesquite scrub .
Why does the USDA now say that Pecos county requires 320 acres to support one cow/ calf pair, it previously supported several million large animals for several months each year.
A 20 acre place in Alabama can carry as many cattle as 6 sections in West Texas, and New Mexico and Arizona are even worse .
I really believe , if you are prepared to kill an animal, you should be prepared to dress and cook it too.
Destroying animals considered varmints is risky business, how do you know the effect on the ecosystem?
Have you researched the situation?
Don
I have no idea how prairie dogs have become a major problem, several multiple year studies have shown that when the prairie dog has been destroyed, the prairie has disappeared shortly thereafter.
Cattle men have long blaimed the little rodents for eating grass the rancher wants for his cattle, the same ranchers have put several times the number of cattle on the range that the land and water can support on a sustained yield basis, the ranchers are destroying the basis of the system.
How did the Great Plains support many millions of bison, pronghorn ,sheep , elk and deer as well as all the small animals, prairie dog, ferret, burrowing owl, rattle snake, a number of rats and mice and other animals I pass over , and now much of it is either sage brush, creosote brush , thorn brush or bare rocky desert now?
Places that had millions of prairie dogs and belly high grass, now have scattered cacti and mesquite scrub .
Why does the USDA now say that Pecos county requires 320 acres to support one cow/ calf pair, it previously supported several million large animals for several months each year.
A 20 acre place in Alabama can carry as many cattle as 6 sections in West Texas, and New Mexico and Arizona are even worse .
I really believe , if you are prepared to kill an animal, you should be prepared to dress and cook it too.
Destroying animals considered varmints is risky business, how do you know the effect on the ecosystem?
Have you researched the situation?
Don
IZinterrogator
Member
I have never hunted, and don't really plan to start. However, yesterday at the range when someone pointed out that there was a snake crawling down the backstop, that didn't stop me from whipping out the USP45 and taking the shot. I hate snakes. 
Winged him good, though.
Winged him good, though. - Status
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