So am I a complete wussy or what?

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Nope, not a wuss. Just a matter of free will. Don't want to kill a critter? Don't, no big deal. I hunt avidly, but my wife, who shoots, does not. She can't even kill a spider in the house. But she loves breaking clays... and venison. The venison I go out and kill... and dress, and butcher. There's even stuff I don't hunt. I love duck and goose, but don't hunt them because I'm not big on shooting into a flock of birds as they land. Too much chance for wounding a gorgeous duck. Upland birds are fun to hunt, and you get a shot at (usually) one bird at a time. Even if two birds flush, you can choose the one to take. (Or both, one at a time) I don't care if you don't hunt, and don't think you are a nancy-boy for not hunting. (Besides, thats one less guy in the woods when I'm hunting)
 
:D :D :D

Vern:
New keyboard ($30.00) and a bottle of A&W Cream Soda ($1.19)...
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Allow me to post a quote from a TV sires I once saw, this is the only thing I remember from it (not even the name)

A person stated to a guy who was a hunter that they went hunting once as a kid and it made them fell terrible for killing the critter & the hunter replied with this.

"You are supposed to feel terrible so that you realize what it takes to keep you & your family alive."

Not an exact quote as my memory is a bit fuzzy on the exact wording, but it does give a intresting viewpoint on hunting.
 
You're not a wuss. There are a lot of good reasons to hunt, or not to hunt, but it's your choice.

I hunted some when I was younger. I enjoyed being outdoors, I enjoyed the challenge, the commaradarie, and I enjoyed the success. I do think it is a bit ingrained into male DNA. I didn't like the dressing out that much, but I was raised such that you don't shoot or catch stuff you aren't going to eat, and cleaning/dressing is part of the experience. You must respect the game (or any animal that gives you sustainence).

OTOH, I'll kill vermin without much thought, or threatening animals if necessary, and I have put down injured and infirm animals when necessary (always hard for me, but the right thing to do-). I did kill a bird or two stupidly with BB gun and slingshot as a kid, but felt pretty bad about it, and found better kinds of targets.
 
My rule: If it can kill me, I don't kill it.

I have no problem with varmint or bird hunting (I should say that I have not gone varmint hunting, but I should be going for the first time in a month or so). Varmint/pest hunting I have no problem with anyway, just because that they can pose a danger to domesticated animal populations. But a bear, for example? Nope. I can't bring myself to use artificial means to end the life of something that can snuff mine out so easily.

I'll leave the bigger stuff for the rest of you guys.
 
dakotasin Thanks - you put it perfectly for me. And in a respectful way...

"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...
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Hunting is not a matter of life or death. It is much more important than that."
 
mornard- thanks! hunting is a passion of mine, and an activity i thoroughly enjoy. i recognize that not everybody hunts, nor should they, but i certainly enjoy it.
 
I'll be 30 this year, and have never been hunting. I always felt the same way you do, but the last few years I have had a little more interest in it. I feel like it's one of those things I need to do at least once in my life, for experience if nothing else. I wouldn't want to be forced into hunting while hungry, worried about the safety of my family and watching society as I know it crumble around me. Later this year, I have an offer to go out and give it a try. I think I'm going to give it a shot.
 
Is this thread still going? Anyway, here's my [crackpot] theory.....

Whether society has ingrained it in us, or its just basic human instinct, the taking of a significant lifeform is serious business. People that don’t think so are wasteful. But that doesn’t mean it has to be avoided in all cases. If one has the proper mindset, and has come to terms with the balance of pros and cons their action will set in motion, they may hunt without being burdened with useless guilt. If that’s not the case, its not worth it to hunt.

I was raised on the belief that hunting was bad, and if you killed something on purpose you darn well better be ready to eat it. I am deviating from that line of thinking to advance my skills as a hunter. My guilt free approach to hunting observes that a life was taken to supply me with a specific experience. The life was not wasted and a moment is taken to appreciate the animal’s contribution. If you believe humans are animals too, perhaps a greater net benefit to the animal kingdom is achieved through the creation of a woodsman than through the fleeting lives of several outsmarted coyotes. Duping the predator in his own realm takes a highly developed animal acuity. Higher order animals are the jewel of the animal kingdom and a master woodsman ranks near the top with eagles, big cats, and whales.

City folks who are swept up in the pursuit of advancing civilization are great for the human race, but I don’t consider them a part of the animal kingdom. To each his own. I get plenty of civilization during my small 9-5 role in it. So, I like to enjoy the rest of the world when I still can.
 
Nope, you're not a wuss because you don't want to kill something. Both my wife and I are avid big game (meat) hunters and because we are, both our daughters were brought up around hunting. They were going with us before they were old enough to the start school. Our oldest loves to hunt and has taken several head of deer herself. Our youngest however, would have a hard time killing anything. I was extremely proud of her this last weekend when she and her fiancee were visiting here from Eugene, Oregon. Her fiancee is a great chef and hopes to own a fancy restaurant someday. He doesn't have any guns himself, but he's not an anti gun owner bigot - he doesn't have anything against people who do have guns. Heck, he's marrying one! At any rate, I was showing off some guns when my daughter says to her fiancee, a chef, they have to make a trip back here this fall because he has never tasted anything as good as "my Moms chicken fried venison steak." :)
On the other hand, some hunters might concider my wife and I a couple of "wussies." Neither of us will hunt geese because we heard Canadian Geese mate for life. We don't want to kill an animals life-mate, even for meat. And my wife can make goose taste pretty darn good too.
 
Not a wussy but close

My point is I see pictures of some of your folks prairie dog kills etc. and I actually feel bad for the little critters.
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Wow this guy has never done a one legger down a gopher hole in the dark.
Once you do you will never feel bad about blasting them again.

DarthBubba :evil:
 
It is incongrous for an omnivore to think it is ok to buy something from the supermarket cooler and yet be averse to harvesting their own food, if necessary. If that idea is repugnant, yes, with all due respect, you are indeed a wuss. ;) You don't have to like it hell, I don't like to work, but I haven't found an alternative that will keep me in the style I have become accustomed to .... yet... :neener:
 
Just owning a firearm opens up a myriad of pastimes that entail using a firearm (competition shooting, hunting, collecting, etc). One need not participate in ALL the mentioned pastimes, but most pick and choose one (often more, if not all the above).

I myself don't hunt but I don't try to police anyone else into my views as "right". I grew up in suburbia and subsequently was not brought up around a hunting environment. We didn't have acres of land plagued by prairie dogs or gophers, nor did we have rats, geese, ducks, or any type of readily available animal that might be considered as game or pests to shoot at so it wouldn't be as natural to me. We had flies, and I felt more than obliged to smoosh them when they buzzed around. To some degree (arguably more or less), we are all products of our upbringing and early environment.

I never had a necessity to hunt for food but it would be a nice skill to have should the need arise (there is a long list of survival skills that I lack). Yet, necessity should not be a requirement to hone or practice a certain skill set as it might come in handy unexpectedly. In the event that I had to hunt for food, I'd be a bit behind the curve since I wouldn't know what to do once I made a kill.

I don’t feel it is odd at all that people are willing to buy a big steak at the supermarket and not know how to, nor want to hunt their own food. The advancements in modern technology has spoiled many people in that they are no longer self-sufficient should the need arise—from hunting, to building their own home, planting crops and raising livestock, surviving cold winters, etc. I would believe in many peoples’ minds, those people who live in a concrete jungle and never seen a deer in their lives, that hunting is alien and a bygone skill like butter churning.
 
I think anyone who eats meat needs to hunt at least a little bit. You need to have an understanding of what goes on when things die. I hate to shoot a deer and not kill it clean, or worse lose it due to a bad hit. I hate that, that is torture to me, that I have hurt something and failed to due my job. I however go out every season to try and provide my famiily with some things that will help them understand meat does not come from the grocery store, it comes from living creatures. I hunt for food, I do not practice catch and release fishing, only those fish not big enough or in season are returned. I catch salmon, trout, bass, walleye, and panfish, and we eat them. When I lived on the coast, we fished offshore and we caught a lot of fish to eat.

I agree with the previous poster who said if you think you are a hunter who can provide for your family when the SHTF simply becasue you can pull a trigger, Keep that attitude, because the time may come when I will need a bunch on incompetents out there moving the game around and bringing them to me.

I feel that if you can not hunt, then you should not eat meat, wear leather. I think if you are going to sit and think about, ALL animals in the wild or in farm situations are in a SHTF situation, they are living on the edge, they eat or are eaten on a daily basis. Yeah killing is not something I like doing, but I am willing to understand that death is part of life, and by my killing one game animal, my family will eat, there will be enough food for another game animal to make it thru the winter. If i shoot a bear, then there willl be more berries for other birds and deer to eat, some more carrion for the wolves to eat come spring, we are all parts of a big puzzle. we have to maintain our role.
 
I love to hunt. I live for the hunt. That is what gets me through the first 9 months of the year. I agree with most when they say they like the part that leads up to the killing. I don't like to be around large groups of people and when I go hunting it just myself my father and a couple friends. It is great, then I get to spend hours in the woods by myself. It is just wonderful.

I can respect the views of those who choose not to hunt, but just don't force me listen to those views. I am tired of people yelling at me for killing bambi, it's like they think I haven't heard it a hundred times already. Hunting is just a generally good time for me.
 
Sindawe come on, this is a hunting thread, at least be sporting when you quote people out of context.

For the record, if you DON'T kill priairie dogs they will kill themselves, in a much slower and less pleasant manner. And they will harm all the other natural wonders around them. You see, the other animals that are supposed to kill prairie dogs aren't around as much anymore, so guess what, because that mistake was made now we all have to pay the piper and step up and fill their roles. It's really really simple.

"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."

OH MY GOD you have a problem with rats? What kind of sicko are you?! Give the rats a break, they're just doing what we do. You sicko. And you are ok with maiming livestock? What the hell!? They're just doing their thing, which happens not to mesh well with the gopher's thing, and you come up with rationalizations for mutilating horses!



And one thing to answer: Is it wrong to get a cat that kills mice?
 
I like to shoot, but I don't hunt. That's just my choice. I definitely wouldn't judge anyone else for hunting. My thoughts on the whole subject are a little complicated, so hear goes...

We humans are omnivores. Historically, we are scavengers AND predators. Hunting comes naturally to us as a part of our survival instinct. Nothing wrong there. And if you want to claim that we've evolved past that and don't have to do it anymore, I say good for you, as long as you don't eat meat. If you do, then you've just opted to let someone else do your dirty work for you. Again, nothing wrong with that, but nothing virtuous about it either. Anti-hunting meat eaters are on some pretty thin ethical ice; do they know what slaughterhouses are like? I have more respect for hardcore vegans and animal rights people--at least they're walking the walk. But my personal feeling is that they're ignoring the realities of the natural world and our place in it.

I did a little bird-shooting as a teenager. I never shot a deer, though, and I don't think I could. I'm not sure why that is. Maybe something to do with the way they look--graceful and beautiful. Of course, a flock of geese flying across the sky is a beautiful sight too, but to me that's more like a field of wheat waving in the breeze: Just because it's beautiful doesn't mean you can't eat it. It's all part of the cycle of life and death. As for rats and other vermin, I would have no problem shooting them. In fact, when I lived in the city, I sometimes found myself looking out my window at the rats ripping through the garbage and wishing that I could shoot them. Unfortunately, the laws wouldn't allow it. Rats are like bugs to me: we are justified in killing them to protect ourselves against disease, protect our food supplies, etc.

I'm not too big on trophy hunting. And I'm really not a fan of people who just want to blow something away. They give a bad name to hunters all around. They disrespect nature. I think the key to ethical hunting is a respect for all of creation. My dad told me stories about the Depression years when his brother went out with a single-shot .22 and brought home a deer for the table. To me, that's the best of it: human skill and nature's bounty combined to feed the family. Agricultural people pray for a good crop; hunter/gatherers pray for abundant game. It's all good.

Right now I live on a bluff over a river. Sometimes flocks of geese fly by my windows at almost eye level. I like knowing that if I really needed to I could go get the shotgun, step out the back door, and knock down some dinner. I don't really need to right now, but that's not to say I wouldn't ever need or maybe even want to. I guess I could shoot a deer if I was hungry enough, or just to experience something of what my ancestors experienced. But not right now.
 
Joejojoba111: [rising inflection] What? [/rising infleciton] Where did I quote someone out of context?
You see, the other animals that are supposed to kill prairie dogs aren't around as much anymore, so guess what, because that mistake was made now we all have to pay the piper and step up and fill their roles. It's really really simple.
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Which animals would that be? Coyotes? Their range has spread over the past 150 years. Raptors? I've seen no shortage of THOSE here in Colorado or on my rides deep into the Great Plains. Rattlesnakes? Perhaps, I'm not a herpetologist. The only species that I know of that has been in decline that preys on prairie dogs is the black footed ferret. And per the studies I last read, ITS decline is due to the widescale eradication of its primary prey, the various praire dog species.
OH MY GOD you have a problem with rats? What kind of sicko are you?! Give the rats a break, they're just doing what we do. You sicko. And you are ok with maiming livestock? What the hell!? They're just doing their thing, which happens not to mesh well with the gopher's thing, and you come up with rationalizations for mutilating horses!
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Actually, I quite like rats. Of all the rodents that we keep as pets, I think rats are the best choice. They are not as psychotic as Hamsters, as panicky as Mice, as twitchy as Gerbals, or as delicate as Guinea Pigs. Smarter too. They've done quite well adapting to our habits and making a living beside us. If we ever go to the stars, I think they will be one of the species that will go with us, and will serve as markers of our presence (along with cats, houseflys, the common cockroach and pigeons) for later civilizations. As for horses, they evolved on this continent, and do quite well for themselves since their reintroduction several hundred years ago.
 
If I aint gonna eat it, I aint gonna shoot it. I practice my shots for the most humane hunt possible. Yes I feel awful when I kill an animal. I should feel awful. I killed a living being and am sad for its demise. But I take responsibilty for putting meat on my table from an animal that lived its life right to the end in a natural environment. Not something crowded into a stockyard, smelling the death of other members of its species for a week, before its own end arrives. This, not to mention that unless free ranged, an animal is pumped full of hormones and antibiotics, and who knows what, before it gets to our table. Still, the decision not to hunt must lie with the individual, and I respect and understand that. Life is a precious thing. "Wuss" is not even a factor here.
 
Hunting

I used to hunt a lot, then realized one day that I had gotten bored with it. Went home, got the boat and went fishing. Never hunted again. I don't have anything against it. I just lost interest myself.
 
I think what we need here is a group hug :D

Hunting is something most of us have done. The killing of an animal can be seen as the taking of life, or the giving of life in the form of food.

I hunt deer and hogs every two or three years. I won't shoot a deer unless I want to put meat in my freezer, or it's a management animal.

I have parted ways over the years with a couple of former friends because they just weren't raised with the same values as I was with regard to hunting. One of them takes his tag limit every year, but doesn't eat venison.

When I was a kid, I was taught, take only what you will eat, nothing more. There was a small herd of whitetails that would travel thru one of our pastures at various times of the year.

I thought it would be pretty simple, set up and wait just back of the house and not have to freeze my butt off in the sleet on a deer stand or still hunting.

I nearly got the beating of a lifetime when my grandfather found out what I had in mind. His only comments were, we don't shoot those deer, they live here too. If you want to kill one hunt for it or don't do it at all.

Any varmint that was a threat to the livestock or the chickens was to be killed immediately. Humanely and quickly as possible.

I have passed on a shot for many deer over the last few years. I only take one that I know will be good freezer meat or a 180 class or better (if I ever get the chance). I don't take them to the taxidermist, keep the racks (except one for rattling) or need them to reinforce or prove my manhood.

Yep, you're a wuss, but then most of the rest of us are too.

BigSlick
 
Some of you guys that say you would only hunt if you needed the food; you may be in for a disappointment.


I hunt for enjoyment an food but ALSO to keep in practice. I have skills (like most hunters that I know) that have been passed down by generations of hunters and most of them had to hunt to feed the family. I want to keep that heritage and pass it along someday.


I suppose that you could get a gun and head out hunting, without having any experience, and have some success but I suspect that you would be in for a long and hungry learning curve.


As for enjoying the kill… yes I do, in a somber sort of way. As for shooting feral cats and dogs or reducing overpopulated animals…. It’s a blast! I have been accused, by people on this board, of being sick, because I enjoy killing feral cats, especially with a high powered rifle. I understand how they could think that way, because they lack the life experience and don’t understand that a feral cat is a perversion of nature and they kill and torture for no reason.


PS: predators are fine if they keep away from people, once they encroach on human habitat they should be killed without delay. :neener:
 
I killed it for absolutely no good reason other than it was thrilling to hunt it and shoot it.
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Most of us probably have these events in our history and many occured when we were growing up - children can be a blood thirst lot with a BB gun and the adults out of sight - at least I was. I quit hunting most animals because I got tired of the "empty feeling" that taking their life left. I still hunt groundhogs and Coyotes although I am starting to feel the same way about the groundhogs. On the other hand, I know what a groundhog can do to a field of emerging soy beans so I will probably continue hunting them so the land owner/farmer will let me hunt coyotes as well. I don't understand deer hunting; I went once, had my deer in less than 30 minutes, had to field dress it, drag it out, dress/butcher it, and eat it - no thanks. But, deer are getting way to numerous in Ohio and If something isn't done we are going to have an epidemic of some disease that is going to be disasterous. I have told several farmers dealing with deer prededation on crops that if they get the nuisance permit I will shoot it out but they have to get rid of the carcass'. A couple of them are getting the nuisance permits now so I may have a busy July. Not really trying to make a point, just rambling I guess.

PS: predators are fine if they keep away from people, once they encroach on human habitat they should be killed without delay.
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The same can be said about a lot of people.
 
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