Poll: Hunting

[PedroSteckecilo]

Shooting deer on the other hand, I have no problem with. You use the meat, they're bred for that purpose. Or in the states, some places have a lot of them and they need killing for the ecosystem to survive.

Yup and yup.

Shooting for the sake of killing? No way.
Shooting to get the meat? Sure, why not?

And if you enjoy it WHILE getting the meat, then all the better.

I'm pretty much in agreement, as long as you're a responsible hunter.

One would hope you enjoy the challenge of the hunt rather than the actual killing though...for some reason the thought of enjoying killing makes me feel all... strange inside.

 

[KarmicToast]

Hunting for food, okay.
Hunting for near-extinct animal food, not okay
Hunting for population control, okay.
Hunting for wolf "population control" from a mounted gun in a helicopter, not okay.
Hunting for thrills-lame
Hunting for heads-lame
Hunting for pride-lame

 

[Beowulf DW]

I think you should only be allowed to hunt with bows, seeing as a .306 round takes away some of the challenge. I don't know, hunting is wierd. With all today's modern gear hunting is becoming a new kind of overkill. I throw my hands up!

Spend 8 hours sitting in a forest in freezing temperatures while trying not to make a single sound, all the while waiting for deer that probably won't show themselves, and THEN tell me if that's not enough of a challenge. Bow-hunters actually get an advantage because they're allowed to hunt deer earlier than rifle-hunters, during the time of year when the bucks are at their least cautious.

Now, as far as my views of hunting go, I'm a lot like my dad. We look down on trappers, and we strongly disapprove of hunting predators. Other than that our general policy is to stick to the rules, limitations and quotas outlined for each hunting season.

 

[Hunde Des Krieg]

I think you should only be allowed to hunt with bows, seeing as a .306 round takes away some of the challenge. I don't know, hunting is wierd. With all today's modern gear hunting is becoming a new kind of overkill. I throw my hands up!

Spend 8 hours sitting in a forest in freezing temperatures while trying not to make a single sound, all the while waiting for deer that probably won't show themselves, and THEN tell me if that's not enough of a challenge. Bow-hunters actually get an advantage because they're allowed to hunt deer earlier than rifle-hunters, during the time of year when the bucks are at their least cautious.

Now, as far as my views of hunting go, I'm a lot like my dad. We look down on trappers, and we strongly disapprove of hunting predators. Other than that our general policy is to stick to the rules, limitations and quotas outlined for each hunting season.

I know, I get all that, but once again I'm paralyzed by being able to see all sides of an argument. I know that hunting is generally performed by responsible people that care about their local ecosystems. But where I live, poaching is a major problem. This year alone two people were caught attempting to shoot decoy deer while spotlighting from vehicles. I also know of several kids at my old school that perform illegal hunting activities. I have been hunting before with my father, sitting in the cold, perched on a rock overlooking a gully, not even breathing loudly, while waiting for a deer to show itself. So don't think I don't know. I just get the feeling that when people use lures and all the fancy high tech stuff, that it really isn't in the spirit of the activity.

 

[TMAN10112]

I think you should only be allowed to hunt with bows, seeing as a .306 round takes away some of the challenge. I don't know, hunting is wierd. With all today's modern gear hunting is becoming a new kind of overkill. I throw my hands up!

Spend 8 hours sitting in a forest in freezing temperatures while trying not to make a single sound, all the while waiting for deer that probably won't show themselves, and THEN tell me if that's not enough of a challenge. Bow-hunters actually get an advantage because they're allowed to hunt deer earlier than rifle-hunters, during the time of year when the bucks are at their least cautious.

Now, as far as my views of hunting go, I'm a lot like my dad. We look down on trappers, and we strongly disapprove of hunting predators. Other than that our general policy is to stick to the rules, limitations and quotas outlined for each hunting season.

I hunt the beginning of the season with a bow, and you definately do see more deer at that time, then during the rest of the season. If you were able to use a gun during that time then it would almost triple your chances of getting one(which still aren't much).

 

[Zykon TheLich]

Not exactly hunting, but many years ago I used to go shooting rabbits with myxamatosis with a .303 on my mates dads land. I have to admit it was more a case of 'great, a chance to shoot something without feeling bad about it' rather than true altruism but...well, there are no buts, thats it.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

I fire a bb gun and a sling at grey squirrels and pigeons in my garden (UK). Grey squirrels are classed as vermin, and you can kiil them anytime. The bb gun's too underpowered though, but I'm getting to be a good shot with the sling now. Squirrel tastes nice, I've only eaten one once, (my parents weren't here and they would complain a lot) but I would order it in a restaurant.

 

[bazookabob]

Personally I don't hunt, but several of my family members do hunt; deer or the occasional turkey always during the proper season. I see nothing wrong with it at all (I'm not counting hunting for sport which is pointless in my book), especially since my family members who do hunt always follow the rules of the season, only hunt when they know they'll be able to get the meat off the animal, and never kill more than they have room for, usually one to two deer a season. To actually have to work for the kill is considerably less "barbaric" (as many anti-hunting activists would say) than going to a grocery store and buying slabs of meat that were animals specifically bred for slaughter. Do you even know what process goes into veal for instance? A baby calf is essentially locked in a cage at a very young age where it cannot move so it's muscles do not develop fully (as that would make the meat less tender) and then once it's old enough it is killed. When you kill the animal that you're hunting, it (legally) has to be full grown, usually a wild creature meaning it wasn't bred for the sheer purpose of becoming food for us humans. I grew up in a very rural part of the country where there were farmers who bred cattle for slaughter and that is what they have said about how veal is made. Several of the people who told me about it also refused to eat veal because of how inhumane they thought it was. I might also add that these were hunters as well. Finally, venison is by far more delicious than beef.

 

[Naterstein]

I dont mind other doing it as long as they arent poaching. Killing needlessly. I personally cannot bring myself to kill an animal less I am putting it out of its misery, survival, and/or I get really pissed at said animal (like a dog that attacked me or mine).

 

[Wyatt]

i too come from a long line of deer hunters here in America. im from upstate New York, but its right on the vermont border so i have family in both states. in fact the majority of my family are hunters, my father, all my uncles, most of my cousins and so on. all the hollidays are fulled to the brim with talk of 'didja get anything'? its all very boring.

my family is also of the opinion that you need to hunt to be a 'man'. i did it, once, when i was 16. killed a nice buck 145 lbs, 4 pointer, skined it out myself (with a bit of help from my father) and that was that. i became a 'man' and havent gone into the woods with a weapon since.

i DO however enjoy the difference between what i see as a real hunter and what i see as a wannabe slob that thinks 'hunting' means riding around in your convertable road hunting and shooting a deer from 10 miles away with a cannon and a telescope that can double as a SETI instrument on the days its not being used to kill something from half a planet away. most of my uncles do this, and atleast half my cousins. on the other hand we have a few TRUE hunters in the family. they actualy HUNT stuff. like using a bow and getting out of their truck and into the woods. they even know how to *gasp* use a compas.

on the whole though i have no trouble with hunting, my only issue is with people that think killing something that has no idea your even around, and isnt in the least dangerious in any event is somehow a 'manly' thing to do. go kill a grizzly with a buck knife THEN ill say your a man. till then shooting a deer, a DEER, from half a mile away with a cannon isnt all that impressive in the scale of whats tough and whats not.

and dont even get me started on the hunting shows on TV. ol Buck McNeely is a prime example of everythig i hate about hunting. the fat slob is usualy ensconced in a friggen blind or hide that has everything in it but a wait staff and a mint on his pillow, a rifle the US Army doesnt even have access too yet, an array of electronic gadgets that would make steve jobs weep with joy and generaly setting on a farm/ranch someplace shooting animals off a feed pile. and has the bald nerve to call it a sport? the only thing that could make it LESS sporting is to have a flight of B-2s dropping nukes on em.

there is plenty of good reasons for hunting, not the least os wich is herd controll and simple food. i know more than one family that depends on deer hunting for atleast a portion of the food but as to the sporting aspect of it..... well lets just say that i have issues with what some think of as sport. on the other hand there ARE hunters out there that do just that, HUNT.

 

[742]

i suppose hunting is OK... as long as you remember that you just KILLED someone. (yes i think of most animals as people-no im not, i think those idiots need to be set on fire ASAP)

 

[Zykon TheLich]

go kill a grizzly with a buck knife THEN ill say your a man.

So what would you say about this guy?

 

[gamebrain89]

I dont mind other doing it as long as they arent poaching. Killing needlessly. I personally cannot bring myself to kill an animal less I am putting it out of its misery, survival, and/or I get really pissed at said animal (like a dog that attacked me or mine).

See I feel similarly. I killed a camp robber ( a type of bird) with my sling shot once out camping, and I felt horrible about it. It wasn't hurting anything, and I had no reason to kill it. But when it comes to deer, or elk, or moose, I know I have a purpose for taking that animals life, (this falls into "Fair Chase" link in my last post on page 3 in this thread) namely food, and as long as I make sure that the animal does not suffer, and the kill is made as quickly and cleanly as possible, I have no qualms about it. Killing for no reason is unacceptable to me, and to all the hunters I know.

 

[Beowulf DW]

go kill a grizzly with a buck knife THEN ill say your a man.

So what would you say about this guy?

I would say that the stupid bastard was hyped up on adrenaline to the point that he didn't realize that he could made a run for it while the bear was stunned.

My dad once encountered a mother black bear while he was hiking. He had already shot a buck, so the only weapon he had was his bowie knife (that thing is huge, by the way). He jumped into a creek bed before the bear saw him and remained there until it went away.

 

[Blue Sonnet]

Louis Theroux went onto a ranch, I think in Africa, where rich Americans (mainly) paid thousands of dollars to kill endangered species, including lions. That is an extreme that there is absolutely NO need for.


(I'm pretty sure it was Louis anyway, not 100%. He tries to have a go at what he is reporting on for the sake of objective journalism - he could have liposuction with no problem but he couldn't do this.)

 

[Death Magnetic]

I don't think I could kill an animal with a free conscience but I sure could eat it. I would be a vegetarian if I could though.

-Ricky

 

[SneakyBawls]

I don't hunt. But believe me it's not out of some heart felt connection to nature's little creatures. I just don't have the patience. Anyone who has hit a deer with their car tends to lose a lot of compassion. LOL But going to deer camp and getting drunk....yeah I'm up for that.

 

[Wyatt]

go kill a grizzly with a buck knife THEN ill say your a man.

So what would you say about this guy?

id say he became the hunted rather than the hunter. i allways enjoy seeing the tables turned on idiots and judging from reading the comments he was in bear country letting his dogs run wild, as one commentator said thats not a smart thing to do. ive had a few encounters with black bears here where i live and for the most part they are very passive. but they DO hate dogs for some reason and add in the mother/cubs thing, well .... too bad the bear and her cubs had to die because he was a moron.

when people get attacked by animals its allways the persons falt in my opinion. animals simply dont know any better and act on instinct. its PEOPLE that should know better. if your so importiant that you cant educate yourself in the least little bit about the animals/enviroment around you than you diserve your fait if your hurt.
and that includes ANY animals even just Dogs and cats.

 

[joystickjunki3]

Killing an animal w/o eating it afterwards or w/o killing it for the sake of defense is wrong. If you kill animals purely for the fun of it, then is it wrong for me to hunt and kill you just for kicks?

I enjoy hunting, but I'll just go shoot targets if all I want to do is shoot something.

EDIT: Also, as hypothetical fact said below this post, if the animal is of an endangered species, then don't kill it unless it's in defense. I added that second part about the defense, though.

 

[hypothetical fact]

As long as you use the corpse for food and the animal isn't an endangered species it's ok. But the hunter should also do the work; I am disgusted at those English fox hunts where they release a swarm of dogs to do all the work, then ride in on horses to congratulate each other.