Veg,

It is good to see a non-hunter with an open-mind to hunting. Killing an animal may seem cruel to some, but something that the guys on here didn't touch on is the fact that it is now needed. With land development and people moving into wild animals habitat every day, our beautiful animals are being crammed into smaller pieces of land. What this does is put pressure on the deer from less food and cover per animal. Every year a group of educated men and women in each state evaluates the amount of animals living their opposed to how much sustainable habitat they have, they then issue hunting liscenes and tags to get the number of animals to a optimum level where there is still an abundant population without animals starving due to a lack of food.

Also, alot of people don't realize how since hunting seasons and bag limits have been established, the amount of animals throughout the country has gone up. Before designated hunting seasons were in place, all the animals throughout the country were being over-harvested. Turkey, deer, buffalo, antelope, bear, ect.... these are all animals that would have been driven to extinction if it weren't for hunters like myself the other wonderful guys on this board.

As far as helping out the animals around your house, there are several more productive things than just feeders. I personally have planted close to a dozen food plots on my property and the other properties that I hunt. One foodplot (in my back yard) has a gravity feeder set-up in it which I routinely fill with corn. It is not like some will describe and it hasn't become a "main course" for the deer. Actually, it is pretty much the opposite, it has become their browse. The deer feed in my food-plot and really don't care too much about the corn. My feeder holds 200 pounds of corn and I only fill it 4 times a year. Mineral licks are another good idea, but you must watch what you put out. Alot of mineral licks are pretty much just salt, it may attract deer but it really doesn't help them out. Look for a mineral lick mix that has a low sodium content. Trees are another option you can go with that will be there longer than a food plot, feeder, or mineral lick. Deer absolutely love apples along with acorns from oak trees and persimmons. Planting several apple trees (and fertilizing them properly every year) will ensure a good crop of apples which all the wildlife will enjoy. Another thing that I havn't seen touched on is a waterhole. If there isn't a stream or pond nearby, digging a small water-hole is a great way to attract animals of all kinds!

jepcho was dead on about the bucks still growing their antlers. This is the time of year that the deer in your area will really benefit from the work you put in. Taking care of bucks at this time of year will ensure that they grow impressive antlers which they will use in the late fall to fight with other bucks for breeding rights of doe. The extra nutrtion that the doe are getting will be used to create milk for the fawns that were born this past month or so.

I think that you will find that pretty much all the guys on here really deeply care for all wildlife. Yes, we may kill an occassional critter every year, but we are all contributing money to research and development of solid game management plans that are constructed to give all the wildlife in their area a good habitat to live in. Alot of guys on here, including myself, spend more money on just helping out the wildlife in their area than any anti-hunter would. Anti-hunters look at hunting and just see the small part of killing instead of looking at the whole picture which includes the management practices that give all the wildlife a better life.

Finally, another thing that I didn't see touched on about hunting was that it is a great way to bond with your family. My father and I pretty much don't have anything in common, but several years ago when he still hunted (doesn't have time to now) he and I could spend hours together just enjoying nature. We really didn't care too much if we were successful or not, that was just a added bonus, what we really cared about was being with each other spending time in the outdoors. The bond between hunters in un-real. I don't think that you will find any group of guys like hunters that can sit back and talk about their passion and treat each other with such welcome arms. Like others have said, their are some bad seeds in the bunch, but don't get these guys confused with hunters!