ORIGINAL: GMMAT
Hey Tony.....
I thought about something this morning...
I used to flyfish a LOT (more than I hunt). To my knowledge....I never killed a trout. The end of a 1/2 day in a stream....in which I caught a few fish....was extremely enjoyable...."successful", even.
All that.....and (again, to my knowledge)....I never killed a fish.
I was also an avid saltwater fisherman when I lived in Charleston, SC....and I killed a bunch of fish! (no problem doing so, either)
The 8 pointer I took last year.....who now is on my wall.....I wish, somehow (in a strange way)....he was still out there. Do I regret killing him? Do I have remorse (now)? No way. But did I take "pleasure" in killing him? No. I just didn't.
I respect yours and others views on the kill aspect. I just don't have a drive to do the actual act. It's "a" part of the hunt I am fine with, internally, though. I don't think we're ever going to understand how the other is wired. I fall in lock step, it seems, with BigJ.
Have a great week.
Jeff, I think the fishing thing is somewhat different .... you cath them and fight them .... it's all pretty much contained there ....once you hook them and pull them to you, you have dominated them ....... now I love to eat fish as well .... and we catch a ton of them each year ..... we don't, however, eat them all. There are times when I fish just to fish ... and if shooting deer were as easy as fishing, things MAY be different ...I don't know .... and THAT might explain why you feel as you do ..... there are so many deer where you hunt, and you have been very successful at killing alot of them in the few years you have hunted .......
Your feelings about your 8 pointer ... I TOTALLY understand ..... I can relate more to you, than the guys that say they feel nothing. The many emotions that course through me, are what give me the love of the kill .... the elation, the little bit of regret, the respect, the admiration .... I hope this makes a little sense .... as I said, I believe we are closer in our feelings than may appear on the surface ...... and in reality, the fact of how easy or hard it was for us just MAY have something to do with it ...
BTW .. I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to everyones view on this subject ...it has been very interesting