So, shot placement ......................
 

and dispatching an animal quickly is not important on non-game animals? After reading a few posts on other topics I am somewhat amazed. I may not place as much value and personal satisfaction on a non-game animal as I do for one I plan to eat, but I will not shoot one just to have it suffer or take a marginal shot because of it. Hmmmm, maybe next time a huge buck has his head sticking out from behind brush and trees I will focus on shooting his head because that is the only shot I may have at him. Heck, I know a couple of very good taxadermists who can make the mount perfect. I don't think there is anyone on this board who can make a perfect shot every time. But that is not the point of my post.

My point is any animal deserves to be respected whether we regard it as a game animal, nuisance or predator. I have known a few hunters taking shots at deer that would be criticized as unethical and just downright crazy! Why should a non-game animal be any different?

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Amen coug, preach it. I know where you are coming from and from which you are talking about and I agree totally.

RE: So, shot placement ......................
 

any animal deserves the same respect as any other.I agree with you 125% cougar!!!!

I am not a hunter I am a whitetail population reduction specialest

remember keep your back to the sun, your knife sharp, and your powder dry.

[Deleted]
 

[Deleted by Admins]

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i agree with you. I take it one step farther with the teaching of my son. i tell him that if he kills it he will eat it. my point was perfically clear when he killed a bull frog on accident we cleaned it and took it in the house fired up the skillet (by this time he is about in tears and deffinatly not wanting to eat this frog ) well i did not make him eat it but he learned a very valuable lesson that day.

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I think any animal deserves a quick kill if possoble. but I'm gonna be honest and say I'm not as ethical as most on this board.
any nusiance animal, I'll take a shot at him, marginal or not.
for instance- coyotes- possums- coons etc.
and I definately won't eat anything i kill. who in there right mind would eat the animals i just mentioned.?
don't get me wrong, I admire you guys for your ethics.
I just don't fit in that catagory.
all those animals i mentioned hurt the deer and turkey population, and I'll shoot at em marginal or not.

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I totally agree Cougar.
Any animal desreves the same respect whether it be a deer,racoon,possum or what ever.
I wont take a so so shot at any animal.

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Bogobble, I'm with you 100%. I fee like I'm an ethical hunter but I'm not eating a possum or coyote, sorry. I'll also take any decent shot I can get at a coyote or wild dog.

I guess that it is also unethical for the guys to go kill those thousands of praire dogs up in north Tx and other places where they are ravaging the land. If you don't know what I'm talking about, prairie dogs have litterally taken over in areas and will eat every stich of a farmer's crop. Hunters will come with their .22-250's and .243's and set up shooting benches in trucks and kill these little devils until their barrells are too hot to shoot anymore. After awhile it is nothing for these guys to be taking 200-300 yrd shots at an animal the size of a squirrel, so you know there is going to be some bad shots. To top it off not one of these things is usually eaten. However, it has greatly helped out a farmer or land owner. It that ethical or not? Either way, I'd love to go!

Don't get me wrong, I have a respect for taking an animal's life and I want a quick clean kill everytime. But I guess if we were really concerned with killing an animal the cleanest, quickest, most painless, and most lethal way every time, none of us would shoot bows...... (that will open up a can of worms)<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

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Hunting the Piney Woods of Deep East Texas.

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yea TX, we're probly gonna get that can of worms dumped on our heads.
but at least we're being honest<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

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Dang right Bo, I'd rather be honest than sit here and pound my chest telling everyone how &quot;ethical&quot; I am. I'm not knocking you other guys, I'm just saying my being honest is better than lying.

Bo, if it gets too rough you can come take shelter in my fort.<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

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Hunting the Piney Woods of Deep East Texas.

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With few exceptions, including flies and mosquitos, I don't kill anything I don't eat and ALWAYS eat what I kill. It's a respect thing!

Bowhunter

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I would shoot at a nuiscence animal if it was doing damage. Good shot or not. With a deer you want to take a good shot because you can always pass and get another shot or let someone else get a shot, plus you want it to die quick with a lot of blood so you can find it and you don't want it to hit the guts and spoil any meat. With a yote or a coon it does not matter if you find it or spoil the meat and if you let it walk then you may not see it again and it can go crab some more fawns and turkeys or give another dog rabies. A gut shot coyote is going to die. I don't care if it drops dead in its tracks or runs a mile. I would rather save some fawns and turkeys and take the shot on the yote. Keep in mind this is if the animal is doing serious damage. I would only do this if making the animal suffer a little would prevent other things from suffering a lot.

I have got a question is blasting running rabbits and flying birds with shotguns ethical. I am almost positive some of those shots are not 100percent fatal and leave a few #6s in the hind leg of the critters.

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I agree that we should treat all animals with respects, no matter how small. However, I also agree that man is the dominant species, and our survival is more important the kind treatment of a few nuisance species. When farmers' crops are being raided by field mice, opposums, racoons, etc., it's not about respecting the animal anymore, it's about respect our fellow humans and ourselves! If the nuisance animals destroy the farmers' crops to the point that they can't profit, there will be no more farms. If ranchers are having problems with coyotes and wolves killing their cattle or sheep, it's not about respecting the coyotes or wolves, it's about the ranchers surviving. It's the same thing with deer. If the populations get oo high they become a threat to people. Deer/car collisions aren't just deadly to the deer, they can be quite fatal to people as well. I don't want to hit a buck and have his antlers stabing me in the face along with glass shards as he plummets through my windshield! Even int he instances where they're not fatal, I don't want anything moving at 35mphs hitting me in the head, especially a deer hoof! there's a point where it's not about &quot;sport&quot; or &quot;recreation,&quot; it's about surviving and taking care of our own. 'Till it reaches that point everything should deserve the best treatment we can give it, but when it crosses the line it's survival of the fittest. I ain't eatin' no coyote or wild dog either!

God bless,
Brandan

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I think the only animals that deserve to suffer are rapists, murderers, child molesters, and the like. They're lower than any other animal mentioned above. I can see no reason to make an animal suffer, whether through a &quot;marginal shot&quot; or otherwise. If it's in your control to kill cleanly and humanely, I see nothing wrong. If a shot is taken just to shoot, without regard for the consequences, I can't agree. Anyone who takes &quot;questionable shots&quot; at animals considered to be &quot;annoyances&quot;, just for that reason, is being vindictive, IMO.

Phil.
&quot;Could you guys be quiet, my dad's trying to shoot.&quot;