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RE: Hunting vs Killing
[quote]I hunted many a bow season and never spent an arrow. It certainly not about the actuall kill or I would like Atlas mentioned, shoot the first legal animal that came by. I don't look back at those seasons as unsuccessful so I don't narrow my success to the kill but to the hunt. I am a hunter, I don't consider myself a killer. A kill is not the success of my hunts but a kill is the end result of my season with a single tag to fill.
I like Atlasman feel a sense of saddness when I first lay my hand on my animal. Mixed feelings pour over me, I'm elated, sorry, happy, sad, thankful, mornful, proud, humble...that's what makes me human. I like situations such as you see sometimes....a hunter would be the first person to rescue a deer in danger, like on broken ice...I've seen it before on TV in the news etc....if it were all the kill our hearts wouldn't have that compassion for the life of said animal. But saddly there are those that live in our society that a life means nothing to then, be it human or otherwise, there is good and bad in every walk of life. As for TV shows, it would be very difficult to contain the footage post shot....each and every one of us knows what comes over us and it's not something you can harness all that well. [quote] You couldnt have said it any better Rob/PA. I think almost every hunter has the same feelings going through them when they harvest a deer. Happy, sad, mournful, excited, anxious, very very tankful, etc... Like you said, that is what makes us humans.... |
RE: Hunting vs Killing
atlasman - you and I and the very few like us that remain are in a minority. You have a feel for the hunt itsself, and everything that goes into making that hunt from the long hours of practicing with your equipment to the ones spent scouting and sitting in the stand etc.
But thats not what today's hunters want, understand that. Its all about what we can buy to make the hunt pass by more quickly, easier, without any of the work and still get results. Thats why preserve "hunts" are so popular. Thats why compounds dominate the bowhunting ranks. Thats why the entire sports industry caters to making products that make everything easier, with less work and yet, "better" Hunting and what hunting is ......... its changing. Few hunters today have the love of the hunt. They have a strong desire for big antlers ......... and yet they'll bypass what makes up 99% of the "hunt" to get them. They'll bypass the scouting, the practice, the challenges of hunting public lands or "wild" deer, the challenges of doing it on their own - think about it, its true. |
RE: Hunting vs Killing
It's hard to show excitement without it being mistaken for bloodlust I guess. The point of hunting is to kill something. However, the reason I hunt is not entirely for thekill. It's a part of it, yes, but just a part. Un-hunters may never understand that. There have been many long days on stand that I did not kill an animal. I don't feel the day was wasted in the least because I love just being able to go hunting and being outdoors with nothing but nature around me. I enjoy tuning my equipment for the hunt, scouting for the season, talking with my friends who hunt and seeing what they are up to this season. I love the the stories about the monster they saw but never got a shot on. I love the stories they tell around the deer hanging in the garage just before we start cleaning it. I really love the way my poor ole heart jumps, spits, and sputters when after being on stand for 5 hours and seeing nothing, an old slick head sneaks up behind you putting you in the most ackward position in your life. I love tracking the animal in the middle of the night with lanterns and good friends. I truly enjoy cleaning the animal and cutting the steaks, back-strap, etc up just the way my family likes it. I enjoy eating the animal. I also feel that the first time I go hunting and my heart remains at a normal pace when that doe/buck comes into hearing, I'll give it up. But I also have a brand new reason to keep hunting. My son is starting to get into it and that is an entirely different world. Talk about mixed emotions, wait until your son/daughter want's to get into it. You feel like a kid at the candy store with unlimited allowance. |
RE: Hunting vs Killing
ORIGINAL: MO_Bowhnter ORIGINAL: atlasman ORIGINAL: MO_Bowhnter I agree 100% with all of what your saying atlas. I get so caught up with all of the other aspects of hunting that I don't even think about the killing until the second I decide i'm going to take an animal. Then it all starts to sink in and all the thoughts of the efforts that put in to have a chance to take the animal come rushing over me and it's a feeling like no other in the world. That's what hunting is to me not the idea that I killed an animal. I wish I knew why so many hunters feel this way and yet so many non hunters think the exact opposite. |
RE: Hunting vs Killing
ORIGINAL: HAZCON7 Good points Atlas - I'm surprised to say that I finally agree with you on something 100%.  To quote myself from a previous post : "When I lay hands on a deer I have shot and killed, I know that I have just taken a life. I've taken the life of one of God's most beautiful creatures and it makes me a tiny bit sad. I do not look forward to killing. That sadness inside us is what keeps us responsible, respectful, and ethical." |
RE: Hunting vs Killing
ORIGINAL: rybohunter This has got to be the biggest hunting paradox to explain to someone who doens't hunt. I don't think I have a way that a nonhunter would truly get. You all would understand my explaination, but to a non-hunter I just don't know it they'd get it. Killing is a part of hunting and I'll do so without hesitation on an animal I've set my sights on. But I don't like to kill things at random. Yes I am happy when I see the animal fall, but it's the reasons WHY it fell that make me happy rather than the fall itself. As far as the overt reactions, I just don't understand that for TV. I'm not saying I don't express myself, but to go nuts like they do, I just don't see it. I've put my hands in the air, or gave a fist pump, but have never uttered anything more than a small "yes" or "thank you". And the older I get the less animated I am. Exactly........It is so weird to see the different reactions from hunters and non alike. Most hunters know exactly what I am saying before I even finish.........most non hunters either don't believe it or it just flys in one ear and out the other............it's like the word kill makes them go deaf to everything after it. |
RE: Hunting vs Killing
ORIGINAL: stealthycatapithicus atlasman - you and I and the very few like us that remain are in a minority. You have a feel for the hunt itsself, and everything that goes into making that hunt from the long hours of practicing with your equipment to the ones spent scouting and sitting in the stand etc. But thats not what today's hunters want, understand that. Its all about what we can buy to make the hunt pass by more quickly, easier, without any of the work and still get results. Thats why preserve "hunts" are so popular. Thats why compounds dominate the bowhunting ranks. Thats why the entire sports industry caters to making products that make everything easier, with less work and yet, "better" Hunting and what hunting is ......... its changing. Few hunters today have the love of the hunt. They have a strong desire for big antlers ......... and yet they'll bypass what makes up 99% of the "hunt" to get them. They'll bypass the scouting, the practice, the challenges of hunting public lands or "wild" deer, the challenges of doing it on their own - think about it, its true. Sad.........................but true. Caught 10 minutes of a show on the Outdoor Channel tonight and saw a guy freak out like he just arrowed Bigfoot or something after he stuck a big buck and then a few minutes later the same guy drops a doe with a gun right in it's tracks and looks at the camera and says in a calm voice "Gotta shoot a doe every once in awhile" like he was embarrassed about it and had to explain himself. When will these morons learn that in a few minutes of film they just showed every kid out there watching that if it isn't a huge buck it's not exciting and shooting a doe is more "work" then hunting. Amazing how much damage can be done in 10 minutes of video. |
RE: Hunting vs Killing
I just watched some schit of a show where the guy killed a black bear, elk, bison and whitetail on the same frickin hunt. 1st off ........ thats called preserve hunting, and it wasn't challenging, I watched it and they were shooting ear tagged livestock. #2 his arrows were going in about 10" and thats about all - his total goal was to kill animals for the camera using sponsor gear and all of that for the one purpose of making money
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RE: Hunting vs Killing
ORIGINAL: farmcntry Talk about mixed emotions, wait until your son/daughter want's to get into it. You feel like a kid at the candy store with unlimited allowance. That is a weird one............my father has hunted for about 40 years now.......mostly gun. He never regrets bringing his 3 boys into the hunting world but readily admits that a small part of his enjoyment of it all has been replaced by an uneasy feeling deep in his heart for the well being of his sons...........He taught us all very well but we hunt public land a lot and seeing what I have seen out there over the past couple decades by his side makes me understand completely why he lets out a sigh of relief every time he hears our voice on the Talkabouts or sees us break the woodline on our way back to the truck. No matter how old we get he still feels responsible for bringing all his boys home safe. Be safe. |
RE: Hunting vs Killing
ORIGINAL: stealthycatapithicus I just watched some schit of a show where the guy killed a black bear, elk, bison and whitetail on the same frickin hunt. 1st off ........ thats called preserve hunting, and it wasn't challenging, I watched it and they were shooting ear tagged livestock. #2 his arrows were going in about 10" and thats about all - his total goal was to kill animals for the camera using sponsor gear and all of that for the one purpose of making money Welcome to the Hunting Drive Thru................May I take your order? |
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