"Killing"
 

"The kill is the satisfying, indeed essential, conclusion to a successful hunt. But, I take no pleasure in the act itself. One does not hunt in order to kill, but kills in order to have hunted. Then why do I hunt? I hunt for the same reason my well-fed cat hunts...because I must, because it is in the blood, because I am the descendent of a thousand generations of hunters. I hunt because I am a hunter." - Finn Aagard


I posted this quote in another thread .....and I didn't want to hijack that one with this question:

Do you enjoy the "Killing" part of hunting? I promise you....there's NO WRONG ANSWER to this......as I'm just curious.

I'll go on record as saying I agree with Mr. Aagard. The actual "killing" gives me no pleasure. I enjoy the experience.

RE: "Killing"
 

I agree w/ you and Mr. Aagard on this.

RE: "Killing"
 

Hmm tough answer...Certainly to say killing brings joy, is in some sense morbid. But It seems at least for me that the sadness that accompanies success is only given to big sized animals (Deer, Bear, Elk etc). As an avid Crow Hunter I don't feel, call it pity for them, or Squirrels or Rabbits. Why is that?? Life in the animal kingdom is all kind of equal isn't it? One an ecological scale is a mouse less important than an Elk?

I know these are not answers to your question..but more questions for your question, that I cannot answer.

I know I take great joy in the proper placement of a shot and the resulting quick death.. Watching the arrow fly at and through my game, effortlessly, is poetry in motion. I can visualize those shots forever and they don't bother me in the least. I still feel sadness on some level but with a hunters heart I know I did my part in conservation of the species. I (we) respect these animals that we pursue more than any non hunter could.

RE: "Killing"
 

i enjoy the entire event, being the hunt, and the kill!

RE: "Killing"
 

I would say that the kill is what makes the hunt "ultimately" successful. Don't get me wrong, I still learn plenty on hunts I don't kill and on those hunts there are usually a lot of thingsthat I am successful at and in general I just love being out there,but when I am hunting and everything starts coming together the feelings I get moments before the shot and after are like a "climax" of emotions and I enjoy it very much. So in that sense I would say I enjoy the kill, but there is just something about saying "I enjoy killing" thatdoesn't sound right. I am not maliciously killing and I respect my prey immensely and even feel a bit sad for them when I walk up on a downed animal (I'm getting soft) so in that sense I don't really like the word "enjoy".

RE: "Killing"
 

honestly when the kill comes and I see the animal go down I get somewhat of a relieved feeling. I honestly like all the aspects of hunting and I havent killed very many deer in my short hunting career so far, I like everything. My first few kills were me getting over the initial field dressing hump. That was the part i feared before i took my first deer but after doing it more I have no problem with it.

RE: "Killing"
 

I enjoy seeing a clean fast kill. I like watching my deer not bolt really hard and only trot off within sight and not know what happened and fall over and expire with little fight. I enjoy seeing that, maybe it's a relief thing as said by someone, but I like it. I did one time spine shoot a deer, I hated that, was upsetting for a while. Almost dug a hole and buried the deer after it was over. I dislike suffering, but I enjoy seeing the animal expire quickly. This year I also passed on alot of deer compared to normal. I enjoyed that probably as much as shooting one too!

RE: "Killing"
 

i enjoy everything about hunting so i guess that would include the killing part.

RE: "Killing"
 

I went back and found one of my old posts on this topic.

This post is going to be long, and for that I apologize, but I have strong feelings on this subject. Obviously, if you prefer, don’t read it.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – It is all about the killing. I think that if we’re honest with ourselves, we may find out some pretty ugly stuff that maybe we don’t like, well, at least not at first. Maybe some things we’re not comfortable talking about. Things we fear may separate us from – the others…

All of the hunters that I know, are in my situation. Not exactly, but really close, meaning – We don’t NEED the venison to survive. Sure we like it and have found some really good recipes to use it in, but there is beef, chicken, turkey and pork in the freezer. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that most of us spend more money on our hunting than we gain in saving on meats from our kills. So why are we there, in the woods, money spent on calls, scents, camo, guns, bows, boots and etc. and possibly wasting time? I say wasting time because all of use could probably make quit a bit of money if we spent all that time working – right? And probably make enough money to not only buy the meats that we’re hunting, but have some left over, for other things.

Many say – “I just like being a part of nature”, “it’s a tradition”, “I’m not sure, I just know I enjoy it”, “for the food” and all of these are fine answers, but lets not pretend that it isn’t about the killing. To me, hunting is a celebration of my existence. It is a way for me to reflect on mankind and be thankful for his accomplishments. Hunting is to mankind’ what the 4th of July is to the USA. We used to be scavengers. Then we became hunters. That may sound relatively simple, but it was the single biggest accomplishment of man, of course in my opinion. I think it is bigger than fire and the wheel. It was the transition point for humans from dependence to independence. It is about the killing, because we are killers. I know that may sound bad, but it is completely natural and is what got us to where we are now. Sure it may not be politically correct, but who really wants to be politically correct anyway? As creatures, we stand above all others and that is obvious, but instead of denying our emotions and desires why don’t we embrace them? We don’t have front teeth with sharp edges on them for nothing. They are designed to cut meat from bone. Our K-9 teeth weren’t an accident either, they are made for griping so that a animal of prey cannot escape while we kill it. Further, they were not placed there intentionally, but natural selection has played its hand in who we are today. We are the offspring of the “successful killers”. The unsuccessful ones and their would-have-been offspring are gone.

I respect the animals that I hunt, and I try to use my hunting to help the animals that I pursue, as odd as that may sound, but I do embrace the killing part, and maybe more so than any other aspect of the hunt. I feel that if you don’t think about this and also accept it for what it is, we’re being dishonest with ourselves. I’d rather understand where I come from and who I am, than pretend to be something else. I’ve even heard people say that they don’t like the killing part. I find this very odd. Not odd that it made them uncomfortable, because I don’t think “comfortable” would be a good adjective to describe the emotions associated with killing. But odd because they are either not being honest with themselves and can’t seem to rationalize their own thoughts, or they are putting themselves through an ugly display of aggression repeatedly and intentionally that they do not enjoy. Why would they do that? I don’t think that they like the venison so much more than the beef that they just have to go out and take part it this task that they find very unsettling. I think it is deeper, much deeper, and it is ugly too, so we avoid it.

I have had to finish killing some with a knife. I found this unsettling at the time, just as some seem to feel about taking a life with the bow or firearm, but I’ve found that of all my experiences, these are the ones I reflect on the most. I think it has a lot to do with the amount of adrenalin in your body when you place yourself in a situation that is dangerous with a wild animal and you kill it with your hands. Trust me, it is way more than buck fever, and I am waiting and planning on doing it again.

There is a naked ape lurking in the forest and he’s dressed in a vegetation suit. Sometimes he’s in the trees; sometimes he’s on the ground. Sometimes he lets his prey live, and other times they must die. Sometimes they know he’s there and other times they don’t. Once he’s killed them he’ll hold up their beheaded skull and scream out loud, in an almost ritualistic display of success he circles, showing all the living creatures what he has done. He then hangs their skull in the tree of shame. It lets all the creatures know that the killing season has begun and he is there, waiting. He is a killer primate.

I reviewed the word “enjoy” in my dictionary and I conclude that – Yes, I enjoy killing.

Respectfully,
KP

RE: "Killing"
 

Have to agree it is the successful conclusion, but it is not why I hunt or go to the field...... the hunt itself is as redeeming as the final harvest when possible!