PreacherTony

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

LittleChief

Same here.

Oh yeah... right back at ya, PT.

blackfish

I learned one thing from this who I would hunt with and who I would not and pleasently suprized most I would.Fish don t feel pain because they fight against the hook when you hook a seal they come right toward you and don t fight thats how I know this.Some fish I catch i do feel badlike when you catch a 700 lb bluefin and it is 17 years old or a 20lb lobster thats 50 years old

NEW61375

The abovereminds of of a scene from a movie I saw recently, Gone Baby Gone.
It had to do with a kidnapping and there was one scene where a man confronts a child molester who had just killed a child and the way the scene unfolds is probably very accurate, but how the "good guy" feels later is probably accurate as well. Lets' just say he was right but there was no joy in what was done.



As far as killing deer, turkey, animals. I am no cold blooded killerbut at the same time I don't get too mamsy-pamsy about it either.To this day I can remember the first animal I everkilled(squirrel) and the way I felt immediately afterward, it didn't make me not want to hunt any more but it was there. I guess it is a mix of sympathyandcompassion, it's hard to sum up in words.

That feeling is a necessary one and IMO a good one. Kind of like the feelings of excitemnet and anticipation before and during a hunt. If I ever lose any of those feelings it might be time to take a break.
Hunting is a very personal, often solitary experience for most of us and I have found there is a broad range of emotions I feel while hunting and taking animals, those emotions are a huge part of the hunt, to me anyway, and I just don't think it would be the same if I were void of any of them.

valor10

Interesting thread indeed. You know, I’ve never mounted a head. I’ve never hunted deer for the rack. I take no offense of those that do, and I’m very appreciative of a nice mount. It’s just not me. I take the same pleasure in killing a young doe, as I do a mature buck. I hunt deer for the sport of killing them, to eat. I’ve said a prayer and thanked the Lord over every kill I’ve made. I believe animals feel pain, whether at the end of an arrow, or in the slaughter house. My goal is to end their lives quickly, but it is to end their lives. I feel I owe them that. If I didn’t love to do it, I wouldn’t do it. That’s where my understanding problem comes in. I have also watched deer from my stand for hours, just to watch them, without ever raising my waepon. I love em'.

Nobody has any more respect an admiration for wildlife than I do. Nobody. I really don’t mind the tree rats all the much either; until there’s 20 of them on the feeders. They’re not good at sharing. I’ve got a raccoon that comes by every evening for about 15 minutes of seed. He could care less what I’m doing in the yard anymore. I got a bear that keeps taking down the feeders if there’s any seed left after the birds, squirrels, and coon get done. I don’t kill animals indiscriminately, just to kill them. That’s what targets and clay pidgins are for. Anybody got a chicken coop? A fruit orchard? Live and let live, until it becomes a problem. Coyotes,copperheads, rats, andmiceare a problem around the house, right from the get go.

We are wired differently. Which is why some of us could put a bullet into a child molesters head, and others couldn’t. Some look at it as still a human life; others look at it as preventing the destruction of another young person’s life. Some of us don’t believe in giving copperheads a second chance to strike.

GMMAT

Again....let's don't confuse things. I could absolutely see myself doing this. I just couldn't see me "enjoying" it.

valor10

You're right. No more than having to kill an enemy in battle. No more than killing a copperhead.I appriciate your patience. I can understand where you guys are coming from. Whether I disagree or not, this thread has certainly givin me some insight on a aspect of hunting I'd never considered.

PreacherTony

THAT right there is why I love the kill part of the hunt .... great post

RobinAim Low

Here is a little story that fits this debate and you might find interesting:

2007 was my son's first year to get to hunt deer (age 9 at the time). 2 days before the hunt, he was in my truck and broke down crying, saying he didn't want to disappoint me but didn't think he would be able to actually kill a deer. Hmmm...after a little bit of thought, I asked him if he would be willing to go along and be on the hunt, but yet if a deer was there and he decided he did not want to kill it, it would be no problemand plushe could just let his sister shoot it. I also explained to him that he would enjoy just going along, seeing some deer, and being with the other guys and his sister. So...he thought that sounded good.

Fast fwd two days. A doe is coming. He sees it. I ask if he wants to shoot, but already know the answer because he is breathing really hard and shaking. He says "yes", but the deer veers away. After it is gone, he asks me "why am I shaking and breathing so hard?" I do my best to explain to him he had "doe fever". Next morning, he smokes his first deer with a perfect shot. A little tentative on the recovery, even a little bit teary eyed, but most definitely proud of himself and his accomplishment. Wasn't long before he was asking about next year. Sure enough, next year he passed on a couple does and shot his first buck. No hesitation, no tentativeness on the recovery. A true hunter no doubt.

I think Zac's innocence and first hand experience of killing that first deer is a true picture of most hunters. Indeed, the epitomy of the "hunter's paradox", and Zac said it best later when he said, "Dad...it is really weird that I felt so excited and happyabout shooting that doe, but sad at the same time." And, like all of us, without trying, he just "knew" what was right inside himself when it was time for the second kill.

You can see Zac's first hunt at this link if you like: http://www.aimlowproductions.com/images/video_gallery/Zac's%201st%20Deer.wmv

whitetailbowhunter

Not at me I wouldn't!

I agree completely with you there Jeff.