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There's a great (IMHO) book called "Hunting from Home" that was written by a guy who's been living in a log cabin the the Blue Ridge Mountains here in VA that I think a lot people on here would like. He is a traditional bow hunter andalso writes for Field & Stream and some other publications. The book walks with him through a year of living (mostly) off the land he leases. In the book, he makes a point about the difference between hunting and hiking, photographing, etc.

When a person walks through the woods or photographs an animal, that is nice. But you aredoing that asan observer of nature.

When a person hunts, they are more a part of nature. They are a part of the cycle of life and death, like a lion or bear.

I think hunting is very primal. I think the thrill of the hunt is hard-wired into us, especially men, by millions of years of evolution. I think that people in cities try to satisfy this part of their nature through other means, some helpful and some not. But I don't think anything satisfies it like hunting.

This doesn't prevent us from having compassion for the animals we kill. I think the compassion and respect I feel for the animals I hunt makes me more human, not less, and I think hunting also makes me more true to my human nature and spirit, and so, more fully human.

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ORIGINAL: walksinair

You are not a softy. You are an ethical hunter who respects the animal that is giving it's life to feed you. That is a good thing.

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Valor10, are you saying that you never have any kind of compassion for an animal after you take it's life? It doesn't make you any less of a man if you do!

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