BlueRidgeRetrievers

There's no need to waste your time or efforts on people like that... They don't see it and they never will. Thank Walt Disney for givinganimals personalties and 'voices'... I'm blessed to have never had but one icky email in regards to my hunting photos on my website. People that think that deer don't need to be part of the game management process need to do some reading up on CWD and research some of the statistics on how many deer are hit by automobiles every year. I just hit one last Monday while taking my youngest to school... Happens everyday even morewhen the rut is on...

NBDeerHunter

congrats on the doe and don't sweat it about the old lady........she is clueless

Red Lion

Did your doe have the "tongue-sticking out" look of death to it when the old bag saw it?

Sport 2

Unfortunately, most people do not understand the need for hunting.. They do not realize that there is a need for wildlife management, the are under the delusion that nature will self manage in a humane way. They are mostly unaware of how cruel mother nature can be, and how long the affects of over browsing and starvation can last. Most of them have never been out in the wood and come across thye sight of a deer that starved to death.
Many of them think we are just out there to kill somthing. They do not understand that we respect the animals we hunt and that we also want to see animals live healthy lives.
They cannot begin to fathom the morals that hunting can instill. ant there is no way that I know of to get them to understand.
It is our job as hunters to uphold a positive image, and to be the ones that act in a respectable way.
Although it can be very hard to do. There are times when we may want to lash out and rip an anti apart, showing them just how unaware they actually are.
But we are better off to do as you did and walk away. Or if you must engage in a conversation, if you keep your cool, and explain thins in a mater of fact way. It can leave them with nothing to stand on. And can actually leave a lasting impression that hunters are not just an uneducated bunch of people looking for an excuse to go kill Bambi.

But this is all just my point of view...

JimPic

I'm sorry but I don't have the patience for these kind of people!If somebody gets in my face for doing something totally legal,I will go off!!

ahunter55

Having been in this sport 50 years (this year) & on local, state archery boards, owned 2 shops/lanes for 15 years, Archery/Bowhunting column writer, speaker on Bowhunting & a few "Special" harvest Bowhunts I have been exposed to a variety of attacks over the years.
best thing is to just hold your tounge as they are clueless to anything about ANY wild animal or what we as hunters contribute to the well being of what we are hunting.
I came into my office (many years ago) & there was a drawing of a Doe with an arrow in her & Xed eyes & baby standing next to her with a tear coming down it's face & saying I was a ruthless killer. It took me about 2 weeks to track down the person & he was the head of our sales dept. (pretty big position) & I was a lowly asst. Ad mgr. at the time. I gathered a considerable amount of literature & walked into his office & put it on his desk & asked he read it BEFORE judging me. A week later he came in and apologized & said he had not the slightest clue about hunting or wildlife. Just that they were neat to watch. Education is our best tool, not arguing. Good luck this season.

game4lunch

I'm in Wyoming where you're considered "odd" if you DON'T hunt!
But when this comes up . . . I like to modify a Ted Nugent quote;
"If you eat meat, then something's gonna die!"

just curious

i also like to do a quick math problem illustrating the population explosion that would occur if the deer harvest didn't occur for 5 years. its rather scary to see how many deer can populate your state if none of them are harvested in 5 years. i even allow for a high rate of death due to roadkill and natural predation. it gets their attention. mention the car insurance rate hike. another way to get a reaction. its hard to argue with facts.

Buck Huntin Girl

Excellent post, education IS our best tool.

I was the same way, I hated hunting and couldn't stand seeing a hunter during season. Hubby eased me into it and now I can see how it all works together for the conservation of nature.

I have not yet run across someone who was horribly bad. My last boss was somewhat of an anti, but he was more anti-WOMAN hunters. He said I have no place in the woods and teaching my young children 4 and 7, about hunting and encouraging them to hunt, as well as teaching them all about a gun and how it works is "absurd" "ridiculous" "uneducated" "ignorant" etc... I heard all of it. I told him I was going to buy my 7 year old a .22 and he told me that was child abuse basically. That I was putting a weapon capable of killing into a young child's hands by MY choice, not hers and that I should just leave her alone to do as she pleases in life and not to pressure her into doing the "ridiculous" things that I enjoyed.

Well, long story short, I ended up getting him fired for harrassment on a few different levels... the hunting issue wasn't even brought into it, but I coulda taken him for that too.

He told me my place was raising babies and cooking. I told him he was full of you know what. We never got along from that point on really... only because we had to (it was just he and I running a manufactured housing community).

That's really the only encounter I've had with an anti...

just curious

wow, what a jerk. (and i wanted to say something else, but i controlled myself.)