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Why I hunt

Old 10-06-2014, 06:34 PM
  #1  
Spike
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Default Why I hunt

I posted this to FB for the sake of my more sensitive friends. Thought you guys might appreciate it.

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Hunting season is upon us, and I couldn't be more excited.

I know that many view hunting as barbaric and unnecessary, so I figured I'd post this little apologia before (hopefully) littering your feeds with images of dead deer.

Of course, hunting hasn't always been the elective activity that it is today. At the time our species achieved anatomical and behavioral modernity, it was our primary means of survival.

Since then, the terrifically mixed bag of civilization has gradually built a barrier between our day-to-day lives and the means by which our food is procured. With few exceptions, that barrier has only grown thicker and more convoluted.

Of course, we're all familiar with this barrier--with the deception and bureaucracy that are woven into its layers. Despite this widespread awareness, our options in regard to actually moving beyond it are difficult and few. Dedicated vegetarians/vegans may feel that they've accomplished this feat, bending over backward to make sure that the food they do consume is produced as ethically as possible, but unless they're growing or foraging their own produce, they haven't really escaped the barrier--they've merely become entangled in a certain portion of it (which is now heavily marketed toward their sensibilities).

There are also those who try to circumvent the barrier by killing their own meat, typically by joining clubs that teach them how to snap a rabbit's neck (this has become quite popular in recent years). I ask them, where did that rabbit come from? I suspect that many of them come from farms, transported to these club meetings in cages. As such, I feel that these folks are not escaping the barrier, but merely participating in it, the way that a slaughterhouse worker does.

As far as I can tell, hunting is the only reasonable way to obliterate this barrier completely. To trade in your role as a greasy cog in a vast, filthy machine (if only for a few days) and assume one of the greatest responsibilities a human can bear: killing sentient animals that are in the midst of their natural lives.

It is a responsibility I take seriously. When I raise a weapon with the intention of shooting an animal, especially one as intelligent as a deer, my head spins with the gravity of the situation. For me, at least, hunting is not easy. It's violent, messy, and exhausting. But taking a bite out of a venison roast I butchered myself, I'm afforded a sense of peace and satisfaction that I have simply been unable to reproduce in any other area of my life.

Lest anyone think I take myself too seriously, I don't consider myself superior to those who don't hunt. When the season is over, I go back to being a cog like everyone else (as demonstrated by the center image). But I do think the contents of my freezer are a notch or two above the norm.
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Old 10-07-2014, 04:44 AM
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Clyde, I like it. Well said. Good hunting.
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Old 10-07-2014, 06:23 AM
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I don't why you felt the need to apologise to anyone when you posted on FB, if a thing need a pre-apology it would be best not to post it. I also believe these flowery litanies on why I hunt we see from time to time, are more to convince the writer that his activities are acceptable than an explaination of why they hunt, a self justification if you will.

We hunters should answer the question of why we hunt, with the response of, "why don't you". It is my nature to be a hunter, it was born in me, no explaination needed.
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Old 10-07-2014, 06:41 AM
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Originally Posted by Oldtimr
I also believe these flowery litanies on why I hunt we see from time to time, are more to convince the writer that his activities are acceptable than an explaination of why they hunt, a self justification if you will.
Funny thing is, I feel the same way a lot of the time.

More flies are caught with honey than vinegar.
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Old 10-07-2014, 04:42 PM
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Well said, Clyde. I hunt because I prefer what I harvest myself over any store bought. No growth hormones, steroids and antibiotics, all natural and better tasting. Totally bummed at the folks that squawk at me bringing home an elk or moose and then say "pass the roast beef will ya." To me, they are too squeamish to do it themselves, and hire an assassin to do the job for them. Then they smile as they are stuffing their faces with whatever they are eating with a "clear conscience." I am a firm believer that I will die in the sticks trying to get some creature that I have harvested for the table out of some God forsaken place. That said, I will go happy doing one of the few things that gives these old bones a little pleasure.
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Old 10-07-2014, 07:17 PM
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When it comes right down to it, all "We" really need is; water, food, shelter clothing (and LOVE).

We have lost our way and have all become socialized !


Someone else tells you what you "need" now.............................??

Enjoy your time AWAY hunting !!!

Last edited by Sheridan; 10-08-2014 at 08:34 AM.
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Old 10-08-2014, 06:21 AM
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really good reasons to hunt. keep on going
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Old 10-09-2014, 05:24 AM
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I hunt because I really enjoy it. Killing an animal to take home and eat is an important part of it. But that doesn't always happen. It's still fun.

For our first sort of "date," I went over to his house to hang out and he said he was going to the shooting range. I asked if I could come along. He brought a single shot .22 and started teaching me to shoot and one thing led to another.

He bought me a bow at a yard sale and sent me to a hunter safety course. I got my first deer with a bow that same Fall and I was hooked. I now have a muzzleloader and a couple other guns cut down to my size. I've been eating meat all my life so I have no problem eating wild meat.

The only thing that bothers me about the sport is going out to the shooting range and seeing all the men there without their kids. Our oldest daughter, she'll be seven this month has been going hunting with us for the past two seasons now. Our youngest, she'll be five in April, will go out with us next season. Both of them are learning to shoot with that single shot ,22. Those kiddy bows you can buy cheap are great for learning. But you have to have real arrows made.
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