Grantwood

this may or may not have been brought up before, but here it goes. do people hunt anymore? or do we just sit in blinds and kill deer over bait? i know you elk hunters walk your butt off. but is taking a 500 yard shot really hunting or sniping? i know there is a magnum craze going on right now, but do you really need that much gun? i have been hunting in pennsylvania for 13 years now. i have strictly used a 30-30 to take 13 deer. i have now upgraded (or modernized) to a 7mm-08. the 30-30 was more than enough gun for every deer i have taken. all shot 100 yrds or less. i take one deer a year because that is all i can eat. i know some people eat more and that is fine in my opinion. i used to watch these hunting shows on tv, and see those guys in there blinds hunting over bait. do they eat there deer? when is the sport taken out of hunting? i will not shoot bear beacause i will not eat it. that is how i was brought up i guess. it just frustrates me to see people shoot a bear, deer, elk, etc. for no other reason other than to sell a product, or just for the sake of shooting it, or having another trophy to hang on the wall. i can understand someone wanting to go on a hunt of their life. paying a lot of money for it, and getting there trophy. where do you draw the line for hunting. imho, hunting is when you stand at a tree all day rain, snow, wind, waiting for that buck to walk by. or stalking for hours to get that perfect shot. getting up close and personal with the animal. not sitting in your cozy cabin with a fresh bag of deer chow of peanut butter. maybe i was just raised different than other people. my father is the best deer hunter i have ever seen. perfect shot and cool under pressure. he has shot just about everything in the lower 48 states. the largest rifle he has used is a 30-06. i do not want to put any one down or insult them by this. i would really like to hear other peoples opinion on this subject. all i have to go by is waht my father has taught me and my own feelings. i do not live or hunt in texas or wyoming, etc, or other states, so i am ignorant to the laws and ways of hunting in other states. please feel free to express your opinion.

jtenute

I think if you just go out there to kill a deer for the meat why would you care how you kill it. Whether you are in a blind or taking a 400 yard shot... your just going to eat it right? I enjoy the outdoors as a whole; scouting, doing food plots, learning the animals and can never stop learning and enjoying myself. If you are in a blind eating snackes waiting for a buck or doe to come by and shoot it... its hunting. If you have sat in your tree for the whole day freezing and dont see anything.. its hunting.

if you go fishing and dont catch anything all day and go to a small stocked pond and catch fish you where still fishing.

I enjoy hunting most big game animals and if i dont eat them i give the meat to someone who will. I personally dont hunt for the meat but for the trophy of hunting the animal. I do eat allot of the game i kill but not all of it.

When you take a kid out for the first time to hunt he is not trying to kill the animal to bring home food for the family but to enjoy the outdoors.

hope this will broaden your opinion ... peace

recurver67

Do you ask them how your burger died when you go to McD's. I hate to tell you but killing is part of the game. First you hunt then you kill. If you want you can harvest it or say you shot it but when you take a life it's killing.Poeple try to clean it up, but thats what predators do they kill.Don't get me wrong I'm not putting you down,just some people have problems with it.

Slamfire

Sometimes just plain killin' is needed, and lots of it. Just ask the 'Bama boys with their 64 deer limit, even at that they are fallin' behind.

bwhunter501

Well said recurve, slamfire how come they have a 64 deer limit?! overpopulation?

m.t.hands

actually in most of the state it's more than 64, don't have the exact numbers but it's 2 deer a day only one can be an antlered buck, or you can kill 2 does, in some counties this is all thru bow m/l'er and gun season, some counties have fewer "doe days". the bad part is when you start busting a few does they go nocturnel very quick so it's not as crazy as it sounds, i have killed over 30 deer in a single season, wont ever do that again, i hunt on 3 different pieces of property, one needs some thinning, my best place has a very good buck/doe ratio, i think it has a lot to do with the area your in. and a lot of people here still refuse to kill a doe, i don't know why they eat just as good or better than a tough old buck[&o], makes no sense to me.

as far as the hunting verses killing i feel the same as jtenute

cardeer

Both the same

00Hunter

Same difference. As long as the animal is not wasted, its meat in the freezer. It's all in how you look at what your doing. There is a reward at the end of a good day of hunting. No reward for just going out killing. I think of killing as applied to varmits or unwanted animals. Either can be awfully fun though.

JagMagMan

Yawn, Yawn! Ho-hum, another "I'm such a better hunter and sportsman than the rest of you guys," thread!
Personally, I hunt for sport, for recreation, for trophy! I enjoy it all! The scouting, the stand building, the camping, even the processing! At the end of the day, I consider it to be a good day, without firing a shot! However, the ultimate goal IS to put game in the pot! If not, why would you be carrying around a loaded gun? You'd be carrying a camera instead, but then you can't really miss with a camera, so thats not hunting!
Pure "sport hunting," is a relatively modern concept! When feeding the family was the main priority, it didn't matter what type of weapon you used, whether or not you hunted over bait, or even if you used dogs in the hunt! So now, it doesn't really matter either, if you use a modern, or primitive weapon, stalk, stand hunt, or use modern camo, and gadgetry!
Enjoy the outdoors, do it right, by doing it legal, and all is well!

Slamfire

According to the Game Dept's web sight, the hunter harvest doesn't keep up with the herd increase. The Alabama non-resident license costs less than the Tennessee Resident license. [:-]