Hunting or killing

brokebow · Post by **brokebow** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 10:45 am

I just got done with a reply on some situations and wanted to know I more of you guys and gals like to hunt or go to kill. When I was young I wanted to kill a deer,I guess it was bragging rights,now I love to hunt,every time I go into the woods I learn something new,if it isn't about the hunt it is about myself. Every bit of game that I have ever shot,havested, I and my family have eaten. I can not see going out in the woods hunting and not using the animal that you have harvested- Shot-and giving it away. We have rabbit hunt tourniments around our area,and some of these people get mad because the rabbits have to be cleaned in order to be weighed. You know why. Jerry

sumner4991 · Post by **sumner4991** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:09 am

Jerry . . .not sure what you are asking. I have gone through phases in my life. Initially, I enjoyed sneaking up on groundhogs and killing them. I soon graduated into squirrels, still sneaking up on them and killing them. However, with the squirrels there was the bonus of actually bringing home some dinner. My family members enjoyed the eating and it gave me an extra reward. Their graditude was a great motivator. Next step up was deer hunting and I used the same method of spot and stalk. There was the thrill of the kill, but, also the eating enjoyment.

Now . . .30 years later. My kids will eat some deer steak, but, my wife doesn't eat meat. I live in the city and just don't have the same support group. I have changed the way I hunt too. I find myself on public property and I find it unsafe to spot and stalk. So, I do have switched to an ambush style of hunting. Still effective, but, not as much exercise and action . . .I've even considered getting in a tree.

I give the majority of the meat to needy families now. When I was growing up, we would get two or three deer a year and we ate it all. Now, we take 15 or so. That's a lot of meat. I guess I'm a democrat becuase I redistribute this wealth.

Anyway, I still like the hunt, love the victories and enjoy seeing the meat put to good use. Got to be honest with you . . .if I never killed anything, then I'd quit hunting.

cdup · Post by **cdup** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:33 am

I hunt for the challenge, the tradition, the enjoyment, and the meat. When I was younger, sure, it was about how many I killed. In coonass country down here, we hunt anything on land,and in water. We eat it all! Now that I'm older, I respect it alot more. Don't get we wrong, I treat all my neighbors with fish and game if I decide to go over my needs of harvest. Lot of them don't have the means or ability to do what I can. In return we have a great relationship because they watch over my house, and things when I'm not around.

So if it means me KILLING an animal, so be it. The meat never goes to waste. I hope this answers what you are asking or looking for, If not, sorry in advance.

Maybe another member may have a better reply

Sandman · Post by **Sandman** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:36 am

Ive passed on many deer to either take pics or just didnt feel like taking one that day so I guess I live to hunt~!

Boo · Post by **Boo** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:43 am

I and many others hunters eat and give away meat. In some situations animals must be killed off regardless of whether or not the meat is consumed. One example is the Snow Geese in the north. Populations were at one time (I don't know about this year) were so high that they were destroying their environment. So yes I agree with your thoughts but there are exceptions. Legal shooting without consumption becomes pest control and is ok in my books.

bob1961 · Post by **bob1961** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:50 am

i enjoy the hunt and just being out there, sure i'd like to take a deer home every time but it's not priority one in my mind....it's a bonus in my mind when i do take a deer home....since i started hunting in 82 i've taken 50 deer and that avg is 2 a year and only 4 nice buck over 7 points....sure before PA went with 3 and 4 points a side i've taken 5 or 6 spikes and forkies....my avatar is my last buck i took in 2004 before i got sick in 2005....a bunch of years "even in a row" i haven't taken any and always enjoyed just being able to get out there, even more since my brain surgery august 06....i don't know what i would do if i couldn't hunt any more, the one thing i said to my girl friend after my surgery was "i don't care if i couldn't do much of anything, as long as i can still hunt i'd be happy" i can't hunt with my compound anymore but with PA's disabled permit i still can hunt archery season with a xbow....i get tired and can't go as far as i used to due to the nerve damage from the surgery and tumor, but i can still get out there to enjoy the outdoors....that's fine by me after learning how to walk and eat again

................bob

....

Benu · Post by **Benu** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 12:18 pm

This is my third season of deer hunting, but the first one I have seriously prepared for (Scouting all summer, some light baiting in the fall, tracking, studying the bush, setting up treestands and natural ground blinds, Saturdays at the range and lots of reading). I have not got my first deer yet, but I enjoy every minute I spend out actively hunting. Enjoying being alone in the woods. The silence of the bush. The way the woods change after the last minute of legal hunting has past and everything is completely dark. I love the rush I feel when I wake up at 430 and hit the road before light. The anticipation of being in the stand when the sun comes up. So to sum up in answer to your question I feel I am hunting not just killing. And it is the hunt I enjoy the most. Considering I have never taken a deer with either my xbow or my rifle I can't really answer if I enjoy killing game animals. To me the kill will represent only a small portion of the greater part of the experience. The reward is all the memories of season and of course the meat in my freezer that the five of us will consume over the winter.

MADMAX2 · Post by **MADMAX2** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 12:45 pm

The hunt is my addiction the meat is a bonus!!I many times come back without harvesting but always come back with great experiences.

crazyfarmer · Post by **crazyfarmer** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 1:06 pm

I go for one reason... and one reason only.. I want to get my hands on the biggest buck on the woods. Yes I love the sport, love the experience.. but everytime im out there im looking and waiting for Mr Big to come walking within 20 yards. Im sure everyone else has that same thought also

But if I dont get him, I dont complain since its nothing like being in the outdoors

MNDeerHunter · Post by **MNDeerHunter** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 1:19 pm

For me hunting has changed a lot since I first started some 30 years ago. I use to think that the point of going was to get something, well over time I've learned that just being out in the woods is enjoyment alone. Tagging a deer is just the bonus. I hunt from the ground and in trees and I pass on a lot of deer just about every year always hoping for that big buck. And some years that big buck just doesn't come and I'm just fine with that. I taught my son to never waiste what you kill and only kill what you need or give it to someone who would. Any day in the woods is better than any day at work. When that day comes for me to retire, I know what I will be doing - hunting, hunting and more hunting.

vixenmaster · Post by **vixenmaster** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 1:23 pm

i like to hunt and watch the birds and animals. the deer harvest is a bonus for the freezer. antlers small, big or none at all 1st come 1st served.

VixChix · Post by **VixChix** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 2:51 pm

Being a Mom that's tied to a 3 yr old (whom I love dearly) all day, I enjoy my alone time in the woods.

sumner4991 · Post by **sumner4991** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 3:21 pm

planter wrote: I would shoot more deer but I can't use the meat. If yuh can't use it or give it away yuh can't kill them..

That's very thing kept me from shooting a couple of does on my trip to Virginia. The guy that processes the deer was sick. So, I decided to wait until I go back for Thanksgiving. I have a lot more processing options then too.

If there was no killing involved, then it would not be hunting, right? It would be wildlife photography or scouting or hiking or something . . .not hunting.

Mike P · Post by **Mike P** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 3:46 pm

First and foremost, I am out in the woods with evil intentions. I am there to kill. In my case, I am out there to kill only a certain animal. So in that regard, I guess you could construe that I am hunting.

crazyfarmer · Post by **crazyfarmer** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 3:59 pm

Mike P wrote:First and foremost, I am out in the woods with evil intentions. I am there to kill. In my case, I am out there to kill only a certain animal. So in that regard, I guess you could construe that I am hunting.

in other words its like you are a sniper on a mission... 1 shot, one kill