on a soapbox for a second (hunting safety/ethics ect)

[swinginberrys]

I was fortunate enough to take part in a waterfowl youth hunt on the 4th. There were other activities on the 3rd such as waterfowl identification, hunting regulations, waterfowl habits, conservation, clay shooting, archery, calling demonstrations as well as talks on ethics and safety. It really reinforced some of my beliefs. One of the key ones is hunting should be focused on the experience as a whole not just the harvest. I have seen to many people completely focused on harvesting an animal that they mis out on all the other incredible things that happen during the hunt. It also creates a dangerous situation as people who are "desperate" to harvest an animal tend to cut corners and break laws. This also ties into the thread regarding hunter orange. I don't believe there would be a need for blaze orange if people weren't so desperate to kill something.
I'd ask that anyone mentoring a new hunter or any of the senior members of a hunt camp please keep this in mind. Any time there's a hunting "accident" it further diminishes our lifestyle in the eyes of the non hunting public as well as ruins everyone's life that's involved.

 

[Crouchy]

I agree. I so cherish my time spent in the bush. The "quiet" of the forest. All the noise of leaves. I have been hunting a a bunch of years now. My favorite times are spent in the bush when the sun is rising or setting. I have started taking my 3yr old girl for walks to get my cameras and put out my feed. She loves it and talks about it all the time.

 

[Longwalker]

I would like to encourage everyone who hunts to stop asking other hunters "did you get YOUR deer/elk/moose/ etc etc. " The rewards of a hunt is far more than what you "get", and besides, nobody has the right to "get" a game animal just because they bought a licence. A better question would be "how was your hunt?" or "what did you find during your hunt" or something similar. To the people who insist on immediately asking "what did you get" I usually answer as whole lot of things, but seldom do I only say if I got "MY" animal.

 

[H4831]

I would like to encourage everyone who hunts to stop asking other hunters "did you get YOUR deer/elk/moose/ etc etc. " The rewards of a hunt is far more than what you "get", and besides, nobody has the right to "get" a game animal just because they bought a licence. A better question would be "how was your hunt?" or "what did you find during your hunt" or something similar. To the people who insist on immediately asking "what did you get" I usually answer as whole lot of things, but seldom do I only say if I got "MY" animal.

Good for your trying, but I've been trying to stop that "MY," moose, etc., for sixty years and it has been a failure.
Closely associated with this is trophy hunting. At one time I could state in any company that I was a trophy hunter and no one came down on me. I was a scorer for the BC records club from its inception until about five years ago and during that time I passed up shooting a good quantity of legal game, leaving tags unused. Some years ago the BC game manager for our region, who had a masters degree in biology and game management, attended a local fish and game club meeting. During his speech he stated that, biologically speaking, wildlife would be better off if hunters left the meat of their game in the bush, for other creatures to feed on!
Now, if someone comes on here and posts that he is a trophy hunter, he will get trashed, from people who call themselves hunters!!
The OP also mentioned ethics, which is a good point. But bring it up here and you will be swamped with people shouting that if it is legal, it is ethical, seemingly unable to distinguish between ethical and legal.

 

[Ardent]

I would like to encourage everyone who hunts to stop asking other hunters "did you get YOUR deer/elk/moose/ etc etc. " The rewards of a hunt is far more than what you "get", and besides, nobody has the right to "get" a game animal just because they bought a licence. A better question would be "how was your hunt?" or "what did you find during your hunt" or something similar. To the people who insist on immediately asking "what did you get" I usually answer as whole lot of things, but seldom do I only say if I got "MY" animal.

A nice and healthy take on things there. In BC, thankfully I'm not seeing the OPs concerns exhibited, hope it doesn't migrate here.

 

[elker]

Good for your trying, but I've been trying to stop that "MY," moose, etc., for sixty years and it has been a failure.
Closely associated with this is trophy hunting. At one time I could state in any company that I was a trophy hunter and no one came down on me. I was a scorer for the BC records club from its inception until about five years ago and during that time I passed up shooting a good quantity of legal game, leaving tags unused. Some years ago the BC game manager for our region, who had a masters degree in biology and game management, attended a local fish and game club meeting. During his speech he stated that, biologically speaking, wildlife would be better off if hunters left the meat of their game in the bush, for other creatures to feed on!
Now, if someone comes on here and posts that he is a trophy hunter, he will get trashed, from people who call themselves hunters!!
The OP also mentioned ethics, which is a good point. But bring it up here and you will be swamped with people shouting that if it is legal, it is ethical, seemingly unable to distinguish between ethical and legal.

I will remember it and repeat it to others all the time. Golden words, to say the least.
I appreciate there is someone in the government who knows conservation. A couple year ago, when I was still a tax driver, I talked to a passenger who just finished his meeting at wildlife management department at Nanaimo. I mentioned that there were too many wolves in VI. He said :"shoot them!" Clear and simple.

 

[Aries-]

I was fortunate enough to take part in a waterfowl youth hunt on the 4th. There were other activities on the 3rd such as waterfowl identification, hunting regulations, waterfowl habits, conservation, clay shooting, archery, calling demonstrations as well as talks on ethics and safety. It really reinforced some of my beliefs. One of the key ones is hunting should be focused on the experience as a whole not just the harvest. I have seen to many people completely focused on harvesting an animal that they mis out on all the other incredible things that happen during the hunt. It also creates a dangerous situation as people who are "desperate" to harvest an animal tend to cut corners and break laws. This also ties into the thread regarding hunter orange. I don't believe there would be a need for blaze orange if people weren't so desperate to kill something.
I'd ask that anyone mentoring a new hunter or any of the senior members of a hunt camp please keep this in mind. Any time there's a hunting "accident" it further diminishes our lifestyle in the eyes of the non hunting public as well as ruins everyone's life that's involved.

Ehh. about the hunter orange, its not about how much someone wants a harvest. its about visibility. a human in brown standing further behind a deer is going to be hard for most hunters to see. and getting a pass through on the deer can see the bullet hit the human depending on terrain.

 

[bearkilr]

We live in the age of instant gratification. You see it in threads with late delivery of parcels with tracking, ordering on your smart phone, emails that go unanswered for more than a day(yet no one thinks to phone), etc. All this translates into a "need" for success or delivery in the shortest amount of time.
I have a game tag, that means I ordered that animal and it better be delivered. Heaven forbid I have to spend another day out in his godforsaken wilderness without Internet access!!!

 

[Slaymoar]

I have found this many times. People getting way too excited about shooting at something. Of course I get excited too, but I agree about the whole hunting experience. Getting back empty handed to me isn't a bad thing. That's why its called game. There is supposed to be this challenge associated with hunting.. i would call that mature hunting. It can be taught and done by the youngest hunters, and can be the total opposite immature experienced hunter.

I have found that I enjoy the wilderness altogether. Only during hunting do I actually listen to the meditative sounds of the forest. Although I must admit that I could go without so much squirrel chirping . Last time I went grouse hunting, I was totally humbled in my skill by grouse that were very fast to flush and failed to wing a single one. It was a bit frustrating but I also ended lowering my shotgun down a few times to enjoy the view of some 100-150 pound deer crossing my path.

When you are in the woods and half the noise you hear is your own blood rushing in your head, you know you are at the right place and you are witnessing something amazing.

 

[stubblejumper]

Ehh. about the hunter orange, its not about how much someone wants a harvest. its about visibility. a human in brown standing further behind a deer is going to be hard for most hunters to see. and getting a pass through on the deer can see the bullet hit the human depending on terrain.

How about posting a few examples of incidents where bullets actually passed through a game animal and struck a human being? Good luck finding even three reported incidents where is occurred in Canada. In the vast majority of cases where a hunter shoots another person, it is because the idiot mistook the human for a game animal, and fired a shot without knowing for sure what he was shooting at. There are also instances where people claim that they were actually shooting at a deer, but investigations often reveal that there was no evidence that a game animal was present, when the shot was fired.

 

[swinginberrys]

Ehh. about the hunter orange, its not about how much someone wants a harvest. its about visibility. a human in brown standing further behind a deer is going to be hard for most hunters to see. and getting a pass through on the deer can see the bullet hit the human depending on terrain.

Like stubblejumper states I think the orange is more to prevent misidentification. I may be wrong but I believe the root cause of misidentification shootings and sound shootings is the shooters need to make a harvest. They have willingly pulled the trigger without identifying their target and beyond. This is one of the first things we are taught in the hunters safety coarse. When you really start analyzing the hunting accidents it would appear that a vast majority can be related to people that have ignored the very basic safety rules just to make the kill.

As for ethics....that can be very personal to each outdoorsman. Legality is/should be black and white. Not sure anyone can win a debate on ethics.

 

[Aries-]

How about posting a few examples of incidents where bullets actually passed through a game animal and struck a human being? Good luck finding even three reported incidents where is occurred in Canada. In the vast majority of cases where a hunter shoots another person, it is because the idiot mistook the human for a game animal, and fired a shot without knowing for sure what he was shooting at. There are also instances where people claim that they were actually shooting at a deer, but investigations often reveal that there was no evidence that a game animal was present, when the shot was fired.

there was one posted the other day in this forum.

And you will never cure stupid. id rather have blaze on and not be shot by stupid than have a bullet hole.

 

[Aries-]

Like stubblejumper states I think the orange is more to prevent misidentification. I may be wrong but I believe the root cause of misidentification shootings and sound shootings is the shooters need to make a harvest. They have willingly pulled the trigger without identifying their target and beyond. This is one of the first things we are taught in the hunters safety coarse. When you really start analyzing the hunting accidents it would appear that a vast majority can be related to people that have ignored the very basic safety rules just to make the kill.

As for ethics....that can be very personal to each outdoorsman. Legality is/should be black and white. Not sure anyone can win a debate on ethics.

Could also be thrill of the hunt. most hunters get an Adrenalin rush when they see a deer. Adrenalin is not the best thing for your brain for thinking clearly.

 

[stubblejumper]

there was one posted the other day in this forum.

And you will never cure stupid. id rather have blaze on and not be shot by stupid than have a bullet hole.

I don't see a report of a single incident, let alone three. Of course you are correct about stupid. there are many idiots that still point loaded firearms at many things that they have no intention of shooting, because they are too lazy or too cheap to carry binoculars. I prefer that these idiots don't see me at all, rather than have them point loaded firearms at me, as I observed happen to two of my hunting parties. If you could stop these idiots from using their riflescopes in place of binoculars, you would make it much safer to be in the woods.

 

[swinginberrys]

Could also be thrill of the hunt. most hunters get an Adrenalin rush when they see a deer. Adrenalin is not the best thing for your brain for thinking clearly.

I agree that there is a huge adrenaline rush when game is at hand but that still isn't an excuse for not following the basic rules.
I don't think adrenaline has anything to do with any of the accidents I've read about. The example I gave in the hunter orange thread regarding the snow goose guide getting shot couldn't have had anything to do with adrenaline. The shooter stopped along the road, got his rifle, loaded it, belly crawled into the field and fired a .22 round into the decoys killing Josh. Apparently he needed to kill a couple snows more than verifying his target and beyond.

(Not to mention it's illegal to use a rifle to hunt waterfowl)

 

[Aries-]

I agree that there is a huge adrenaline rush when game is at hand but that still isn't an excuse for not following the basic rules.
I don't think adrenaline has anything to do with any of the accidents I've read about. The example I gave in the hunter orange thread regarding the snow goose guide getting shot couldn't have had anything to do with adrenaline. The shooter stopped along the road, got his rifle, loaded it, belly crawled into the field and fired a .22 round into the decoys killing Josh. Apparently he needed to kill a couple snows more than verifying his target and beyond.

(Not to mention it's illegal to use a rifle to hunt waterfowl)

there is no curing stupid. possibly by making the hunting course more stringent.

 

[kjohn]

Interesting topic. Like walking in a minefield, making a statement about hunting, trophy or otherwise, can bring on some nasty comments. I try to keep a low profile when that subject comes up. I appreciate the people who do state their position, though.

I enjoy being out for a good walk, maybe get a bird, more likely not. I had a good look at a horned owl this afternoon. We looked at each other for a minute or two, then it flew away. Been years since I had a close look at one. When we are combining canola, there are dozens of hawks getting mice. They are beautiful birds and get quite used to the combines.

I love hunting, but have never been aggressive. Doesn't matter to me if I actually harvest a bird or two in the whole season. Being out in a nice field of wheat stubble, or walking through a nice bush, being able to spite the government and carry a gun is what I love to do.

 

[swinginberrys]

Nope, never going to cure stupid. I just hope that by not basing a hunt off of game taken we can help put the focus on the whole experience.
I will continue to wear orange when possible (not viable while waterfowling or turkey hunting) to help better my chances of not getting shot and try to instill good values in new hunters.

 

[stubblejumper]

The ironic thing about safety, is that trophy hunters actually make for safer hunters. By being so fussy about the animals that they will shoot, they take the time to not only identify the target . but to study it carefully enough to score it on the hoof. By the time the true trophy hunter pulls the trigger, there is no doubt at all about the identity of his target. On the other hand, a less experienced hunter that just wants to kill an animal, will not scrutinize his target to anywhere near that degree, so the odds of mistaking a human for a game animal are greater for this type of hunter.

 

[Aries-]

The ironic thing about safety, is that trophy hunters actually make for safer hunters. By being so fussy about the animals that they will shoot, they take the time to not only identify the target . but to study it carefully enough to score it on the hoof. By the time the true trophy hunter pulls the trigger, there is no doubt at all about the identity of his target. On the other hand, a less experienced hunter that just wants to kill an animal, will not scrutinize his target to anywhere near that degree, so the odds of mistaking a human for a game animal are greater for this type of hunter.

i dunno about that. trophy hunters i have seen are willing to take more risks and do stupid #### to get "that animal". meat hunters dont care what they get. they just get meat.