Hunting: Not for the sentimental?

Juster said:
There is nothing wrong with getting a wee bit emotional about killing a large mammal, it isn't like opening a can of beans.
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No, but a little respect is warranted for your quarry, all life has value, but our existence depends on taking some to survive. Europeans have that quaint custom where they put a bit of Green in the animals mouth, old time natives had similar ideas.

Grizz
 
Lexthedestroyer said:
This is my take on it as well. Regret isn't quite the right word, but it's probably the closest I can think of. Shooting and gutting a deer is indeed a sobering, visceral experience. It gives you a different perspective on the steak on your plate, but it is a truly rewarding experience, and one worth pursuing for sure.
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A different perspective, indeed. The perspective that the vast majority of humanity has lost site of long ago. One that puts us in touch with our history going back hundreds of thousands of years. One that makes us celebrate every single delicious morsel of the animals that we take. A relatively small portion of deer or moose or grouse or hare can be emminently more satisfying than a big fatty steak.

For me, and many many others, it is about establishing a connection with one's food in a way that is universal and undeniable. It is "a way of life" no matter how you interpret the statement. It is one of the last remaining ways of preserving and celebrating our humanity.
 
Once you get your first big game harvest under your belt you will think in a different way , the animal had a good wild life not force fed food it didn't like in a metal cage while injected with who knows what. My first deer which is my only deer still to date . I spent 5 minutes with my iron sights on him before i shot, the whole time i was thinking what if he does this or I can't do it etc. Once he turned to a shot I could take one quick thought ran through my mind, He's leaving I have to shoot NOW if i really want this , He was down in the same spot before I knew that I had shot him, all the adrenaline and waiting for this oportunity I did not take a second guess when my opporunity finally arose. I'm glad it happened that way as i had never shot anything before in my life and I was in a similar situation as yours, aslong as the animal does not suffer you did your job right having said that if you hunt for the rest of your life there is a chance a bad shot may occur and you have to do a second shot which can potentially make you feel horrible, but aslong as you practice and do the best you can, than you are respecting the life of that animal. If you eat meat someone else has killed animal's for you, this way you are providing for yourself with great natural meat from an animal that had a WAY better life than any caged animal.
 
...and millions and millions of humans have died for far less, and have been respected far less in their death, so go ahead and feel OK for hunting and eating some animals.
 
don't get a dog keep the cat. a cat doesn't really care if you are there at all they mostly only need you to feed and clean up after it. Dogs can not be left for very long. Cat if it has food and water is good to go for days with out you.
The shooting of a deer or moose that is some thing only you can decide on. My self I hunted lots with a group of friends, personally I don't actually care if I shot anything I went for the trip. I have shot deer and moose and I have a few moments of regret over it. Then after it is cleaned and ready to transport I am also kind of proud I got some meat for the table, It tastes good. However in the long run I probably spent more per pound on them then if I went to the store. But you cannot count that as this is time away from the rat race,
For me it was my vacation.
 
It doesn't really bother me to shoot something I'm going to eat or turn into fur. Shooting something that is causing a problem is something I can do, but I don't get any satisfaction out of it. If you get super pumped about going out and killing stuff for no reason at all I think you have a problem. Once it's on the ground and the killing part is over. It's easy to gut, skin and eat in my opinion. I think it would be wrong to waste it.
 
I have hunted since i was 8. Almost 40 years later, it is still a very visceral and emotional thing for me. Connects us back to a time where we (and a great many people on this earth still do) HAD to hunt to survive. I deeply respect every animal i kill for food, and honour it as such.

As for rodents and pests, well #### 'em.
 
dannyhavok said:
Hey guys,

I'm getting into shooting and really enjoying it so far. I'm also curious about getting into hunting. I believe in the food chain, I know the horrors of factory farming, and I understand that a quick death is the best a wild animal could possibly ask for in the brutal, natural world. However, I'm kind of a pussy. I feel guilty leaving my cat home alone when I go on holiday. I don't like to kill spiders unless they look venomous. What if I kill a deer, get all teary-eyed, and can't bring myself to gut it? Have any of you started out in this position? Any advice for someone on the fence?

Thanks
Dan
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Wow, an honest post... Pm me if you live in the okanagan I'll take you out for you to get a sense of things.
 
Ignore the tough guys in this thread. If you will start hunting, focus on the end result of providing meals. Have respect for the game by giving thanks and remember your hunter ethics. As other members have mentioned, get together with other experienced hunters for some hunts before you go on your own. It is messy at times - but focus on the end result. It is also hard work to get a large game animal positioned, gutted and quartered. Not to mention bringing it out to transport. Friends and other hunters are key. If you will be hunting in an area where ATV's are allowed - get one or at least make sure you have access to one.

Wild game are not cute pets, they are a managed resource. You are part of the management team.
 
You know what is a great feeling ?

Feeding your family with meat that you "harvested" yourself. The whole gutting part isnt for everyone, but no worries, find some buddies, go hunting and enjoy this great experience that is the food chain ;)
 
Dan start off with a friend/mentor. Most of us feel emotion after the shot. Start small and eat the squirrels rabbits, grouse to get the feel of it.
 
Dan, like many of us I hunt for the meat. I don't mind a trophy hunter so long as they consume what they've killed, but my main focus is and always has been the meat. Remember that as beautiful as wild animals are in their habitat, they ARE game and we are just as much a part of the food chain as they are. My father grew up subsistence hunting in rural Manitoba. It wasn't "sport", but meat on the table and thus my hunting is a tribute to my heritage. I felt a little remorse at my first kill, but mostly pride. Pride that all my target shooting resulted in a clean one-shot kill. Pride that I had taken my first deer and put meat on the table. Pride that I was perpetuating my father's teaching. As silly as it may sound to some, I gave thanks to god and to the deer for the food I was given. Everything I've taken through the years has been a one shot kill and I take pride in that. I take my game with the utmost respect for the animal and nature, and gratitude for nature's bounty. My friends and hunting buddies share my ethic, which is one of the reasons I enjoy hunting with them so much. It may be that on your first hunt, you may get the game in your sights and decide not to pull the trigger. Whatever the outcome, I respect the fact that you are wise enough to have doubts and weigh all the factors. At the end of the day, the decision will be yours so good luck to you, whatever you decide.
 
I haven't yet got up to mammals yet but when I got my first grouse I did have a sad feeling like here was an animal that was just alive and I made it dead. I held it twitching in my hands and it still felt warm. But in the end I knew that I was going to eat it, that I have spent my entire life at the top of a food chain and was responsible for every living thing that passed through my body.

When I got my goose I felt a little differently than that grouse because #### geese, that's why. They're awful ####-hawks and blat all over the place and deserve to be blasted from the sky. Plus when I caught up to mine it fought like a dickens and every peck made me hate it more.
 
Hunting is entirely for the sentimental. You needn't get all grossed out by the processing part of it but if you do, that's natural. Just take a deep breath and finish the job.

But next weekend when I go goose hunting for the first time since my father died last year I damned well expect to get emotional. I spent every fall hunting with him and it will be tough to go out without him there with me. But I'll still go because I love being outdoors and I want to remember all the good times I had with him as well as share the good times with friends and other family. Without some emotional connection to what we're doing this whole sport of hunting is really either barbarism or overly difficult grocery shopping. It's the connection to our mentors and friends who have gone out with us and gone on without us that makes hunting what it is.
 
I don't like raw fish so I don't go to Sushi restaurants. I don't care if it's cool, or my buddies do it. It's not "for me".

Because of that I can't see why you would say that you want to get into hunting when you obviously have an issue with killing small bugs, much less a higher order animal.

I could tell you that fully 1/3 of deer don't survive the winter due to malnutrition, the elements, predators etc. Another percentage will get "run over" causing many dollars worth of damage to vehicles. They will all still be dead/killed with no intervention on your part.

But if the thought of being "responsible" for shooting Bambi is just too much for you, then perhaps find a different sport/hobby.

You could always get yourself a bow and join a 3D club if you "want the feeling" of stalking, getting an animal in your sights and then doing no harm other than to a foam insert in the target that "looks like a deer, bear, hog etc".

Hunting isn't for everyone. In fact I don't know anyone that decided to take it up "later". If they didn't go with Dad/Grand Dad, even if they quit for a while to work or raise a family etc (which I see as "didn't go hunting" as opposed to "stopped hunting"), then they don't generally decide one day in their 20's or 30's that maybe hunting is something they want to try. Not saying it never happens but if it wasn't ingrained it's pretty steep curve on many levels.

As suggested, if you really want to give it a go, maybe ducks/geese (since you say you hate birds) - there are some "waterfowl hunters" that hunt nothing else and count down the days to the duck opener :)
 
There's a thing called the "Hunter's Melancholy". It's a term used to describe the weird mixed feelings a lot of us get when we kill an animal. I've never seen it put into words 100% accurately. And I don't really think it ever can be because the feelings we experience all vary from person to person. But I will say that a few posters in this thread have touched at the heart of it.

I could go on for a while on this subject and never quite explain it adequately. It's a feeling that has to be experienced for a man to truly know what it's like.
 
galamb said:
I don't like raw fish so I don't go to Sushi restaurants. I don't care if it's cool, or my buddies do it. It's not "for me".

Because of that I can't see why you would say that you want to get into hunting when you obviously have an issue with killing small bugs, much less a higher order animal.

I could tell you that fully 1/3 of deer don't survive the winter due to malnutrition, the elements, predators etc. Another percentage will get "run over" causing many dollars worth of damage to vehicles. They will all still be dead/killed with no intervention on your part.

But if the thought of being "responsible" for shooting Bambi is just too much for you, then perhaps find a different sport/hobby.

You could always get yourself a bow and join a 3D club if you "want the feeling" of stalking, getting an animal in your sights and then doing no harm other than to a foam insert in the target that "looks like a deer, bear, hog etc".

Hunting isn't for everyone. In fact I don't know anyone that decided to take it up "later". If they didn't go with Dad/Grand Dad, even if they quit for a while to work or raise a family etc (which I see as "didn't go hunting" as opposed to "stopped hunting"), then they don't generally decide one day in their 20's or 30's that maybe hunting is something they want to try. Not saying it never happens but if it wasn't ingrained it's pretty steep curve on many levels.

As suggested, if you really want to give it a go, maybe ducks/geese (since you say you hate birds) - there are some "waterfowl hunters" that hunt nothing else and count down the days to the duck opener :)
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I don't know anyone that DIDN'T get into it later in life (myself included, I first went hunting at 27). There are a lot of the younger generation (hipsters, if you will) that are getting into firearms and hunting as a way to try to get back to their roots, and live a life more in line with how their parents or grandparents lived. My dad did some hunting (ducks and geese, I think) before the kids came along, but never after or since. I decided to get into it as a way to further utilize (and justify, lol) my firearm collection. It has certainly become a time of year that I look forward to.
 
Uplandguy said:
Wow, an honest post... Pm me if you live in the okanagan I'll take you out for you to get a sense of things.
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Thanks man, I really appreciate that! I live on Vancouver Island, but I do have family in Kamloops. Maybe we could arrange something one day, I'll fire you a PM if I'm heading into the interior soon.

And thanks to everyone for the continued input, I'm finding it very helpful. A lot of great posts, much appreciated.

I went ahead and picked up a cheap 10/22 today, once I get my marksmanship to an acceptable level I'll look into some small game hunting.

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