Killing ... how do you feel ...

I am convinced that once you take up hunting, especially big game hunting you awaken something deep inside that non hunters don't understand. Call it primeval if you want but it harkens back to when we were hunter/gathers to survive.

Sure working for a pay cheque gives us money to buy food, shelter etc but its not the same as stalking in the woods searching for meat to put on the table (or eat by the fire). I can feel it in my bones as hunting season approaches. And when I am stalking with so many senses keen (my spidey senses maxed as I tell my non hunting friends) I feel more alive.

What do I feel when I harvest that wild animal? A feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. Of course there's the Adrenalin rush and a bit of a let down afterwards. A bit of sadness that a once living thing is no more and that I am responsible. And thankfulness. I do say a few words of thanks, a prayer if you wish, under my breath. I also say a little prayer when I set out and if I remember to bring some tobacco, I make a little offering. (this was suggested to me by a native friend, I am a non smoker and not native but all cultures make offerings for thanks and to be successful).

No high fives or wow wows amongst my hunting buddies. Handshakes and beers afterwards.
 
diesel_weasel666 said:
I get a rush when I see the deer drop, then I feel sad for a minute or two when as I walk up to the fresh carcass, thankful when I see how much meat I will have, a bit pissed off when I am dragging it back to the truck through thick NE Alberta bush and very content and satisfied when I see it hanging in my garage.
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Coyotes are the only animal I enjoy killing. I have had a hard on for them since they tore apart my puppy when I was 8yo. Shooting a 'yote is no different
to me than swatting a fly, except I swat 'yotes with a .45-70.(a bit overkill I know)
 
snoopycda said:
the kill is as important as the chase.
do you feel joy when you catch a fish?
we are supposed to be happy when we achieve our goals and feeding our family is our ultimate responsibility.
how you express your joy is different for everybody.
i am well aware that i am a predator as nature designed me and do not feel guilt unless there has been undue suffering on the part of the prey.
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Well said.........and I am going to add, when I have a successful hunt wheteher alone or with friends there is always a feeling of accomplishment and pride. My friends and I dont hoot and holler but we smile and laugh and share handshakes at days end to congratulate each other on a job well done and in sharing great memories and the bounty of our hunt.
 
islamically it is forbidden to hunt for sport, so everything we hunt we eat, try not to waste anything even harvest the hide, also when we kill we try to make it as ethical as possible one clean shot, minimize the suffering of the animal. give thanks and share the harvest (family and friends) enjoy the hunt enjoy the reward cheers..
 
I am a human that is what we do to survive. No laying my gun down and putting my hand on the beast and crying.
 
Muslim said:
islamically it is forbidden to hunt for sport, so everything we hunt we eat, try not to waste anything even harvest the hide, also when we kill we try to make it as ethical as possible one clean shot, minimize the suffering of the animal. give thanks and share the harvest (family and friends) enjoy the hunt enjoy the reward cheers..
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That wouldnt make it Halal though would it? Surely it needs bleeding out whilst still alive. I have seen this done by Druze on an antelope in the Mid east.
 
Me? Well I am thankful when they drop cleanly and no tracking is involved. I often guide clients on their first deer and for them to make a mess and me having to console them is no fun especially if it puts them off for life. I always take a dog for tracking and tell them its totally normal to try and cheer them up.
 
Thank the animal for giving it's life to extend mine, all living things want to survive at least as much as I do, I do feel a couple of seconds of intense concentration before dropping the hammer.
 
Otokiak said:
How do you feel after your kill? Do you hoop and holler and jump about?(be honest here) Do you say a prayer? Do you thank the animal? I'm curious how you all react after your kill is down? Discuss!

Otokiak
Rankin Inlet, NU
CANADA
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I guess it all depends how old or how much time the hunter has put into the field. I "never" hollered or jumped like the people on the "Wild TV" shows, however, have mixed emotions of happy, sorrow and mad.
 
Having never hunted I'm probably not qualified to answer this.. I have killed birds and other animals while driving.. I hate porcupines.. I put shots in the air to scare off rabbits and bears recently.. And I've thought about if I was aiming at them could I do it.

The answer may amuse some.. I don't think I could shoot the hares.. The bear is a no-brainer it's going down..
 
I'm glad no one here even mentioned "recoil". Or "string vibration"

Must say for me the adrenaline involved while stalking and drawing back my bow and releasing an arrow sure is a great feeling. Once the animal is down it turns into feelings of respect and responcibility to use as much from the animal as possible
 
bear.23 said:
Having never hunted I'm probably not qualified to answer this.. I have killed birds and other animals while driving.. I hate porcupines.. I put shots in the air to scare off rabbits and bears recently.. And I've thought about if I was aiming at them could I do it.

The answer may amuse some.. I don't think I could shoot the hares.. The bear is a no-brainer it's going down..
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I started going to this forum a few years now. That might just be the most guy with no #### post I ever seen.

Just saying.

We were born scavengers who evolved to elite hunters.
Be a man.
 
AKD said:
I started going to this forum a few years now. That might just be the most guy with no #### post I ever seen.

Just saying.

We were born scavengers who evolved to elite hunters.
Be a man.
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BYTE ME! :)

Aside from the fact that I have a small kid in the house who is just a little sensitive to the rabbits around here.. I just don't see the benefit in "ME" shooting rabbits.. Others may well have a use for them.. We have a couple nuisance bears and they have cost me thousands of dollars I see them in the bee field or in the shed and they are toast simple as that..
 
I love to hunt, but it's all about the camaraderie, time outside, and food.
Honestly, when I pull the trigger on a kill-shot I get the exact same feeling as when I pick up a saran-wrapped foil tray of meat at Safeways.

I get no joy from the kill until I'm eating it.
 
Out of respect I thank the Earth for providing the animal(s) for my family to eat. I also thank the spirit of the animal for offering itself.
 
When it comes time to pull the trigger, I hope that it is a fast kill. That is my focus and if I need to take a quick follow up shot (or two, for whatever reason), that is what I do. The animal deserves to go down and die as swiftly possible. Other than that, I do feel a smigen of remorse but then I get to work on the harvest. The best part for me gettin out there.
 
I will relive the event over and over in my head, and probably write down what happened. I find that each experience has something worth remembering, and something you can learn from.

No jumping up and down, just respect, and I carry that through with care for the carcass.
 
I was really angry the first time I had to kill an animal, and it was really the first time I ever hunted deer, down near Jenner in alberta. zone 152 I think. one of our partners jumps out of the truck when he sees a couple mulie does and a buck on the lip of a very deep coulee. unloads everything he has and tags one poor doe in the ass and starts saying to me and the driver "lets just go, lets just leave it there" I couldn't believe what I was hearing I was really mad. I started hunting with the dude cause I thought he had something to teach a new hunter - ie. ME - about ethical hunting. I guess I was wrong. anyways, I loaded up my 30.30 and walked over to the other side of the coulee that is...down one side and up the other and put a mercy shot in the head of this poor doe - theres something to be said for a clean kill shot - and pull it down one side of the coulee tied some rope to the hind legs and got paulie to put the truck in gear and pull the animal up the other side. then the guy who shot the deer went and sat in the truck while paulie and I field dressed the deer. needless to say, I don't hunt with the other guy anymore, I actually have not hunted once since I stopped going out with him, and thats gotta be going on 5 years ago now. if anyone was wondering, the meat was really tasty my brother who is a meat cutter helped me butcher and package the meat.
 
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