Let's Talk Trophy Hunting.

I really liked what Greg Mchale said on his show “I’m a trophy hunter, and the experience is my trophy.
Each to their own. My last goat hunt I came home for tag soup and it was one of the best hunts I have been on. In 2020 I took a nice big stone ram and honestly it was not a great time in the mountains.
 
45ACPKING said:
Hunting for a little over 30 years now I started out as the very definition of a trophy hunter...... I was after score book big horn sheep and nothing else mattered.
Then a workplace injury put me down for a while and my priorities shifted as it was physically no longer in the cards to hunt those magnificent sheep. I've shot a few with a camera since but not on hunting trips.
Hunting for me then became about meat and nothing more. I prefer game meat over store bought and fortunately have been a successful deer hunter year after year in areas with very healthy animals and numbers that are not being impacted by hunters or natural predation.
To say I am a meat hunter only would't be accurate though as I always appreciate and am proud of harvesting that buck with a big set of antlers...... but I am equally happy when I take any legal deer for the freezer. The wife sees me as a provider and her family has always been impressed with my hunting and the dinners I cook and serve them whenever they come to visit. I keep my mother inlaw well stocked with venison ground ..... that's my secret to making my inlaws love me LOL
I don't have a single problem with trophy hunting healthy populations as long as the meat is put to good use. Either kept by the hunter or donated to local food banks or indigenous communities. The meat should be consumed and if it is, then I fail to see an issue with Trophy Hunting in itself.
The Anti Hunters use the term Trophy Hunting to describe any kind of guided operation and I find the term unfair and arbitrary and is a term that has been weaponized to pull the heart strings of the uninformed or willfully ignorant.
I would "like" to harvest a trophy Big Horn..... I would "like" to harvest a trophy bull moose and even a trophy elk...... but as long as I have enough meat in my freezer from other hunts...... I won't be expending the effort to satisfy those trophy animal desires.
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Just to expand on a few points. Trophy hunting comes to mean, exotics in Africa. Not what many think. Places in Africa that have done away with out of country adventure hunting, no longer have significant game populations, Kenya comes to mind. Everything has to pay it way, if the herds don't generate revenue, domestic animals do, the wild species are exterminated.

In many places we're there is "trophy" hunting in Africa, there is zero employment, some incomes of $5/yr. The only employment is the outfitter. Trackers working for the outfitters are good because they were poachers, in countries that shoot poachers on sight. Typically, there is no civilian firearm ownership, the regime expects Coop's. An outfiter supplies meat to the village, there is no electricity or refrigerator. It's eaten that day. I read a story about a hunter going to the skinning shed to look in on his lion. Already skinned, even the meat on the tail was taken.

How does this relate to "trophy hunting" here. Maybe in the future more than we could imagine. I can also relate to the post above were Ardent became jaded to "scores". In the past I've taken jobs, doing things I've loved. Soon it inevitably becomes work, steals your enjoyment. In this case, I would imagine, it soon feels like working in a slaughter house.
 
All I know is that hunting is the only legitimate reason to get out of bed when it's still dark.
 
nowarningshot said:
Just to expand on a few points. Trophy hunting comes to mean, exotics in Africa. Not what many think. Places in Africa that have done away with out of country adventure hunting, no longer have significant game populations, Kenya comes to mind. Everything has to pay it way, if the herds don't generate revenue, domestic animals do, the wild species are exterminated.

In many places we're there is "trophy" hunting in Africa, there is zero employment, some incomes of $5/yr. The only employment is the outfitter. Trackers working for the outfitters are good because they were poachers, in countries that shoot poachers on sight. Typically, there is no civilian firearm ownership, the regime expects Coop's. An outfiter supplies meat to the village, there is no electricity or refrigerator. It's eaten that day. I read a story about a hunter going to the skinning shed to look in on his lion. Already skinned, even the meat on the tail was taken.

How does this relate to "trophy hunting" here. Maybe in the future more than we could imagine. I can also relate to the post above were Ardent became jaded to "scores". In the past I've taken jobs, doing things I've loved. Soon it inevitably becomes work, steals your enjoyment. In this case, I would imagine, it soon feels like working in a slaughter house.
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yes I've followed some of what goes on in africa loosely over the years. One outfitter I read about that works on a preserve where hunting is integral to managing the multiple species in the preserve. The meat goes to the local people and this helps to ensure that they aren't needing to go hunting for bush meat with no conservation in mind. Many facets to the operations in foreign countries and I know very little overall but I have read about these sustainable hunting operations and they get a bad rap because the truth about them is seldom told. I like to think most people are reasonable and if presented with the truths in unbiased ways, I think many would come to accept and even support these types of wildlife management/hunting operations in countries like Africa and elsewhere.
 
dan belisle said:
Again, illegal. Who is guiding these "trophy hunters"? Someone is. Take a look at your local hunting communities, I think you'll find who your looking for. - dan
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it is not illegal in bc nwt and nunavut and was not in quebec as the hunt finish at the end of october (when the rut most of the time is still on for a while) to hunt them and bring back the meat what is illegal is to let it waste in the field but you wont find a dog eating that meat and most of the hunting is not done by locals or first nations but outfitters for profit ...
 
156821 said:
I really liked what Greg Mchale said on his show “I’m a trophy hunter, and the experience is my trophy.
Each to their own. My last goat hunt I came home for tag soup and it was one of the best hunts I have been on. In 2020 I took a nice big stone ram and honestly it was not a great time in the mountains.
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seeing him on a show and dealing with him in reality might be a surprise for most of his fans ... but yes hunting is not only sucess in closing the tag.
 
nowarningshot said:
Just to expand on a few points. Trophy hunting comes to mean, exotics in Africa. Not what many think. Places in Africa that have done away with out of country adventure hunting, no longer have significant game populations, Kenya comes to mind. Everything has to pay it way, if the herds don't generate revenue, domestic animals do, the wild species are exterminated.

In many places we're there is "trophy" hunting in Africa, there is zero employment, some incomes of $5/yr. The only employment is the outfitter. Trackers working for the outfitters are good because they were poachers, in countries that shoot poachers on sight. Typically, there is no civilian firearm ownership, the regime expects Coop's. An outfiter supplies meat to the village, there is no electricity or refrigerator. It's eaten that day. I read a story about a hunter going to the skinning shed to look in on his lion. Already skinned, even the meat on the tail was taken.

How does this relate to "trophy hunting" here. Maybe in the future more than we could imagine. I can also relate to the post above were Ardent became jaded to "scores". In the past I've taken jobs, doing things I've loved. Soon it inevitably becomes work, steals your enjoyment. In this case, I would imagine, it soon feels like working in a slaughter house.
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lion kebab is a delicacy ... they are eating the entrails too like most os us did for decades but we forget it.
 
track said:
I'm a trophy hunter. If you read my signature line, I probably saved many lives of animals. I haven't shot a whitetail buck in the past 5 hunting seasons. Every year I pass-up 40 to 50 bucks while hunting. Antelope, mule deer and whitetail are the only trophies I persue. Meat never goes to waste and it's consumed by myself, family members and neighbours. To be honest, I hunt to hunt. I love being in the wilderness searching for Mr. Big, and if I don't find him, I'll try the following year, that simple.
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I dig it. ^^

Trophy hunting to me would be taking animals for the purpose of a prize. Nothing more.
Such as a Head, hide, horns, antlers. Ect. Doing just that. Taking nothing more, no interest in its behaviour or its habits. No consuming of its meat. This excludes cull hunting and animal control. Essentially to kill for fun and take a trophy home to show it off without knowing a single thing about it.

I think you can hunt the huge farms in Africa. Take a large trophy animal and not be a trophy hunter. You Learn about its habits. Where it prefers to graze or hunt. You leave with an animal and the knowledge of how it lives.
 
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medvedqc said:
it is not illegal in bc nwt and nunavut and was not in quebec as the hunt finish at the end of october (when the rut most of the time is still on for a while) to hunt them and bring back the meat what is illegal is to let it waste in the field but you wont find a dog eating that meat and most of the hunting is not done by locals or first nations but outfitters for profit ...
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You just agreed with what I posted. Leaving the meat to rot is illegal. And if it is the outfitters, someone knows. Go after them. - dan
 
Ok, let me clarify something here! What I’m saying is not that the outfitters leave the meat to rot, but that they don’t necessarily take care of it properly and that they don’t necessarily be super anal in there field dressing job and might leave more meat on the bones/carcass than us meat hunter would! I’ve seen meat coming off planes in trash bags so I’m not sure how good the meat was when the bags got opened…. I’m sure some do a great job, but let’s be honest here the more they leave on the bones/carcass the better the chances of getting bears, wolfs and wolverines on it and get your hunter an other animal that they usually have I coudes in there package! Anyway that is what I heard and saw over the years up here in the Yukon !
 
Under the floor in aircraft is a whole bunch of stuff you can’t have blood that congeals and dries seeping into. Much of the time you don’t need the bags, meat is dry enough, but if it’s fresh they’ll survive the short flight bagged up to save the airframe, blood is also good at initiating corrosion.
 
Ardent said:
Under the floor in aircraft is a whole bunch of stuff you can’t have blood that congeals and dries seeping into. Much of the time you don’t need the bags, meat is dry enough, but if it’s fresh they’ll survive the short flight bagged up to save the airframe, blood is also good at initiating corrosion.
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Correct. Used to do similar when the only vehicle I had for hunting was the family SUV. None of the meat was wasted. - dan
 
I have hunted all over the world. I have eaten every animal I have hunted but obviously couldn't consume the whole thing on these short 10-21 day hunts.

I have pictures, friends, STORIES and memories and scars from all over the world. I also have game heads from all over the world. I am a life member of WSF and life member of the Alberta WSF. I am a member of SCI. I have never put a tape measure on an animals horns but that doesn't mean I wont some day when I finish my world slam.

I suppose I would be considered a serious trophy hunter but to me the experiences are the trophy. A rams head on your wall is one memory of the trophy experience. 2 days ago I shot a wild pheasant and 2 woodcock with a fine 100yr old shotgun over a pointing dog in Southern Ontario with my 10 year old daughter right beside me. What a trophy experience that was. On my hunt in Nepal last year I shot a blue sheep ram on day 4 and then was back in Kathmandu 2 days later with a sunburn. I had another 14 days in country so I decided to fly to Lukla and walk to Mount Everest base camp by myself. Another trophy experience with a cool pic of me at base camp for my wall but I also breathed air most never breathe, met amazing people, prayed with Buddhist monks in Tengboche monastery and so forth. No-one was there watching me. I did it for me. This wouldn't have happened if I didn't go on a hunt for a ram.

Every hunter has his own motivations and his own ethic. I think these grow and change over time. I think Ardent summed it up well and poignantly.

Personally I don't really understand the people who are motivated by a tape measure but I am sure they have their own motivations and as long as what they are doing is fair chase and legal I think they should do what makes them happy. I also have no idea why a guy would want to shoot a fawn or spike buck "for meat". Again, I don't care that guys do it but it doesn't connect with me or the reasons why I do what I do. I like to climb big mountains, ride horses and sleep under tarps and shoot the oldest possible animals with good head gear...and birds. Some guys think paying the cost of a car to enjoy freezing your balls off for 3 weeks soaking wet is insane.....I love it. Best hunt I ever did was with famous AB sheep man Jo Guinn in Alberta for 21 days for Rocky Bighorn. It was my second bighorn hunt. I didn't shoot one but it doesn't matter to me. man oh man was it fun. I didn't shoot one on the first hunt either with a different outfit. One day when I finally get one I am sure it will be good but who knows, might be anti climactic....I wanted a trophy ram....passed up a couple legal young ones.....Does this make me bad? I don't think so. But who knows. During that hunt I wrote every night....I wrote the phrase down "to seek the ram is to find him". That phrase has stuck with me and might be the title of a book or article I do one day. Its true.

When I am old and my legs wont carry me up any more mountains to "trophy hunt" I plan to travel around in an Airstream like a ski bum with a bird dog or two and a few of my favorite old SXS shotguns and write stories and take pictures and drink beer and chase woodcock and chukars and grouse and quail all over Canada and the USA. Maybe take my kids to hunt plains game in wild Africa and let them hear the lions roar at night while sleeping in tents on the banks of the Zambezi. Or maybe I will just cook breakfast for my sons and their buddies at the duck camp and feel bad for them when they are hungover at 4am waking up to go freeze and nurse headaches (no-one has ever felt bad for me- I feel it would be a nice gesture). I know changes are coming one day with age and priorities and general life. I value experiences and the animals. This year I head back to the mountains to hunt a Desert Bighorn.



To address a couple points I read that were made.....

1--I have never seen an outfitter, especially in Africa or Asia, not use all parts of an animal (including ones we wouldn't touch here). I have eaten every animal I have hunted but obviously couldn't consume the whole thing on these short 10-21 day hunts.

2---Summer Caribou in BC on my Stone Sheep hunt in 2021 was the best meat I have ever had. *Disclaimer---we were pretty wet/hungry though*. We ground it up and made cast iron pan fried burgers with native style fry bread buns and fried onions and ketchup and cheese.

3---Mountain Goat and Zebra was the worst I have eaten.

4---I heard that Caribou can be gross after the rut. The area I shot my caribou in was closed for hunting Caribou the next year. I likely took the last legally harvested Caribou that will ever be taken there by a non resident.


Bottom line.....we are all trophy hunters with different trophies and should embrace the term and not allow it to be used as a derogatory term by people who have no clue what its all about. For some the meat is the trophy. For others the experience. For others a mount. Who gives a sheeit. Be happy. Be outside with a pretty gun in your hand.
 
I'm a trophy hunter, and the trophies can be horns and bones, or pictures, or simply memories of experiences...or wonderful meals. Because every hunt is also a meat hunt, I have shot plenty of animals that would be considered non-trophies, but the hunting experience was great and was its own trophy.

My local deer rifle hunt starts in a couple weeks; I have only one tag, good for any deer, and I want to end the season with meat in the freezer. So my perfect hunt will see me outside all day every day, looking for and hopefully finding a big buck, ideally in the last few days of the season. But it that doesn't happen, I will absolutely take a smaller buck or a doe in those waning hours. And, if a bruiser buck presents himself on the first morning, I will take him...I'm not nuts!...but I will begrudge the quickness of the hunt.

A few years ago, after a bad winter, we had no doe tags available. I sat through every day of the season, pretty much every legal hour of shooting light, and on virtually every day the same small spike buck walked right past me, or through the adjacent field. At first, I just enjoyed watching him visit, but as the season progressed, I began to look at him differently. He became so regular, so consistent every day, that when the season neared its end I continued to hold out for a big one. On the second-to-last day, when the little guy came by to say hi, I raised my rifle..and then lowered it. I felt lucky.

The next day, the final day of the season, I sat in my favourite stand and waited. The little guy...didn't show up. Neither did any other legal deer. I ended my season trudging home in the dark empty-handed.

The next morning, as my wife and I enjoyed an early morning coffee in the den, she looked up and said "Don't look outside!"

I looked outside; a beautiful mature buck with a wide, heavy rack was trotting purposefully up our driveway. He passed by the window, coming so close to the deck that I could have touched him with a rifle barrel if I was on the deck. My stomach churned a bit as I watched him round the corner of the house; when I went to the back door to watch him disappear into the field, I frowned a little...

Later that morning, I went out to my stand to bring back a few items that I had left out. I walked in the tracks the big buck had left. He had walked past my stand at a range of less than 50 yards.

So...I had no deer meat that season, which was a big disappointment that lasted much of the following year. But...the memory of that entire deer season is one of the best trophies I have ever collected. :)
 
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track said:
I'm a trophy hunter. If you read my signature line, I probably saved many lives of animals. I haven't shot a whitetail buck in the past 5 hunting seasons. Every year I pass-up 40 to 50 bucks while hunting. Antelope, mule deer and whitetail are the only trophies I persue. Meat never goes to waste and it's consumed by myself, family members and neighbours. To be honest, I hunt to hunt. I love being in the wilderness searching for Mr. Big, and if I don't find him, I'll try the following year, that simple.
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Totally agree.
 
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