Eli Cash wrote:
So this is not supported by the "culling the herd" environmental need…I assume…
Incorrect assumption. In many east coast areas they have a real problem with deer in suburban areas. From time to time it even makes national news that some township has hired professional hunters to shoot deer in town due to too many car accidents or other incidents involving the animals.
In many parts of the country there is a serious problem with over population of feral pigs. They can't kill them fast enough and these critters are doing serious harm to the ecosystem.
Now on to some of your other points.
For the last 20 years my deer hunting has been in the Angeles and San Bernadino National Forests. For the last 12 years I have been allowed to hunt from a friends property in the SBNF. I am hunting in zones that have less than a 5% success rate as posted by CDFG. There is no "easy to slaughter bambi" hunting in these areas. I have seen deer wander through the property year round, but when season comes around they become scarce.
I have seen quite a few hunters that seem to have a reading comprehension problem. They can't seem to read the No Trespassing Signs posted around the property. It took me a few seasons the get these folks to understand that they were not welcome. Armed with a 30-06 and 357 (my usual hunting compliment), I have confronted several reading impaired armed individuals and explained to them their need to leave. I have not needed to escalate the situation to the point of deadly force. I know they can hurt me and they know I can hurt them.
You stated something to the order of that you would like to pop a few 9mm rounds off over the hunters heads. Well I will tell you that it is a good thing that you haven't. If I have someone cracking rounds off at me I know what the final result will be and it won't be pretty. Chances are better than even money that done to other folks the result will be the same. Only a fool would invite deadly force to be visited on them by doing what you suggested. I lay 1000-1 odds against your surviving such nonsense.
As to handgun hunters, people who choose to use hand guns (which many of them use single shot guns like a TC) do so due to the challenge. Quite frankly, most if not all of these folks are up to the challenge. Not only are they good shots, but they also chose their shots better than many and will pass up shots that are marginal or too far. As to another posters comment about 200 yard shots with a 357; he is correct. Several friends and I have done shooting games involving 2 liter soda bottles at 150-250 yards at differing elevations with our 357 revolvers. Use a scoped TC with the more powerful rounds and 200 yards is no problem.
I don't care for trophy hunting. But as long as the trophy hunters do it within the confines of the regulations of where they are hunting I have no quarrel with them.
I do not tolerate poachers and I also do not tolerate hypocrites. I once had a guy giving me lip about killing Bambi while he was chewing on a cheese burger. I informed him that I do not have a problem killing my dinner. I've also had the pleasure of having several vegetarians giving my guff about killing animals for their flesh. I happily pointed out to them that the animal I was eating could possibly be the same animal that gave its life for their Birkenstocks (TM). I happen to know quite a few vegetarians and I respect their choice. Respect does not mean we agree but it does mean that our disagreements remain civil. It is hard to be a true vegan as it requires that a person forgo all animal derived goods.
And most of us here do not have jobs that
require that we spend 70+ days in the field across several states. With zone season overlap I have a six week window to get any deer hunting in. Within that six weeks, I have to schedule my time off so I can get real time in the field and not just play weekend warrior. Unfortunately so do an awful lot of hunters.