Hunting

While I realize that people kill cows for food, I still don't want to be the one doing it.
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Michael: No disrespect, but you're what I call a "contract killer." The blood is on your hands all the same if you financially support any company that sells meat,cheese, butter, eggs, wool, down, leather, fur, etc. Do you feed those kittens? I'll bet there are meat products in the food.

Just because you didn't pull the trigger doesn't make you any less culpable. You know, when you hire a hit man to kill somebody else, the police still take you to jail.

If you're going to eat meat, you ought to be able to gather it yourself. Moreover, if you hone your hunting skills, you'll be giving that animal a more humane death than any slaughter house would provide. Are you familiar with how these places kill cows, pigs, and chickens?

That said, I totally agree with most here that hunting is more than killing. You gain so many appreciations--from the awe of nature to greater respect for the animal you're hunting. You also gain survival skills that are never worth losing.

Animals are animals. And while they all have their individual idiosyncracies, don't mistake these traits for human characteristics. That's called projection. We have the ability to reason, and along with it comes the responsibility of stewardship to the animal populations. One of these responsibilities involves maintaining populations such that they don't starve to death. That's why the Wildlife and Game Associations do so much more to protect animals than any misguided PETA soul.

The fact that you've "pondered" hunting tells me that you might really want to face this responsibility. Either way, you're still complicit in the death of animals in some way. Please don't be guilty of both projection and denial.

My two cents. YMMV.
 
Guyon I never said that I consider it morally objectiable or repugnant if anyone goes hunting. In fact, I am not putting down hunting.

All I am saying is that I am not sure that is what I want to do it.

I know people kill cows for beef. Does that mean I necessarily want to do it for fun? Not necessarily.

Perhaps you guys are right. I haven't done it so I really don't know.

I think our difficulty is that if we (my wife or I) shot a duck I don't think we would be happy to see the dead duck.

Guyon, if we had to hunt for food we would do it. That isn't the case though. It's for sport which is much different.

Once again, I am not putting down anyone that does hunt.

Michael
 
Hey Micheal...

I understand your viewpoint even though I don't necessarily share it. You're right; there is more immediacy to an animal's death when you pull the trigger. And in this world of highly compartmentalized specialization, that immediacy is something that few meat-eaters have to face. Many of them don't really want to. And they subtly repress the fact that they support deaths to animals far more cruel than a well-placed hunting round.

We live in an age that has gotten away from basic traditional skills. Many people in this country, left to their own devices, wouldn't know how to grow food, hunt, build shelter, start a fire from scratch, etc. And while science and technology march us toward increasing specialization, it's a shame that people don't get to connect to the world in a more basic, honest manner. I'm not talking about the world of cocktail parties, Christmas bonuses, and politics. I mean the more important world where trees move rhythmically, the wind blows its message through the leaves, and all God's creatures participate in nature's cycles.

Micheal, it isn't so much about sport for me, and I really think that most hunters don't kill out of some sort of bloodlust. It's about the total experience of engaging in nature in a way that harkens back to a more primitive, simple way of life. We live too fast in this world. And hunting is one way of slowing down to nature's pace. Along the way, you begin to see the wonder of nature's patterns, you respect the skills of the animals you hunt, and you have the satisfaction of knowing self sufficiency.

I don't have to hunt either. There's a corner market just down the street. But if I ever do HAVE to hunt, I know that I have those skills--from scouting, to stalking, to making the shot.

I am much the same in other aspects of my life. I am a "do it yourself" kind of person. Rather than bow to a society that says you call a specialist for a given job, I roll up my sleeves and learn to do it myself. Hunting is part of this attitude for me. Because I've done it, I know the skills are there if I need them. And that brings me peace of mind.

Well, this reply got long. Anyway, it's a decision you have to make for yourself. And I wish you the best in making it.
 
Those overpopulated deer are dangerous to the environment and may kill innocent children when they wander in front of a minivan.

When one hunts one finds a pathway to a more primal existence

After about 3 hours of still hunting and seeing nothing, you can convince youself that there a better things you could be doing.

Then you hear a twing snap & 110 percent of you being is concentrated on your local patch of the cosmos. What do i see? IS that movement a leaf twisting or a deer? Can i hear something else? did i imagine that sound? Can i smell deer?

I have a hard time getting buck fever at the grocery store.
In the field, the adreniline kicks in and you get really intense when mr. food source saunters by.
 
Drunk Hunters

What about the danger of drunk hunters?

I have heard several stories lately of people who nearly got shot because there were drunk hunters shooting wildly.

Michael
 
"What about the danger of drunk hunters? "

I believe the dangers from drunk drivers are a greater risk. Hunting can be very safe if you follow the rules.

If hunting is not fun and/or satisfying, don't do it. If you don't know whether you could/would or not, you might try it. Bring a camera, too. If you decide you don't want to kill, you can at least get a good picture or two. I know several hunters who "camera safari" as hunting season approaches. That's how they scout the territory and decide where to hunt. And polish up their skills.
 
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