The "I Don't Hunt" thread has had a peculiar effect on me. It's turned me around 100% on the subject of hunting.
I read the replies, checked out the recommended info, and I've been digesting it all over the last several days. I guess the "Maybe I'm wrong about hunting" thoughts have been quietly percolating in my head for a year or so, and the things I read lately just put it all into place for me. I have been educated with the facts, and the opinions. Hunting is a good thing. I am a convert.
To wit:
I have decided to go hunting. It's going to be a quasi-spiritual journey of self-dicovery. Or something. And fun, too!
As for what to hunt, I'm thinking "bird" for a number of reasons.
First, a big part of this for me is the 'hunt-to-eat' thing, and a bird seems like a manageable animal for a novice, in terms of the cleaning, gutting, and cooking, and culminating the experience with a single "ceremonial" meal. I'm not looking to end up with a freezer full of meat.
Second, my vegetarian wife has no moral compunction about eating a bird that lived a 'natural' life, although she says the thought of me with my hands in a bunch of animal guts is "gross". I think she'll change her mind when she smells it cooking!
She won't eat red meat, and I want to share something of this experience with her, so- birds.
Third, I like my shotgun! That's where my shooting experience is, and in my mind, birds and shotguns go together.
I live in Western North Carolina. What's a good bird for a beginner in this area, and what are the seasons for them? I'm thinking late Summer or in the Fall. Are we talking sit-and-wait-for-'em birds or walk-around-in-the-woods-'till-you-flush-one-out birds? And where does a guy who doesn't know anybody go to hunt?
Also, my shotgun. It's for home defense: Mossberg 500, 20" barrel, screw-in chokes, seven shot magazine, takes 3" shells.
Is the barrel length a factor? I don't want to buy another barrel for this 'experiment'.
Will the magazine have to be plugged? Does it depend on the type of bird?
Any other information you can give me to get me pointed in the right direction is greatly appreciated. I'll take recipe suggestions later.
-boing
[This message has been edited by boing (edited June 17, 1999).]
I read the replies, checked out the recommended info, and I've been digesting it all over the last several days. I guess the "Maybe I'm wrong about hunting" thoughts have been quietly percolating in my head for a year or so, and the things I read lately just put it all into place for me. I have been educated with the facts, and the opinions. Hunting is a good thing. I am a convert.
To wit:
I have decided to go hunting. It's going to be a quasi-spiritual journey of self-dicovery. Or something. And fun, too!
As for what to hunt, I'm thinking "bird" for a number of reasons.
First, a big part of this for me is the 'hunt-to-eat' thing, and a bird seems like a manageable animal for a novice, in terms of the cleaning, gutting, and cooking, and culminating the experience with a single "ceremonial" meal. I'm not looking to end up with a freezer full of meat.
Second, my vegetarian wife has no moral compunction about eating a bird that lived a 'natural' life, although she says the thought of me with my hands in a bunch of animal guts is "gross". I think she'll change her mind when she smells it cooking!
Third, I like my shotgun! That's where my shooting experience is, and in my mind, birds and shotguns go together.
I live in Western North Carolina. What's a good bird for a beginner in this area, and what are the seasons for them? I'm thinking late Summer or in the Fall. Are we talking sit-and-wait-for-'em birds or walk-around-in-the-woods-'till-you-flush-one-out birds? And where does a guy who doesn't know anybody go to hunt?
Also, my shotgun. It's for home defense: Mossberg 500, 20" barrel, screw-in chokes, seven shot magazine, takes 3" shells.
Is the barrel length a factor? I don't want to buy another barrel for this 'experiment'.
Will the magazine have to be plugged? Does it depend on the type of bird?
Any other information you can give me to get me pointed in the right direction is greatly appreciated. I'll take recipe suggestions later.
-boing
[This message has been edited by boing (edited June 17, 1999).]