What is Hunting?

Status
Not open for further replies.
If you sit in a stand over a food plot, that is "deer waiting" - if you're hoofing it after them in pursuit without the aid of bait, call, dogs, stands, then you are actively "hunting the game", no matter what it is.

It is not a question of legality, for here in the East, deer waiting is popular and legal; however, having lived out West in Colorado and Nevada, "fair chase" is the name of the game - not only are food plots illegal, parking your butt in a ground blind at a waterhole is as well
 
Pretty much sums it up....
I just believe there is a difference between hunting and harvesting. There is nothing wrong with either method.
Terrain, weather, pressure, available area to hunt, urban or wilderness, tradition, weapon, species......all have an impact on what method is used, if its legal its legal, to each their own.
 
Got some Questions!

For those of you that feel stalking game is hunting and the rest is harvesting, please(honestly) explain your technique's when you turkey hunt.

Do you stalk your turkey right up to the kill or do you get as close to your turkey as you can, sit down and call your bird to you?
Do you roost your bird the night before, get as close to him in the morning, sit a call him to you?
Do you ever sit up on turkey's around their known strut zone's or a clover field or any other known turkey food source predominant to your area?
Ever use that sexy hen decoy,sit, call and wait?


What about coyote hunting?

Do you ever sit and call?
Ever use electronic callers?
Do you use any kind of decoy while sitting and waiting?

having lived out West in Colorado and Nevada "fair chase" is the name of the game...

Some people may ask, "is it 'fair chase' to hunt with a rifle capable of shooting accurately out to say 800yds"? Not uncommon to find out West, no.

Some may say shooting at game out 300-800yds is not hunting at all, just harvesting.
 
Last edited:
A common tactic in Texas

is to sit in an enclosed, elevated box blind about 50 to 100 yards away from a corn filled feeder, waiting for the battery powered feeder to go off. The feeder has a kind of "alarm clock" that goes off at whatever time the "hunter" desires. Instead of setting off an alarm, it sets off a spinner mechanism that throws out a serving of corn kernels. The deer are "habituated" to the sound of the feeder activating, and come trotting out of the cover and into the open. Think Pavlov's dogs, salivating for food when they hear a bell ring.

The end result is "deer shooting".

OF course, after the first 15 to 30 minutes after the feeder has activated, the initial group of deer have eaten and left the scene. Then, for a couple of hours, a few deer trickle in, and it is always suspenseful to see what will show up, over time.

So, don't expect Texans to go through all that stuff about scouting for sign (rubs, scrapes, tracks, etc.), locating feeding areas, bedding areas, trails connecting them, and likely stand sites. All we need to know is how to open a 50 lb. bag of corn, and how to replace the battery on the feeder.:D

UNLESS you intend to hunt public land. Then - no feeders:eek:, no bait on the ground:eek: No box blinds:eek: Portable tree stands cannot be in place more than 48 hours, and cannot be nailed to a tree, etc., etc., etc.:D

In short, you have to HUNT public land in Texas;)
 
Last edited:
hunting from a blind or tree stand takes skill too. sitting perfectly still is hard, but you have to study the movement of the game and play the wind or you will turn up empty handed. No matter how its done (except game farms) its still hunting. I have tried a few different methods ( other than bait, its illegal in my parts) and each has its own challenges and advantages. in my mind taking something from the land is harvesting. but its the pursuit that makes it hunting, be it ambush (tree stand) stalking or chasing.
 
The end result is "deer shooting".

Why hunt harder when you can hunt smarter? Of course, that is why most of us hunt with firearms and not pointy rocks.

having lived out West in Colorado and Nevada, "fair chase" is the name of the game - not only are food plots illegal, parking your butt in a ground blind at a waterhole is as well

http://www.ndow.org/law/regs/huntregs/huntbook/index.shtm
Interesting as apparently it is legal to use blinds and to patiently wait near water for mountain lions in Nevada. You cannot camp within 100 yards of a water hole, but you can set up blinds near water. I see no restrictions on the use of blinds near water for hunting deer.

I see no such restrictions in Colorado concerning blinds and water. You can't use bait, but I don't see where it says you can't hunt near a food plot.
http://wildlife.state.co.us/NR/rdonlyres/393CEE85-2EA3-48B9-9480-7EDC2166361B/0/biggame.pdf
 
Usually, on opening weekend, almost anywhere in California, hunting is akin to drive hunting. The exception is that most of the hunters are not your buddies. I got up on top of Monitor Pass one opening morning before daylight and waited for sunrise. When it got light, I swear I could see at least 50 hunters in orange trying to hunt the bowl area. I went back to my truck, drove back to camp, and fished for that weekend!!!!!
 
But in the end, it's all an exercise in semantics,,,

I mean my nephew gets 3 deer a year,,,
Each and every year.

The only problem I have with his harvesting,,,
Is him always bragging about being a "great & mighty hunter".

But, in the grand scheme of things,,,
What does it matter what word is used?.

It's like they feel it lessens them or their group,,,
If I use the same word they use to describe themselves,,,
And for some reason I don't meet the standards they associate with the term.

I used to be a "hunter",,,
I got up way early and stalked the woods,,,
When I was skilled (lucky?) enough to spot a deer,,,
I felt a great sense of pride when I took my game that way.

I don't like my nephew using the same term I applied to myself,,,
He belongs to a "lesser" category of hunting than I do.

In the long run it's very silly of me to think that way.

It's like when some IPSC people can't stand that I call myself a target shooter,,,
They say that since I don't ever participate in formal competitions,,,
I'm not a target shooter, but merely a plinker.

And it only becomes a problem for me,,,
When I don't like being excluded from the "group".

But in the long run,,,
Who cares. :p

I hate it when it turns out,,,
That I am the intolerant person. :o

.
 
I would say the pursuit that some feel is required for it to be hunting happens long before the season, when I am scouting locations, learning about the effects of wind in a chosen location, and creating cover. I probably walk hundreds of miles doing this stuff before the season starts, so my pursuit is done in advance of my climbing into my stand, as opposed to someone who doesn’t hit the woods until they can legally take an animal (weekend warriors).
 
jephthai, find a speaker phone and call your state DNR. Ask them to define hunting. Tell them what you do and tell them that someone says you are not a hunter and therefore do not need a hunting license. My guess is that the DNR will tell you that you are a hunter and need license.


Now, if we want to classify hunting in terms of skills.
1. Sitting at a computer, using remote control to pull the trigger on a gun, requires the least amount of hunting skills.
2. Then stand/blind hunting.
3. Then stalking.

I have done #2 and #3. I would like to be able to do #1. If just once.
 
Stand hunting is boring and takes a lot of time, which I just dont have. I stalk my game with the exception of upland birds. Nothing finer than sneaking up on a animal, seeing its reaction to your being there and the final act. Then lets eat :) I especially love turkeys, they open their eyes in surprise, beaks open wings go back, then the shot. It is a bit harder to do it this way so most guys put up a stand and wait around........ or they watch TV shows, get the latest anti smell cloths, soap, boots............ :)
 
Give me a break

It will never cease to amaze me how some people must push others down to lift themselves up.

Does stalking and shooting an animal make you a better person? Can you puff your chest and cry that you're more primal? Does it make your bollocks bigger? Does it make the meat taste better?

If I enter the woods with the intent of killing an animal, I am hunting. Whether I sit in a stand all day waiting, or chase the thing down with a sharpened stick.
IT'S ALL HUNTING

Please, get over youselves:barf:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top