your first kill: how difficult was it for you?

I too am new to hunting, and was raised to think that killing animals was bad.I spent my whole childhood and adolescence thinking it would be disgraceful to shoot an animal, then one day I realized just how hypocritical and backwards that was. Here's the thought that made up my mind to start hunting...

It is my belief that if you eat meat, and I mean everyone who eats meat, it is your duty to hunt at least once. In these modern times, we sit back and stuff our faces with all sorts of processed meat harvested from animals that lived terrible lives in terrible conditions. Those animals suffer their whole lives through. That, to me, is much worse than the time it takes an animal to die from a clean shot. We let faceless factories and machines raise, feed, kill and cut our meat. In many ways, I believe that is just part of the advancement of man's technology, and that's ok I suppose. However, if I am to support that, I feel that at some point I too must get my hands bloody.

I feel that we, as a society, have lost touch with what it is to consume meat. We have such convenience in our day to day meat eating, that we disgrace the animals which nourish our bodies by not respecting their lives and deaths. To overcome this, I think everyone should kill, dress, and eat at least one animal in order to understand our instinctive desire to eat meat.

It is our nature to hunt. None of us would be here today if our ancestors had not killed many animals.
 
meat harvested from animals that lived terrible lives in terrible conditions
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Not so true, my cows are happy cows. Happy cows taste better, the public doesnt get to taste my happy cows, only a select few. They are hand fed, massaged every day and fed the finest grains and alfalfa :)

California cows are happy cows too, I saw it on TV :)

Pigs dont care where they are as long as food is there too.

What is so terrible about farm life? Come on out and we will show you how it is done, then maybe you will have a better understanding of what you eat.

Then we can go behind the hill and shoot a lot of guns just like last Sunday :)

Cows like to hear gun fire, it makes them happy.
 
^^^ Yeah, I don't think that all farm raised animals are tortured or anything. I was referring to what the average American eats everyday (specifically from fast food and such).

There's plenty of happy livestock out there, but I can guarantee that your average soontobeabigmac cow didn't lead a happy existence.
 
Every time I harvest an animal, I give thanks to Christ Jesus. I thank Him for the safe hunt, the experience of the hunt, the beautiful animal, and for providing food for my family.

If I don't happen to tag an animal I still thank Him for allowing me to spend time observing the awesome creation that He has placed around me.
 
(BH), I've seen chicken "factories" and plenty of feedlots full of dairy cows, beef cattle and hogs.

Now, if you can persuade me that those critters can suffer from boredom, okay. Otherwise? They're just like a lot of welfare folks: Well-fed on somebody else's money. Actually, they're probably better off, since they don't have to worry on any daily basis about predators.
 
plants are alive

It's funny how we kill something of every minute everyday. Your white blood
cells are killing some bacteria/virus/etc. in your body every time you breathe. No body cries over the vegetables we eat when they were once a part of a living thing. How about the bugs you step on that probably didn't 'deserve' to be squashed into jelly - and I bet you don't eat it! BUT animals??? Because some are cute and cuddly, it must be forbidden taboo to eat their flesh. What a load of steamin cow patties!

I guess all the self-imposed better-than-you celebrities and political 'leaders', disneyland and especially the newer poopoo cartoons our kids watch about saving this and that in the world has sculpted our psyches into a shrub-loving commune living utopia:barf:. And don't forget 'nature' can kill you in return - No wonder idiots get killed by trying to live with bears and I have no shame in saying I'm happy the bears were able to cull some of the modern human herd.;)

Maybe all this boils down to is a selfish backlash for the realization that everyone and everything is going to die some day and if you don't 'hurt' anything you'll somehow be passed up when you ticket's about to be punched:barf: Whatever. It's the circle of life and death and we all are a part of the cast.

GO HUNT and kill whatever prey you are pursuing, just be thorough about preparation and follow up until it hits your taste buds. You will be overly satisfied with your accomplishment. There is no shame in it and if I were a betting man you'll be at it again next season!

Good Luck and Good Hunting to everyone!:):cool:
 
(BH): I too am new to hunting, and was raised to think that killing animals was bad.I spent my whole childhood and adolescence thinking it would be disgraceful to shoot an animal, then one day I realized just how hypocritical and backwards that was. Here's the thought that made up my mind to start hunting...
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Almost the same story here. My aunt had a husband who was sorry. Neglected his family to hunt etc (they divorced). She naturally had a negative opinion of hunting and spending time around here made that kind of rub off on me up until I was about 10. My mom is also what you would call an animal lover. Not a tree hugger by any means, she enjoys a good steak medium rare every now and then, but she's got horses and tries to rescue every baby animal in distress that she comes across.

Growing up I had a lot of friends who hunted and, even though I wanted to go, I never asked them if I could tag along. So I ended up now where the only "hunting" I do is shooting coyotes off my back porch or going out in the pasture with my rifle when they start to get loud at night to see if I can get one. I don't have to rationalize it at all but I have plenty of rational reasons for killing coyotes like protecting our old sick horse, mom's yappy little dog, keeping them out of the *!^$&%# trash which I do NOT enjoy picking up.

This year I'm trying to get my hunting license (I keep getting scheduled for work on the same days I have the class :mad:) so I can go deer and hog hunting this season. The fact that I want to hunt and that both of them can be quite tasty is good enough reason for me.
 
Other than all the junk birds that I shot with my BB gun from the age of 9...I shot a squirrel with an old 16 gauge SxS that my grandfather gave me when I was 12. I think that thing kicks harder than my 12 gauges. Didn't bother me at all.

I am just as happy sitting in a tree stand watching deer walk around in the woods as I am slipping an arrow behind their shoulder.
 
(BH), I've seen chicken "factories" and plenty of feedlots full of dairy cows, beef cattle and hogs.

Now, if you can persuade me that those critters can suffer from boredom, okay. Otherwise? They're just like a lot of welfare folks: Well-fed on somebody else's money. Actually, they're probably better off, since they don't have to worry on any daily basis about predators.
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I don't know, that life seems pretty lame. All of the big farms that I've seen have appeared pretty overcrowded and not one of the animals looked as healthy or well cared for as the livestock I've seen on privately owned farms.
I'm just saying that I don't think those animals are living as good of lives as your average whitetail or wild hog, and I'd just assume know that an animal lived a good life before I killed and ate it. That's all.

I'm not trying to speak out against these places. I know that's just the way things are. If we want to be able to go to the store and pick up some meat, we need to be raising and killing some farm animals in high volume with high efficiency.

I still think it is very interesting how many meat eaters are against hunting.
 
My son took his first deer this past weekend, being only 6 I don't really think he was/is able to reflect on what he's accomplished/done.

By the time I'd killed my first deer, I'd harvested dozens and dozens of rabbits, squirrels, and a few turkey. I was 16 and had been hunting deer of 4 or 5 years...Needless to say I was happy to finally get past that first deer.


As for the farm thing, a good friend of mine own a dairy farm 2xx cattle that couldn't be happier. When it comes to farming the animals really aren't any different than any other crop.
 
I'll be going on my first hunt in November. I'm looking forward to it, and I'm also curious as to whether or not I'll actually be able to pull the trigger. I think I'll be able to, frankly, because I've spent a lot of time and money (mostly time) getting this all set up, and it better be worth my while.

Plus, I want deer in my freezer.
 
gaseousclay said:
thanks for sharing. I was unsure of what steps to take should the animal not die quickly (ie. head shot or heart shot). I know it'll more than likely be difficult for me my first time out, but i'm also in the frame of mind that hunting doesn't mean I have to actually shoot something either.
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One thing I forgot to mention - be careful approaching downed deer sized or larger game. They can inflict some dangerous injuries if you get close or touch them if they aren't dead.

Typically, their eyes should be open, be extra wary if their eyes are closed. If you aren't sure if they are dead, poke (lightly) the eyes with a stick or branch from several feet away, in most cases, the animal will blink if it has enough life left to be a threat.

Also, while I did mention head shots to dispatch an animal, if using a rifle with a scope you need to be far enough away to be sure that you will score a hit. Most scoped rifles will be several inches off at very close range (0-10ft). Also, be aware that while head shots are effective, they also result in devastating wounds that can be really nasty to look at, as well as ruining the trophy if you choose have it mounted.

If you wound an animal (and you will, we all have), the most important thing is to not lose sight of where it was when you shot. Wait thirty minutes after the shot, trying to keep the spot on the ground where the animal was standing in mind. Walk over and mark that spot. If you aren't experienced in tracking, and have others in your group, go get them (after marking the spot where you shot the animal).
 
I never enjoy killing an animal.

However, I do take pride in going to great lengths to ensure I make good, clean kills. I spend a great deal of time making sure I know I can make the needed shot, before my finger comes close to the trigger.

This year, I let myself (and the animal) down. My first doe on this year's Antelope hunt blinked when I used what I call the "African" method of the eye-poke. Instead of a stick, as Dr. Strangelove suggests:
If you aren't sure if they are dead, poke (lightly) the eyes with a stick or branch from several feet away, in most cases, the animal will blink if it has enough life left to be a threat.
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I use the muzzle of my rifle; ready to fire the shot, if needed.

However, I have always seen a flight response in animals other hunters had done this too, if they responded to the poke. They always thrashed, or tried to get up. This was the first time I had ever seen just the eyelids respond. She didn't seem to be much of a threat. So, I checked her vitals. There was no pulse and no apparent breathing. But I couldn't start cutting on her, wondering if she was still alive.

As much as I hated doing it... I pulled my knife out, and slit her throat to the bone. She was probably already dead*, as I got no hint of an exhale, and there was no blood actually pumped from her arteries.
But... when I have to do things like that, it makes me wonder how many hunters wouldn't, or couldn't. It really is a different world, launching a projectile from a rifle. It 'insulates' the hunter against the death. Actually looking the animal in the eye, as you deliver the killing blow with your own hands, is a world all its own. Which, I suspect, is why many hunters talk about "putting another one into it", once they see the animal is still alive - even at point-blank range.

Every kill I make is a little more motivation to make sure I keep my promise to myself: One shot; one kill.

*Massive trauma to the central nervous system can cause twitching, and certain reflexes to still be active, when the animal is dead. Even after that doe was dead, she continued to twitch for at least 45 minutes. My second doe was a head shot. That second doe's twitching was less pronounced (no major movement), but was extremely wide-spread (nearly every muscle in the body was quivering). And, even after being dead for over an hour, the eyelid reflex was still active.
 
My family kept hogs and cattle growing up, and my first kills were of groundhogs in the pasture. Never had a problem eliminating them, as they burrow large holes that cause problems for the cattle. When I got old enough to start slaughtering the livestock, I started having problems. The large hogs were shot in the forehead with a .22 ( or in some cases hit with a large hammer) to knock them unconcious and then were killed by cutting the throats.

Close up work like that on an animals that are hand raised and only a step or two down in relationship from a family pet can be hard. Quick, humane kills of game animals, to me, are much easier.
 
I use the muzzle of my rifle; ready to fire the shot, if needed.
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Having done this with a .243 WIN when I was a teen-ager... I would not recomend it..... blood and brains EVERYWHERE. Maybe if you carry a small calliber pistol, it would not make such a mess..... but with a hi-powered rifle, the skull can literally explode.....
 
You sure grabbed the testicles on this one!

You sent me back to 1966, EyeCorps, lots of grass to hide in. And I survived by killing. But that's not what you meant, I figured out. The first kill I ever saw was a sparrow, downed by some boys from "the wrong side of the tracks" in my home town. As it lay there on the ground, those boys emptied their b-b-guns into it. I had to run home and ask my parents, "Why?" I hated guns until Basic training and VietNam did a good job on converting me. Now I love guns and what they can do in the right hands. A gun is a tool, I am a workman, and not a pacifist.
 
practice

what ever you do make sure that you understand that hunting is not like going to the store for meat, things can go wrong no matter how ready you think you are and animals some times suffer as a result. its happened to me and im sure its happened to alot of the other guys out there, if your human this should bother you as it bothers me. i love all that nature is and i pray i never wound another animal.

my advice is try as hard as you can to NOT take the unethical shot, consume what you harvest and forgive yourself as much as you can if thing do go wrong.
 
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