Something that will no doubt spark controversy....
 

As its a huge sport in North America and I haven't seen any discussion about it here I thought I would venture into the world of hunting.

It wasn't something that I was in the slightest bit interested in or tbh educated about in the UK so was in the - oh its cruel to just hunt for sport camp.

Now being here in Canada in the boonies, hunting is quite possibly the biggest thing that guys (and girls) partake in between August and April (various seasons for differing types of animal and weapon.

I can see the attraction, and tbh all the guys I know that hunt are very respectful of their surroundings and the limitations on their tags and don't go (too far) beyond the boundries (ok so making your own gate through a hedge with an old farm truck whilst chasing a big whitetail may be something I may have - ahem - seen on an occasion!)

You apply to shoot your animals, you don't just grab a gun and randomly blast away, you do not get 'drawn' for everything you apply for - sometimes it takes years to get drawn for something like a big horn sheep.

So this limits what is shot and keeps the population down which in turn makes for healthy herds in the future.

What are your thoughts on the subject, have any of you ever hunted proper as opposed to taking pot shots at gophers and suchlike, and would it be something that you would consider having a go at.

My personal stance is its exciting, takes a lot of skill and next year will be applying for my own tags if I am practised enough to take a deer with one shot - am currently practising with a bow too.

Re: Something that will no doubt spark controversy....
 

I have never done it and I can't see the appeal. Shooting animals not for food and with massive advantages for the hunter seems a little wimpy to me. Animals can't shoot back.

Now, if all the hunters were placed in an area and told to hunt each other....:thumbsup:

Each to their own I guess

Re: Something that will no doubt spark controversy....
 

Actually you will find that the hunters are normally drawn for doe / cow tags and in some states in the US you have to take a doe before you are allowed a buck. The female meat is by far and away the more tender and you will find most hunters freezers stocked with what they have shot. So they do eat what they shoot.

Also remember not everyone fills there tags, most hunters will pass up on something that is too young rather than kill for the sake of it, some are not lucky enough to even find what they are drawn for, I've also seen people use their tags on injured or wounded animals so that they don't die a slow painful death, rather than let it go so they can get their "trophy".

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I followed the hunt last year. I lack the nerve, skills and degree of commitment required to participate.

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Not really........ that's what they tell you

it does take a bit practise, but beyond that ?

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definition of skill

great ability or proficiency; expertness that comes from training, practice, etc.


Takes a lot of practice to do it properly, and not just from what i've been told, from what i've seen too. :thumbup:

Re: Something that will no doubt spark controversy....
 

All noted. I guess I should have said that I can see the point if it's for the food and the hunter lives miles from a store. I can't see the point merely for the killing. If one wishes to demonstrate their prowess with a weapon, shoot targets (after all, isn't that what the live animal is?)

If they want to demonstrate manlihood, go face to face with a grizzly with a weapon, rather than shooting them with a high powered rifle from a perch up a tree.

If one wishes to show skill, guile and courage, join a mercenary unit in central Africa and put your skill, guile and courage to a real test.

I am sure it gives those that pursue such an activity a great deal of enjoyment. I am not a pacifist or a veggie I just don't see the point. Others, obviously, do. Each to their own;)

Re: Something that will no doubt spark controversy....
 

Good post!

I don't have a problem with hunting as long as it is, for the most part controlled which it is here. Personally, I do not wish to partake in it - would rather spend my time with other leisure activities.

Is it a sport? Yes I think it as. As you said, it takes a great deal of skill (and patience) to be good at it.

I am a huge animal lover but I do understand both sides of the argument.

My dad used to hunt when I was younger - used to think nothing of hanging the pheasants and rabbits in the shed where my bike was:eek:!!!

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Mmmm absolutely agree with your points really I do. I suppose though you could equate that reasoning to any sport that involves an animal - there are always 'alternatives'. Take horseracing - if its something fast between your legs you are after - then try motorbikes. :)

FWIW most grizzly hunts are not done from up a tree and some are done with bows and you have to be quite close to them to use that, its the black bears that tend to be hunted from stands.

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That's my point of view too - I just don't get it. Maybe if I was exposed to it, or chatting with people who explained it to me more (like MMC has done anyway in her thread) I might understand it better, but I still don't get it.

Re: Something that will no doubt spark controversy....
 

Wild venison tastes different from farmed venison and we pay a premium for the former. One might think it worth the bother of hunting for the better flavour.

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I have no axe to grind about the animal per se. If done properly, I am sure that there is little suffering to the animal. I just fail to see how the skill is demonstrated by the killing. If one accepts that killing the animal with a single shot is the epitome of the skill involved, one must assume that the animal was shot in the correct spot, ergo, why not shoot a target that will show the same.

If the "hunt", the stealth etc., is the skill, why shoot them from perches.

I have no real feelings one way or the other. I am glad that such activities enable truck driving, DPM loving people to feel good about themselves. Let's face it, there aren't many alternatives are there:rofl::p

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I enjoyed moose sausages for supper last night from an animal shot by one of my uncles-in-law last year. I have no desire to go shoot one myself (& moose hunting here is about trekking through the woods and across the bogs to hunt down your animal, shooting it, butchering it and hauling the carcass back out of the woods to take home.** This all sounds very much like hard work.) but have no problem in eating the fruits of someone else's labour.

** doubtless dbd33 will shortly come along with his 'shooting moose by the highway in NL story which I'm is true, just not the way my relatives do it.

Re: Something that will no doubt spark controversy....
 

I enjoyed moose sausages for supper last night from an animal shot by one of my uncles-in-law last year. I have no desire to go shoot one myself (& moose hunting here is about trekking through the woods and across the bogs to hunt down your animal, shooting it, butchering it and hauling the carcass back out of the woods to take home.** This all sounds very much like hard work.) but have no problem in eating the fruits of someone else's labour.

** doubtless dbd33 will shortly come along with his 'shooting moose by the highway in NL story which I'm is true, just not the way my relatives do it.

Hunting is one of those things taken for granted by country folk but which gets urbanites, particularly British urbanites all het up.

Re: Something that will no doubt spark controversy....
 

I eat enough deer and moose meat (hunted by others) so I should really, out of courtesy, start killing the things myself.

Guns seem too easy, so I'd like to learn how to hunt with a bow. However, spending all day following spoor might come second place, when compared to sitting up a tree drinking beer (while waiting for a passing deer to notice the pile of apples at the bottom of the tree).