who here doesn't hunt?

[IZinterrogator]

Deriding other forum members who don't hunt through your poll choices is childish. I don't hunt animals because I have to get up for work at 4 AM so I don't want to do it on my own time. But I don't have an issue with those who choose to hunt, just like I expect them to not have an issue with the fact that every long gun I have minus two was designed with killing humans first and foremost.

 

[Derius_T]

Sevens wrote:

Deer hunters: Please come to Ohio and take deer. A lot, a heap of them. Do it for the deer, do it for Ohio, and do it for Ohioans.

You'll be pleased to know that I do my part every year, health permitting.

That said, I DO NOT support the taking of animals strictly for sport. If the meat or other animal parts are utilized to feed, clothe, ect, then okay, but not hunting simply for the sake of a trophy.

If it weren't for hunting, my family would have starved to death and died out long before I was ever thought of, and with the price of beef today, its nice to know I can bring home a hundred pounds or so of fresh deer, elk, etc, for about a dollar.....

 

[Jermtheory]

Do we have that few midwesterners poking around in this thread?

Dead deer on the roads, highways and interstates in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Pennsylvania is, IMO, nearing an epidemic. A week ago, I traveled 215 miles south from Michigan to Central Ohio and counted 25 dead deer on the shoulder of the expressway, and that's simply on the southbound side. No idea how many on the other side, and away from the expressway.

Is it not that bad elsewhere? It's horrific here. Rotting, hit deer carcasses strewn up and down the highway.

Hunting is the answer. Either that or banish half the population and make it unlawful to develop any more land in this part of the country.

ive made a few trips in the fall from VA to northern OH and it was surreal to see all of the dead deer on the highway.most were just large blood spots...one after another.

it not uncommon to see them next to the road in the mountains of VA year round.but i had never seen anything like that,i thought i was in a Twilight Zone episode or something.

 

[rampage841512]

I do hunt, but I don't live for it.

 

[Wuchak]

My Father didn't hunt. My Grand-Father grew up in a tent on the shore of a lake on a reservation in nothern Canada where he had to hunt and trap to live. Once he came to the US he had no desire to hunt again. I just never had much interest in it or guns, although I always had pellet and bb guns, until about 2002. I decided to try deer hunting after getting into handguns so I bought a rifle (Marlin 335 in .35 Rem), got my NY hunting license in 2003, went out a few times with family members with no luck but I did enjoy it. Then moved to Kansas City in 2004 and never went again. I do think of going for squirrel or rabbit now and then.

 

[Don P]

Hunting?

I gave up hunting when I moved from Pa. in 1977. The only hunting I do for meat now is in the supermarket. No guting, cleaning, or smell and its even packaged real nice. Hunting is unfair. I have never seen a animal wild or domestic that ever carried a weapon so that the playing field would be a little more even. Boy that would suck if they could shoot back. Just my opinion. The only way that I see hunting as ok is if it is for food and not sport.

 

[Napahunter]

I live for the hunt!! i just went hunting last week, and if it wasn't so darn hot right now i'd be chasing more coyotes. I just don't see having long guns and not hunting with them. Big game is wonderful to hunt, most times you might "take your gun for a walk" but good times. I love pheasant and any other bird. Being out there and watching my dogs work, nothing like it. Also being in CA there is a lot of game to hunt here. you wouldn't think so but there is. Even my wife hunts, man i need to go hunting

 

[Jermtheory]

The only way that I see hunting as ok is if it is for food and not sport

i would also include the population control of destructive animals as acceptable...crops,livestock,endangering people,etc,etc.

i may even take pleasure in the hunt,but i wouldnt hunt purely for a trophy.i wouldnt feel right unless its serving a legitimate need/purpose.

 

[Harry Callahan]

I don't hunt. I don't enjoy killing things just for the "thrill" of it. Yet, somehow I think it would be easier for me to shoot a 2 legged animal than a 4 legged one. Of course, he would have to be threatening my family or me. Used to be I couldn't even watch hunting videos without being depressed for the animal. I don't have a problem with hunting as long as there is a good reason to kill. I just can't see killing an animal for it's head/horns, etc., and then leaving the rest of the body to rot. It's just not right. Never acquired a taste for venison either. Just give me a steak and I'm happy.

 

[22-rimfire]

I'm almost too busy to hunt much. My priorities have shifted away from hunting. As I get older, I hunt less, but remember how I lived to hunt. I loved it. I still like it. It is harder to hunt now for me than it used to be. There is always the question of where do I go and I and haven't done my homework properly. I believe in doing it right when I do it.

I fish more and shoot more. I used to dislike shooting targets (punching paper), now I love it. I enjoy fishing because I can do the catch and release thing and someone else who wants or needs the fish more than I can benefit from the resource. Fishing is all about the catch and not the food.

As a matter of fact, so is hunting. Hunting is about the quest and not about the kill. The kill often defines if you are successful in other people's eyes. Down deep, it still does for me. I wish I could practice catch and release with mammals.

 

[jneilson]

I hunt for meat. I've gotten a lot of bad meat from the store plus I have this primal urge for the hunt. Part of me does feel guilty about killing Mother Natures creatures, but I'm one of them too. Plus I could never be a vegatarian.

 

[Playboypenguin]

Sheesh, if these are the results you get asking this question on a gun forum just think what the general picture must look like when it comes to hunting nationwide.

It seems hunting is a quickly dying pastime. With fewer people hunting I am afraid it is going to become more and more essential to start reintroducing predators species into different enviroments.

PS: I will add that even though I no longer hunt I see a need for it and have no issue with it. Until it strays into trophy hunting and non-prey animal hunting. Then I have extreme issues with it.

PPS: For those that said they would like to but just don't know how...there is nothing to it. Just follow basic safety guidelines and learn a little about the terrain you will be hunting in and you will do fine. I hunted for many years and saw newbies get just as lucky as veterans. There is not really a whole lot of skill involved. So go try it.

 

[TheBluesMan]

Poll edited to kerreckt mispelingz and include capitalization.

Predator - Do you have a keyboard with a shift key or two?

 

[Danzig]

I don't hunt because in this day and age there is no need for most people to have to hunt for their food.

If the day comes when hunting is again necessary to put food on my table then I will hunt..

That's a good thing about firearms...they are a multifunction tool. One use is providing food..but there are others that are equally (if not more) important.

 

[Shane Tuttle]

I hunted a couple of times when I was just a boy. I hardly remember most of it.

My vote was "other". I don't currently hunt and I don't forsee myself partaking in it in the near future. My reasoning? I'm sure that there's "nuthin' to it". However, there's too many things I don't know about hunting:

1. Skills of tracking...
2. Correct shot placements at various angles...
3. Knowledge base of species. For instance; I may end up accidentally shooting a brown bear when I've should have known it's a black bear...
4. Equipment/gear for hunting. I have NONE. No treestand, orange clothing, etc...
5. It's shotgun slug or bow only in my area. MUCH prefer centerfire rifle...
6. Hunting ettiquette...
7. Field dressing...


There are many others I'm sure. The point is that I really don't have anybody that I trust and is also willing to take a rookie to hunt.

I think I just don't have any business hunting if I don't know what the heck I'm doing. I see it as reckless and potentially dangerous to others as well as the potential prey...

 

[357 Python]

I used to hunt but don't have the time or the place to anymore. When I got started folks in my area folks were doing what they called "sound shooting". They would shoot at whatever sound they heard. That and a friend of an uncle stopped me from continuing. This uncle's friend was no hunter in my opinion but more like a poacher for the lack of a more descriptive word. He was the type that if he did not kill something hunting and saw a cow or horse in a field on his way home he would shoot it. The one time I went with them I told him my job at the time (armed security officer, state approved firearms instructor) and would not put up with that crap. He told me that accidents do happen in the field. He was informed by my uncle that I shoot back. Needless to say that was the first and last time I went with them.

 

[huchahuchax]

Simply put - I'm too lazy. I could shoot a wild animal, and have no problem doing it, but I am sure that I would waste the meat. Prepping and cooking my kills? No thanks, I'd rather go to McDonalds.

 

[4thPointofContact]

I don't hunt.

No ethical or moral reason why not, I don't mind if others do it and I encourage their enjoyment. I just haven't gotten into it.

 

[Bud Helms]

I haven't hunted in nearly 10 years. Several reasons, some of which have nothing to do with hunting.

My father started me hunting and fishing. I am grateful for his time taking a young boy into that world and show me the immediate benefits of discipline, patience, skill and ethics. I took those principles to my everyday life without even realizing it.

I notice that places to hunt have become scarcer. Wildlife management varies a great deal from state to state. At times, the emphasis seems more and more on management, rather than welfare of the wildlife. Wildlife managers see hunters as a one item in their box of tools. I'm good with that as long as the welfare of the herd is paramount.

The last hunting lease of which I was a part was comprised mainly of bench shooters that were experienced hunters. It was a very pleasant experience.

It is interesting to read some of the assumptions about hunting in this thread. Killing an animal for rack or pelt and leaving the rest to rot has been illegal for most, if not all species, in every state now for quite some time. How the idea has survived that hunters routinely do this, I have no idea.

In short, I haven't hunted in several years, but I consider myself a hunter.

PS: I have made several trips into the woods with a camera ... lots of fun and very satisfying. I will do that again.

Good topic. Good thread.

 

[CPTMurdoc30]

I do not hunt deer or anything like that YET.

I am more of a varmint and predator hunter. I have not had a chance to do much here in VA it is very hard to find a place to hunt. Most people don't want you to shoot there ground hogs.