Hunting, what's your take on it?

I was flipping through the channels the other day and I came across a hunting show. Now I'm a city boy (Lynn to be exact) so I've never been hunting. These two hics were looking at the absolutely gorgeous bear. I mean this thing was in it's prime, and these two clowns were stalking it. Then they start whispering things like, oh yeah, go for the chest. Then the guy shot him. I was horrified and honestly quite disgusted by the whole thing. Now, I'm no animal lover. I hate dogs, cats, fish anything like that. But this is freakin nature!! The way these guys grabbed a hold of the poor things head and were so "proud" of thier accomplishment.
I know some people may say that if people didn't hunt then we would be over-run with all kinds of animals. But does anyone think that maybe WE'RE the ones doing the over-running?
I'm not trying to make this an argument. I'm a firm believer in "Live and let live", even if you do enjoy taking to killing innocent animals.
And before anyone asks, yes I wear leather, yes I eat animals, no I'm not some kind of tree-hugger. I'm just trying to understand the logic behind it all.

Sol, as far as the "logic" of hunting goes, I'll give you my philosophy... Which is more in line with the Native Americans .We are animals ourselves, and as such, share the earth together... So, all life is to be celebrated and respected. Killing animals has always been necessary for survival; and sorry to bum out the vegetarians, but it always will be. We're omnivores! That's not gonna change.
When I've had to take an animal's life, I take it seriously! That animal's life, to me, is no less important than my own! I should show deep respect that its' life has ensured my survival. The Sioux Indians would actually kneel and pray over a buffalo in total silence for several hours after a kill to pay homage to its life.
I don't think anyone should "enjoy" killing. Maybe that's what horrified you about watching the show... I don't know.
I will say this, though... The statement you made about not liking animals and then being horrified when you witnessed the killing of one definitely tells me why you can't wrap your brain around hunting. I can see that you have respect for life because you were bothered by what you witnessed. That's a great thing! Now if you can get to the next step; which is to develop a relationship with and "love" all of nature; then you'll have a better understanding.

I respect bees! Listen, when I'm outnumbered like 500 to 1, I have ALOT OF RESPECT!!!

Hunting makes people give me venison. Herego..... I'm for hunting. I just won't do it myself. lol

Runs with Bees is the best. :)

Runs with Bees has spoken! " Get off white ass... Hug tree... kiss big bear... and pray you not get face ripped off!"

I guess I'd have to say that if I shot something I'd feel guilty, but that's ridiculous, because somebody had to kill the chicken I ate last night, and the hog that provided my bacon this morning.
We go to the store and buy these things and never even consider them as living things, only as food.

I'm not a hunter, but I am an avid fisherman. I catch and release most of my fish, and I eat the rest, especially trout or salmon.

Killing for fun or for showing how manly you are, doesn't make it for me, but if you're feeding yourself or your family that's cool.

When I lived in the lakes region of NH I often saw people drinking and hunting. That scared the hell out of me. Some dumb bastard with a Budwieser in one hand and a rifle in the other...often walking right through my backyard... I'm not for that kind of hunting.

??WTF?

WTFWTFWTFWTF?????

Plus shooting a hole in a stall is easier than drilling, right Matt?

OMG KENNY. you beat me!!!!

Nobody tell me what happens to veal-

I don't want to know-

it's too delicious

Shouldn't Al be "Runs FROM Bees"?

I've made bear stew and its good by the way- a woman in my office killed one and brought me some meat- (big milhouse fan if that explains anything)

I reckon you wouldn't want a little one, but bear is good- I'm not sure the scavenger diet is a bad one- lobsters are crap eaters and they're delicious

I just know I wouldn't have the patience to sit in a tree all day waiting for something to walk by to shoot it like hunters do- I love the idea of it, but I know I would suck at hunting-

If you haven't had moose you should it hauls ass

Moose hauls ass indeed!
If you get the chance Elk and Caribou haul much ass also.
Chip to be honest if someone offered me some bear I'd try it.
Alligator is perty good too.
Thing that stops me from hunting: Time and field dressing. That is rough.

They serve alligator at the chain restaurants in LA- those are great- I'd also come across the occasional turtle soup which was awesome if it was done right

You know what's not so impressive- frog's legs

I have no problem with hunting, just hunters.

I'm not against the killing of animals for food, it's the circle of life. But I wouldn't put chicken's feet, cows horns, or fish heads on my wall.

I had chicken's feet at dim sum the day before I got married

they suck

I shot my first deer the first 4 hours I could legally hunt at 12. The training my grandfather gave me up until that age proved I was taught well. Guns and hunting takes extreme care and is real good eating. Most city kids never really get it from what I see. Happy Hunting everyone.

Kenny........Is that you? uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-x_f7a...

KILL OR BE KILLED

SAT/SUN GOOD WITH ME WTG

as a meat eater, i 'm ok with killing animals to eat them. but killing animals for fun is pretty fucked up.

yup. killing for fun is weird.

killing as Runs with Bees says, is circle of life n shit.


now, i did eat at Carnivore in Nairobi, they serve game meat culled by rangers in the safari parks...

nothing beats a little wildebeast, elan, ostridge & zebra... or what ever they are culling that day on Massai swords.

africanmeccasafaris.com/kenya...

NEXT WEEK PERHAP'S DUECE G-08

it takes skill if you are 48 pounders into it.

I am with you Jim... would like to see a Cage Match with a pissed off grizzly and hunter. He gets one bullet and a buck knife...no thats a sport!

Back up
I know quite a few hunters and you would be surprised at how many trips result in nothing
If you actually see a deer and then actually shoot it and hit it you then have to track it etc.
I guarantee most on here who diss it as involving no skill couldn't even hit a deer 20' away.
Again all of the hunters I know hunt for the thrill of the hunt and ultimately for the meat and hides.

WTG Labeef

testify brother

It'd be the same as someone who's never played and instrument or sang to say that it's eays to sit at a piano and belt out covers all night.

Yeah, come on. All that camoflauge gear and skunk piss-scented human odor eliminator doesn't apply itself yanno.

LOL yeah Swanee, those farm raised organic chickens you eat are tricky to track down.

If a four guys hold down a deer and then one guy walks up to it and shoots it in the face, where's the skill in that?

I know a guy who is a duck hunter. I told him it would just be easier and quicker to find the nest and break the little duck eggs.

Saves everyone time.

I'm not going to get in a discussion about what "skill" is, but to compare hunting and playing music................let's just not do that.

Jim, why not, because it's your area of expertise?

Could you compare playing music to playing football?

Survelliance photo of Chip at Southwick Zoo.
us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.ya...

And I meant to say "Bassoon".

All in all, I'd really like to see Chippa's drunk karaoke.

actually i've seen chippa do that at karoke, and i've also seen swanee do it, and chippa's way better at it.

not just anyone can carry that.

OK but I'll put strictnine in the guacamole

You can't compare hunting to mastering an instrument

I would argue that you could compare mastering crossbow buck hunting to mastering piano

that's my take

take that

I tell you what.

I'll shoot arrows with a crossbow at a piano at 100 yards, then we'll be even.:)

Now get your arse to Jasmine Palace next week so you can hear us croon some VH tunes.

That is so f*cking far away from house it's gay

plus I thought you were just f*cking with me about the VH thing-
Next week is a definite no, but I do aim to get out to one of those sonofabitchers

It's the "You don't mind me serving you steaks as long as you don't know how I slaughter the cows" adage.

Severed animals heads as trophies though?.......eh.......but that's just me.

Oh, like cats don't bring the heads of mice home as trophies to lay at our feet?

Unless we're from another planet, as some have theorized, we're animals like the rest of the planet's animals.

Which part is a typical LowellRocks debate?
Is someone using a Variax shot gun?
Where does math come into this?
Is Amy Winehouse hunting again?

:-)

I tend to put myself alot higher on the food chain than a cat.
Some cats are actually smarter than the "Elmer Fudd" types.

I've been called an animal, but I am not an animal.

"I am not an animal, I am a man"
John Merrick "The Elephant Man".

Hunting for food in most cases isn't even necessary. But in cases where it is of course it's survival of the fittest. But if your gun jams and that bear shreads you ass to pieces then hey that's survival of the fittest too. What I can't stand is hunting for sport where some egotistical bastard get's all jacked up from shooting an animal from 50 yards away through a precision sight scope and with a rifle that could pick-off a fly from 100 yards. I know it takes skill but come on, please.

no sh*t

good point

what a f*cking egotistical pussy

The primal instinct is in all of us. If we choose to cultivate a more domestic version of ourselves to be more civilized we also adopt the other burdens of that.

The reason why deer and other hunted animals would overrun our comunities is because we destroyed all of the natural predators that were in fact a threat to us not particularly choosing to add us to their food chain. But oppurtunity and survival will force actions not usually favored.

Coyotes and mountain lions and wolves have been known to attack children if not grown human beings. So we naturally remove the threat of them and in it's place have nothing to balance the natural food chain.

That same thrill that would draw people by the thousands to staduims to once watch human slaughter from galdiators to bull fighting to fighting hungry lions.

All of that has been replaced with sports like football games.

Yet territorial distputes even today still result with dieing humans despite the civilized rules of engagement. The end result remains the same.

It's hard to say if changing the natual order of things really benefit us. Meat that is captured in the wild is actually quite healthy for us. While we have developed many ways to civilize ourselves through farming animals for consumption, we've also have adopted some wied ways of doing it like using Chicken crap to feed Cows.

Technology has both saved us and cursed us with diseases and allergies that we then need to depend on technology to try to save us from ourselves.

You would think we were better off until you find out of course you happen to suffer or even die from something that has never been known to nature before.

If civilization were to become so screwed up and maybe not even by our own doing such as a natural disaster. Knowing how to survive could prove to be a valuable asset to you and your family.

Probably the same reason we mate for reasons other than mating.

I think the reason is because it tastes good

i'm pretty sure that to the uninitiated, hitting a moving target wiith a gun is pretty fkin hard.

Leather couches are the best...............oh wait.........well......so what?

Kill it if it moves!!!!!!!

Any polar bear touches my kids, their getting "two in the hat"...

CHIPPA - You are correct, those were VERY broad strokes and I know there's a LOT that distinguishes "us" over other animals... but there's just not the time to type-out THAT GRANULAR of an argument.

The crux of my point is - in the BIG BIG picture, our rules and fears are about SLELF preservation... of HUMANS. We want to stop "global warming" because it will REALLY inconvenience us when 20-miles inward of all coastline becomes beachfront... All this guff about ozone... pollutants... usage of fossil fuels, etc... if/when humans disappear from this planet, the eco-system will self-correct itself. The water will clear, the air will clear, balance will be restored. The planet doesn't need saving - WE do.

Why do I mention that...? Because again, we are merely ONE of an amazing number of species that lives on this planet and as much as our self-awareness BELIEVES we are important to keeping the world in-order... we are nothing. Once we're gone, other creatures will continue-on with THEIR built-in, instinctual skills to survive - and with a lot of species that are carnivores and omnivores, killing comes naturally.

Even in docile passive animals that are vegetarian, the instinct to kill for protection of self or newborns is there. We were born to be combative and kill. We've just taught ourselves not to because it's unacceptable in our culture.

I wish I could peer into the future 2,000 years and see what the condition of this planet is... what the dominant species are... whether there is intelligence... technology... etc.

Oh... and I almost spit-out my coffee reading Chippa's comment about screaming: "I $#IT BLOOD EVERYWHERE" over the microphone.

I like Ted Nugent

Gimme a SAW or a 50-cal along with tanning supplies and a big freezer....I'm all set. Heck I would make stuff out of the bones. Waste not want not.

We are all part of the circle of life (damn Lion King movie coming to mind). Just be respectful.

"There is NO NEED for any civilian to be able to legally own military-grade high-powered assault weapons. It's just ridiculous."

I couldn't disagree more. Like the old adage says, "when guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns." Who has assault rifles? Of course, the Police and Military--who should--and gangs, terrorists, and nutjobs.

In short, if we all have full access to assault weapons, it will skews the statistics in a more favorable light, thus further making my case that guns are fabulous ;-)

Assault weapons are chicken feed. You're not taking this all the way to its logical conclusion.

I'm sending my kids into Nuclear Engineering, and we're going to amass our own ICBM arsenal. It's the only way to protect the citizenry from an overzealous government.

well...

so you're point Bill is that yu hunt bc animals suck? Good point.... way to make this NOT look like a redneck hick argument....

I hate when motherf*ckers cut and paste, but somebody JUST sent me this:

I had this idea that I was going to rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it up on corn for a couple of weeks, then kill it and eat it.



The first step in this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that, since they congregate at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff at the

bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet away), it should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a bag over its head (to calm it down) then hog tie it and transport it home.



I filled the cattle feeder then hid down at the end with my rope.



The cattle, having seen the roping thing before, stayed well back. They were not having any of it.



After about 20 minutes, my deer showed up -- 3 of them. I picked out.. ...a likely looking one, stepped out from the end of the feeder, and threw.. ..my rope. The deer just stood there and stared at me.



I wrapped the rope around my waist and twisted the end so I would have a good hold. The deer still just stood and stared at me, but you could tell it was mildly concerned about the whole rope situation.



I took a step towards it...it took a step away. I put a little tension on the rope and then received an education.



The first thing that I learned is that, while a deer may just stand there looking at you funny while you rope it, they are spurred to action when you start pulling on that rope.



That deer EXPLODED.



The second thing I learned is that pound for pound, a deer is a LOT stronger than a cow or a colt. A cow or a colt in that weight range I could fight down with a rope and with some dignity.



A deer-- no chance.



That thing ran and bucked and twisted and pulled. There was no controlling it and certainly no getting close to it. As it jerked me off my feet and started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to me that having a deer

on a rope was not nearly as good an idea as I had originally imagined.



The only up side is that they do not have as much stamina as many other animals.



A brief 10 minutes later, it was tired and not nearly as quick to jerk me off my feet and drag me when I managed to get up. It took me a few minutes to realize this, since I was mostly blinded by the blood flowing out of the big gash in my head. At that point, I had lost my taste for corn-fed venison. I just wanted to get that devil creature off the end of that rope.



I figured if I just let it go with the rope hanging around its neck, it would likely die slow and painfully somewhere.



At the time, there was no love at all between me and that deer. At that moment, I hated the thing, and I would venture a guess that the feeling was mutual.



Despite the gash in my head and the several large knots where I had cleverly arrested the deer's momentum by bracing my head against various large rocks as it dragged me across the ground, I could still think clearly enough to

recognize that there was a small chance that I shared some tiny amount of responsibility for the situation we were in, so I didn't want the deer to have to suffer a slow death, so I managed to get it lined back up in between my truck and the feeder - a little trap I had set before hand...kind of like a squeeze chute.



I got it to back in there and I started moving up so I could get my rope back.



Did you know that deer bite? They do! I never in a million years would have thought that a deer would bite somebody, so I was very surprised when I reached up there to grab that rope and the deer grabbed hold of my wrist.



Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like being bit by a horse where they just bite you and then let go. A deer bites you and shakes its head --almost like a pit bull. They bite HARD and it hurts.



The proper thing to do when a deer bites you is probably to freeze and draw back slowly. I tried screaming and shaking instead. My method was ineffective.



It seems like the deer was biting and shaking for several minutes, but it was likely only several seconds.



I, being smarter than a deer (though you may be questioning that claim by now) tricked it.



While I kept it busy tearing the tendons out of my right arm, I reached up with my left hand and pulled that rope loose. That was when I got my final lesson in deer behavior for the day.



Deer will strike at you with their front feet. They rear right up on their back feet and strike right about head and shoulder level, and their hooves are surprisingly sharp.



I learned a long time ago that, when an animal -- like a horse --strikes at you with their hooves and you can't get away easily, the best thing to do is try to make a loud noise and make an aggressive move towards the animal. This will usually cause them to back down a bit so you can escape.



This was not a horse. This was a deer, so obviously, such trickery would not work. In the course of a millisecond, I devised a different strategy.



I screamed like a woman and tried to turn and run.



The reason I had always been told NOT to try to turn and run from a horse that paws at you is that there is a good chance that it will hit you in the back of the head.



Deer may not be so different from horses after all, besides being twice as strong and 3 times as evil, because the second I turned to run , it hit me right in the back of the head and knocked me down.



Now, when a deer paws at you and knocks you down, it does not immediately leave. I suspect it does not recognize that the danger has passed. What they do instead is paw your back and jump up and down on you while you are laying there crying like a little girl and covering your head.



I finally managed to crawl under the truck and the deer went away.



So now I know why when people go deer hunting they bring a rifle with a scope to sort of even the odds

fair fights are overated.

Erin,
If you ever saw my extensive collection of rebel flags and related memoribilia, you'd know I'd not argue the redneck hick moniker (yes, i'm fine with it)

Hey Bufalo Bill,
"I agree that hunting just to brag or pound your chest after the kill and not eat the meat or utilize the hides is a waste."

Actually it was a big deal at one time. For a son to be invited to a hunt was an act of becoming a man and it was all about boasting when he got his first kill. He'll be a good provider someday.

Job hunting isn't quite the same. But it does allow you to have someone else do your killing for you. :-)

In My Soul - Are you serious...? Comparing stamp collecting and woodworking in ANY way, shape or form with owning/collecting an ASSAULT RIFLE...? Are you out of your mind?

If someone breaks into your home and steals your stamp collection or your cordless jigsaw... you're bummed. If someone breaks in and steals your automatic assault weapon, then it's in the hands of someone who means harm with it.

We're talking about an item that's SOLE PURPOSE for being designed and manufactured was to KILL other human beings. NOT for target practice... not for hunting... not for collecting... they were created solely for the intent to kill. Not defend.

I am not saying to outlaw all weapons, but you gotta admit that not ALL friggin weapons belong in the general public. I don't care what license you carry or how responsible you are - you do not need to own military-grade assault rifles and they do not need to be available to civilians. You can come-up with any scenario you want... a gang of thugs break into your house with automatic weapons, etc... I still don't buy it. Sorry.

I love to drive... but I cannot legally operate an F1 racer. I cannot purchase a stealth-fighter no matter how much money I have. I may love to dabble in chemistry, but I cannot go buy Uranium or plutonium... there are rules for safety and I fell the NRA has been using "the right to bear arms" as a massive loop-hole to allow weapons that have NO PURPOSE being in the general public, out and available.

I don't know WHERE the line should be drawn... but there needs to be one a LOT closer to run-of-the-mill handguns and rifles.

I'm not for outlawing all guns at ALL... but you're not going to convince me that you should have the "right" to all these over-the-top weapons that have absolutely NOTHING to do with hunting nor personal protection. Sorry.

I tend to agree with Acme, there's a huge difference between having a gun for personal protection and having a machine gun or a bazooka. I'm sorry, but nobody needs a personal grenade launcher.

You know to be quite honest, (not that I haven't been already).

But animals used to be how you measured ones wealth. Killing an animal actually developes a huge respect for them and I'll bet most people who do hunt value nature more because they too want an environment for the creatures of the forest to be as fruitful as can be. Chickens that grow up in a box never know what it is like to be a chicken that is free.

Creatures that consume vegetation for the most part are going to consumed by meat eaters. That's their purpose.
Don't you think a creature grown up in the wild had a better life and more natural one than those growm for our slaughter houses? At least they got a chanse to be themselves before they met their ultimate doom of the cycle of life.

Juice does raise a good point though. I mean, if you were a lamb back in Biblical times, you were basically fucked.

LOL, Yes Bill sometimes in more ways than one.

Maybe that's where it all started. Those who didn't want to kill lambs made love to them instead. Same end result. Ewe!

For the record, It's impossble to learn anything about, or ever truly be connected to the world around you, if you somehow feel you're above it all!

That's why Al runs with bees. Right, Runs With Bees?

There are a lot people out there who are above it all.Animals(some of them) do feel pain,maybe even emotion,but we are not animals,at least I'm not.I was born in a hospital like human beings do.I've got nothing against animals.I like animals.But,If I was out in the wilderness and the lions(or whatever) attacked me or my family,That high power rifles your best friend now isn't it? Kinda evens the score from the days of ancient Rome!