I am a hunter, yet I do not like to kill animals

[Malamute]

We can legally collect road kill here as well, but when you hit a deer with a 3/4 ton truck and it has matter coming out of both ends the chance of the meat still being edible is slim. Not to mention I was by myself and had been in the woods all day, didn't have the energy or desire to mess with it.

I picked up a roadkill deer once and made the mistake of gutting it. It was extremely trashed inside, however, I later realized I should have opened it up from the backbone side, and cut the backstraps and rear legs off without opening the gut cavity.

Being tired and not feeling like dealing with it is about making choices, one we may all have to make at times. Dismantling them on the spot helps with the being alone part.

 

[Model97]

Interesting thread. The last deer i had a shot at was 4 yards away. I was borrowing my dad's Winchester 94 .307. His has the lawyer cross safety , mine doesn't. CLICK!!!! The buck was surprised. I was surprised. And relieved. Realized i really am not into the killing part of hunting any more. So I mainly camp and hike now. The extra bonus is that I can sleep past 5 am too.

 

[Explorerinil]

I hunt and fish, I do not trophy hunt and fish, I do it because that’s how I was raised and I enjoy getting food from nature. I got friends that trophy hunt or go for coyotes, I’m not into that, if I kill it, I eat it.

 

[Peneumbra2]

Last thing I killed was a bottle of Negra Modelo...

 

[waveslider]

That off taste in mulies is typically poor meat handling practices in the field (letting it get too hot, hair on the meat, etc) and not removing the fat from the meat.

That answer could be extrapolated to a tremendous amount of situations. We see some pretty abhorrent field care practices on a regular basis.

The unfortunate side-effect of poor field care - and hence poor tasting food - is that some people don't stop hunting, they just stop eating it. And we end up with a high number of mouthbreathers who are nothing more than the adult version of the kid in class that pulled the wings off of flies.

Its our responsibility to police the ranks.

 

[perterra]

That off taste in mulies is typically poor meat handling practices in the field (letting it get too hot, hair on the meat, etc) and not removing the fat from the meat.

None of them are very good if all they have had is mountain cedar browse. Mule deer out of the mountains is pretty good, mule deer from the desert not so much.

 

[Dalko43]

An interesting aspect to so-called trophy hunting and fishing : in North America hunting and fishing (regardless of whether or not it is considered "trophy" style) is the main source of conservation funding (think land acquisition and management, species studies, animal recovery efforts, habitat improvement efforts, ect.) at the state and federal levels. Without it, North America's ecosystem (Canada has a system that is similar to America's) would be like most of the rest of the world: royally-f#$ked.

Trophy hunting and fishing overseas is another topic unto itself, and one that isn't so black-and-white. There are areas where unethical guides set up easy, canned hunts of big trophy species (high fence operations being a prime example). There are also fair-chase hunts in the open wilds. Poaching and habitat loss are major threats to many of the big, charismatic animals (think lions and elephants) with the latter being the bigger threat. There are some cases where trophy hunting has played a vital role in preserving, and in fact revitalizing, endangered species (Rhino and lion in some areas of Africa). As base and unethical as it sounds, when certain animals are assigned an actual monetary value in the eyes of the local peoples, they are far more willing to support the conservation efforts on behalf of those animals. Also, in many developing nations, the hunting fees, as meager as they might seem, bring in much needed money to their wildlife agencies.

 

[mezmochill]

Top tier predator hunting should be limited to using your bare hands and a knife.

Obviously a gopro should be strapped to the hunters head.

 

[Dalko43]

Top tier predator hunting should be limited to using your bare hands and a knife.

Obviously a gopro should be strapped to the hunters head.

What's interesting about that sentiment is that when hunters actually use traditional methods (knives and spears), the animal-rights crowd throws a hissy-fit and cries 'bloody murder.' There was a fellow who recorded footage of himself hunting black bear in Canada with a spear (a province where such method was legal), and there was tremendous outrage on social media.

So when people resort to the 'bare hands and knife' argument, I usually assign that to ignorant rhetoric and ignore them....they're going to be angry regardless of which hunting method is used.

 

[waveslider]

What's interesting about that sentiment is that when hunters actually use traditional methods (knives and spears), the animal-rights crowd throws a hissy-fit and cries 'bloody murder.' There was a fellow who recorded footage of himself hunting black bear in Canada with a spear (a province where such method was legal), and there was tremendous outrage on social media.

Let's make sure we hang onto some honesty for the discussion. Strapping a go pro to your spear, and poking a bear with it is a little suspect in the "traditional method" class of hunting.

Also, that idiot - who admittedly did the right thing and waited overnight rather than following up in the dark for a wounded critter - showed ZERO humility or respect for the life of the animal that bled to death overnight and was far more interested in his "footage" and the sweet Facef&$% pics he had gotten. A little respect and class goes a long way.

Who cares what the Anti-crowd thinks, they will ALWAYS hate it. But that spear dude you refer to - while totally legal - was a tool and we should regard him as such. He was Mezmochill's troll effort personified.

 

[Dalko43]

Let's make sure we hang onto some honesty for the discussion. Strapping a go pro to your spear, and poking a bear with it is a little suspect in the "traditional method" class of hunting.

Also, that idiot - who admittedly did the right thing and waited overnight rather than following up in the dark for a wounded critter - showed ZERO humility or respect for the life of the animal that bled to death overnight and was far more interested in his "footage" and the sweet Facef&$% pics he had gotten. A little respect and class goes a long way.

Who cares what the Anti-crowd thinks, they will ALWAYS hate it. But that spear dude you refer to - while totally legal - was a tool and we should regard him as such. He was Mezmochill's troll effort personified.

He didn't "poke" it, he speared it with a pretty hefty throw (no easy feat).

It is a traditional form of hunting. It's how our ancestors used to hunt and in fact certain aboriginal cultures still hunt that way. And hog hunters in many western cultures use a similar method (knives) when hunting with hounds, mostly for practical/safety reasons.

It is legal in certain areas. And while I agree that it probably wasn't smart to record and post that footage to youtube, it does demonstrate the 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' dilemma presented by many peoples' expectations:
On the one hand they get upset with hunters for relying on modern technology to find and hunt animals (hence the argument about using 'hands and knife').
On the other hand, when a hunter actually uses a close-quarters method (knife, spear, traditional bow) people still get upset because they believe the animal "suffered."

BTW, if you have such a problem with this guy for using a spear, do you also have a problem with traditional bow hunters or even compound bow hunters? I track wounded game with a dog; the overwhelming majority of the cases I handle involve some bow hunter taking a less than optimal shot. A lot of animals are never recovered because the wounds aren't fatal or because the animal lingers on for days before dying in a secluded spot. This guy at least was proficient enough to actually kill his animal; a lot of bow hunters aren't nearly as effective. Just wondering if maybe your anger should be more evenly applied rather than focusing on this one individual. And no, I'm not a spear hunter....I just have a problem with people tipping their noses at certain forms of hunting while thinking that other forms are better 'justified.'

 

[waveslider]

I think its funny that you automatically think I 'have a problem" with him using a spear. Reading is fundamental. I could care less what method of hunting people choose to pursue, including spears or archery equipment as long as they are proficient. But if you can't see the irony of strapping a GoPro to your spear and calling it traditional hunting with a straight face then I suppose you're unreachable. And it has absolutely nothing to do with using technology as a crutch. I hunt with a rifle scope with so much magnification you can see the future, but you won't find me jumping around like a tool on youtube either and therein lies the difference.

The fact remains, the guy was a tool, he showed his ****** on youtube and got called on it. Its not dammed if you do or don't - I suspect it doesn't matter whether he used a spear or a high powered rifle the result would have been the same. I simply would not hold up that idiot as an example to prove your point.

Now, if you want to shift the discussion to the topic of crossbows, I'm totally up for that. I think they are awesome things that have zero place in archery seasons. No problem with crossbows at all as long as their use is restricted to rifle/firearms seasons. (disabled hunters notwithstanding)

 

[Dalko43]

I think its funny that you automatically think I 'have a problem" with him using a spear. Reading is fundamental. I could care less what method of hunting people choose to pursue, including spears or archery equipment as long as they are proficient. But if you can't see the irony of strapping a GoPro to your spear and calling it traditional hunting with a straight face then I suppose you're unreachable. And it has absolutely nothing to do with using technology as a crutch. I hunt with a rifle scope with so much magnification you can see the future, but you won't find me jumping around like a tool on youtube either and therein lies the difference.

The fact remains, the guy was a tool, he showed his ****** on youtube and got called on it. Its not dammed if you do or don't - I suspect it doesn't matter whether he used a spear or a high powered rifle the result would have been the same. I simply would not hold up that idiot as an example to prove your point.

Now, if you want to shift the discussion to the topic of crossbows, I'm totally up for that. I think they are awesome things that have zero place in archery seasons. No problem with crossbows at all as long as their use is restricted to rifle/firearms seasons. (disabled hunters notwithstanding)

You didn't make it all that clear that the gopro was the main issue you had with his hunt. It sounded like you had an issue with his method of hunting overall, but if I misinterpreted that, it was due to ambiguity with your wording and not because of my lack of reading comprehension.

As for the guy making an ****** of himself, I already agreed that he wasn't wise to post it on youtube. But I also think its petty and stupid when people get outraged for others posting video footage of legal hunts. The use of a spear has been legal in many areas for quite some time now. People got outraged at the guy because posted footage of such a hunt, not because the method itself was legally allowed. As far as I know, that method is still allowed in whatever Canadian province he did his hunt in. And traditional bows are legal in most areas, and, IMO, are far less effective at taking down big game than a spear. It all just smells of selective and, in some cases, manufactured outrage in my view. And honestly, that type of outrage carries over to other forms of hunts that are also legal: hound hunts, bait hunts, trapping. Hunters post footage of that on social media and they get all kinds of negative responses, sometimes even from other hunters.

At what point does the hunter have to hide his legal activities from the public, and at what point is he allowed to broadcast them? Who draws that arbitrary line? It's okay to post a traditional rack picture of a 6 pointer you shot with a rifle, but it's not okay to post a picture of a cougar successfully taken with hounds? It seems that line varies from one person to the next.

If the method is legal and a hunter posts his results, people shouldn't be angry at the hunter. They should be angry at the local regulations for allowing that method.

 

[waveslider]

At what point does the hunter have to hide his legal activities from the public, and at what point is he allowed to broadcast them?

No reason for any hunter to hide legal activities and any hunter is free to broadcast whatever hunt they like. The same way people are free to react to something broadcast on social media. Putting your hunt on YouTube, which in effect is begging for attention, and then getting butt hurt because people didn't give you the kind of attention you wanted speaks more about the actor than the audience.

 

[Dalko43]

No reason for any hunter to hide legal activities and any hunter is free to broadcast whatever hunt they like. The same way people are free to react to something broadcast on social media. Putting your hunt on YouTube, which in effect is begging for attention, and then getting butt hurt because people didn't give you the kind of attention you wanted speaks more about the actor than the audience.

All right, so if the hunter is free to broadcast his legal hunting activities, and people are free to voice their opinion on such content (which I wholeheartedly agree is their right to do so), why are you singling the hunter out as the a$$hole? And why do all the people writing hateful, sometimes threatening, comments on the internet get a free pass from your moral judgement?

People are free to voice their opinions; that is a fundamental principle that I firmly believe in. But the backlash that hunter received was disproportional to what he did. Certain people in this world are just looking for a reason to be angry. If you don't like certain online content, then don't watch it....it's that simple. I agree it behooves hunters to present themselves in a professional manner. But that was a fairchase and very difficult hunt. It certainly took a lot more skill than what is required of the average tree stand hunter, shooting a deer over a cornfield....and yet I hardly hear any criticism of those hunters.

I just don't get why the burden is on that hunter to tiptoe around other peoples' sensibilities.