Hunting:Your views?

As the title states, so is the question!

I myself have been a sport hunter for a long time, I started out hunting foul and small game with my Dad when I was younger, but as I grew older I moved on to progressively larger game and started Bow Hunting instead. I would go over to my Brother in Laws in the States and hunt Big Game such as Deer, Elk, Proghorn, Moose Bear etc(tried Mountain Lion, but the things are tricky) , and even to Africa to hunt Oryx.


All I can is that I absolutely love it, as many other hunters will know it's the thrill of the stalk and the satisfaction of the kill that makes it worth while.

I hear a lot of winging and crying from those in the anti-hunting brigade, and I usually do my best to keep them happy, I have a habit of whenever able utilizing all the meat and the pelts(as most Hunters do really..why waste good meat and pelts you can sell?)

Sadly though over the past few years due to University Commitments, getting married, putting money away for essentially starting up a decent life and family, I haven't had the chance to get away but ive been thinking of sometime in the near future getting my Bow out of it's case, get my aim back in order and maybe getting back into the hobby, which made me think?

What does TSR think of Hunting, Thrilling Blood Sport, or Barbaric Animal Cruelty?

I obviously don't have a problem with it, it's a fantastic and rewarding pastime.

Myself Below



Edit: It has come to my attention that certain participants in this thread feel as though in discussion I have "dismissed" oposing viewpoints.
I would like to sincerely apologies for this seeming to be the case, and to state it certainly is not my intent.
I will of course debate viewpoints, but my disagreement is not a dismissal of your view.

Edit 2: I have deicded to put a Video here from the Scotlish Highland management team BASC, it covers Deer Stalking but more importantly the process of Culling, which is the reason most hunters hunt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnjODzok7MM

There are some graphic scenes.

Difference being a game of chess does not end in death for one of the parties.

For it to be a sport both participants need to be willing to play. The animal wins its life if it wins so it is not really a good game as it should at least get a years worth of food and a good long break from being hunted by man haha, it is like me deciding to play a game of serial killer without warning the other players.

Hunting for survival fine, hunting for sport not fine.

You seemed a bit cocky in your op about how you'd be killing bears and mountain lions or whatever it was you were implying, I didn't like it. It seemed uncivilised to me.

WOW YOU ARE A REAL MAN YOU CAN KILL A DEER WITH A WEAPON. Please post when you can kill a lion with your bare hands little pussy.

Because it's a test of a host of physical, mental and technical skills.
Sometimes I wonder how chess is a sport...but then I go ouh yea "mental skills"

WOW YOU ARE A REAL MAN YOU CAN KILL A DEER WITH A WEAPON. Please post when you can kill a lion with your bare hands little pussy.

You seem to have missed the point of the post.

Firstly the aim is not to be manly, it's to enjoy the sport.
I know a lot of women hunters, and a lot of hunters who don't fit into any archtypal "Alpha Male", myself included.

Secondly, as a human being I am endowned with strengths and weaknesses, as a species we are comparatively very physically weak when we look at ourselves in the light of other common predators.
What we lack in physical strength we compensate for by our evolved ability of tool use as an extension of intellect.
Bows and rifles are tools, and a valid use of our natural abilities and skills.

To attack a lion with my bare hands, wouldn't be manly...it would be foolish, as a predator and as a animal that is not the way I have evolved to hunt, so to do so would not be a proper use of the skills at my disposal.
It would be stupidity.

Edit: Though thank you for your contribution to the thread, I am finding the debate here very good!

So the only way to avoid being a pussy is to kill a lion with your hands? Pretty high standards you've got there mate. He never bragged about what a badman he was, just showed that he enjoyed shooting.

Doesn't a sport involve some sort of competition though? I suppose you could say you're in competition with the animal, but obviously the animal doesn't know it. I'm not sure I'd call it a sport.

I pretty much share your views mate - hunting animals to near extinction is obviously wrong. Seeing people hunt elephants to extinction just to make some money out of ivory is repulsive. However, you've said you enjoy the thrill of shooting the animal and then use what you can (I presume you mean eating it, for example) That I can respect.

Also, people can cry about it being immoral to shoot and eat an animal, but it's arguably a lot more ethical than much of the meat we consume. I think people would be hypocritical to say you're a bad person and then take a bite of some chicken that could well have come from a factory farm. Or some 'beef' that is really horse from across the world that was abused.

I am more evolved than you because i can stab you in the back when you aren't looking.

Such a feat would indeed hint that you were a better hunter, or at least more able to capatlize on situations.

Good, sounds like you have a reasonable soul.



Difference being a game of chess does not end in death for one of the parties.

Oh god you crack me up. Although, you make a valid point. I do not really understand the satisfaction and pleasure side of hunting isn't that what relationships and food are for?

x

I do not really understand the satisfaction and pleasure side of hunting isn't that what relationships and food are for?

What's your view on fox hunting mate? I always opposed it because I assume that is purely for the thrill of the chase, and nothing actually comes from the fox afterwards.

Oh god you crack me up. Although, you make a valid point. I do not really understand the satisfaction and pleasure side of hunting isn't that what relationships and food are for?

Very little to be honest - rabbits and such like mostly - im not part of a major hunting group and dont have a huge interest in doing so at the moment. Even the wood shoots we do are against targets not animals.

Also its not that easy as just walking up to an animal and letting loose, thier senses are far superior to ours and a lot of the time they get away and oft without the hunter getting a chance to shoot

But then you just try again, you don't have anything to lose.

What's your view on fox hunting mate? I always opposed it because I assume that is purely for the thrill of the chase, and nothing actually comes from the fox afterwards.



Doesn't a lot of food come from animals which had to die for us to eat?