Are you a Hunter? or do you just shoot animals?

Moderators: gds, bakerjw, renegade

User avatar
dellet
Silent But Deadly
Posts: 6967
Joined: Fri Nov 30, 2012 1:25 pm

Re: Are you a Hunter? or do you just shoot animals?

Post by dellet »

Re: Are you a Hunter? or do you just shoot animals?
Quote
Post by robertstevens » Wed Oct 14, 2020 7:10 am

Listen up guys, mankind has been hunting since the beginning of our origin. Our ancestors had done it for thousands of years and now we might not need to hunt for food, some folks in remote areas still do, but we do it for a number of reasons. One of them is to get close to Mother nature and act as a part of it.

That’s why the ‘Act’ of hunting cannot be labeled as ‘shooting animals.’ This ‘Act’ is more natural than animal slaughtering. Think about camping in the wild or woods. You would hide under the ground blind to appear invisible to your prey. And in an instant, you put your bullet in the animal without doing all sorts of arrangements that modern slaughterhouses do. What’s not natural about hunting in the wild? Somebody, please explain to me.
Old thread, but it’s the time of year to think about these things.

The original question has nothing to do with whether hunting is ethical or natural. More so it questions if you are hunting ethically. The cartridge has taken a beating over the years as a low power, substandard round. Even worse is hunting with subs. This is not the fault of the cartridge, only those who use it.

My personal thinking is that it is a hunters cartridge, a certain higher Skill set is needed to use it. Same as handgun or bow hunting. If your definition of hunting is driving down the road, shooting from the truck, and if the game does not fall in its tracks, drive on, you should probably either find a different cartridge, or turn your self in for either waiting game or poaching.

Just a reminder to know your limits, skills and to hunt accordingly.
300 Blackout, not just for sub-sonics.
BJK
Silent But Deadly
Posts: 355
Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2020 8:30 am

Re: Are you a Hunter? or do you just shoot animals?

Post by BJK »

I can probably still do it, but I couldn't get the deer out if I shot one so I no longer do... I used to still hunt. That doesn't mean not moving. It means moving so slowly and silently that one gets very close to the quarry that shots are short. Basically I'd wake deer up and if they were the proper deer I'd be shooting as they were wiping the sleepers out of their eyes and wondering what the heck it was that woke them. So yeah, I guess I was a a hunter. I'd be so close to them that I got to the point where I wouldn't carry a rifle, just a handgun.

I should go back and read the thread. I confess that I didn't do that, I only read the first post. I bet there is some discussion worth reading in it.
Regaj
Silent Operator
Posts: 60
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2020 4:33 pm

Re: Are you a Hunter? or do you just shoot animals?

Post by Regaj »

It's funny how some things are etched in our mind as indelible memories. One, for me, is of my young wife crying at the door as I left for a week at hunt camp. With a couple of toddlers at home, she didn't want me to go - didn't think it was fair.

But I've hunted all my life and it never would have occurred to me to give her a vote in the matter. Still wouldn't, today.

I was fortunate. For one week a year, across my entire adulthood, my dozen-odd hunting pals and I would step back in time. Living in a tent (later a cabin). Heating with a wood stove. Washing in water from the creek. No telephone (and certainly no internet). Doing our business in an outhouse.

And hunting.

No question - at least when it comes to whitetail deer - that hunting from a stand is the most productive way to go. That's how all my pals hunted.

But that was not my path, and I was not to be dissuaded. I went on the other side of the road, stared up at the high, folded mountains rising above me, and began a slow, slow climb.

I wish I could say that I was a successful still hunter from the start. At the time, having spent all my time as a kid in the woods, I thought I was quite the woodsman.

Alas, I had much to learn. I wish I had a nickel for every deer I pushed out in front of me, those early years. But I was an apt pupil and, slowly, the lessons took. Eventually, hope turned to expectation. And then, later still, to confidence.

I ended up killing a lot of deer. But funny thing there. I mostly started killing them regularly at about the time I began to realize that that - bagging a deer - wasn't really what mattered. What mattered was just being there. Being part of it all.

Because if there's one thing that still hunting does, it's to immerse you into the landscape. You're no longer this human being walking through the landscape. You, instead, become part of it. I've never felt more vibrantly alive than when feeling that quartering breeze upon my cheek, the fluttering movement of the leaves in the trees, the whisper of the wind, and the countless tracks of all those different animals who live there. All telling me something.

For decades, my rifle of choice was a Ruger No. 1 in .270. Carrying a single-shot that long does something to you. It changes how you interact with the land, and the game. I'm happy to say that none of the dozens of deer I killed over the years ever knew I was there, or ever ran.

In the eighties I sat down one afternoon and carefully loaded up forty rounds, pushing a Nosler Partition in front of 56.5 grains of IMR-4831 out of virgin W-W brass. I still have a dozen rounds or so of that batch left. When you only fire one round a season, it lasts a long time.

Later years saw me carrying a Remington 700 in .30-06. My wife - the same woman who I left crying at the door lo, those many years ago - gave it to me as a birthday gift. It's a fine rifle, and especially given its heartfelt provenance, how could I not hunt with it? I confess, though, that it feels a bit embarrassing to thumb three cartridges into the magazine.

Mostly, it's just simply been a privilege. It probably sounds strange but I always murmured my thanks to the animal whose life I just took. The killing was a necessary part of it. But not at all the reason why I was there.

A good book...
https://www.amazon.com/Still-Hunter-Ste ... 567&sr=8-1
tallburnedmidget
Silent But Deadly
Posts: 3808
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2012 9:01 pm

Re: Are you a Hunter? or do you just shoot animals?

Post by tallburnedmidget »

I'm pretty much just an animal shooter with some hunting skills.
In TX most of the hunting land is private and neither my family or myself have owned any hunting land. No real luxury of just walking out on to land and hunting :(

We do "lease" land from property owners to hunt on which is the norm. The problem with that is again you don't own the land and being on someone else's land even when paying to lease it 90%+ of the time doesn't last long because it comes with all the problems of being on someone else's land and them "allowing" you to be on it. So this leads to what seems to be a never ending search for a good property to lease, then when you find one the owner up and sells it hahaha, so the lease hunt starts again.

Since 2011 I have switched to paid hunts for 4-5 days but I don't trophy hunt I meat hunt because my goal is to enjoy nature, the hunt, and fill the freezer so there elements of hunting, vacation, and since it's a meat animal hunt, there is a much larger animal shooting factor.

From 2011 to 2016 I was able to hunt the same ranch which was amazing and allowed me develop more familiarity with that property and therefore build up my "hunting" skills by going to that property repeatedly, even though it was for only like 5 days a year.
I greatly increased my tracking skills because I was not the one who setup the hunting and areas, stands, and feeders so I had no choice but but to follow sign and blood trail if there was any. I learned to mentally take pictures when I could of where the animal was and where it ran and what it ran by since the animal was often out of sight into trees, brush, and rocky/hilly terrain within 4 seconds of being shot.

That property is no longer huntable for me because the owners divorced and the property was sold so back to the land hunt again. These paid hunts are ideal for me now due to my work schedule, availability, and the short period of time I can get off of work. I live in the city so for me to get into any hunting land is minimal 2 hr 30 min so again these trips really fit the bill and I would have to get lucky to be able to lease the land and work the land to hunt it.

With the 300BLk i have taken animals subsonic, super sonic, and with a variety of bullets and have easily taken 25-30+ deer personally and another 5-6 deer taken with my 300BLk + handloads that others in the hunting party used. It kills for sure.
I have always been in search of the best bullet for leaving blood trail and/or knocking them down quickly in combination with making the best shot placement possible. A problem I run into is I don't and can't intimately know my terrain so tracking skills greatly increasing is great but I also have the disadvantage of not having a known place AND not being able to walk it... its not my property :(

I have lost 2 deer hunting with the 300BLK. 1 Where blood and sign ended and there wasnt much blood to begin with and when in a combination rocky + grassy area there is not always a lot of sign to work with when the blood stops and there is no dirt to see kicked up.
The other was a fluke where the bullet had to take a funny turn because a leg bone was hit on the way to a heart shot. The bullet didnt hit the heart and went some other way because the leg was trashed. So call it bad shot placement but Ive gone straight through the tubular and should blade bone of a deer with the 300BLk plenty of times but this is the 1 time it must have hit and didnt go my way. We jumped that deer twice and never saw it again.

Finally, I now only hunt with my 300BLK in the morning since I'm hunting a different property every year for my meat hunts and I use my 30-06 (my only other serious hunting rifle) in the evening. Often with little blood trail and being COMPLETELY unfamiliar with the land I need the advantage of daylight to help with tracking and I also setup my phone so with a single button click I can start the camera to recording a wide angle shot to help with the tracking. I don't want to disrespect these animals by losing them when I have the means to drastically increase my chances of finding them when they quickly run out of sight.
In the evening the 30-06 leaves plenty of blood or drops em on sight which is great for me since tracking in the dark in unfamiliar terrain is a DRASTICALLY more difficult task than in the daylight.

So far no deer hunting for me this year, an unplanned 6 months of no work (I do contract work and am self employed) kinda took away the luxury of going on my yearly paid meat hunt. I almost got to do some hog hunting but the 1 time I go out for 2 hours to visit some old friends in a nearly empty restaurant, one of their idiot friends shows up and then an hour and 45 min in tells us all his "funny" story of how the day before his mother golfed and hung out with a woman who tested positive for COVID the same day this idiot decides to come visit with us... this idiot still lives off his parents and thought it would be a good idea to just wander around the world knowing this.
I had to quarantine, miss Thanksgiving, and miss my planned trip to go to my cousin's deer lease to help with their pig problem.
The good news is I didn't risk killing my elderly parents and I showed no symptoms of sickness during my 14 days of quarantine so I'll gladly sacrifice hog hunting to keep from killing my elderly parents and potentially, any of my other loved ones, and hell anyone else out there I could have come into contact with.

If you've made it this far thanks for listening and it's good to drop in during hunting season as I do these last few years :)
noname
Silent Operator
Posts: 92
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2019 8:55 pm

Re: Are you a Hunter? or do you just shoot animals?

Post by noname »

I am probably of a different cut of cloth. I don't particularly like deer/still hunting. Don't like the taste of the meat. Plus my wife feeds them as pets in our yard. Same three deer every evening.

Bird hunting behind a well trained bird dog is my cup of tea. Nothing as rewarding as working with a bird dog.
Previously known as hardcase. Moved lost internet connection for 1+ years.
ReadyAimDuck
Silent But Deadly
Posts: 174
Joined: Tue Jul 14, 2020 11:08 am

Re: Are you a Hunter? or do you just shoot animals?

Post by ReadyAimDuck »

The point of hunting for me is to feed my family and make the most ethical and humane kill on a game animal as possible. That means using the most effective round in the most effective manner. Getting my jollies off by a "challenging hunt" to stroke my ego, is last on my list of priorities when it comes to hunting. I don't personally care one way or the other if I, myself, or anyone else considers me a skilled or unskilled hunter. And I don't particularly respect anyone who deliberately adds challenge to their hunt, if said challenge(s) result in an increased likelyhood of causing suffering for the animal. Some of these of these challenges include using underpowered calibers and/or shots at distances greater than what is necessary with less than adequate skillset to make such a shot. I've seen to many gutshotted deer, and found too many days later eaten by coyotes because a "hunter" wanted a challenging hunt and made a shot they're uncapable of and didn't need to make, or put a shot on a deer that they knew they couldn't make into the vitals, but figured they would wound it enough to track it and finish it off or get up to it after it died slowly.


What is important is increasing my likelyhood of dropping an animal where it stands (and thereby decreasing its amount of suffering), and bringing home meat to feed my family.
User avatar
rebel
Silent But Deadly
Posts: 7285
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2013 2:01 pm
Location: Moonshine Country

Re: Are you a Hunter? or do you just shoot animals?

Post by rebel »

I know a man in his 80's that worked for WV DNR. Killed thousands of deer over the course of his career for crop depredation and to reduce disease transmission. Always used a 222 Remington. He has retired now and does trophy hunt some. Usually gets his buck. Still uses a 222 Remington. Knowing ones limitations, and the rifles limitations makes for humane accurate kills.
You can't beat the mountain, pilgrim. Mountains got its own way.
User avatar
Walkers Bay
Silent But Deadly
Posts: 397
Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2015 1:27 am

Re: Are you a Hunter? or do you just shoot animals?

Post by Walkers Bay »

rebel wrote: Mon Dec 14, 2020 10:44 am I know a man in his 80's that worked for WV DNR. Killed thousands of deer over the course of his career for crop depredation and to reduce disease transmission. Always used a 222 Remington. He has retired now and does trophy hunt some. Usually gets his buck. Still uses a 222 Remington. Knowing ones limitations, and the rifles limitations makes for humane accurate kills.
Yeah they were a good wee caliber.
Theres probably been close to a million red deer shot out the door of helicopters here....with a 223. The farm next to the forest I hunt in put the helicopter over it March last year to cull a few, they were up for an hour and had ran out of ammo, drove into town got more and finished up with 600. All with 223 and they get butchered and exported to Europe.
Blackout!
Silent Operator
Posts: 72
Joined: Sun Dec 14, 2014 6:45 pm

Re: Are you a Hunter? or do you just shoot animals?

Post by Blackout! »

I am a hunter. I was born that way. It’s in me. It can not be removed, only honed, like the power of the Jedi.
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 34 guests