Why do I kill things?

Upland Idaho · 07-06-2007, 12:18 PM

Non-hunters just don’t get it! I’m constantly asked the question, “Why do you like killing things?” That is all the people who ask that question see when they look at a hunter, someone who kills things. Anymore, my initial internal reaction is just a big sigh. How do you explain something that needs to be experienced to truly understand it? My second reaction is the comment that “the kill” is my least favorite part of hunting. If I just wanted to kill things I wouldn’t spend so much time, so much money, and so much energy to do it. I would just go to a game bird breeder, put the birds on the ground in the yard and shoot them. That isn’t what hunting is about. I'm not bashing non-hunters, some of my closest friends do not hunt and do not fully understand my passion for upland bird hunting.

So what is it about? Well, there sure isn’t one answer to that question because hunters are all different. For me, hunting is about many things and the list would be a whole page in itself. I recently missed a completely doable shot at a spike elk at 250 yards in the meadow out my front door and for the entire day at work I couldn’t relax! I was wired, totally wired for the whole day because of a 10-minute episode that transpired just after I walked to my truck to go to work that morning. Hunting is about the rush, admiring the upland game birds, the smell of the woods, being out in beautiful places, not being surrounded by beeping cell phones, working your dog, laughing with a hunting buddy, putting organic meat in the freezer and the unique experiences of each hunt. Each hunter can add dozens of things to this list.

Every hunting trip is an adventure and creates a memory. I rarely hunt without seeing something that becomes etched in my mind for the next few months or years and most times it has nothing to do with killing something. I love to see my dog point, especially downhill. She crouches low for some reason. This crouched point is my favorite as it seems to me when she points in this fashion she is the most serious about what is upwind of her. I just sent Devon to hunt my favorite chukar spot, I figured he would come out with 4-8 birds, nothing, he didn’t see anything and that has me as wired as missing the elk, “Why weren’t the birds there!” I am just finishing last year’s elk. When I cook up each steak I still picture the hunt and then dragging the elk down the mountain to my house with my dog pulling on the ear uphill, like a big tug-toy. The ear was completely frayed by the time I got to the house. I watched a goshawk catch and carry off a squirrel that was screaming at me. As my dear friend Glenda put it, I have a relationship with the animals that I harvest.

Hunting keeps me healthy; mentally, emotionally and physically. I was asked since I am so active why I don’t take the stairs at my work; I ride the elevator to the fifth floor each day. My answer is in the five months of Idaho's bird season I walk uphill more than most people do in years! Even I need a break. Most people have something in their lives they get lost in, mentally I mean. You focus, get in the zone and forget about the troubles of the world. These are the times I’m not worried about the bills or the relationships in my life. I’m hunting and that is all I’m doing, well besides enjoying watching the all the other interesting things I see while I’m out.

lefty o · 07-06-2007, 12:22 PM

my answer when asked about hunting/killing is that i would be ashamed to have to pay someone else to kill my food for me.

bigandrich44 · 07-06-2007, 01:17 PM

I just say because it's you versus nature. Humans are easily one of the weakest animals, and yet, we still manage to harvest huge animals, thanks to firearms and bows. There's just that aurora that surrounds the birds flushing, the smell of gunpowder, the dogs going nuts, and the talks at the end of the day. Nothing like it.

ArkansasHunter · 07-06-2007, 02:24 PM

With me the outdoors is a more peaceful world, yet a lively world that pleases the soul. The crows that caw and the distant sound of a squirrel barking. Wood peckers hammering away. The streams and creeks that twist and turn, the sound of it's flow when it's interupted. Many times, off in the distance you hear a deer snort when he smells your sint and the crashing sound as he escapes your presents.

As a man that likes to hunt, killing the quarry is 3nd to the the joy of being outdoors to hunt. Thats #1 to me. #2 is the thrill of useing the guns were very fortunet and love to own in our great country, though the right of looseing this privledge is ever so present.
#3 is killing a game animal, this is the reward for our skills and efforts. I am very mindful of giving the game a sporting chance, I never chance a shot. If I can't make a humane kill the game gets to live another day.
I'm also one of those that believes that if we don't harvest our game animals many will die due to desease and lack of food sources in the wild.
I also believe if it were not for hunters we wouldn't have the high numbers of game animals to hunt.
Why do I kill things ? For the above reasons ! And I like to eat them !

TexasT · 07-06-2007, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Upland Idaho

Most people have something in their lives they get lost in, mentally I mean. You focus, get in the zone and forget about the troubles of the world. These are the times I’m not worried about the bills or the relationships in my life. I’m hunting and that is all I’m doing, well besides enjoying watching the all the other interesting things I see while I’m out.

This is so true. Whether your hobby be model airplanes or collecting things or hunting, everybody has something they love to do. It's sad that people are so critical of each other and can't see past their own righteousness to appreciate what you love to do. It's not self destructive and you're not hurting other people. By no means do I understand all my friends hobbies but I wouldn't dare try to discourage them from what they love to do.

Upland Idaho · 07-06-2007, 03:02 PM

oh yeah...I forgot that reason...They taste good!!!

hepcraig · 07-06-2007, 03:09 PM

my amswer simple you try to hit a ground squeirrel at 300yrds with 17HMR while its eating my crop almonds i have a 13 year old girl that can

bigandrich44 · 07-06-2007, 03:10 PM

Im sorry Hep, but I'm calling BS on this one. 300 yards? The .17 would have a hard time drilling a ground squirrel at that distance, even with no wind.

Lng Rng · 07-06-2007, 03:35 PM

Hunting animals is far deeper than simply "killing things." I can remember the sleepless nights elading up to a hunt, and all of the good times I have had with family and friends while hunting, or at camp. I don't care so much anymore that I fill my limit, I just like to see my younger cousin enjoy it as much as I do.

Hunting is one of the reasons I go to work, and is one of the fery few reasons for me waking up at 5 in the morning.

billy · 07-06-2007, 04:15 PM

if god didnt want us to eat animals ..why did he make them taste like meat?

Bravo · 07-06-2007, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billy

if god didnt want us to eat animals ..why did he make them taste like meat?

Amen.

07-06-2007, 03:10 PM	#8
bigandrich44 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 1,013	Im sorry Hep, but I'm calling BS on this one. 300 yards? The .17 would have a hard time drilling a ground squirrel at that distance, even with no wind. __________________ http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/1...eehobosig9.png

07-06-2007, 04:15 PM	#10
billy spiritual counselor Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: a secret lab on the shores of lake titicaca Posts: 12,164 Images: 9 Blog Entries: 146	if god didnt want us to eat animals ..why did he make them taste like meat? __________________

07-06-2007, 12:18 PM	#1
Upland Idaho Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Boise Posts: 44	Why do I kill things? Non-hunters just don’t get it! I’m constantly asked the question, “Why do you like killing things?” That is all the people who ask that question see when they look at a hunter, someone who kills things. Anymore, my initial internal reaction is just a big sigh. How do you explain something that needs to be experienced to truly understand it? My second reaction is the comment that “the kill” is my least favorite part of hunting. If I just wanted to kill things I wouldn’t spend so much time, so much money, and so much energy to do it. I would just go to a game bird breeder, put the birds on the ground in the yard and shoot them. That isn’t what hunting is about. I'm not bashing non-hunters, some of my closest friends do not hunt and do not fully understand my passion for upland bird hunting. So what is it about? Well, there sure isn’t one answer to that question because hunters are all different. For me, hunting is about many things and the list would be a whole page in itself. I recently missed a completely doable shot at a spike elk at 250 yards in the meadow out my front door and for the entire day at work I couldn’t relax! I was wired, totally wired for the whole day because of a 10-minute episode that transpired just after I walked to my truck to go to work that morning. Hunting is about the rush, admiring the upland game birds, the smell of the woods, being out in beautiful places, not being surrounded by beeping cell phones, working your dog, laughing with a hunting buddy, putting organic meat in the freezer and the unique experiences of each hunt. Each hunter can add dozens of things to this list. Every hunting trip is an adventure and creates a memory. I rarely hunt without seeing something that becomes etched in my mind for the next few months or years and most times it has nothing to do with killing something. I love to see my dog point, especially downhill. She crouches low for some reason. This crouched point is my favorite as it seems to me when she points in this fashion she is the most serious about what is upwind of her. I just sent Devon to hunt my favorite chukar spot, I figured he would come out with 4-8 birds, nothing, he didn’t see anything and that has me as wired as missing the elk, “Why weren’t the birds there!” I am just finishing last year’s elk. When I cook up each steak I still picture the hunt and then dragging the elk down the mountain to my house with my dog pulling on the ear uphill, like a big tug-toy. The ear was completely frayed by the time I got to the house. I watched a goshawk catch and carry off a squirrel that was screaming at me. As my dear friend Glenda put it, I have a relationship with the animals that I harvest. Hunting keeps me healthy; mentally, emotionally and physically. I was asked since I am so active why I don’t take the stairs at my work; I ride the elevator to the fifth floor each day. My answer is in the five months of Idaho's bird season I walk uphill more than most people do in years! Even I need a break. Most people have something in their lives they get lost in, mentally I mean. You focus, get in the zone and forget about the troubles of the world. These are the times I’m not worried about the bills or the relationships in my life. I’m hunting and that is all I’m doing, well besides enjoying watching the all the other interesting things I see while I’m out.

07-06-2007, 12:22 PM	#2
lefty o Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: mn Posts: 4,806	my answer when asked about hunting/killing is that i would be ashamed to have to pay someone else to kill my food for me.

07-06-2007, 01:17 PM	#3
bigandrich44 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 1,013	I just say because it's you versus nature. Humans are easily one of the weakest animals, and yet, we still manage to harvest huge animals, thanks to firearms and bows. There's just that aurora that surrounds the birds flushing, the smell of gunpowder, the dogs going nuts, and the talks at the end of the day. Nothing like it. __________________ http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/1...eehobosig9.png

07-06-2007, 02:24 PM	#4
ArkansasHunter Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: South Arkansas Posts: 10,709	With me the outdoors is a more peaceful world, yet a lively world that pleases the soul. The crows that caw and the distant sound of a squirrel barking. Wood peckers hammering away. The streams and creeks that twist and turn, the sound of it's flow when it's interupted. Many times, off in the distance you hear a deer snort when he smells your sint and the crashing sound as he escapes your presents. As a man that likes to hunt, killing the quarry is 3nd to the the joy of being outdoors to hunt. Thats #1 to me. #2 is the thrill of useing the guns were very fortunet and love to own in our great country, though the right of looseing this privledge is ever so present. #3 is killing a game animal, this is the reward for our skills and efforts. I am very mindful of giving the game a sporting chance, I never chance a shot. If I can't make a humane kill the game gets to live another day. I'm also one of those that believes that if we don't harvest our game animals many will die due to desease and lack of food sources in the wild. I also believe if it were not for hunters we wouldn't have the high numbers of game animals to hunt. Why do I kill things ? For the above reasons ! And I like to eat them !

07-06-2007, 03:02 PM	#6
Upland Idaho Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Boise Posts: 44	oh yeah...I forgot that reason...They taste good!!!

07-06-2007, 03:09 PM	#7
hepcraig Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 2	my amswer simple you try to hit a ground squeirrel at 300yrds with 17HMR while its eating my crop almonds i have a 13 year old girl that can

07-06-2007, 03:35 PM	#9
Lng Rng Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 944	Hunting animals is far deeper than simply "killing things." I can remember the sleepless nights elading up to a hunt, and all of the good times I have had with family and friends while hunting, or at camp. I don't care so much anymore that I fill my limit, I just like to see my younger cousin enjoy it as much as I do. Hunting is one of the reasons I go to work, and is one of the fery few reasons for me waking up at 5 in the morning.