Hunting

[Jcamp]

Any other hunters on here? I’m in southern Ohio and hav been deer hunting for a full week with no luck at getting a decent buck. There’s an insane amount of squirrels tho.

[Nyghthawk]

With the caveat that I haven't hunted in some years, the area in which I live there are scads of whitetail deer. I drive through a river bottom on my way to and from work. Most mornings I could get a good size buck pretty easy if the Texas Parks and Wildlife wouldn't get in a snit about hunting from my Honda!

[RP]

Originally Posted by Jcamp

Any other hunters on here? I’m in southern Ohio and hav been deer hunting for a full week with no luck at getting a decent buck...

Deer are scattered along the roadsides throughout the area I live. Maybe you're using the wrong ammo. I've also seen two different bears in the last couple of days - one on my front porch......

[AmericanEagle]

Not me.
I cannot kill a beautiful deer out in the wild.
To think 1 minute it was happy, healthy, and free,
and the next minute it is dead, because of my bullet..
No way,
I'd rather buy any meat I eat, and I don't eat deer/venison anyway.

[Mr. Jelly]

I don't hunt but I have worked many, many years with allot of people that did. I'm retired now. Most were bow hunters but not all. I understand why it is necessary and I find it all interesting. We have allot of deer around here. I've had herds of deer ten feet away my sliding glass doors. I've had deer brush against my picture windows getting a drink of water from a water bowl we have for animals. I haven't driven into one , yet. Anyway several weeks ago they have all disappeared. I suspect it's hunting season. They do seem smarter or act different than they used to. They used to be more skittish but now they seem to be more comfortable around roads and houses and people. They seem to know the minute hunting season starts and go immediately into protection mode. Good luck.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by AmericanEagle

Not me.
I cannot kill a beautiful deer out in the wild.
To think 1 minute it was happy, healthy, and free,
and the next minute it is dead, because of my bullet..
No way,
I'd rather buy any meat I eat, and I don't eat deer/venison anyway.

As long as you do not oppose deer hunting your personal choice is totally valid

I used to hunt and for some 25 years big game meat was our main source of protein. That said personally because of health issues and some other reasons I have gone from primarily a red meat guy to primarily a vegetarian

The other reasons are I personally have lost the desire to hunt and I suppose do want all the work involved after pulling the trigger or releasing the arrow.

Which started before the health problems. Some 15 to 18 years ago we had a number of life changing experiences with wild critters and made the mistake of naming the wild creatures that were constantly around house.

[RedJoker]

My wife is a huge animal lover and there was a group of idiot hunters behind our house last year. Their 'method' of hunting was to have about ten guys stand around three sides of a field and then a few others drive the deer out of the woods on that fourth side into the cleared field / killing area. Then the others all shoot towards the center, and therefore at each other.

She set up speakers on the patio and blasted show tunes at them.

I mean, every hunter likes show tunes, right?

[PeteCady]

Originally Posted by AmericanEagle

Not me.
I cannot kill a beautiful deer out in the wild.
To think 1 minute it was happy, healthy, and free,
and the next minute it is dead, because of my bullet..
No way,
I'd rather buy any meat I eat, and I don't eat deer/venison anyway.

I understand your feelings. I don't hunt. But I eat venison when offered. It's good.

I think the point that you miss is this: There are no hospitals or nursing homes or assisted living facilities for deer in the wild. A deer that is not killed by a hunter either starves when it gets too feeble from injuries or just aging to be able to browse; or is pulled down, and likely gutted while still alive, by wolves, coyotes, wild dogs, or whatever. I would think that if a deer were capable of envisioning these things, it would prefer a shot by a hunter - if it were properly placed in a quickly lethal spot, with a weapon of adequate caliber - than any of those alternatives.

[RedJoker]

Originally Posted by PeteCady

I understand your feelings. I don't hunt. But I eat venison when offered. It's good.

I think the point that you miss is this: There are no hospitals or nursing homes or assisted living facilities for deer in the wild. A deer that is not killed by a hunter either starves when it gets too feeble from injuries or just aging to be able to browse; or is pulled down, and likely gutted while still alive, by wolves, coyotes, wild dogs, or whatever. I would think that if a deer were capable of envisioning these things, it would prefer a shot by a hunter - if it were properly placed in a quickly lethal spot, with a weapon of adequate caliber - than any of those alternatives.

I have never once heard of a hunter that passed on a shot because they were waiting to save an old / sick / injured deer from misery. I have heard of the opposite, though.

[fazool]

I am not opposed to using animals for food - the world was made this way. I consume less and less red meat and I don't eat pork.

That said, I think killing an animal purely for fun is bad.


And, I'll stop there.

[C-ville Brent]

Shout out to and from southern Ohio. Acoustic guitars and rifles are among my life's enjoyments. I don't hunt, but do eat some meat. I don't believe in killing anything just for sport, but do support my neighbors who hunt to feed themselves and their families. I would much rather the plentiful deer in my area be on someone's table than rotting along side of the road which is a very frequent site. We all make choices that fit who we are. Good luck.

[AmericanEagle]

Originally Posted by PeteCady

I think the point that you miss is this: There are no hospitals or nursing homes or assisted living facilities for deer in the wild. A deer that is not killed by a hunter either starves when it gets too feeble from injuries or just aging to be able to browse; or is pulled down, and likely gutted while still alive, by wolves, coyotes, wild dogs, or whatever. I would think that if a deer were capable of envisioning these things, it would prefer a shot by a hunter - if it were properly placed in a quickly lethal spot, with a weapon of adequate caliber - than any of those alternatives.

My bet is most hunters go for the biggest healthiest meatiest targets they can find.
Are you saying hunters only kill frail skinny old and sick animals?
I highly doubt that, in which case your point is invalid.

[Steve DeRosa]

Back in the '80s I was a competitive target shooter, which pursuit necessarily brought me into close contact with fellow competitors (including my two best buds at the time) who hunted actively...

Here on S.I. we have flourishing populations of both wild turkey and whitetail deer, and living but a short walk from the Greenbelt I have had a number of close-up and personal encounters with both resident species (among others), enjoy observing them in their natural habitat - and my acquaintance with their habits has prevented more than a few potential roadkill situations...

I've never hunted in my life - I don't condemn anyone who does - and as long as our local Shop-Rite remains open and well-stocked I probably never will...

In the event of cataclysm natural or otherwise, when/if it becomes a matter of survival all bets are off...

[Imbler]

I don't hunt, probably because I didn't grow up hunting. I have no desire to shoot a deer.

What I do know, is there are more deer now than when America was colonized.

If there were no deer hunting, there would be a lot fewer deer. The hunters provide a financial incentive to keep habitat to cultivate them.

So, long story short, I'm very pro hunting, although I will never hunt. The hunters work politically to maintain wildlife habitat, and provide financial incentive for individual landowners to do the same (the rent out hunting leases).

When hunting dies out, so will most of what they hunted. We are seeing that in Africa already.

Just my opinion, others may vary.

[TBman]

The ecosystem depends on keeping populations of certain animals down. I saw a documentary about a wild life sanctuary or something like that where they introduced wolves into the "park." As a result of adding the predators, the ecosystem became balanced.

If there aren't predators to keep the population of grazing animals down, the foliage takes a big hit and the land can no longer support the grazing animal population.