182 bears killed in first two days of N.J. hunt

NJ.com ^

[Sam Cree]

I probably qualify as both #'s 1 and 2 on that list.

I started deer hunting relatively late in life, to get venison, which I had found out I loved. There were people who would give me some, but I finally decided I should be going out and getting it on my own.

Strangely the "spiritual" part was unlooked for and came as a surprise to me. Perhaps it is just a result of sitting for hours in the cold (kidding).

Yes, my attitude is very definitely putting me, at least in some ways, on the same level with an animal. By definition.

However, I do believe, that for many of us, hunting may increase our respect for life. You are likely an example of this. Yeah, I don't think it possible to kill without wondering at least occasionally whether or not it is really right.

[warchild9]

You're following much the same path I did. I became pro-life and anti-hunting simultaneously, because I saw that all life is invaluable. My mind finally changed when a squirrel I had shot was gagging blood at me, and I realized I'd committed an atrocity in a chain of atrocities. Rush Limbaugh converted me to the pro-life position; Aristotle changed me otherwise: "The unexamined life is not worth living."

[highnoon]

>The kill, if it even happens, is not the fun part for me. It is the beginning of the work. Work to take care of the meat that I just harvested. The fun part is spending time in the woods or field as a steward of mother nature. Watching a fat squirrel climb into your stand, or a fox sneak through the woods, or eagles chase turkeys, that is fun. Or the time that a twentysomething can spend with his 70ish grandfather alone that is special. It is not sick. <

I'm glad I read all the posts before I posted, because this is pretty much a mirror of what I would have written. Hunting for me is a beautiful adventure, a chance to communicate with nature and her Creator. If I did happen to kill something that would end up on my table later that evening, or in the freezer, I considered that icing on the cake.

[warchild9]

Again, one can enjoy nature and animals without destroying them. There's a basic irrationality in that.

[Jimmyclyde]

Is that a real picture?

[CollegeRepublican]

What makes an animals life either innocent or guilty? Why are the animals innocent? What are they accused of? They, the animals, were put on this earth by God for man's use, to do with as we see fit. I have no moral or ethical or religious qualms over what I do when I kill an animal. I am a steward of the land taking responsibility for mankinds mistakes in the past. I.E. killing off predators. But even if there were still wolves and mountian lions all across Maryland eating deer, I still would not have a problem with hunting deer for food and fun.

[warchild9]

Well, work calls, and I've got to go. It's slow here today, but not that slow.
Please, anyone, Freepmail me. Even you manly men.

/mildly kidding

[agrace]

A butcher kills dispassionately. A hunter kills for fun, regardless of what they say. If it wasn't fun, they wouldn't go through the expense and bother.

So in other words, my father, while working as a butcher, did so with complete emotional detachment, with no enjoyment or satisfaction whatsoever.

But this same man, my father, when strapping on the guns and heading for the woods to fill our freezer for the winter, did so with eager anticipation and subsequent exultation of the kill.

Thanks for the insight.

[12GA]

Yes, but one can only consume meat as the result of the death of an animal. As a meat consumer, I am also an animal killer - either directly by my own hand or by supporting the local butcher. I know what I am. I accept it. It is not sick.

[CommerceComet]

"Hunting is killing for fun."

May I ask how you are able to divine another motives? Just because those were your motives for hunting does not mean that they are the motives for anyone else. The hunters that I have associated with would go out hunting even if they knew they weren't going to kill anything. A successful hunting experience doesn't have to involve killing.

[shotgun]

Here is the link:

http://jdaw.net/article.php?story=20030811123140681&mode=print

[CollegeRepublican]

Agreed. My grandfathers friend, who owns the land where I hunt, will sit in a tree for 16 straight days and not shoot a thing until "the one" he wants walks by, be it a fat doe or a huge buck.

[highnoon]

I have hunted all my life, and I have cooked all my life. Many game animals are not available at the supermarket, or even specialty shops (at least not in Texas). Dove, duck, squirrel for example. If I should choose to go out and bag my dinner, that is my choice. As for the gagging squirrel that you shot, any hunter has seen that type of thing. My advice, practice hitting your target a little better. It is fun to hunt, not fun to pull the head off of a wounded dove, but that comes with the territory. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. If you don't like the food, don't eat it. Simple enough.

[Jimmyclyde]

Thanks...I am speechless...WOW!!

[highnoon]

Love that tagline, saw the movie just the other night AGAIN. Hard not to watch it over and over!

[Sam Cree]

Don't know whether or not I'll ever get to where you are, but thinking about some of the things we discussed suddenly made me see how you arrived where you did.

Truthfully, it's something I think about anyway, and have for awhile. I absolutely adore meat, though.

BTW, I don't deny the machismo aspects of hunting, but among my friends, while present, it's not really the big thing. Yes, the backslapping and cameraderie is great, drinking some "shine" together when successful, at the edge of the woods, all that stuff.

Never shot at a bear, they have been absent in my area for years, but are now making a comeback. I always just hope they keep their distance from me.

[Jimmyclyde]

Love that tagline, saw the movie just the other night AGAIN. Hard not to watch it over and over!

Thanks, great movie with so many great lines.

"Buzzards got to eat same as worms."

[Coleus]

Wow, that many? Way to go! It became so bad that students couldn't walk to school with their lunches in their backpacks!!

When are you going to whip up a stew?

[Coleus]

ping

[shotgun]

You've heard the old adage:

"you don't have to be faster than the bear, just faster than your friend..."

This guy must not of...