[Hunter71235]

How many people here only shoot something if they are going to eat it in the traditional survival sense of hunting? How many people just enjoy shooting things because they move and have no desire to eat them? What philosophical differences lead to these two points of view?

 

[FALPhil]

I shoot for different reasons. Sometimes it is for food. Sometimes it is for pest control. Sometimes it is to maintain the environmental balance on my property. Sometimes it is for my children's safety. The overriding philosophy by which I decide is "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

 

[alsaqr]

Well, i shoot coyotes, lots of them. Never ate a one of them.

 

[allmons]

As others have pointed out

I hunt for food rarely. Otherwise, I kill only for pest control or my grandchildren's protection. Most of the time, I punch paper targets. But I never kill for fun.

 

[Dutch]

Mostly, I just shoot targets for practice and critters for food.

 

[1984cj]

I eat venison, dove, woods squirrels and rabbit. I do not eat the squirrels that i cull from my yard.I would eat turkey if I could just kill one!
I do not enjoy killing anything but tin cans and paper.
Hunting is fun whether I see game or not. I hunt mainly as an excuse to get out in the woods.

 

[alsaqr]

"I shoot for different reasons. Sometimes it is for food. Sometimes it is for pest control."

Ditto for me. i do kill a lot of coyotes.

 

[Gearguy10]

Personally I can't stomach just shooting animals because I need a target. I'd rather shoot a paper target any day. I do hunt and I eat what I shoot. I process my own meat and I only take what I need for the year.

 

[Duck]

I only kill if there is good reason, whether that reason is for food or to protect my animals. Between the deer, squirrels, wild hogs, etc that I hunt and the chickens and rabbits that I raise, I have probably bought less than $100 in meat in the past 3 years. I process my own meat, because I know that I do it right.

 

[Luvs2hunt]

The thrill of the hunt is the why I hunt, not the kill. I also process the game I harvest. I won't eat coyotes or crows but I usually don't harvest many of either. If the coyotes don't have mange, I'll skin it and tan it.

 

[Gun Looney]

I mostly shoot paper or steel since there's no limit or season and I love to shoot. I do hunt deer and elk and eat 'em. I also hunt coyotes for both the thrill of hunting them, and to help relieve the damage they cause as predators. As a kid I used to shoot every Cow Bird I could get my crosshairs on too. They're an evil little bird, and great .22 practice all rolled into one!

 

[CRAZY64]

Yes Yes I do

I only shoot at what I am willing to eat. Moose meat and venison are always in my freezer and Grouse/Sharptails make great stirfry or stews.

 

[Peterds]

Yum

I eat what I shoot,...primarily whitetail deer and grouse. I do not use the "push" hunting method either. I do not enjoy standing in one place all morning either,..I like to sneak hunt. It is very sporting and in my opinion the most satisfying. When bow hunting I stand more often,... at least for longer periods of time.

 

[matt g]

I was brought up being taught that you eat what you kill. My dad took 2 deer and an elk every year and that helped keep food costs down through out the year. Pest control is the only time that it's okay not to eat your victims, unless they happen to be something tasty like pigs.

 

[Chuck]

How many people here only shoot something if they are going to eat it in the traditional survival sense of hunting? How many people just enjoy shooting things because they move and have no desire to eat them? What philosophical differences lead to these two points of view?

I always have. My wife doesn't like venison so I haven't hunted in quite a while.

 

[Tanker60A3]

Eattin' Good in the Neighborhood

If it's a game animal and I kill it, I eat it.
If it's a pest, I kill it.
Normal people don't kill animals just to kill them. They have long medical terms to describe people like that, terms I can't spell.
John Q.

 

[Cub]

I usually shoot what I will eat, moose, dear, grouse, ect... like watching wildlife so I can learn there ways, and make us better hunters.
I don't beleive in ending any creatures life just so I can feel good about my shooting! For that, I shoot paper targets, this really tells me how good of a shooter I am!

 

[jeepejeep]

If I'm not gonna eat it, I'm not gonna shoot it. The only exception are coyotes. I'll shoot as many of those as I can!

 

[wagonwheel]

Normal people don't kill animals just to kill them. They have long medical terms to describe people like that, terms I can't spell.
John Q.

it's called Antisocial Personality Disorder.

i enjoy the hunt and i enjoy eating. there is nothing better than backstrap.

 

[RED]

I ate a robin once.

My Dad always kept me in plenty of BB's and a working BB gun from when I was 6 years old until I graduated to a .22 at age 11.

Here were his rules:

1. NEVER point gun at anybody or anything you don't want to hurt.

2. NEVER bring a cocked BB gun into the house.

3. NEVER shoot anything but game animals and pests.
a) Quail, and doves are the only game birds you may shoot.
b) English Sparrows, starlings, blue jays, are all pests.
c) Robins, bluebirds, finches, hummingbirds, and woodpeckers are all
strictly forbidden.

One day I strayed and shot a robin. Dad made me clean it and mom cooked the breast and then I had to eat it. it had a two tone breast much like a dove but much stronger tasting. In fact you couldn't tell much difference between it and a spotted owl.