I think that there are many parts that make a person a hunter. I have the gear and stuff to do the long range hunting but I really like getting close to the animal. However, to me, that is not the element of what makes a person a hunter(it is an aspect of that). I truly believe that a hunter respects the life of the animal and its contribution to his or her life. I respect the meat. So I use a rifle load and shot placement that kills cleanly with a minimum loss of meat but with enough power so it doesn't run off to where it is lost. I am not tech or gear adverse but the biggest thing to me is the respect to the animal. Maybe my definition is different than most. IDK. I have let full curl sheep and legal moose go. Just didn't feel right. I am more into the stalking and interacting that with the kill counts. I do favor wild meat and believe that the primal connection that we make with animals really is an essential part of being human.
I can tell you that watching all of the 40 mile hunters haul out caribou whole that look like they are starting to sour upsets me. I think that there should be a meat treatment and instruction course mandatory for big game hunting in Alaska but most probably would disagree with this. I have so many wives come in and ask how to process and package meat and then they just buy the biggest LEM meat grinder that they can and grind it up. It is just so tough for me to see. Or to see moose meat on a ribcage or neck that is thrown in the recycling center dumpsters. It just pisses me off. I shouldn't rant. I have lost goats before. But I now really slow down and make sure that recovery is at a slam dunk percentage and I have left goats to their cliffy cliffs since I lost that goat on Barnard. I guess that hunting shouldn't have an almost religious quality to it but I find myself that way about it so I am sorry if this comes across in the wrong way. It is just how I was raised and how I have been taught by the people who have mentored me.
I can tell you that watching all of the 40 mile hunters haul out caribou whole that look like they are starting to sour upsets me. I think that there should be a meat treatment and instruction course mandatory for big game hunting in Alaska but most probably would disagree with this. I have so many wives come in and ask how to process and package meat and then they just buy the biggest LEM meat grinder that they can and grind it up. It is just so tough for me to see. Or to see moose meat on a ribcage or neck that is thrown in the recycling center dumpsters. It just pisses me off. I shouldn't rant. I have lost goats before. But I now really slow down and make sure that recovery is at a slam dunk percentage and I have left goats to their cliffy cliffs since I lost that goat on Barnard. I guess that hunting shouldn't have an almost religious quality to it but I find myself that way about it so I am sorry if this comes across in the wrong way. It is just how I was raised and how I have been taught by the people who have mentored me.