Feelings during The Hunt

[Swamp Fox]

OP-

I have daughters. I've had several discussions with them about why I hunt, the purpose behind it, and what it does for me and our family.
I am not a scholar, so I broke it down Barnie style for them. All things die, a large portion of human food is from animals, so I prefer fresh, true organic meat, fish, etc. over grocery stores. This made the most sense to them.

Okay, but the more people go back to the Barney well, the longer he'll be with us ... and that cain't be good for anyone .... LOL

 

[ozyclint]

any tips or stories are all welcome here !

thank you for your input

To OP- Sorry for the thread derailment. Apparently any tips or stories aren't welcome here.

 

[MuleyFever]

This. Do people that have hurt feelings in killing an animal and actually utilizing it still have hurt feelings when they buy meat from the store? What's the distinction? It's OK to pay to have the death on someone else's conscience?

What tip or story are you providing here?

 

[chris2fer6148]

I appreciate you all for this open discussion on how you genuinely Feel about the killing shot to our animal friends. it honestly has opened myself and my lady friends eyes to the Beauty and Empathy within all of us!

its very easy for outsiders to see Hunters are brute men that are just killing machines with no Hearts. but this post has opened our eyes to how Heart felt the Hunters truly are !

my lady friend sends her Gratitude to everyone's that has replied !

in all honesty even the replies that were taking our boat down a different river didn't seem as such to us. it was insightful to hear everyone's perspective regardless if it was in total alignment with the way the river was flowing!

please everyone continue with being spectacular and sharing a piece of yourselves ! reading and learning from is always a blast ! kudos

 

[ozyclint]

What tip or story are you providing here?

Just that reality doesn't care for your feelings. I feel emotion like everyone else after the killing but it is tempered by the realisation that humans have had to kill things and eat them since the origin of our species and it's something you must accept if your going to eat it whether you killed it or someone else did.

 

[Wingshooter]

I would suggest taking her hunting for something a little less cute. If a person has been indoctrinated by bambi it can make things more difficult. My daughter loves turkey hunting and has killed several tom turkeys that she describes as beautiful but not cute. Which in her mind makes them a little easier to shoot than the 1 deer she shot. She also doesn't like being cold and that doesn't help her deer habit.

 

[Howard Mee]

[mention]chris2fer6148 [/mention] I was raised on venison my whole life. My entire household hunted. My mom can’t kill deer because of the emotion. She’s 100% pro-hunting and helps process and cook the meat, but it hurts her heart to actually pull the trigger. She just can’t do it.

If your lady friend truly feels the need or sincerely wants to kill an animal, I’d suggest you start with smaller animals and work your way up.

I prefer to start my kids with Turkey. It’s extremely fun. Lots of action. Enough meat to make it worth the effort.

Good luck!!


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[GSPHUNTER]

I have always been to excited about the hunt to let emotions interfere. I have recently found out I passed that trait on to my grandson. Well excitement is an emotion, but you know what I mean.

 

[5MilesBack]

I have a lady friend here next to me who is curious as to how you go about internal processing of your emotions during a Hunt !

I don't even know what that means. That sounds like something in woman world.

 

[JjamesIII]

Really dude?

Really dude????? It’s a joke, calm down “dude” your so frickin’ up tight. I see you’re always the first one to jump on and get butt hurt over the most innocuous comments.

 

[Howard Mee]

Really dude????? It’s a joke, calm down “dude” your so frickin’ up tight. I see you’re always the first one to jump on and get butt hurt over the most innocuous comments.

That’s his job. He’s a moderator.
We assume this post is a sincere question.

So why chime in with unnecessary clutter?
If you don’t have an answer… just move on.
It’s easy.


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[1brad]

Some people just aren’t made to kill. Can’t force a lover to be a killer.

 

[WKR]

Another senseless post.

I read it as he was asking for opinions on relating is to his lady friend. Why do we need so many sarcastic and or nonsense posts? If you don't like the topic, move on.

Thats your opinion.
And I have mine. Which is not sarcastic or senseless.
If the emotions of taking life are too overwhelming, there are other options where you don't have to be involved but still enjoy the end result.

This topic and question is a reflection of where people and society are today, humans aren't meant to over analyze hunting for food and let emotions override logic.

Do we empathize with the animals we take? Ofcourse, unless you're a sociopath. Do we let it get in the way of taking an animal? Never

 

[GSPHUNTER]

My fishing friend just can't understand how I can bring myself to kill any animal. I just look at him and say, what do you call killing all the various fish you catch, tune, yellowtail ,dorado, White Seabass, etc,ect. Somehow he thinks there is a difference . Wrong.

 

[Wingshooter]

Also something we did when our youngsters were getting started hunting was after a successful hunt while butchering, we would mark various cuts of meat with Cole's buck/ backstraps. Then make a big deal about it when we pulled it out of the freezer to marinade it and grill/smoke it. It's really about the whole package making someone who's squeemish about the killing part see what's past it is important. Find that ugly animal and let her make a clean kill then do everything you can to make sure it's delicious.

 

[TaperPin]

Well this is a very moderated post, so feel free to ban me for two more weeks if this seams like clutter

Once someone is ok with the idea of hunting, or whatever used to be uncomfortable, there is a natural period of adjustment to desensitize one’s emotions. I can accept Ranch dressing is a real food and it won’t kill anyone to eat it, but geeze it took me years to get over a mental aversion to it - unless it’s life or death canned spinach is a hard no. EMTs have to go through a decent amount of training before their first gory traffic accident - the more they are desensitized to it before the real thing the better. Look at all the little soft spoken wall flower smart kids that have become doctors - not a single one got there without getting over a number of things. Even hunters can be surprised by the operation of a high production slaughterhouse - I don’t enjoy thinking about a half dead three legged cow being kept alive long enough to be legal for processing, but for the guys working there it eventually just becomes part of the job. I also think it’s crappy live chickens are packed so tightly in mesh crates on the way to the slaughter house, but if that was the family business no doubt I’d adjust.

 

[JjamesIII]

Well this is a very moderated post, so feel free to ban me for two more weeks if this seams like clutter

Once someone is ok with the idea of hunting, or whatever used to be uncomfortable, there is a natural period of adjustment to desensitize one’s emotions. I can accept Ranch dressing is a real food and it won’t kill anyone to eat it, but geeze it took me years to get over a mental aversion to it - unless it’s life or death canned spinach is a hard no. EMTs have to go through a decent amount of training before their first gory traffic accident - the more they are desensitized to it before the real thing the better. Look at all the little soft spoken wall flower smart kids that have become doctors - not a single one got there without getting over a number of things. Even hunters can be surprised by the operation of a high production slaughterhouse - I don’t enjoy thinking about a half dead three legged cow being kept alive long enough to be legal for processing, but for the guys working there it eventually just becomes part of the job. I also think it’s crappy live chickens are packed so tightly in mesh crates on the way to the slaughter house, but if that was the family business no doubt I’d adjust.

Good points

 

[fngTony]

@TaperPin nothing in your post even close to a reason for banning you, it’s a well written comment.

Moderating subjects on abstract thoughts is a lot tougher than gear. Many of the short comments here can be taken differently, some elaboration goes a long way.

 

[ianpadron]

I'd be seriously concerned about anyone who doesn't have at least a trace of compassion for taking an animal's life. I always think about the lives of the bucks I kill...where were they born, how'd they cross paths with me, where were they headed, how many cats and wolves did they dodge and winters did they weather? Incredible animals by every metric, so I see extinguishing their life as serious business.

That said, we have a very distinct place in God's creation and animals are there to help other animals, and man, flourish.

It's a beautiful and powerful thing to be a part of!

Some people will never be able to see through it, and that's OK, but trying to help your gal see it from a different perspective might help.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Taking my daughters hunting and teaching them the "why" was one of the most fulfilling things I've done as a man. Having them understand where meat comes from and appreciating the hunt as well as honroring the animals and being grateful for the opportunities has truly been a pleasure.

My favorite part of every deer hunt from the time they were little to last season is holding hands and saying a quick prayer before the hunt. We're not a religious family and seldom go to church, but I have a very deep relationship with the Lord, and I've seen him have an impact on my life and hunts. We don't pray for a trohpy or anything materialistic like that. We simply pray for an opportunity, and if given such an opportunity, we ask that he bless the hunt, give them courage to take the shot, and steady and guide their hands. We ask him to bless the animal with a quick and honorable death and pray that it doesn't suffer. Finally, we close by expressing our gratitude for the opportunity to be together hunting again, and thank him for everything.

So far my daughters have never lost a deer or even had one take more than a few steps. This is something they've always appreciated, and I think they've been moved during these times as well.