Feelings during The Hunt

[mxgsfmdpx]

This brings up an interesting argument and it’s weird to see others takes on this immediately “moderated”.

I’m sure they were joking with the “feelings” comments but it does get to the core of the statement made by OP

Women are very different than men and that is a GOOD thing. In general they are much more emotional, caring, and nurturing. Their minds work very differently than ours with processing decisions and justifying outcomes.

If she’s having a hard time with taking the responsibility of where her food comes from herself then I would recommend her being educated on how/where her meat from the store comes from. Hunting isn’t for everyone and being the one to kill and process the life is a responsibility that not all can handle; and guess what, that’s okay too! Maybe it’s not for her, and as long as she doesn’t judge/condemn others that are willing, then all is fine in my opinion.

I love nature and always have. There is nothing better than being in wilderness and becoming apart of that ecosystem for short periods of time. I would go (and do every year) and glass animals even without a tag in my pocket. Been doing that for 30+ years now and there are few things in life better than those experiences.

The life of the animals in the “hunting world” should be something that is thought about more in my opinion. Spend a few minutes reflecting on where and what it took for that animal to be where it is in that moment. Be thankful that it was provided to you, giving you clean protein for months ahead. Be proud of taking the responsibility yourself and the work you may have put in for the harvest. Never let anyone judge or condemn you… to not hunt for food is a very recent human development that more people need to reflect on instead of ridiculing hunters.

 

[realunlucky]

This brings up an interesting argument and it’s weird to see others takes on this immediately “moderated”.

I’m sure they were joking with the “feelings” comments but it does get to the core of the statement made by OP

Women are very different than men and that is a GOOD thing. In general they are much more emotional, caring, and nurturing. Their minds work very differently than ours with processing decisions and justifying outcomes.

If she’s having a hard time with taking the responsibility of where her food comes from herself then I would recommend her being educated on how/where her meat from the store comes from. Hunting isn’t for everyone and being the one to kill and process the life is a responsibility that not all can handle; and guess what, that’s okay too! Maybe it’s not for her, and as long as she doesn’t judge/condemn others that are willing, then all is fine in my opinion.

I love nature and always have. There is nothing better than being in wilderness and becoming apart of that ecosystem for short periods of time. I would go (and do every year) and glass animals even without a tag in my pocket. Been doing that for 30+ years now and there are few things in life better than those experiences.

The life of the animals in the “hunting world” should be something that is thought about more in my opinion. Spend a few minutes reflecting on where and what it took for that animal to be where it is in that moment. Be thankful that it was provided to you, giving you clean protein for months ahead. Be proud of taking the responsibility yourself and the work you may have put in for the harvest. Never let anyone judge or condemn you… to not hunt for food is a very recent human development that more people need to reflect on instead of ridiculing hunters.

Nothing was "moderated"

You can have any opinion you want, you just can't be a jackass when you express it.

 

[Hectocotylus]

It’s ok to feel that taking a life isn’t a flippant thing to do. It’s ok to feel sad about it. Life eats life. Something has to die. We live in a way where we don’t usually have to see it, but I appreciate a cows life a lot more now that I hunt even if I’m not the one killing the cow directly.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Nothing was "moderated"

You can have any opinion you want, you just can't be a jackass when you express it.

I imagine that’s the only sentence that you read in my comment?

A “moderator” coming in and “quoting/flagging” valid points is still moderation. It makes folks less willing to come in and state their opinion/joke. Even if the valid point is done a “joke” that some may find “offensive” (really?) that’s not something that a should have warranted moderator opinion. If you don’t like the joke move on.

Moderation is a good thing. In my opinion, in the instances in this thread, it was not needed.

 

[ianpadron]

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.

That right there is what it's all about.

 

[Piranha37]

One of the things I try to do before my kids ever go hunting with me is to talk about the animal each meat comes from. My kids know we eat elk and they don’t like “cow”. I’ve showed them where the cuts of different meats come from animals and try to show them the “why”. I try to talk about how the animals we eat lived a good full life and they weren’t raised fenced in for the sole purpose of eating.
I think this helps, but my kids still have feelings about not wanting to kill animals. I don’t know how else to go through it but to explain and let them know why and then, of course, not force them to do anything.
I’ve had the feeling myself when I’ve come up on an animal that wasn’t dead yet (eg a deer shot with buck shot on a deer drive and had a pellet go through his spine). I do my best to shoot accurately and dispatch them cleanly if they are still alive.

 

[TSAMP]

I'm just glad we finally have thread derailment police. That should really clean up the clutter.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

I'm just glad we finally have thread derailment police. That should really clean up the clutter.

How’s is stating one of the clear facts of the original topic an example of thread derailment?

I totally agree with you in general, but all they did was mention that men and women process things completely differently. In my opinion it’s one the main points of discussion on this topic.

Could they have done a better job stating that? Sure. Is a joke about men not having feelings like women do unacceptable or in-appropriate? I really don’t think so at all, especially when it’s one of the core points of the original topic.

 

[TaperPin]

This post brought back a memory of a three family antelope hunt - one mom and daughter didnt like to hunt, but they were field dressing a doe the dad had shot and taking a really long time so I wandered over their way to help. Turned out both were biology nerds and the mom was dissecting the goat, rubber gloves and all - explaining the organs, joints and tissue. Then they were excited for the next antelope in order to compare some internal parts. lol

 

[Pony Soldier]

My family has participated in killing so many things over the years that there is no emotion of any kind. Some things are for eating some things are just old or crippled and time to go. Sometimes things just have run the limit of my tolerance. I had a beligerant little bull who had a point to prove and I settled the issue with my 45. He ate fine. Growing up on a ranch there is no emotion.

 

[Wingshooter]

My family has participated in killing so many things over the years that there is no emotion of any kind. Some things are for eating some things are just old or crippled and time to go. Sometimes things just have run the limit of my tolerance. I had a beligerant little bull who had a point to prove and I settled the issue with my 45. He ate fine. Growing up on a ranch there is no emotion.

I am a farmer so I know what you're talking about when you manage large numbers of animals for a living, death is certainly part of life on the farm.

 

[marksman1941]

I grew up with a dad who occasionally hunted but rarely harvested anything, so I wasn’t around dead critters much. We had the yearly mountain lion come onto the property and maul a doe which was always pretty rough to see the aftermath of, but that was about it.

When I was 12 our family started doing a week long elk season each year. It was a great camping trip with some hunting involved. I packed a gun every year, and had 5 opportunities in 6 years to shoot an elk. Each time I sighted on the elk and just… couldn’t do it. It didn’t feel right to do it. My dad and I would talk about it every time, no shame or guilt involved. Just go through what my thought processes were.

I killed my first deer at 17 and have taken a large handful since then. It’s sad every time but it gets easier the more you do it. I’m thankful my dad never pushed me or forced me to shoot anything, as I believe that would have changed my relationship with hunting quite a bit.

My advice would be to invite your lady friend hunting just to watch. A year or three in the woods, watching a few animals go down and participating in the dressing and packing could be beneficial to reducing her sadness over shooting herself. And, it may be something she has to internally force herself to do once even if it’s uncomfortable. That might get her over the edge of the discomfort. Or, it’ll tell her that she doesn’t want to shoot anything else.

 

[WCB]

If the only hang up is the pulling of the trigger then go try to shoot doves or ducks , maybe upland. Takes a lot of the decision making time/process away. More a reaction than a thought out process.

See if she can stomach that and the process of utilizing those animals. Then take her on a hunt for deer and have her watch a kill and the process.

Also, IMO don't make it some spiritual journey and all that babble. I hunt, I am a hunter, I kill things. Just the way it is. Is there some emotional element to it?...absolutely. Do I kill for fun? No. But, it is literally the purpose for being there. A lot of the comments on here are just like 95% of the hunting film story lines. Every hunt, kill, shot is not the pinnacle of an emotional journey that is a life altering view into the matrix.

When the shot comes or a desired animal is spotted my actions are almost automatic. There is no emotion in the actual killing part of it. After the fact I don't jump around like a dolt, cry, and I don't put a cigarette in it's mouth and a hat on its head. So part of it is similar to what was meant as a joke..."what emotion?"

 

[Dos Perros]

Anyone else suspect OP is a bot?

 

[JjamesIII]

Anyone else suspect OP is a bot?

Yes- hence my original comment that got jumped on by moderator “really dude?”. Other post by the OP lead me to believe trolling could be sus.

It’s like “hey all you hunters on this hunting forum thingy- do you ever feel bad for killing animals???” Just asking for a friend

 

[Dos Perros]

OP is a bot. So is the new “tell me all about your guns I love guns” guy.

 

[mi650]

My FIL didn't hunt, so it was a foreign concept to my wife. I got her to try venison a few times, and then a couple months after we got married she said, "I guess if you fill my freezer with it, I'll eat it." So she's eaten it since then, 31 years now. She's had no problems helping with butchering, just always said she didn't want to be the one to kill it. She even went out with me several times, running the video camera after we got one.

1 day I knew I had her for sure. My dad and step-mother were at our house for dinner, wife was making tacos/burritos. My son, dad, and I were in the garage butchering a deer, and my wife decided she didn't have enough burger thawed out. She came out to the garage, grabbed a handful out of my scraps bowl, put it thru the grinder, and into the frying pan it went!

I posted this story recently, but back in 2017, things changed. She told me in May or June that she wanted to give deer hunting a try. I had already ordered a new rifle, it showed up a couple weeks later, and she stole it from me! I don't have the best luck rifle hunting, always do better during bow season. So I took her out opening day and an hour after sunrise, there were 6 bucks around us and she killed a 5 point. Now she thinks deer hunting is easy! She hasn't been back out since. Still no problems with any aspect of it, just doesn't have the desire to shoot another one herself.

I guess that's a long-winded way of saying that maybe if your girl is exposed to it enough, she'll come around. Maybe not, but being around it and seeing it as a normal part of life can't hurt.

Perfect shot on him, exit hole showing. He was quartering away slightly, entrance was about 2" behind his shoulder.

 

[Pony Soldier]

Hunting was always primary to me. I went theough a lot of girlfriends with an elk meat test. Even had one that said it was the best steak she had ever had until I told her it was elk. Then she ran into the bathroom and pucked it up.

Until I found one that wanted to hunt, we never got past the first date. I also made sure there was no sex that would lead to a birthday during hunting season.

Even without hunting there were a lot of camping trips before any marital decisions were made. You can decide a lot about a partner after 10 days in a wall tent without a bath. There are no illusions or hidden agendas.

I made one mistake the first time and the divorce came 6 months later. We are working toward our 50th so I think I was better at it the second time. No marriage is better than a bad one.

 

[Chris_in_Idaho]

Something that I have a hard time understanding is how people can dissociate purchasing meat from killing animals. The whole "but I didn't kill it," line of reasoning is false. The meat producers will raise and slaughter the appropriate number of animals to meet demand. If you are part of that demand, then your actions have directly caused cows and chickens to be slaughtered. You killed them.

Another point that I don't think people fully grasp is that no animal in the wild dies peacefully in its sleep due to old age. The game animal will die a violent death, either one involving teeth and claws or one involving a 30-06 through the lungs.

So, here are two scenarios:

In Scenario A there's a cow living in a concentrated feed lot, spending its entire existence standing in its own excrement while undergoing processes like castration and branding until it's finally slaughtered, probably knowing what's going to happen after seeing and hearing the 20 cows in front of it get slaughtered. Also in scenario A there's a deer that's disemboweled and eaten alive by a pack of coyotes.

In Scenario B the deer is shot with a rifle and the meat producer raised one less cow because you now live on game meat instead of buying beef.

I realize this is a stretch and an over simplification, but the point is valid. If you eat meat, you caused the death of an animal. I would prefer it was a wild/free animal that I saved from a worse fate.

 

[Mtns2hunt]

I once asked my cousin what he thought about killing deer. He told me I just don't think about it and that works for me. But there can be hang ups as in today's society and social media. These platforms will do your thinking for you and influence your every thought and you are not even aware.

So I turn off the phone and enjoy nature and for me it is an escape.