Hunting just for the kill

[Bar]

Over population of any animal is bad. Imagine what it would be like if elk weren't controlled here in Colorado? You sure wouldn't want to hit one with a car. It's rare to have over populations of deer in Colorado. It's the other way around most of the time.

Predators need to be kept in control here. We have too many bears right now, and it's a slight problem, but could get much worse if we don't control. a bear tag is pretty easy to get now. We know what happens when wolves get out of control.

Coyotes are bad when they get out of hand. They get very bold, and will be in your backyard. A woman was just killed by coyotes while she was hiking. Kids are attacked all the time. Dogs are killed all the time. My dog was an 80lb pit bull, and he put up a good fight, and killed two of them, but in the end they got him. It's unusual for a wild animal to fight to the death, but they did it with my dog. All I can think of is they're so used to dog being an easy kill, that it was too late for a couple of them. My neighbor saw the battle, but was too scared to do anything. He said it was a terrible thing to watch, and there was 7-8 coyotes. He said my dog put up a hell of a fight, but they were attacking him from all angles. I'm getting pissed again talking about it.

Anyway, we have mule deer here. They have a rough time to try and survive here. Letting coyotes just have their way would wipe out the herds of deer. We have lots of mountain lions too. A mountain lion will eat one deer a week. Sometimes two. They kill the adults. Coyotes kill the fawns. As do the bears. Then the deer have our winters to get through. A lot of them die in the winter.

I can only kill one bear a year, and that's difficult the way we have to hunt them. I don't hunt for mountain lions. You pretty much need dogs for that, and it's not my style to shoot game out of a tree. So, that leaves coyotes. Colorado says give us 421, and you can hunt anywhere in Colorado year around, and kill as many as you want to. So I do.

You may live where coyotes and deer are ok. That's not the case everywhere. I may have a bad attitude towards coyotes, but I can't help it. I put them in the same class as rats. Some people like rats. Others kill them.

 

[5MilesBack]

I just find it funny (odd, ironic, comical, strange) when a so-called hunter says that they aren't out there for the kill. THAT is the one thing that separates the hunter from the non-hunter.....the kill or the possibility of the kill. That's like going fishing and saying that you're not out there to catch fish. If you're not out there to catch fish, then you're not fishing. If you're not out there for the kill, then you're not hunting. There's nothing wrong with not fishing or hunting, but don't deceive yourselves.

 

[charvey9]

Maybe you can draw another comparison to fishing. A ton just go for the experience, catch and release. It is still fishing without killing. Some, like myself, don't particular care to eat fish but that doesn't stop me from going fishing. My wife likes fish, so if I keep any she can eat them.

 

[realunlucky]

5 miles you make it sound like blood lust which I hope isn't your intent.

 

[MuleyFever]

I just find it funny (odd, ironic, comical, strange) when a so-called hunter says that they aren't out there for the kill. THAT is the one thing that separates the hunter from the non-hunter.....the kill or the possibility of the kill. That's like going fishing and saying that you're not out there to catch fish. If you're not out there to catch fish, then you're not fishing. If you're not out there for the kill, then you're not hunting. There's nothing wrong with not fishing or hunting, but don't deceive yourselves.

I disagree. As I said earlier the term hunting does not have to mean killing. The first definition of the word is to purse and kill. However, other definitions include to search for something until it is found. I hunt for deer all the time, often without a weapon in my hand. Sometimes in areas I cannot hunt with a weapon so I am just there to enjoy the experience. No future expectation of killing something.

Fishing is quite different as you can release them. You cant really do this with big game except for maybe with a camera. Many people do hunt with a camera. I also think that being out there for the kill and being out there for a possibility of a kill are two different things. Part of the reason I hunt is for the possibility of a kill. I do not hunt because of the kill. The killing is the way to aquire the meat I want. I dont kill because I enjoy killing, in fact I dont enjoy watching an animal die. I hunt because I prefer to source my own meat rather than to pay someone else to do it for me. So as I see it there are many parts of hunting that form the act of hunting. Killing falls in the middle of the process and the meat falls to the end of the process. I do it for the meat at the end. Killing is just a step that has to be included.

There are many hobbies or sports that require a process. To say that the participants only do it for any one part of that process is narrow minded. Some sports require people to physically dominate another. I would not go as far as to say that they are there because they want and enjoy hurting another person. They want to compete and be the best they can. Just because in order to do that they must physically beat another man does not mean THAT is why they do it.

 

[Whisky]

Coyotes and skunks, two animals I will kill at every opportunity with a smile on my face. I know it's off topic of what this thread was started for.

So, big game....each their own. I personally spend many hours hunting in the fall without killing much, if anything some years. I like to hunt. The whole experience. But it feels damn good to punch tags in the process.

 

[jmez]

Maybe you can draw another comparison to fishing. A ton just go for the experience, catch and release. It is still fishing without killing. Some, like myself, don't particular care to eat fish but that doesn't stop me from going fishing. My wife likes fish, so if I keep any she can eat them.

Going with that avenue then maybe we need to explore hunting with dart guns. You can go for the experience, shoot game, get your picture taken and no killing involved. Should be a panacea for the guys that don't like the killing part.

 

[Bar]

Not liking the kill doesn't mean we don't do it. It's just that the hunting part is more fun. The kill is just for the food. Why does that have to be fun?

I worked all my life, because it was a necessity. It was never fun. Same with the killing of an animal. Unless it's a damn coyote.

 

[tipsntails7]

5 miles you make it sound like blood lust which I hope isn't your intent.

Seriously, that's about all I can take it as at this point. What in your life can possibly make you excited about the action of killing. What makes it so you get so amped just to kill something that nothing else matters. I like hunting and I love eating meat, killing the animal I am pursuing is a means to an end for meat. If I was told that if I hunted I had to leave all the meat on the mountain I would stop hunting. I'm NOT out there just for the KILL. If that's all you want get some cattle and go to town...

 

[realunlucky]

There is a difference from killing being the most important aspect or just one of many aspects to hunting.

 

[tipsntails7]

Going with that avenue then maybe we need to explore hunting with dart guns. You can go for the experience, shoot game, get your picture taken and no killing involved. Should be a panacea for the guys that don't like the killing part.

Your not getting it, killing is not the problem, I've got a wall I'm looking at that's got a ton of shit I've killed over the years. It doesn't get me aroused thinking about the kills, I don't get a big smile remembering the exact moment the life went out of the animal. I remember the memories of the hunt and how delicious the meat tasted. I would not get that last part of it wasn't for the killing, but that doesn't mean I live for taking lives...

 

[Kevin Dill]

I don't hunt for the kill...but do for the possibility. I don't go catching...I go fishing. I don't measure success in either by the weight of my creel or loaded pack. If I knew I would never kill another game animal I would continue hunting and enjoying the hunt. I hunt for the hunt and the challenge it offers. Animals not seen? Animals passed? Animals taken? All are potential outcomes of the hunt, and they offer their own rewards to those who will accept them.

 

[jmez]

Your not getting it, killing is not the problem, I've got a wall I'm looking at that's got a ton of shit I've killed over the years. It doesn't get me aroused thinking about the kills, I don't get a big smile remembering the exact moment the life went out of the animal. I remember the memories of the hunt and how delicious the meat tasted. I would not get that last part of it wasn't for the killing, but that doesn't mean I live for taking lives...

For some killing is the problem. They flat state they don't enjoy the killing. If that is truly the case, you can get game meat other than killing it yourself. I like to kill animals, if I didn't I wouldn't hunt. I don't apologize for that nor do I try to rationalize or justify my position. I like all parts of the hunt, including the moment when I drop the string.

 

[MuleyFever]

For some killing is the problem. They flat state they don't enjoy the killing. If that is truly the case, you can get game meat other than killing it yourself. I like to kill animals, if I didn't I wouldn't hunt. I don't apologize for that nor do I try to rationalize or justify my position. I like all parts of the hunt, including the moment when I drop the string.

There is nothing wrong with being a hunter and not enjoying the killing. I dont enjoy the pack out with a boned deer in my pack either, it plain sucks. There are more than one aspects of the hunt that I dont enjoy like being cold or wet, but it is part of the experience and at the end of the day I still enjoy the experience.

We do a lot of things we dont enjoy to reach a goal.

Edit: would like to add I dont think anyone needs to be apologizing for or justifying killing. No one needs to apologize for not enjoying the killing either.

 

[Obi-wanshinobi]

I like all parts of the hunt, including the moment when I drop the string.

That's totally okay but some guys are saying it's the least enjoyable part of the hunt for them. Nothing wrong with enjoying watching an animal take it's last breath you are only human.

 

[Bar]

For some killing is the problem. They flat state they don't enjoy the killing. If that is truly the case, you can get game meat other than killing it yourself. I like to kill animals, if I didn't I wouldn't hunt. I don't apologize for that nor do I try to rationalize or justify my position. I like all parts of the hunt, including the moment when I drop the string.

Do you have any idea what 300lbs of elk meat would cost? It's hardly an option when you're a meat hunter. Do you have to enjoy the kill to go hunting?

Sorry, but you still don't get it, and nobody is asking you for an apology.

 

[jmez]

I'm guessing you could find a lot of people willing to give you 300lbs of elk meat if you paid for the tag. Would cost less than getting it yourself. No, you don't have to enjoy the kill to go hunting. I generally don't do things that I don't enjoy, especially when it is a non essential hobby that I make a conscience choice to take part in.

Any you are arguing against killing and a bloodlust attitude while advocating the same based on species. So you are correct, I don't get it, and I like to kill coyotes as well.

 

[realunlucky]

I'm guessing you could find a lot of people willing to give you 300lbs of elk meat if you paid for the tag. Would cost less than getting it yourself. No, you don't have to enjoy the kill to go hunting. I generally don't do things that I don't enjoy, especially when it is a non essential hobby that I make a conscience choice to take part in.

Any you are arguing against killing and a bloodlust attitude while advocating the same based on species. So you are correct, I don't get it, and I like to kill coyotes as well.

Interesting discussion that has veered off the original thread. I guess there are multiple reasons to hunt and the varying aspects of the "HUNT" appeal at differing enjoyment levels to each hunter. I will say blood lust is the lest appealing to those on the outside looking in. No apology needed for the aspect that appeals to you most

 

[hunting1]

I don't eat coyotes or prairie dogs, but would not go through all the trouble to shoot elk if I did not like the meat. Just me, but many do it for an ego thing more than for the sportsman's perspective or substance.

Just my opinion, but so long as you pack it out, it gets used, and it is legal go for it I guess.

 

[Bar]

I'm guessing you could find a lot of people willing to give you 300lbs of elk meat if you paid for the tag.

Totally illegal.