Is There a Line?

[Antarctica]

I don't know if its a moral line, but I do think some get a bit greedy/thoughtless of others.

I have a buddy that can kill upward of 20 per year (for a while we were unlimited does). Much of that he donate's, which is respectable, but I'd bet a lot of that donated deer ends up feeding peoples dogs, which kinds pisses me off. That's a system problem, not his problem.

There's a kid down the road that got permission to hunt someones lot that basically shut down my deer hunting because they pass through the other property not he way to mine. It annoys me, but heh. I could shut it down because technically he is too close to some houses (and I know he doesn't have permission form them), but I don't. My take on it is that he's a young guy and I'd rather have another hunter in the ranks. And the bravado of killing and numbers usually wears off as they get older. So for now, I don't get deer.

Personally, I never have time to get more than one deer a year. My family could easily eat 4-5. I'd like to get what I can eat.

In general, as long as it doesn't go to waste, I'm good with it.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

Hunting is management tool. Yes the meat is an added bonus. If the state issues a tag that means management is needed. My hunt club is enrolled in a state mananaged antlerless dear program we get apprx 70 doe tags and we cannot use our regular state issued doe tags on lands enrolled in that program, you get 2 with your license...I am not even going to get into hogs...

As long as you have a valid tag and are following the game laws for the area you are hunting have at it...believe it or not there are places where populations need controlled. I would rather see them shot and the meat donated than to see them covered with lime on the side of the road.

 

[hunt1up]

I know a guy that weighs about 140 pounds, has no kids, his wife doesn't eat meat, and one year he shot 8 does with his bow. He's not eating a fraction of what he kills. I have no idea where the meat goes. Another guy I know will go out with his shotgun and shoot everything in sight.

I don't see it as immoral, but the last few years I hear a lot of local hunters saying, "Where are all the deer? What's changed?" What changed is the DNR issued more tags in order to reduce the deer population, but they're not the ones pulling the trigger. The hunters are. Now we have half the deer that we did 10 years ago and it sucks!

 

[MuleyFever]

I have to make this decision often. My wife and I both hunt. No kids. No family within 1500 miles. I give back tags when we have enough meat for the year. I don’t really have a desire to kill animals just because I can.

 

[Hoodie]

I don't usually have to worry about this, but once I know I have enough meat to get through the year I just get more and more selective. This year I got a cow elk really early. My girlfriend and I usually only eat red meat twice a week or so, so two deer or one elk is pretty much sufficient for us.

Fires derailed my archery deer season, but I would've been holding out for a big buck with that much meat already in the freezer.

Next year I'm planning on getting two elk tags; one rifle cow hunt and one OTC archery tag for the Cascades in Washington. If there's a cow in the freezer already it will take a seriously good Cascade Rosey to tempt me during archery. For me, it's nice to bow hunt with meat already in the freezer. Makes it a lot easier to let them walk when the shot opportunity is less than perfect.

There's definitely an amount of meat where I just wouldn't keep hunting anymore that year, but the beauty of being a mediocre hunter in a tough area is I rarely have to worry about that sort of thing.

 

[Marble]

As long as what you're killing doesn't go to waste then hunt away. I've given plenty of fish and game away to friends over the years.



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[Doc Holliday]

As a landowner, I consider myself a steward. I haven't killed a deer on my property in 4 years.

Some of my bordering neighbors who live on 2 acres and dump corn piles right next to my property line are not stewards of anything except their fecal matter, and I'm sure they appreciate my trigger control, as well as not selling out to a developer to build a subdivision. One day I will sell out, and they won't have anymore deer to shoot, but until then, I continue to try and protect young bucks and create a sanctuary for does.

Saying the state set the limits so we can shoot our limit and not worry is an ignorant view. I live in an area with a density of 12 deer per square mile. But we have 7 families of humans who live in that square mile. If only 1 person per family is a hunter, with a 12 deer per year limit, where are the 84 (7 hunters x limit of 12 deer) deer going to come from? You have to use your brain and not abuse the resource.

 

[Nick Muche]

I guess it all depends on where you live. For instance, I am not going to pass up on going Caribou hunting in August because I killed a black bear in June. I am not going to sit out the sheep season because I killed a few caribou in August. I am not going to forgo my moose hunt because I got a bear, caribou and sheep earlier. I won't miss an opportunity to hunt blacktails on Kodiak because we've shot other species earlier. I won't miss out on other hunts I have planned for the year just because I've already harvested a few animals.

If I was hunting whitetails or something on private ground, I'd try to shoot what made sense for that area without ruining it for future years or other hunters.

 

[Whisky]

On average I have 1-2 tags that take priority over another 1-2 lesser tags every year. They are always antlered tags. If/when those get filled, and I get meat in the freezer from them, I'm usually way more selective on any remaining tags. For example, I'll challenge my self on a rifle doe tag with a LR shot. If I don't get the perfect shot, I don't shoot. Or, I'll hold out with my resident archery deer tag until the last 2 weekends of season. If I've not turned up a good buck by then, and either I need the meat, or in the case of this year, somebody else wants it, I'll go shoot a doe. I like to trophy hunt. And I like to kill stuff. But I"m not dead set on filling every tag, every year. I don't live off wild game meat. For me it's a balance between having the right amount of meat, and having the opportunity to hunt for that trophy as long as possible.

 

[Rob5589]

Hadn't really thought about it. Unfortunately, it's not a "problem" I have ever had to worry about. I would say that as long as the meat is being consumed, I don't see an issue shooting several animals a year. I'd love to never buy beef again and only eat venison.

 

[Billy Goat]

It really depends on where you live. Take areas in the east that are over populated with whitetail. I have had the game department hand me 30 tags.


Try having a 35 acre bean field that you don't harvest because it won't pay for the combine to run thru it.

I don't consume that much of the venison I shoot, but it is consumed. I have a list of people who want it.

 

[HighUintas]

...between being a good hunter, and an excessive killer? I love hunting, and I always want to fill the freezer, and then a second one if possible. But some guys are successful in 3-4 states, for multiple species. One of my buddies averages 8-10 deer a year with his recurve. I wouldn't say that's too much given the size of whitetails, but is there a point where you stop being a good hunter, and by your very success cross some ethical/moral line? To that end, what is the purpose in killing animals? Clean wild meat is a huge one for me. Heritage, tradition, family time, innate urges, all are reasons I'd offer. But two elk will fill a very large freezer. I dunno... I love the idea of shooting multiple elk, a couple deer, 15-20 geese, some ducks, etc in a season. But it feels like there must be a line somewhere. I just don't know what it is, or what would govern it.

I'm torn on this, and not trying to start a war here, just looking for different perspectives.

I would hunt ALL the time if I could, because I love the whole process. If I had 20 elk tags every year, I'd try to fill them. I'd give away 90% of that to friends and family that don't have elk meat. I'd look at the killing part as helping out my FF and being proud that I could do that for them. I'd enjoy the whole process of those 20tags.

There of course is a certain addiction to the"moment" you are about to pull the trigger or release an arrow, but the whole thing is a joy!

If I had the time, and money for camera gear, I'd spend almost as much time out "shooting" wildlife at close range.

 

[AK Troutbum]

I guess I have mixed feelings about this. I think that if the game is being eaten by either the person killing it, family, friends, or even being donated to other people that are going to eat it, I’m OK with that, otherwise I’m not. Not to draw the thread off topic but, we have a local pastor in town that has been on many, many Dall sheep hunts, and has killed many Dall sheep. Years ago a buddy of mine who used to attend his church was invited to his house, and he told me about a room that was full of Dall sheep mounts, like way into the double digits (30’s maybe?). For some reason I have an issue with this. I guess I don’t know why somebody needs to kill umpteen numbers of a particular animal, when that animal is highly coveted and is on the decline. This particular pastor is loaded and most of his hunts were guided, so it may be that I’m just jealous, but I’m still not sure whether or not that’s ethical. If a person has the financial means to hunt and kill unlimited numbers of a particular species of animal, that is otherwise unobtainable to the vast majority of hunters (I am simply basing this on a person’s financial status), just because it’s legal, does that make it ethical? My apologies to the OP, as I am not trying to send this thread off topic, It’s just that it reminded me of a particular moral dilemma.


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[KJStechly]

“It’s good to be a great hunter. But it’s better to be a good person who’s great at hunting” - Robert Ruark

I think this can be looked at from a lot of different angles. I always eat what I kill, and I never kill more than my family can eat before it goes bad.

But I also have a pretty soft heart. I primarily bow hunt whitetail. I don’t like shooting little doe. This year I’ve also passed on larger doe that had little ones with them. A few years ago I shot a rather large doe that had a yearling with her. The large doe died within 50 yards of the tree stand and the yearling went over and started pawing at the mom and “bahhing” at her. That kind of screwed me up. It’s part of hunting though.

Guess it all comes down to what doesn’t cause you to lose any sleep at night


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[willfrye027]

It’s pretty easy for my wife and I to eat 5 big game animals, 30-40 ducks, quail, dove,
Fish...etc

when I clean out the freezer in the spring whatever is left gets made into jerky and snack sticks.

Cant remember the last time I bought meat. THAT is the American dream to me

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

It’s pretty easy for my wife and I to eat 5 big game animals, 30-40 ducks, quail, dove,
Fish...etc

when I clean out the freezer in the spring whatever is left gets made into jerky and snack sticks.

Cant remember the last time I bought meat. THAT is the American dream to me

I agree with that sentiment. I don't know about the American dream, but it's mine as well.

 

[willfrye027]

I agree with that sentiment. I don't know about the American dream, but it's mine as well.

The American Dream may be a stretch lol..I’ve had a few drinks tonight......BUT I’m thankful we live in a country that has public land, abundant hunting opportunities and the right to bear arms.

I hope we all can appreciate that and do not waste the resources we are very lucky to have.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I don’t know. I get a moose every year, give probably ~1/3rd of it to friends and keep the rest, I get a couple of caribou as well and give probably 1/3rd away. Those are my main staples for meat. If I get a few birds here and there that’s fine but I usually just make a dish with them and they are gone. If I get lucky and can get out for other species like sheep, goat and deer, that’s just a bonus.

I guess where it gets a bit excessive is when the winter moose season comes around, we will go get one and have burger and meat to give away for the rest of the year.

 

[KSP277]

There’s always a line. It’s seldom straight. And it doesn’t stay in the same place.

 

[cnelk]

I hunt and fish to fill my own 2 freezers first. Once that’s done, I’ll decide if I want to continue to hunt/fish for others.