Is There a Line?

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

...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.

 

[Nomadx2]

If you eat what you kill, then you are just displacing farm raised animals with wild game. I think that is a good rationale for hunting.

 

[Danny Hoey]

You can go hunting and not shoot an animal. I've passed on deer because I didn't "need" them but that's a personal choice that only an individual can make. I will share two guilty stories though.


I elk hunt in a group of 3. If someone shoots and elk, they get half and the other half is split with the rest of the group. That way everyone gets a little something. So 2017 our group shot 2 elk, and 2018 we got an archery elk and rifle elk, so 4 elk in two years for 3 guys. I still had a rifle tag and went ran into a cow on the second to last day. I watched her for a few minutes and she kept feeding right down to where I was at. While watching I had thoughts to whether or not I really needed the meat, if it was worth it. She got to within 40 yards and I decided that it must have just been meant to be. The guilt of of extra elk quickly faded.

Story 2. Just this week I got done grinding whitetail burger, i did a straight meat grind and a 50/50 brisket mix. After wrapping, I went to the garage to put it in the freezer. I unloaded the freezer to make sure the deer was on the bottom and I would eat the older stuff first. Now, I get anxiety if I can see the back or bottom of my freezer so I wasn't sure exactly what was down there. Turns out I had 3 layers of burger, backstrap, steaks, etc. down there. Definitely more than I had expected. Did I need the deer? Probably not. Do I feel guilty for having a gluttony of meat? Yeah I kind of do. Will it get wasted? I sure as hell hope not. I do need to give some away and luckily I have people around me that will gladly take some.

Long story short, yeah I do, sometimes...but it quickly fades.

 

[Rick M.]

I agree with @Nomadx2.

Also, many states actually don't harvest as many deer as they need to, particularly in the midwest and upper midwest. So they'll take all the out of state help they can get to keep their herd healthy and at a sustainable population. I'm all for it unless meat is being wasted. That's when I'm out.

 

[Nick Muche]

If I have a tag and the time, I will be hunting. I am not out there to look at the sunrise and sunset, though I do enjoy that as well. I am out there to find what I am after, get close and kill it. There are plenty of people out there that can use the meat and nothing makes me happier than donating a bunch of well taken care of meat to those families when we have enough to last us until the next year. Practice makes perfect, or close.

 

[Broomd]

...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.

In my opinion yes, a distinct line.
I went to a bud's house last Dec and met a new neighbor and his wife--nice enough folks.

We got to talking about our past hunting seasons and he proceeded to say that he and his wife both killed bull moose with their OIL Idaho tags, and then they both killed cow elk during ID cow season. I thought (inwardly) that it was ridiclous for two people with no kids or dependents to kill that much game in one season. I could see the moose tags, but the two cow elk tags? Pure greed.

Some family man was out there trying to put an elk in his freezer for his family, but that certainly didn't happen for some with two less cows to be found.

Just my .02.

I was glad to hear that those two recently moved again, to Montana.

 

[Laramie]

Yes, but each person's situation is different. For instance, My son and I hunt each fall for 3-4 households (12-14 people depending on the year) that are all family. That takes quite a bit of meat. Someone who didn't understand our situation may think we are harvesting way more than we need when in reality we almost always run out of meat in August or September. On average, each person will eat about 1 pound per week so we need 600-700 lbs yearly.

 

[Broomd]

Yes, but each person's situation is different. For instance, My son and I hunt each fall for 3-4 households (12-14 people depending on the year) that are all family. That takes quite a bit of meat. Someone who didn't understand our situation may think we are harvesting way more than we need when in reality we almost always run out of meat in August or September.

I get that, Laramie, you make a good point. My wife and I killed two elk this year (our first elk kills since '16 and her very first elk ever.) Killing two in a year is unheard of for us, and we shared a lot of meat with meat-challenged neighbors.
These two were new to our state, but maybe that was the case for them. One way or another they had a helluva lot of game meat. The bull moose they both killed were studs.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

Donating meat sounds like a great way to share the wealth if you're going to keep hunting. I've never been in a position where it was necessary, so I haven't really thought about it much.

 

[WCB]

I think there is a line...when guys have to kill just to kill. I know of a guy that killed 5 deer in about 10minutes. Filled his tags, his kids tags, and grandkids tag opening morning. He took one deer for himself.

I also do a lot of predator hunting and I get the "kill a Coyote save a deer" mentality. However I have had guys question me why I didn't shoot a den full of pups or a single pup out bouncing around in July. I tell them "because I don't need to shoot one just to shoot one".

Also, I think people need to make the distinction between being a good hunter and shooting a lot of things. I know a lot of shitty "hunters" that can sit over a feeder in TX and kill 30 does a year.

 

[Montana Slim]

I'm probably in the minority, but I like to run out of venison in about September... having a pile of tags in my pocket, relatively easy hunting, and long seasons takes some of the pressure off I guess. We usually go through 2-3 deer and an antelope every year (along with a bunch of reds and halibut). After a second deer (or an elk), I suppose I usually lose some motivation to harvest another big game animal, and focus on chasing upland, waterfowl, and rabbits with the mutt - for pure enjoyment, not quantity of meat.

-not sure whether this addressed the OP's question, but I think about it too

 

[carsonkeys]

This is eerily similar to those guys who say, "I support the 2A but I don't know why anyone would need an AR-15 with a 30 round clip so we should just get rid of them".

 

[bsnedeker]

Everyone has their own line and that line is going to be dependent on a lot of factors...how much do they consume, how many other people do they give meat to, how plentiful is the game they are shooting, how much damage does the species they are hunting do to their area.

As long as you are obeying the law I don't judge anyone on how much or how little they kill.

 

[Montana Slim]

This is eerily similar to those guys who say, "I support the 2A but I don't know why anyone would need an AR-15 with a 30 round clip so we should just get rid of them".

That didn't take long

 

[Squamch]

Doesn't matter how much I kill, I'll never have enough meat. I supply my family of 3, my parents, my sister, my wife's best friend and her son, and usually give out a few packs of meat at work for game meat diplomacy. I would have to shoot an awful lot of critters to have too much meat.

 

[tgus59]

Yes there is a line, its set by each states fish and game when they decide on tag allocations, and in wanton waste laws.

I don't love it when people kill animals that they aren't consuming themselves, but as long as the meat is being donated and used, I'm okay with it. As long as folks are following the laws, the money they spend is still going to support good causes, and venison diplomacy is a great way to make sure non-hunters don't become anti-hunters.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

This is eerily similar to those guys who say, "I support the 2A but I don't know why anyone would need an AR-15 with a 30 round clip so we should just get rid of them".

Hmm... in what way? I'm asking a question about personal ethics and convictions, not laws. I hope I didn't imply any implication of a desired change to laws or restrictions, that wasn't the point.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Yeah, I know a guy who kills 12+ deer per year. He gives away most of the meat and just keeps killing.

I put "Game Hawg" in front of his name in my contacts, so when he calls or when we text I get a chuckle

 

[huntngolf]

If you can get the tag and the meat is used properly, either by you or donated, I have no problem. I hope someday I’m the guy that has multiple tags in multiple states for multiple species!

 

[5MilesBack]

I could kill 30 elk a season and wouldn't have any issues finding homes for the meat. I love shooting animals.......always have, even as a youngster. Is there a line? If there is, I'm sure I first crossed that line many years ago. I'm the kind of guy that if it was legal and I had a processing crew right behind me, I'd keep going and it's their responsibility to keep up........and that's with a bow.