Killing

I eat what I kill, and I only kill what I eat.  Now.

Someday, I'll get a chance to kill a coyote, then that statement can't be made, but until then...


Is it right to let your kids shoot chipmunks or little "sputzy" birds with a bb-gun for practice?  I sure did plenty of that when I was a kid, and I'm pretty good at shooting animals now.  I just have a problem letting my kids go off and do that now.  Hypocritical?  Educated?  I'm not sure.  I do know that they get plenty of practice shooting cans.  But, cans can't fly away while you're adjusting your aim.  They can't run to the other side of the tree if you shift your weight.  Something to ponder.

Killing is something we learn to do.  The more we kill, the easier it gets.  Also, there is a thrill that comes with killing something.  Anyone who is a hunter who denies that, is either lying or not alive.  The bottom line is it ethical to kill something just because we can? 
 
I would say no.  I would however say if you want to teach your kids to hunt and be comfortable with killing animals, I would think it best to provide opportunities for them where there is a purpose to the killing, even if it may seem trivial.  For example, trapping rats or mice can be a good place to start, or hunting woodchucks for a farmer, or trapping nuisance animals.  I would even say it might not be a bad idea to allow kids to participate in the slaughter of animals for food, chickens or even larger animals.  That way the parent can put what is happening into a healthy context.
 
 

first thing i ever killed/harvested was a pig for the yearly pig roast when i was 8.  my dad and his buddies had a roast every year, and they let me pick out the pig and shoot it.  i grew up around hunting so to me it was another day except this time it was me pulling the trigger instead of just watching my dad and other family members pulling.

Personal I have never killed and chipmunks or wild birds only deer, squial, rabbits and pheasants with the intent of eating them and fly tying supplys. What I would like to know is why so many people see it as way less a deal to kill a fish then an animal? Is the life of our water creatures of less value then the land ones? As for people getting there jolleys from killing an animal this is not the case with me.. Sure its nice to say you got your buck, but I always looked at it as food and not the kill. Anyways I would rather have a bucket full of yummy panfish then a deer any day of the week.

ORIGINAL: egg sac

Personal I have never killed and chipmunks or wild birds only deer, squial, rabbits and pheasants with the intent of eating them and fly tying supplys. What I would like to know is why so many people see it as way less a deal to kill a fish then an animal? Is the life of our water creatures of less value then the land ones? As for people getting there jolleys from killing an animal this is not the case with me.. Sure its nice to say you got your buck, but I always looked at it as food and not the kill. Anyways I would rather have a bucket full of yummy panfish then a deer any day of the week.

 
Pan fish are way easier to carry home and clean than a deer, but I do love fresh deer steaks.... YUM!!!  If I get lucky next year, I will have to spot you a couple...  Before you know it you will be sitting in a tree stand waiting on your own bambi...
 
BTW - I usually try to harvest a small yearling.  They are easier to drag out of the woods and the meat is excellent... Better than veal.

SK, nice to see you here on the new boards.  I've actually been looking forward to you posting on the hunting board.  I'm not sure if you have children, but that certainly doesn't exclude you from sharing your opinion. on this topic.  What was the first thing that died from your skilled hands?  Was it food, or was it sport?

as a kid i was a terror with the b.b. gun. i pretty much grew up thinking "if it moves, it flies, it dies". im not proud of this attitude that i had back then. now that i am an adult and more importantly a father of a 7 year old boy i think back to when i was his age. i was never taught gun safety by my father, i never went to the range to fire off a few and i never had the pleasure of hunting with my father. so one priority is to teach my son, and my daughter if she chooses, the importance of handling a firearm whether its a b.b. gun or a .500 nitro mag. here in montana, we have gophers and with spring arriving early this year they are out in full force now. last weekend i sat on my deck with a .22 and shot probably 50 to 75 of em. did i feel bad, no. they are a nuisance critter here and shooting them on sight is a legal and common practice. all i could think was i wish my boy was here to shoot with me. (he lives with his mother about 2000 miles away). for me i look at it as the opportunity to teach him gun safety, improve his accuracy and spend some quality time with my boy. will i eat the gophers, no. did i kill  them just to kill them, honestly , yes. i have horses and will be aquiring cattle shortly. their holes are a danger to my livestock. will i still shoot birds, no, unless its hunting season. i enjoy the presence of birds. i like watching them and hearing them. so i will raise my son to try to appreciate birds and take out the gophers. to me its more important though that he learn gun safety, even if it is just a b.b. gun.

I hunted with my pellet gun as a kid daily. I killed many things. It gave me a steady gun hand, but I'm not proud of it. Sometimes it haunts me.
As a kid you just don't understand the value of life.
I still hunt, but I get no rush from killing. I don't do so unless there is a need for the meat.
I have little ones and I would prefer they shoot @ targets untill they understand how precious a life- any life is.

Back in my bb gun shooting days, I did kill a few birds and chipmunks, and I did get into a lot of trouble for doing it. My parents took the bb gun from me for a very long time.
 
Since those days, I have grown to respect animals enough that I only kill them if I am going to eat them. Therefore, I have no interest in shooting varmints or predators. I do understand that some animals can become troublesome, for example: groundhogs digging holes in yards or fields, and I have nothing against someone wanting to shoot them.
 
I do not have children of my own, but if I did, they would not be allowed to shoot birds or chipmunks in my yard. They also wouldnt be allowed to have the gun when they were unsupervised, for obvious reasons. I think soda cans and paper targets would be plenty of fun for them to shoot.
 
 

Thanks Spoon  Now I know the Super secret ingredient
 
HERE KITTY KITTY

ORIGINAL: T.T.
What was the first thing that died from your skilled hands?  Was it food, or was it sport?

 
You I REALLY have to tell you?  LOL  Skilled hands?  That's even more funny.
 
Not children currently TT.
 
I was a bad, rude, heartless little kid.  I can't say it was for food or sport, more like just wanting to kill kill kill.  Come to think of it, perhaps my younger days is the reason for my current amount of respect for animals, my current lack of desire to get a kill right away while afield.
 
Anyway, the local woods were overpopulated with chipmunks.  I almost drove them to instinction, the ultimate herd reduction.  :D  Alt would have been proud.  :D  At the time, I actually kept track and still remember some numbers.  My first was killed with a bow (I missed a bunch before connecting) ..  I killed 13 chippers with a bow, then I discovered the pellet gun.  Much more easier than a recurve!!  I went on to kill like 42-43 chippers.  I was young, like 6 or 7.  I was obsessed, even getting up before school to hunt.  Then hunting after school.  My most memorable kill as a youngen was my second chipmunk.  My father was in Maryland, ended up getting a buck, he came home .. my arrow has more blood on it than his.  :D :D .. despite him making the perfect shot.  He still has both arrows hanging up in the garage.
 
Any bird .. if it existed locally, I shot it, except a crow..never got one!!!  I wouldn't shoot an owl, or turkey, or hawk.  I learned at a young age about paying attention to what was behind your target.  Trying to shoot a bird up in a tree with a recurve results in a lot of misses.  You should have seen the collection of paper plates, and targets that all the neighbors gave me.  I never used one.
 
Rabbits, squirrels, etc..no grouse.
 
Funny thing is .. I don't recall Dad or Mom ever knowing I was shooting birds.  Infact, just last Sunday I went and had dinner at their place.  Two male cardinals landed on the tree outside... and I said "remember the cardinal I shot."  They didn't and weren't to happy with me.  This bird, I felt bad, even at an early age.
 
Do I regret killing all those animals?  eh, all were unnecessary, but I enjoyed many of them, especially the chippers.  There are a few birds that I shouldn't have hunted.
 
The nuthatch and chick-a-dee were the most challenging because of their size and nervousness.
 
First deer was a doe at age 12 with a bow.  It had a little one with it.  That made me sad.

ORIGINAL: Bughawk

ORIGINAL: egg sac

Personal I have never killed and chipmunks or wild birds only deer, squial, rabbits and pheasants with the intent of eating them and fly tying supplys. What I would like to know is why so many people see it as way less a deal to kill a fish then an animal? Is the life of our water creatures of less value then the land ones? As for people getting there jolleys from killing an animal this is not the case with me.. Sure its nice to say you got your buck, but I always looked at it as food and not the kill. Anyways I would rather have a bucket full of yummy panfish then a deer any day of the week.

Pan fish are way easier to carry home and clean than a deer, but I do love fresh deer steaks.... YUM!!!  If I get lucky next year, I will have to spot you a couple...  Before you know it you will be sitting in a tree stand waiting on your own bambi...

BTW - I usually try to harvest a small yearling.  They are easier to drag out of the woods and the meat is excellent... Better than veal.

Dave,

I have drug and processed plenty of deer in my days and yes a bucket of fish is way easyer to clean and haul. I just would rather eat fish and chicken any day over beef, pork and venison..

Save a tree, eat a beaver.

The Travel Chanel's show Bizzare Foods showed a place on the gulf coast that served racoon and possum.
The host said that it tasted like the dark meat of a turkey.  

I'm still psychotic TT.