Are you a hunter?

I hunted with bow (recurve/longbow) for years. I don't support sport hunting either and do not think that people that get led to a stand to shoot a record book animal on high fenced property are hunters. They are opportunists and shooters with a lot of money. I mean, anybody can sit in a stand that someone else scouted and put in place and shoot an animal that is known will show up. A hunter has all the tools to do it himself/herself and does.

I do support hunting as a whole though. The meat doesn't contain growth hormones, anti-biotics or steroids like raised beef does. The fats in the meat are better for the human body than pen raised beef and man doesn't live by veggies and bread alone. Man has ancient drives inside that need to be satisfied. To ignore them is to ignore who we really are as a species.

I don't hunt much anymore. A friend gives us all the meat that we could hope to eat every year, which is what hunters have done as long as hunters have existed. They provide life giving food to those who need it. Just check out the different hunter organizations that get game meat donated to them and who in turn hand it to those in need. They are all across the United States.

I do continue to go into the woods with my bow and I practice my shooting with non hunting heads by practicing by means of roving. A time honored method of keeping the shooting eye sharp for hunting and battle. My targets are tufts of grass, pine cones and so on. I also shoot my hunting heads so that I know exactly where they will hit when I release the string. Roving also keeps me in tune with nature and I get to use the skills that are necessary to successfully hunt and kill food. To do any less would be detrimental to the lives of my family members. It is also an opportunity to practice my living skills in the wild. I do harvest plants for tinctures, which is new to me but I am learning. Every man needs to have something he does that can or does help the people, or he has lost his manhood in my opinion. He becomes just another mouth to feed, giving nothing in return.

Hunting isn't for everyone. Through out time, different people had different jobs with their tribe, village or band. Some grew food in the ground. Some gathered and some fished. Then there were those who gathered medicines, sewed hides into clothing. Made bows, arrows, atlatls, darts, knives, points and so on. What I don't understand is why anyone would put down anyone for their gifts and talents because they themselves weren't meant to do it or havn't got the stomach to do it. That has never made any sense to me.
 
I hunt when I need to do so to eat. I do not shoot "trophies" preferring to leave them to improve the gene pool. The rule is 1 shot 1 kill. Last time I broke that rule I was six years old (not counting war, where rules of engagement change).

Weapons of choice vary. I rarely use guns anymore. Last wild meat I ate was 3 weeks ago. Nature is largely indifferent to our rules and/or philosophies on hunting ...indifferent period. Still, I am a man and self-awareness binds me to a certain humanity and the rules which accompany that orientation.

It is a fool who thinks store-bought meat is treated (or killed) more humanely than hunted meat. Regardless, I am in the habit of thanking all food for giving me life (as in the habit of most native Americans).
-carl
 
Originally posted by Carl Theile
I hunt when I need to do so to eat. I do not shoot "trophies" preferring to leave them to improve the gene pool. The rule is 1 shot 1 kill. Last time I broke that rule I was six years old (not counting war, where rules of engagement change).

Weapons of choice vary. I rarely use guns anymore. Last wild meat I ate was 3 weeks ago. Nature is largely indifferent to our rules and/or philosophies on hunting ...indifferent period. Still, I am a man and self-awareness binds me to a certain humanity and the rules which accompany that orientation.

It is a fool who thinks store-bought meat is treated (or killed) more humanely than hunted meat. Regardless, I am in the habit of thanking all food for giving me life (as in the habit of most native Americans).
-carl
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I agree. I saw a programme recently on how some abbatoirs slaughter pigs. I was horrified. I felt physically ill.

Even though I am against hunting for sport, I am impressed with the level of sensitivity by forumites on this topic. I also appreciate the care taken in your hunting trips.

You guys are a fine example to the rest of the "hunting" fraternity.
 
I have long believed that a conscientious hunter is likely to have more respect for life than a supposed animal-rights activist, who might claim to respect all life.

Part of life is death, and we see the reality of death every time we kill an animal. Since I started hunting I no longer take life for granted.

I definitely go along with the idea of there being some ancient, primitive heartbeat within us that drives us to the hunt. It calls us to be who we were made to be, and we answer it.
 
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