Is Hunting Difficult?

E

Evolute

Joined
Mar 19, 2001
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I want to make clear from the beginning that I am not attempting to make a trolling question from an anti-hunting perspective. I admit that I find the idea of killing for sport distasteful. However, this is just my personal value, and I would never try to impose it on anyone else. I think that hunting for food, skins, and the like, seems very sound; and I may try it myself. (Though it doesn't seem entirely necessary: it's not hard to come across fresh road kill.) Anyway, I'm not trying to start a flame war; I'm legitimately curious.

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I have never hunted to kill. However, I imagine that many aspects of hunting are similar to the animal tracking and stalking that I perform frequently in my job as nature photographer.

My experiences photographing wildlife have lead me to conclude that hunting most species which I hear about people hunting--deer, elk, bears, buffalo, antelope, duck, turkey, etc.--must be very, very easy. When I photograph wildlife, I almost always have to get myself within 50 feet of my subject, very often within 10 or 15 feet. Then I have to set up my tripod, pick a lens and mount it on my camera, mount my camera on my tripod, take some light meter readings, set up a good composition, set my aperture, set my shutter speed, focus my lens, wait for the optimal moment, then take multiple exposures.

It seems like this wildlife photography process is probably harder than shooting to kill. I need to be much closer to the animal, and for much longer periods of time. It seems like it would be easy to take aim for a few seconds from 50 or more yards off, and fatally shoot an animal.

Be it big horn sheep or mountain lion, I've hardly ever failed to track down the animal I set out to find within a reasonable period of time. I have only very rarely failed to get close enough for long enough to grab my photo. (Of course, it's common for my shots to be unpublishably mediocre quality.) I've been able to perform the necessary tasks of wildlife photography consistently enough to generate a moderate regular income.

What am I missing about the difficulty with hunting? Where's the challenge? Where's the sport?
 
Originally posted by Evolute

What am I missing about the difficulty with hunting? Where's the challenge? Where's the sport?
Click to expand...

I would imagine that if you work indoors under flourescent lights in a cramped cubicle most of the year, and don't ever spend much time in the outdoors camping and hiking, that it's quite challenging to go out one weekend a year tromping loudly through the unknown woods trying to find some critters.

:)
 
Try archery hunting it's alot more difficult. The effective
range is much more critical, especially if done in the
southwestern US where treestands aren't used so you
have to stalk the animal to within 25 yards or less.
Believe me, it's challenging.
 
I was a hunter. Mostly gave it up when I got into photography. IMO if you can get close enough for a decent full frame photo, you are easily close enough to take the game.

Although I don't hunt much(rarely) now, I've got numerous friends that hunt bow, black powder and/or general rifle, and find it a great satisfaction.

Just learn how to field dress, and be safe and proficient with your "weapon" of choice.

Good eatin'
 
I hunt because I just plain enjoy reminding myself that I am a part of the natural order...not above it or somehow removed from it. I see no real difference in hunting my food vs. eating something raised for slaughter (with respect to ethics). I hunt because I enjoy it. I don't take trophies, claim it's a "sport," or otherwise try to justify why I do it. Pulling the trigger or letting the arrow loose (as the case may be) amounts to .000001 % of what I feel I get from the experience of "the hunt." As for how difficult it is...that all depends on where you are, what you are hunting, and how you are doing it.
 
I've never found hunting to be particularly difficult. Most animals have a sixth sense about danger. I can easily approach a moose during the summer, but come opening day they vanish???? I also find it rewarding for the food that I get from mr. moose, very tasty and plentiful....as for why an individual decides to hunt, well that's up to him ( you )...
 
I think the difficulty lies in waiting patiently. but it seems you are proficient at that.

probably as a photographer you are ahead of the game(no pun intended)
skills of stalking and getting close are developed. I guess if you tried bow(non-compound) it would be challenging.

I have heard spear hunting is very exciting and challenging.

hunting with a rifle isn't very challenging in general. just the waiting.
 
There is a big diference between photo hunting in the summer and hunting during open season. The critters become very careful after the first shots of fall are fired.
Try going out in the fall (wear hunter orange) and I think you'll see .
And just because you're out hunting, it doesn't mean that you have to shoot whatever you see. I've passed up shots at one spike buck and at least 5 does. And a bear, but that's another story ;)
I look at it as a day out with the chance of bringing home some venison.
 
As for deer,we're over run with them where I live and anyone who knows the basics and puts some time in can fill their tags.

But... the remember you can make it as hard as you want.Use a bow,hunt from the ground instead of a stand,use a real black powder gun with out a scope etc.I like to take one a year with my open sighted .44 Dan Wesson.My bow I shoot "fingers" no overdraw,fixed 2 blade with feathers.

Also its easy to get close to animals when its not hunting season.Try it during gun with alot of guys blowing through every piece of cover.

Want more of a challenge? Then only take mature bucks.90% of the bucks taken are 1 1/2 old,and most of the mature ones are taken by shear luck,so try hunting just them for a challenge.I take at least two does a year and one 1 1/2 buck and try for one old one.I usally keep 2 and give the rest away.I try to help my wifes family (they farm 4,000 acres)by taking extra does.

Theres so many deer the farm gets 35 extra permits to pass out to hunters,on top of the 6 I can get for this area.:)
 
When it comes to unsuccessful hunting I am the local expert. I am not patient enough to stay in a tree stand or a blind. I am somewhat noisy when I walk, although when I really CONCENTRATE on a good stalk I can go noiselessly. I tend to look around at other things way too much: an arrowhead here, a squirrel there, that really interesting cloud formation, etc.

My style of hunting is what I call "hiking with weapons." When I'm out there what I really want is to experience the place as a whole, not just one aspect of it. And so I fail to put the energy into my hunt that I should if I really want to get an animal. Also, consider the fact that I'm one of the poor chaps who is crammed into a cubicle for 48 weeks of the year, so I don't have the opportunity to develope the expertise I want to have.

As a bow hunter, the greatest satisfaction I get from hunting is not the kill. As Warrior said, it is the full experience of being a participant in nature's processes. I feel like I'm looking for lunch, but a cougar might also be looking for lunch. I have to be alert to all aspects of my environment, and I have to walk through the woods or sagebrush as a member of a community of creatures. However, unlike Warrior I would classify it as sport, because I'm not out there hunting for subsistance.
 
I'd agree that hunting pressure is an important factor. I've been in some parks in Alaska where I could get very close to Caribou even during the hunting season. They seemed to sense that they were in a relatively safe area. Twenty miles down river and outside the park, the animals were much more wary and difficult to approach.
 
"Hiking with weapons"
We've always called it armed recon.

Off season and near recreation areas, anyone can get within 40 yards of elk around here. They're quite tolerant of people until the shooting starts...
 
As others have already pointed out, the differences between a leisurely, off-season "photo safari" are quite marked than when stalking amongst spooked animals. Another thing is that I truly believe animals can sense when they're in danger. I often hunt the quails and squirells on my place. But when I'm just out walking around they'll let me come within easy shooting distance; if I'm out actively hunting, however, they stay scarce. I've even experimented by walking around game with a broomstick carried like a rifle. I think that "hunting" humans give off some sort of psychic sense that they're dangerous and the animlas pick up on it.

In fact, here's a little test. The next time you go out taking photos, bring along a handgun (loaded) in your bag. After taking all the pictures you want, take out the gun and aim it for *real*, with every intention of taking the shot. I bet that whatever animal you just took pictures of will take off when that gun comes up.

But if you're as good a stalker as you say you are, hunting will be easier for you than most. Stalking and learning your game are MUCH harder than the actual shot. But that doens't make hunting "easy".
 
Deer would often come to within a stone's throw of my parents house during the summer months in north Lousisana. It is nearly impossible to grow gardens there because the increased numbers of deer will eat it down to nothing. But let hunting season arrive and you would think they had all migrated somewhere for the winter! Actually, once hunting season starts they tend to stay in thick cover and don't move around much. Another trick they have is to wait til dark to come out and forage.
"Armed hiking" while perhaps not the most effective method will sometimes yield results. If you're not out there, you won't get one!
 
Some of the comments y'all have made about the animal psyche make me think about a friend who has an unusual hunting style. She hunts deer with a handgun, and all she does is walk up on the deer casually. She does not look them in the eyes, and she does not walk directly towards them, but rather at an angle that would take her close to them. She looks around the woods as she goes, apparently not paying much attention to the deer. When she's close enough she casually raises her gun and shoots the deer.

One time my wife and I were out picnicking and a young buck came out of the woods fairly close to where we were. I slowly and casually started walking towards him and he moved away from me, but did not spook. Then I started to circle around him, but in an ever-tightening circle, so that I was never approaching him directly but always getting closer. I pretended to be collecting acorns or whatever, so that he would not think that he was the center of my attention. I got to within about 10 feet before he started to move away.
 
I have done stalking and am terrible at it.

hiking with weapons, funny

I guess the tree stand approach is meditation with weapons

8 hours sitting quietly, that is where I learned meditation. If I could do it at 5 am till 3 pm. I can do it anywhere.


so meditate with weapons. be one with the woods. shoot and animal for food. zen and the art of hunting.
 
- hunting is easy,actually getting an animal is the hard part;)

-I do quite a bit of meditation in trees myself. In fact remember a few years back,some guy came out with a book about men going off into groups and talking about being "men" and beating on drums:rolleyes: .I always thought these guys just need to go to deer camp.:)

- I would really like to hunt deer naked with a spear.For real,just me and a spear up on a tree branch.Ya know we drag so much crap into the woods for a few hour hunt.Jam our pockets full of "stuff" fill a fannypack with more, then hang even more in the tree.
 
Bae said:

"I would imagine that if you work indoors under flourescent lights in a cramped cubicle most of the year, and don't ever spend much time in the outdoors camping and hiking, that it's quite challenging to go out one weekend a year tromping loudly through the unknown woods trying to find some critters."

I didn't think about that, but I think you are really onto something; being out of shape and out of touch with nature would probably make it much more difficult.

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Bravado said:

"Try archery hunting it's alot more difficult."

Yes, I am sure that bow hunting, spear hunting, throwing stick hunting, sling-shot hunting, blow-gun hunting, rock-throwing hunting, bare handed hunting, and so on, are far more difficult. There is, of course, a continuum of difficulty based on how much you choose to handicap yourself; and you can thereby make it as hard as you want.

(For an example of seriously challenging hunting, check out this thread: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=203305 )

I was primarily referring to using a modern firearm--particularly a long range rifle--for trophy hunting as a sport. I apologize for being unclear.

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Warriorsociologist said:

"I hunt because I just plain enjoy reminding myself that I am a part of the natural order...."

I'd appreciate it if you could elaborate on this point. There are an infinite variety of things you could do in the outdoors to remind yourself that you are part of the natural order. Even if you felt that reminding yourself that you are part of the natural order requires living off the land, there would still be little reason to hunt in order to live off the land. (No reason at all, if we are talking short-term to medium term.) As I go out and about, I regularly forage mushrooms, grasses, berries, roots, seeds, sap, flowers, etc. Even if you felt that meat was a necessary part of the experience, you could try scavenging (as many animals do).

Thus, saying that you hunt because you enjoy reminding yourself that you are part of the natural order doesn't explain much to me at all--kind of like saying "I enjoy cooking because I'm very social". Please explain to me why hunting is your method of choice for reminding yourself that you are part of the natural order. If other aspects of interacting with the outdoors don't give you a satisfactory reminder that you are part of nature, could you please explain to me why not?

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Ebbtide said:

"There is a big diference between photo hunting in the summer and hunting during open season. The critters become very careful after the first shots of fall are fired.
Try going out in the fall (wear hunter orange) and I think you'll see ."

I photograph animals all year through, both in areas where they are protected and areas where they are not. As my primary means of income (investing is my secondary means), I don't have the luxury to do otherwise.

I agree that game animals are more skittish in hunting times and areas. This still doesn't seem to me to be as significant of a factor as several of you seem to be making it out to be.

I also pursue plenty of animals which are rarely hunted but always skittish, like bobcats and (Western) great blue herons.

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coyotlviejo said:

"I am not patient enough to stay in a tree stand or a blind."

I have only used blinds a couple times. They're too much hassle, too boring, too uncomfortable, too limiting, and rarely necessary. I only use them when necessary to protect animals from the impact of my presence. (For example, to prevent birds from abandoning their nests due to my presence.)

I've never waited around in a tree stand; however, I sometimes climb trees to get a better vantage point for a picture, and sometimes climb trees to show an animal that I am not a threat.

"I am somewhat noisy when I walk, although when I really CONCENTRATE on a good stalk I can go noiselessly."

You might want to try taking your boots off and going barefoot. In situations when you can do this safely and comfortably, you'll find that you can walk much less noisily. You will also be rewarded with a much richer sensory experience, and greater intimacy with nature. (It feels good.) Far fewer situations require footwear than most people believe.

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V Shrake said:

"...if you're as good a stalker as you say you are...."

I'm nothing special. People with no experience in the outdoors might be impressed with my stalking skills, but my stalking skills are quite ordinary. Most of the field biologists and nature photographers I know are much better stalkers than I am.

That's part of why I ask: Getting consistently close enough to most animals to shoot them seems unchallenging even to me; and I'm a doofus. If I was able to do this only because I had some extraordinary mastery in an extremely difficult skill, then I wouldn't have trouble recognizing the challenge, and I wouldn't need to ask where the challenge is.

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Lone Hunter said:

"I would really like to hunt deer naked with a spear.For real,just me and a spear...."

That sounds like a great idea. Do it. Then post and tell us about it.

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It seems that there is implicit, or even explicit, agreement among some of you that hunting with a rifle often isn't very challenging.
 
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