The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Would like to deer hunt someday... but need advice

1tfl · June 28, 2012, 10:29 AM

There is difference between harvesting, killing and hunting an animal.

One early morning couple months ago my neighbor saw a hog in the back part of his property and he was running low on meat so he got his rifle and went out to the 2nd floor porch and shot the hog while still in his pajamas. He harvested that animal for meat. There was no sports to it, just harvesting some animal for meat just like going to supermarket or out to the corn field to pick some corn for dinner.

Couple miles north of me is a farmer who's crop occasionally gets destroyed by hogs. Couple times a year he will set up on his field at night and shoot as many hogs as possible. Not unusual for him to kill a dozen hogs in single night.

I guess if you never hunted you couldn't understand the "sport" of hunting.
There is a lot more to hunting sport than pulling the trigger and killing an animal. Actually the killing the game is very small part of hunting. The thrill comes from learning and understanding your game and the field, learning to master your weapon of choice and respecting the animal you kill and eat. For me, the stalking and getting the animal within your kill sight is the best part of the sport. And as we say around here, the real work comes after your animal is killed when you have to haul him out and skin, gut and process the meat.

Also, it's okay to go hunt and not pull the trigger. Some of my best hunts were with young kids who couldn't sit still and stay quiet for more than 5 minutes. We may not get a shot but those kids have the best time in the world and will remember the hunt for many years.

June 28, 2012, 10:29 AM	#10
1tfl Senior Member Join Date: September 12, 2007 Posts: 287	There is difference between harvesting, killing and hunting an animal. One early morning couple months ago my neighbor saw a hog in the back part of his property and he was running low on meat so he got his rifle and went out to the 2nd floor porch and shot the hog while still in his pajamas. He harvested that animal for meat. There was no sports to it, just harvesting some animal for meat just like going to supermarket or out to the corn field to pick some corn for dinner. Couple miles north of me is a farmer who's crop occasionally gets destroyed by hogs. Couple times a year he will set up on his field at night and shoot as many hogs as possible. Not unusual for him to kill a dozen hogs in single night. I guess if you never hunted you couldn't understand the "sport" of hunting. There is a lot more to hunting sport than pulling the trigger and killing an animal. Actually the killing the game is very small part of hunting. The thrill comes from learning and understanding your game and the field, learning to master your weapon of choice and respecting the animal you kill and eat. For me, the stalking and getting the animal within your kill sight is the best part of the sport. And as we say around here, the real work comes after your animal is killed when you have to haul him out and skin, gut and process the meat. Also, it's okay to go hunt and not pull the trigger. Some of my best hunts were with young kids who couldn't sit still and stay quiet for more than 5 minutes. We may not get a shot but those kids have the best time in the world and will remember the hunt for many years.