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Art Eatman · March 10, 2001, 01:01 PM

Whoa up, XXSUPO! Easy, there, big fella!

Sure, times change. That's why we have no end to discussions of ethics. Sometimes the discussions are worthwhile and clarifying; sometimes they are no more than mental masturbation. Here, we try to avoid the latter...

My grandfather told of he and his brothers taking the family shotgun and sneaking around until they found several doves in a line on a treelimb. One shot could bring down several birds. This was around 1890, and shotgun shells cost a nickel each. Sport or fair chase? No; food.

All of us who hunt know that we can eat all the quail and turkey we want, just by buying it at the grocery store. We know we aren't required to eat venison or dove from any dietary need. With this in mind, we work up "ethics", "fair chase", and other handicaps which in a sense offset modern technology and make us more able to relate to the difficulties of our ancestors of hundreds or thousands of years ago. "Skillet shots" take little talent.

One way of thinking about this whole issue might be that you give the animal every possible chance to escape, but win out over him, anyway.

It ain't simple; it ain't easy. "Ethics is what makes you do right when nobody's looking."

My $0.02, Art

P.S. Skillet shots can be fun and tummy-filling; they shouldn't be a way of life.

March 10, 2001, 01:01 PM	#6
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	Whoa up, XXSUPO! Easy, there, big fella! Sure, times change. That's why we have no end to discussions of ethics. Sometimes the discussions are worthwhile and clarifying; sometimes they are no more than mental masturbation. Here, we try to avoid the latter... My grandfather told of he and his brothers taking the family shotgun and sneaking around until they found several doves in a line on a treelimb. One shot could bring down several birds. This was around 1890, and shotgun shells cost a nickel each. Sport or fair chase? No; food. All of us who hunt know that we can eat all the quail and turkey we want, just by buying it at the grocery store. We know we aren't required to eat venison or dove from any dietary need. With this in mind, we work up "ethics", "fair chase", and other handicaps which in a sense offset modern technology and make us more able to relate to the difficulties of our ancestors of hundreds or thousands of years ago. "Skillet shots" take little talent. One way of thinking about this whole issue might be that you give the animal every possible chance to escape, but win out over him, anyway. It ain't simple; it ain't easy. "Ethics is what makes you do right when nobody's looking." My $0.02, Art P.S. Skillet shots can be fun and tummy-filling; they shouldn't be a way of life.