Would You Shoot Bigfoot?

[Caimlas]

Well, that depends, I guess. For me, the determining factor would be whether or not I thought it was a sentient creature, dumb creature, or supernatural creature.

The argument for them being sentient is a bit stronger than them being dumb creatures. As far as I know, no other creature has had such a large interest or effort in its discovery, and bigfoot (some variant at least) has been reported throughout the world. If he's real and has alluded becoming someone's wall mount this long, then he's likely a very intelligent species, probably with a 6th sense or some other extra ability we do not have. (In this case I would not shoot, provided there was no agressive hostility on its part.) Everything I've heard about bigfoot seems to suggest that this is the case, or that....

... possibility #2 is that bigfoot is not a creature entirely of this dimension, i.e. bigfoot is a spirit, an apparition, or similar. According to most native American legends I've heard, bigfoot is also an evil/dark spirit, or possibly a shaman or something like that. Recently (this past fall, IIRC) there was quite a bit of noise about bigfoot out on the native reservations in SD's Badlands and surrounding areas (Pine Ridge was the main one, I think). Lots of people - including multiple credible sources like LEOs on duty - have reported increased bigfoot sightings. Again, native tradition says they're evil spirits manifest, so it's pretty surprising that this information even made the popular press, let alone made it off the reservation. It's considered a bad omen to speak of them.

And, if he appears to be a dumb animal, I'd shoot. No telling if he'd drop, though, even with something >7mm. They're apparently freakin' huge (8ft+, 400lb+).

[Playboypenguin]

Again, native tradition says they're evil spirits manifest,

You might want to re-check alot of your native lore. Most natives do not attribute anything evil to bigfoot. They relate hom more to a natural spirit (or avatar) of nature or the restless spirits old tribe elders given flesh. They do not usually make value judgements such as good or evil about the creature.

[oldbillthundercheif]

For the record, I don't think I would shoot it either, but...

if bigfoot is real, it may have lived this long by killing all that may have ran into it

This thought also occurred to me, boltgun.

Playboy, if one specimen were to be taken to prove the existance of the species, I seriously doubt that hunting them would become a sport for trophy hunters. They would probably be given intense protection under game laws of many colors to preserve the rarest of critters. You would kind of be doing them a favor.

Besides, a sasquach rug would be butt-ugly and no fun at all to lay upon by the fireplace so the comparison to polar bear is not really valid. They don't have tusks either as far as I know so it would not be a source of fine pistol grips. I think bigfoot would not be of much interest to harvesters of nature's treasures.

[Playboypenguin]

Playboy, if one specimen were to be taken to prove the existance of the species, I seriously doubt that hunting them would become a sport for trophy hunters. They would probably be given intense protection under game laws of many colors to preserve the rarest of critters. You would kind of be doing them a favor.

Just like how gorillas and elephants are given strict protection? We have seen how much good that has done. And that is when they are in tight, easily patrolled areas. Imagine trying to protect a widespread population in areas as remote as the northwest.

[spacemanspiff]

Absent threatening behavior, nah. No point to it.

Thats why you yell out "Oh my gosh hes coming right for us!" just before you take the shot.

[Eghad]

If Bigfoot leaves me alone I am going to leave him alone.... Besides shooting one for a trophy and having it on the wall would remind me of my mother in law

[jhgreasemonkey]

No I wouldnt. I'd offer him a beer.

[Playboypenguin]

No I wouldnt. I'd offer him a beer.

You better not tease him with it.

If you haven't seen them you should really check out the "Mess'n with Sasquatch" commercials that run locally here in Oregon. They are pretty funny.

Here are a couple but there are many more on youtube.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=r4vL-ajp8sU

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-tXEEZE0rqM

[SDC]

A good question; even though I DOUBT such a creature exists (I'm thinking at least ONE would've become roadkill by now, if they were out there), I might tend towards shooting one to prove that it exists unequivocally. For something like the thylacene/Tasmanian tiger (see below), I wouldn't see a reason to (no-one knows if they're extinct as a species today, but at least we know that they are/were REAL).

[tomh1426]

If they really exists their would have to be a bunch of them , dont ya think over the years someone would of found a body or a skull or somthin.
Like I said befor if I was 1000% positive it wasent a guy in a costume I would shoot it.
But if all I had was a .22 I wouldnt shoot because I dont wanna piss it off.
If you saw an alien in your yard would you shoot it?

[jhgreasemonkey]

Yeah those messin with sasquatch comercials are funny.
An alien in my yard you say? Oh yeah I would shoot it in a second. But first I would attempt to kick its ass just to see if I could.

[Art Eatman]

"Just like how gorillas and elephants are given strict protection?"

No. Just like how bald eagles, grizzly bears and wolves have been given strict protection. This is the U.S., not Africa.

Odds are, were Bigfoot real and somebody shot one, any discovery would lead to a ban on all hunting in any habitat area in which BF could live.

Art

[FirstFreedom]

lawdy lawdy.....

[Jason_G]

OMG, I had to see if this thread was real, LMAO !
I guess if I ran into him I'd take him home like Harry and the Hendersons.
Nah, seriously though, I wouldn't shoot it.
I live in Louisiana and people including just about every game warden I've met swear up and down that we don't have cougars/mountain lions here. Well, one day I was sitting in my box stand and saw one. About ten yards away, no mistaking it. Thing is, I didn't want to shoot it, and now no one believes me. Still, I had no intention of eating a big house cat, so there was no sense in killing it IMO. I think I made the right call to let it go. I know what I saw, but I do carry a disposable camera with me now .

Jason

[bobn]

no point to it,,,,hm wonder if mrs bigfoot is hot looking? lol. bobn

[FirstFreedom]

I freakin LOVE messin was sasquatch commercials PP - thanks for the link.

[joab]

If you were to run into a mythical beast (sasquach) at close range in the forest, would you shoot it?

Yes
I'm broke and want to retire

[Double Naught Spy]

If they really exists their would have to be a bunch of them , dont ya think over the years someone would of found a body or a skull or somthin.

This is a good point. How many must there be for the species to survive? Based on my short time in population genetics, humans, the great apes, and some of the related primates have enough DNA in common to suggest that they require approximately the same number of individuals to make a viable population. As I recall the number for humans, it was 500-600 individuals. That means that there needs to be that mean out there in a breeding population. I would find it hard to believe that there are that few spread over the entirety of North America, but maybe so.

So shouldn't a skull or something have been found? Yep. Those arguing for Bigfoots' existence will argue that their bones have been destroyed by other animals and that you don't often find bones out in the woods. Of course, that does not make sense. Bones are readily found in the woods or the wilds.

Strangely, while folks have reported hitting bigfoots with cars and trucks, the bigfoots never die on scene or in the immediate area. Hunters claim to have shot the animal, but they never seem to be able to actually drop one.

Sure, Native Americans have reported them across the country. Most Native Americans also have polytheistic religions and attribute spirits to things that many of the rest of us do not. So does that mean that trees and rocks have spirits as well if we then put the same attribution into the notion that they put into Bigfoot and that some of us accept as evidence of its existence?

Personally, I am a big fan of the Bigfoot debate. I even own a plaster cast of a female Bigfoot print collected by Grover Krantz and signed by him (I purchased when he was selling off his collection just before he died).

I have to agree with Grover Krantz, until we have a body (alive or dead), I am hesitant to believe they are real. People see things all the time in the woods and wilds, Bigfoot, UFOs, space aliens, spook lights (I am near Marfa, Texas right now), etc. Just because you don't know what something is does not mean it is some sort of unproven entity. It doesn't mean it isn't, but it is more likely to be something simply misunderstood than some sort of creature like a Bigfoot.

[SavageSniper]

Would I shoot Bigfoot (or Swamp Apes as we call them down here) is a question that pops up alot with the boys I run with. I have thought about it also as I was packing a deer kill out of the woods close to Mt Rainer. You know when you are a Southen boy up in bigfoots stomping grounds by yourself gets a man to thinking. The answer is yes. Here is why. First it would prove if it is real. Answered, solved. It could then be put on the endangered species list. You know, like the panda was that was supposed to be a myth. We would also have a DNA sample so we could clone it one day. As for the "guy in a suit" question- If you do not have anymore greymatter than to run around in the woods ANYWHERE in a ape suit then IMO you are asking to get killed. Really, do we want folks like that around. I really believe that if I was to shoot a man in an ape suit that I would not be put in jail although I may need legal help. FirstFreedom, do you need a case? I am not saying that I believe it is real, but its a nice thought.

[oldbillthundercheif]

The latest genetic studies show that the human race was down to about 5 breeding females at one point. If we could make it through that sort of near-extinction, just about anything could.

A geneticist with a british accent said so on PBS (Nova no less) so it must be true.

I suspect that if sasquach is real there is enough desolate woodland in North America to hold at least a few dozen of them even if they each require a huge territory.

Nice story by the way, PBP.

[piercfh]

I'd drop him in his tracks and give the "he was headed right for me" story.

I hear all the time about people who say they see wild cats and cougars here in Alabama, and others claim there aren't any. I guess the Bigfoot deal is kinda the same way, or the lockness monster. If I saw em I'd definitely be pulling the trigger and dragging back some proof.

Ethically its not the thing to do. It'd probably stink really bad, and the meat would probably be tuff. I'd like to see the look on the processors face though.

[ConcealCarryNY]

Yup I'd drop it. I bet it tastes like pork. mmmmmmmmmm Bigfoot bacon.

[4V50 Gary]

the price of fame & fortune for bagging Bigfoot is not worth the taking that critter's life.

[Sgt.Fathead]

So, I woke my wife up with my idiotic laughter at this video:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nVM62idO9...elated&search=

Thanks, PBP; I really like Jack Link's above all other commercial jerky so it was worth it when my wife came into the spare room and smacked me in the head.

If Bigfoot/Sasquatch were coming at me angry, fast and growling he'd get what anyone would in that time and place; a chest full of .357s. Hunt it down, stalk it, kill it and grill it? No way. If it exists, if it's species has stayed hidden this long, I'm not going to kill it.

Drug dealers, meth makers, kiddie rapers, muggers preying on the elderly, cowardly terrorists killing innocents in the crossfire...these and more I'd shoot with pleasure. Sign me up.

[keita]

Simple:

If if hasn't been bagged, it doesn't exist