The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Hide > The Hunt

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old June 19, 2006, 12:28 AM   #1
FirstFreedom
Junior member
 
Join Date: May 31, 2004
Location: The Toll Road State, U.S.A.
Posts: 12,451
Define "Hunting"

Is varmint eradication both varminting AND hunting (i.e. one type of hunting)? Or just varminting? IOW, define hunting (to you). Thanks.
FirstFreedom is offline  
Old June 19, 2006, 01:08 AM   #2
garryc
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 12, 2005
Posts: 2,536
Hunting is the pursuit of an animal with the intent of killing it or capturing it. Pretty broad definition. Is shooting a deer at 300yrds with a rifle hunting? Or would you reserve that definition to shooting one at 20yrds with a stick and string?
garryc is offline  
Old June 19, 2006, 04:46 AM   #3
psycho nut
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 3, 2005
Location: Nebraska
Posts: 480
I would define it as killing something with the intent to eat it.
__________________
I can't spel.
psycho nut is offline  
Old June 19, 2006, 06:10 AM   #4
maas
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 13, 2005
Location: The state of Jefferson
Posts: 897
ding ding ding ding..... we have a winner bob.... tell psysco nut what he's won.
__________________
I don't try to offend....some times i get lucky!

There's always one thing that makes Republicans look good on election day...........Democrats!
maas is offline  
Old June 19, 2006, 06:43 AM   #5
Double Naught Spy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 8, 2001
Location: Forestburg, Montague Cnty, TX
Posts: 12,714
The activity or sport of pursuing game. The act of conducting a search for something. You can hunt big foot for trophy, sport, or you can hunt bigfoot simply to find (so as to prove or document). What you do once your pursuit is successful is a secondary activity.

Hunting has nothing to do with being fair to animals although some hunting may give animals more of a chance of escape than others. People like to speak of "fair hunting" as being proper hunting. Apparently game cameras and infrared sensors are not part of the being fair but sniping is.

Varmitting, such as camping out 200 yards from a prairie dog town with a scoped rifle and popping prairie dogs when they pop out their heads is considered to be hunting by some, but there really isn't much pursuit any more than pursuing bacon at the grocery store. It is more like sniping where the prey really doesn't have much of a chance because it doesn't know you are there, or if it knows, it knows you are so far away as to not be a threat (such as a coyote at 200 yards would not be a threat to a prairie dog, but a prairie dog doesn't comprehend ballistics, technology, etc.). Note that archer fish often do a bit of sniping themselves.

In Texas, we even set up bait stations that deer will check during the off season and then the deer are shot from a blind - more sniping. Baiting, however, it a technique used by the animals such as the angler fish.

Sometimes 'hunters' lay in wait alongside game trails and wait for game to casually to come strolling along. This is a technique used by rattlesnakes and other types of predators as well.

Some hunters like the idea of stalking their prey on foot to get close enough to make a shot. In the woods, getting close enough means getting within line of sight. In the open, it means getting close enough to be able to hit the animal before it is spooked and runs. Such tactics are used by predators like bears, felines, and canids.

How about a good old fashioned British fox hunt? You get a bunch of dogs that run in a pack and a bunch of lazy humans on horseback to follow the dogs like they themselves are a pack of dogs. Pack hunting in nature is how many species survive.

The point here is that there is nothing fair to the prey about hunting. The point is to gain an advantage over the prey by outwitting it, defeating its senses, or defeating its ability to get away.
__________________
"If you look through your scope and see your shoe, aim higher." -- said to me by my 11 year old daughter before going out for hogs 8/13/2011
My Hunting Videos https://www.youtube.com/user/HornHillRange
Double Naught Spy is offline  
Old June 20, 2006, 10:05 AM   #6
Wild Bill Bucks
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 28, 2005
Location: Southeastern Oklahoma, Next door to Sasquatch
Posts: 1,266
Every living thing HUNTS, to EAT.
Wild Bill Bucks is offline  
Old June 20, 2006, 10:35 AM   #7
Edward429451
Junior member
 
Join Date: November 12, 2000
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Posts: 9,494
I gotta agree with DNS.

Eating the game is the result and ok, but doesn't define hunting. Pursuing game is hunting wether scouting, camera, or (looking for the end result, ie., eating it).
Edward429451 is offline  
Old June 22, 2006, 10:41 PM   #8
Jseime
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 31, 2004
Location: Canada
Posts: 1,775
Hunting, From the Jseime dictionary of all things important:

Hunting is the practice of finding, stalking and killing an animal be it gophers coyotes deer elk or moose.

There are however exceptions, shooting varmints off a bench from a distance with a high powered rifle is simply shooting and shooting deer from a treestand over a bait station while wearing full camo and scent covers is simply shooting.

Hunting requires skill and knowledge as well as being able to shoot well in almost any situation. The real hunters are the people out on the prairie crawling over the top of a hill trying to get within a couple hundred yards to make a clean shot or the people crawling through the forest with a .30-30 trying to get to the edge of the clearing to make that 50 yard snap shot.
__________________
I love the smell of fresh shotgun in the morning.
Jseime is offline  
Old June 22, 2006, 11:26 PM   #9
22-rimfire
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 19, 2005
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 5,323
I would define "hunting" as seeking anything. It does not imply necessarily a purpose other than finding or locating the quarry or subject of the hunt. As DNS said, you could be hunting bigfoot, or you could be hunting girls or boys (love interest only). I hunt wildflowers sometimes. I might be hunting for a new knife, firearm, or simply hunting for cheese macs at the store. Basically, you need an descriptive term like "deer" to preceed the word hunting if you want to be correct.

Traditionally, hunting is used to describe seeking an animal or an elusive prey. "The Hunt for Red October"....

Last edited by 22-rimfire; June 23, 2006 at 06:55 AM.
22-rimfire is offline  
Old June 23, 2006, 08:14 PM   #10
FirstFreedom
Junior member
 
Join Date: May 31, 2004
Location: The Toll Road State, U.S.A.
Posts: 12,451
So if you're at a prairie dog town, shooting them, are you 'seeking' them, and therefore hunting them?
FirstFreedom is offline  
Old June 23, 2006, 08:50 PM   #11
Jseime
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 31, 2004
Location: Canada
Posts: 1,775
If you are in a dog town shooting I would call that hunting if you walk around some and do some actual legwork. I might be inclined to call it shooting if you sit at a bench all morning and just burn rounds.

To all those who may have been offended by me calling stand hunting shooting not hunting I didnt really mean that as a general statement it just doesnt work in my part of the world.
__________________
I love the smell of fresh shotgun in the morning.
Jseime is offline  
Old June 24, 2006, 10:43 AM   #12
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
 
Join Date: November 13, 1998
Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA
Posts: 24,798
In the broadest sense, and in the context of this forum, hunting is finding some critter to shoot, and killing it.

There are many parts and pieces to the whole deal, of course. You can scout around to find the biggest buck in the pasture, which means a good bit of looking without shooting. Ya gotta find most all of them before you can know which is the biggest, right? Then ya gotta find that big SOB a second time--and that's not necessarily the easiest deal going. But, it means you've spent a good bit of time outdoors, "just lookin'".

You can hunt for pestiferous critters, like ol' Wily Coyote.

If you sit, you're hunting in the same way as a cougar, in ambush. You can play sneaky-snake in thick-ish cover country or serious brush/jungle. Or you can just walk across country and work the wind. It's all some form of hunting, but in different styles. The style is forced by terrain, cover and one's level of skill or physical strength.

Purpose? You can hunt for meat, or trophy and meat, or for varmints. It's all a part of the package called "hunting".

Art
Art Eatman is offline  
Old June 25, 2006, 11:38 AM   #13
dfaugh
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 17, 2002
Location: Upstate NY
Posts: 1,715
You're gonna get a WIDE variety of responses to this. For example, I consider hunting to be the pursuit, with intent to kill, game animals that I intend to eat. I will, however, shoot animals that I DON'T intend to eat (varmints) IF they are causing me a problem (varmint hunting), for example pidgeons in my barn, or woodchucks digging up my lawn (which I have a couple on my property, but since they don't dig up the lawn I leave 'em alone), or the crows that drive me nuts with tehir noise. But, that's just MY philosophy, and I don't expect others to follow my "rules".
__________________
"If you Listen to Fools, the Mob Rules"

"No one has the answer, but one thing is true.
You'e got to turn on evil, when its coming after you.
You've gotta face it down,and when it tries to hide,
you've got to go in after it, and never be denied.
Time is running out...Let's roll.
Let's roll for freedom, let's roll for love.
We're going after satan, on the wings of a dove.
Let's roll for freedom, let's roll for truth.
Let's not let our children grow up fearful in their youth."
dfaugh is offline  
Old June 27, 2006, 08:53 PM   #14
youp
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 15, 2005
Location: south of Canada, eh?
Posts: 438
Hunting for me is the pursuit with the intent to do grave bodily damage to a creature and eat its flesh. I may not like your methods, but if they are legal and you do not grossly affect my experience then go for it. If you affect my experience I will simply move on.
__________________
Use enough gun.
youp is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:46 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.07061 seconds with 7 queries