How AWESOME is Hunting?!

[FloydofOz]

So I'm getting prepared for my first hunting season. Last year, as I mentioned in a few posts, I bought my first rifle and shotgun. I've spent the past 6 months or so practicing my marksmanship and researching hunting in Maryland.

I recently took the next step by signing up for Hunter Education in Montgomery County. The class is in two weeks. I just finished the workbook that they send you before the course...and I'M SO PUMPED!

It certainly helped that the book was written in the same style as the Boy Scout handbook! I loved the Scouts and actually am an Eagle Scout, so I was pretty pumped to get another chance to enjoy a civic handbook written in English plain enough for a 6th grader, with the occasional grammatical error.

I can't wait to harvest my own healthy, organic, free meat. I hope I have some successful trips.

So far I'm planning on going for waterfowl (probably starting with geese because I hear they're easier to take) and rabbits.

I've already made contact with one person on this forum who has very generously offered to take me on a trip. If anyone would be interested in doing some hunting with an enthusiastic amateur, private message me! Don't worry, I'm very safe and wont screw anything up (I don't think I live in Rockville, but am willing to drive to wherever the best spots are in the state.

Any tips for how I should get started are welcome.

I still need to get my orange and some other clothing, as well as a new good knife.

So I now pose the question; how awesome is hunting?! I'd like to hear your thoughts on the hunter's philosophy, the fundamental human needs that are fulfilled by knowing you can harvest your own food, how to minimize the suffering of the game, and any other thoughts. What motivates you to hunt?

Thanks!

~Floyd

 

[Numidian]

Are you 12?

 

[AKbythebay]

Just try not to get discouraged at unsuccessful hunts and you should be fine. Keep in mind that for every deer hunt I've been on where I got one I've been on probably 5-6 where I didn't see shit. Keep your head up.

 

[FloydofOz]

Yeah, I'm expecting to be disappointed quite a lot. I've always done a lot of fishing--I figure hunting can only be more difficult.

 

[haoleboy]

Are you 12?

Many of us ask the same question about you.

 

[Numidian]

Many of us ask the same question about you.

But have you asked yourself lately just how AWESOME I am?

 

[trickg]

One suggestion would be to gain membership at a nearby hunting and fishing club. That is where you are going to find others with more experience who would be willing to take a new hunter under their wing and show them the ropes. Those are also the folks who are going to have the inside scoop on places to go, and they are going to have established relationships with property owners for places to go hunt. In almost every endeavor, sometimes a lot of extra effort can be avoided by simply knowing the right people.

Good luck with it.

 

[biermkr]

I started hunting at the age of 12. I still get just as excited about hunting season now.

Yes it is AWESOME!

 

[Jim Sr]

Yeah, I'm expecting to be disappointed quite a lot. I've always done a lot of fishing--I figure hunting can only be more difficult.

First:

Do you in see "Hunting" as an adventure, or a shooting event?

If it’s another shooting event; please let me know where you will be shooting, so I can be somewhere else!

If you view it as another adventure, (hunting with a camera, a firearm, a bow, etc.) You’ll love it!

Jim Sr

 

[VNVGUNNER]

I can't wait to harvest my own healthy, organic, free meat. I hope I have some successful trips.


Nothing is free

 

[trickg]

I can't wait to harvest my own healthy, organic, free meat. I hope I have some successful trips....

~Floyd

Nothing is free

Man, that's the truth, and when you really stop and think about it, by the time you have purchased the guns, the ammo, spent money on the gas to go and practice and then get where you are going to go to hunt, it's likely that you'll lose money! The key is to try to do it for the sake of doing it. I'm one of those shooters Jim Sr. is talking about - for now I'd rather just shoot than hunt, which is why my shooting efforts all take place at a range.

 

[canuck]

But have you asked yourself lately just how AWESOME I am?

Not a question that I would ask.

 

[FloydofOz]

I view it as an adventure. I don't expect to shoot my gun more than a couple times--just for when I find a desirable animal.

I also view it as a sort of rite of passage, as cliche as that might sound. I know a few people in the past few years who have become vegetarians; some for ethical reasons, some for health reasons. They say either that it is wrong to kill animals, or that meat in grocery stores is unhealthy due to farming conditions, antibiotics and hormones.

Needless to say, I thought the ethical argument was ridiculous, since I believe in the FOOD CHAIN. It's good to be on top.

At the same time, however, I decided that I couldn't in good conscience tell my friends they're being ridiculous unless I was willing to kill my own animals. I decided that if I killed an animal and felt remorse and guilt, rather than satisfaction and hunger, I would be a hypocrite if I didn't also become a veggie.

I am also very health-conscious, and am concerned about the possibility of unhealthy things being in the meat I eat. Hunting should solve this problem. You can't get any more natural than an animal raised in nature.

Yeah, I know it's not exactly "free." That was an exaggeration. I've already spent close to $1000 on guns, ammo and training. Still, I think over time if I get into it and start taking a lot of game, I'll come out having saved money on food for my family and me. Either way, it's a great way to spend money--better than what I used to spend all my money on (beer, take out food, women, etc.

So yeah, this is an adventure for me. It has been ever since I decided to get into it and learned how to shoot. I hope that it will help me fulfill my goals of deciding once and for all on the silly vegetarian question, and feeling like I can be completely self-sufficient if necessary (I already do a lot of gardening, fishing and cooking). Hopefully I'll enjoy it and this can become a lifelong activity that I can share with my children (hopefully a son).

~Floyd

 

[BenL]

Man, that's the truth, and when you really stop and think about it, by the time you have purchased the guns, the ammo, spent money on the gas to go and practice and then get where you are going to go to hunt, it's likely that you'll lose money! The key is to try to do it for the sake of doing it. I'm one of those shooters Jim Sr. is talking about - for now I'd rather just shoot than hunt, which is why my shooting efforts all take place at a range.

Last year, my wife actually did a rough calculation of how much my goose and duck cost by the pound. It came out to something like $200 a pound. ...and I have a cheap gun (remmy 870 supermagnum)

BTW, Early season geese = easy. Late season geese = good luck. The problem with Canada goose hunting is that it can be over very fast in the early season (limit = 2), and take a long, cold, boring day in the late season (all of the geese that survived the season are leery of decoys).

If you want some real waterfowl fun, go sea duck or river duck hunting. On a good day, it's one of the most exciting hunts you'll ever do.

 

[xd40c]

Well I have spent $1000s of bucks on guns/stands/camo/and other misc gear. And every fall. no matter how much I have, I can always find some way to spend some more money.

Hunting is not something you do to save money on food. (Unless you are eating steaks morning, noon and night.) But In my opinion it's worth it. You get out of the house and sit in the woods, freezing cold, 20 feet up a tree, waiting on suitable prey.

If you've done your job, you know they'll be coming once the sun comes up. There's more than a little exhilaration on your first kill. But it's very easy to pull the trigger, the hard part is gutting the animal afterwords. Make sure you either a)know what your going to do or b)have someone with you who does. No since ruining your first kill because you opened his guts all over the carcass.

Above all, respect those animals. If you make a poor shot and gut shoot him (speaking of deer), you'll never find him, and he'll die days later a painfull death. Not something anyone wants.

 

[Splitter]

I have fallen in love with shooting, but I'll never be a hunter. I have no problem with hunters at all, especially if they use the meat.

I just don't like killing the animals myself (yeah, I know, wuss) and.....it's too early and too damned cold! Waking up at 4AM and going out to freeze is something someone would have to make me do, like if I owed them money or something.

Splitter

 

[Jim Sr]

I view it as an adventure. I don't expect to shoot my gun more than a couple times--just for when I find a desirable animal.

I also view it as a sort of rite of passage, as cliche as that might sound. I know a few people in the past few years who have become vegetarians; some for ethical reasons, some for health reasons. They say either that it is wrong to kill animals, or that meat in grocery stores is unhealthy due to farming conditions, antibiotics and hormones.

Needless to say, I thought the ethical argument was ridiculous, since I believe in the FOOD CHAIN. It's good to be on top.

At the same time, however, I decided that I couldn't in good conscience tell my friends they're being ridiculous unless I was willing to kill my own animals. I decided that if I killed an animal and felt remorse and guilt, rather than satisfaction and hunger, I would be a hypocrite if I didn't also become a veggie.

I am also very health-conscious, and am concerned about the possibility of unhealthy things being in the meat I eat. Hunting should solve this problem. You can't get any more natural than an animal raised in nature.

Yeah, I know it's not exactly "free." That was an exaggeration. I've already spent close to $1000 on guns, ammo and training. Still, I think over time if I get into it and start taking a lot of game, I'll come out having saved money on food for my family and me. Either way, it's a great way to spend money--better than what I used to spend all my money on (beer, take out food, women, etc.

So yeah, this is an adventure for me. It has been ever since I decided to get into it and learned how to shoot. I hope that it will help me fulfill my goals of deciding once and for all on the silly vegetarian question, and feeling like I can be completely self-sufficient if necessary (I already do a lot of gardening, fishing and cooking). Hopefully I'll enjoy it and this can become a lifelong activity that I can share with my children (hopefully a son).

~Floyd

 

[trickg]

Floyd, it looks to me like you have a great attitude about it. I don't know if I'll ever do it as a major means to put meat on the table, although at some point I do want to go on a deer hunt with the idea that I'll eat what I shoot. Whether or not I can sell the family on eating a game animal is another story. The way I see it, a deer is just another animal, so why would there be anything inherently inferior or untasty about venison when compared to beef? Different, yes, but not inferior. However, I'm not sure I can convince my wife and kids of that.

 

[simplegreen]

I hunted with my father all my life, that was until I actually got something. It was a GREAT bonding time with my father, and I would do it all over again, in fact i think im going to start going with him more this year (with a camera). However I do not actually hunt anything anymore.

My first real kill was a 4 pointer, being young and impressionable, BUT at the age where i could philosophize i found myself questioning the means to why i was hunting. I feel that if you hunt you should harvest and eat what you kill, and i even give it more preference if you need that meet to survive.

Taking out of context the over population of deer (their not really over populated, we've just moved into their habitat now they're evolving and learning to live with us but thats a different discussion).

Long story short, i felt aweful watching the blood from a needlessly killed animal run down that hill that day, and made a commitment to myself that because i didnt do it specifically for the meat, that I would not hunt again until i needed that as a food source. I think that is something every hunter will agree on, eat what you kill.

My father often donates what he doesn't eat to soup kitchens and homeless feeding ministries he's involved in, and i guess i could do that, but chock it up to sensitivity, or a higher calling, I find the whole killing thing almost spiritual, just how the american indians gave thanks to the animal it killed for giving its life for them to eat, i feel that there is a bond between those two beings, and to do it, just to do it.. is just beyond me..

sorry that was deep i know but what can i say. I minored in psychology .

 

[haoleboy]

x800 on hunting being expensive.

Not everyone eats what they kill, and thats ok. I am not a huge fan of venison myself but will eat it in jerky, chili, bbq, etc form.
I like to trophy hunt. The deer I don't eat get donated to the state to provide meat to homeless shelters. There are a ton of butchers that are drop off processing stations. All the hunters have to do is pay an extra $1 with their license and drop off the fresh kill at the participating butcher.
Deer are way over populated in MD and need to be thinned out.