SOLIDARITY; AND WHY WE HUNT

[24Sailor]

Very good topic Meplat. I saw the topic and then read through the posts. Although it got somewhat sidetracked you did do a good job of bringing the issue to the table. I kind of read the thread title this way: SOLIDARITY?; AND WHY WE HUNT.

I commend Gryff for giving his opinion: "I'll oppose gun-related hunting legislation, but I will be the first to stand up to say that trophy hunting disgusts me.". This statement is valid and gives me the impression you don't partake in hunting and that is fine. But, you will not allow yourself to be persuaded and conquered by that segment of the anti - gun crowd who seek to end the very reason many of us own firearms to begin with.

My safes are home to hunting rifles , military rifles and handguns. Here's the difference: The hunting rifles I shoot and hunt with, the military rifles date from the Revolutionary War to 1941 and were mostly inherited. The handguns I purchased as investments and on average have appreciated 300%. I have no use for a modern military knock off type of firearm, so I don't participate by not owning them. However I do think they're fun to shoot. So if I'm traveling through Las Vegas and have some money to burn I don't do it in a casino....I go rent and shoot machine guns for an hour (what a hoot).

That being said I eat what I hunt. I shoot pests and let the scavengers eat them. And yes I do get a kick out of vaporizing gophers (and would ground squirrels except none live near me). I don't "hunt" coyote or raccoon, but if I happen to see one on my property when I have a rifle handy I'll shoot it. Bobcats and foxes I don't shoot unless they're after my chickens even when I do see them and have my rifle with me. If the opportunity to shoot a trophy animal during hunting season arrises I'm not about to shy away. I also enjoy just watching wildlife without harming it with the exception of pests.

[Meplat]

Not sure what that means. I don't commune with trees, but I love being in nature.

When you are in nature, do you feel as if you are a resident, or a visitor?

Most generally do hunt for meet. But take a stroll through the CGN hunting sub-forums and enjoy the threads on people who drive 30 miles into the desert to kill coyotes because they are threats to people and pets. Or how they lust after popping that bobcat because the fur would look good on the wall. Or heck, just because you want to watch squirrels disintegrate:

Coyotes are a danger to people and pets. Thirty miles is not that far for a medium sized predator to range. The problem with coyotes, and to an extent bobcats, is that the metro-centric population of CA has restricted the method of take to the point that they are suffering greatly from population pressure. That is why they move into the suburbs and start working the cat and poodle trade. If the population in the outlaying areas can be reduced there will not be as much pressure on the young animals, which need to establish a territory, to move into the burbs and create problems.

That bobcat is not going to live forever. The pelt has several ways it can go. It can lay in the wild where it will molder and disintegrate after being ripped asunder by another predator. It can also wind up in the feces of another predator or scavenger. All somewhat ignoble ends. On the other hand it could be mounted by a taxidermist, or made into any number of useful, beautiful, and valuable articles. A hat, or collar and trim for a lady’s coat. All testaments, showing respect and reverence for the animal its self, and with proper care it can out last many lifetimes of the original animal, and even outlast the hunter.

Ground squirrels do indeed carry the vector for bubonic plague. They are indeed a pest to farmers and ranchers. Some landholders will allow you to hunt their land for game animals if you help control the squirrel population. It is unadvisable to handle recently dead ground squirrels. So you are not going to dress and eat them. However in respect for the animal and hunting ethics one wants to make as quick and clean a kill as possible. The red mist thing insures that a gut shot animal is not going to disappear into its burro and suffer for hours or days. It is assurance that you have used enough gun, the proper ammunition, and made an effective shot.

Actually, a) I'm talking about the people who think it is fun to use live birds for target shooting:

“Live Trap” shooting has been illegal for over half a century.