While reading a "newly" acquired book by one of our very own, right here on Trad Gang. I was inspired to post this topic.
According to the author, there are basically three types of predator style hunters. They are,
1. Canine
2. Feline
3. Raptor
There can be at least a little bit of each of these in each one of us, but basically.....we fall into one or the other.
I have thought for years that people are influenced by whomever taught them the ropes of hunting, but the final decision as to what we are, is a choice that we make alone. While agreeing completely with the author, I had never quite looked at it in the light that he presented it in.
I will start.........
For me, I am primarily a Raptor. I am a sitter, I will carefully select my location to lay in wait.......stalk (feline) my way into it, then sit......and sit.......just waiting for something to come within the range that I am confident in making my strike from.
I am very much like a cat on my way to my stand, I move very slowly, cautiously, observing everything that is in both my path and surroundings. Every move has a purpose, a destination is my goal.
Upon arriving at my chosen "ambush" point, I situate my self in as comfortable of a position as I can. I immediately survey my surroundings, and determine what my "strike range" is. Then I wait, silently......with a purpose for my being exactly where I am, and an already determined goal in my heart.
As is true to my internet name on this and several other forums.......I am a Raptor, through and through.
What type of a hunter are you ??? :bigsmyl:
Winterhawk1960
Well, I know I can't seem to sit long in any given spot, besides, it doesn't bode well for the type of hunting we have in my parts.
From the description above I'd go with the cat style, but you didn't give us an overview of what a dog hunts like. If it's pushing through the woods or something like that I'd guess I'd still resemble the cat more.
Interesting analogy.
Canine - I like to be actively hunting, moving, trying to make something happen. Type terrain I hunt is more suited to raptors but I can't stand it - cant stay in stand but so long.
J
Raptor! Just the other day I was on stand for 9 1/2hrs. :knothead: :help: Sometimes I like to still hunt, but I still spend more time looking than moving.
Have a good friend that hunted with me a few times and said the only thing he saw move on me over the hours was my eyes.
:eek: :eek:
Raven
>>>>------->
RAptor and feline I also stalk my way to my stand check my striking distance. What is the name of the book.
I guess that wasn't quite fair to not give at least......my......description of a canine and a feline.
A canine, to me.....would be someone that is an aggressive type hunter.....like a wolf, something that cannot stand to "wait" for something to happen. Instead, it would go out and "make" something happen, or at least make an effort to.
A feline, to me.......would be the ultimate stalker. If you have ever watched a big cat, or even a house cat stalk something, each and every move that a cat makes, has a purpose, that being to get closer to it's intended prey.
I also realize that the part of the country and the type of game that we each hunt will play a very important part in which type predator that we deem ourselves to be.
I just thought that it was a very well written chapter in the book, and as was intended by the author.......it provoked my feeble little mind to really think about the message that he was trying to convey.
Winterhawk1960
oh-bowhunter,
The name of the book is "Buckskin and Bone" by Gene Wensel.
I'm really trying to limit myself to just two chapters a night, then read them both twice. So's my thick skull might absorb MORE of what he is saying.
Winterhawk1960
I think of canine as one who actively hunts in groups/packs, those who perform drives. Those who influence the direction of their prey to others in the pack who are in hiding or ambush.
My personality is feline, although I'm far from "ultimate".
Raptor - have done numerous pre-dawn to dusk sits in the stand.....
why do think i have a name like HO'NEHE indian for brother wolf so i will go with wolf as i like to spot and stalk.
Interesting. I would prefer to move as a feline, but with the limited number of deer in our area it becomes frustrating, so as I speed up I bump game if I do run into some, so tend to be very feline in an aproach to stand then sit.
Well according to my brother who never kills anything im a son of a $%&&*, a mother %&$#@*,and an @$#hole type hunter. not sure what animal has these classifications...LOL
I've done all three.
Canine - Pushing deer through a funnel with an ambush ahead of them.
Raptor - Sitting perched in a tree stand, tripod or ground blind for hours waiting for unsuspecting game
Feline - Stalking and still hunting through thick, deep brush.
But I would have to say that feline is my favorite by far. I just feel a part of nature when I'm out in it and moving around.
It depends on the animal I am hunting. Deer, I will sit in a spot. But rabbits, I have to move and scare them out from the brush. Around here, you have to do that or you return empty-handed.
One thing about Raptors. There's an exception. Harris Hawks hunt in packs. :D
Canine,
I spot and stalk and still hunt. I never stand hunt. So canine it is Blacktails and Roosevelt Elk do not lend themselves to stand hunting in most cases.
Since I added my wife to my hunting life, I am now the pusher of animals to the posted hunter. So she would be feline lying in wait, while I am canine, searching for, finding, and pushing the prey to her ambush
Raptor, I can sit for hours and only move my head perhaps an inch. But when that buck shows up, you can bet i am like a cat in administering the death bow! LOL
Theres one they left out, and it applys to me. I,m mostly a hungry one. Can,t sit long enough, Blow my stalks most of the time, I,m am stubborn enough to usually win out though.
Great Blue Heron is my mentor.
I am usually a hungry little shorebird, though.
Killdeer ;)
I would have to call myself a combo of all three.
There is no doubt, that the raptor is by far the most successfull at taking game. The canine in me is what has taught me so much about the areas that I hunt.
i love to watch my cat / she has probably taught me more about hunting than any person
I'm with all three, with sort of a "Lord of the
Flies" aspect to it, you know, like when
you want to skewer a wild boar and devour
it's still-beating heart whilst beating on your chest,
listening to drum music, dancing 'round the fire in your ghillie.
I guess it must be dinner time. :D
raptor. to big and clumsy to be anything els.
I think the animal hunted and conditions would dictate the type of hunter I needed to be.
A rutting bull elk might demand an aggressive dog like tracker then cat like stealth to close the distance and raptor like patience for the kill :)
Yea all three....
canine for sure.i cannot stand in one spot for long then the tom sawyer side comes out and i have to go find something to hunt.i do sit on trails in an ambush position but not for long.
It is a good thing predators aren't as noisy, clumsy, and impatient as I am or they would be very hungry!
I still hunt to my stand (feline), sit (raptor), and when I get restless, I just "sneak around"
for a while (back to feline).
Good thread!
John
What kind of a Predtor am I well I'm a classic
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/134sawney/100_0467.jpg)
Definitely feline - a grumpy old tom cat to be exact. LOL
QuoteOriginally posted by shakeyslim:
i love to watch my cat / she has probably taught me more about hunting than any person
--------------------
a hippie taught me to hunt
hehe, is your cat a hippie?
mine's not but i've found many a rodent, pigeon and seagull on my frontsteps in the morning!
As for myself, though i do not hunt, the Feline tactic is what appeals the most! Maybe a bit of canine as well :)
Edit : Nice bow, Howler!
You forgot to add, Reptilian. I rather think of my self as an Eastern Diamondback snake, in perfect camo on the ground poised and ready to attack.
im a hungry one.
For me...
Primarily a feline... when the terrain permits and when I'm not getting tired.
When tired, I'm afraid my feline style morphs into canine as I speed up and get less interested in noise.
When the woods are just too crunchy (most of the time, I think), it's raptor time.
I've always seen more deer in raptor mode (though not necessarily in range), or in canine mode (though the bits I see are white and bounding away) but I've only killed deer in feline mode.
Primarily a Raptor. I can sit from Dawn to Dusk, if the conditions are right. I can also be a Feline if the conditions are right - stillhunting is an excellent way to hunt.
mix between raptor,puma,and wolf mostly wolf maybe thats why I look so funny? I think we should all adapt to the terrain we hunt.
I can sit on stand for hours if i have done my home work and know that the spot im sitting in is hot.
Some of us read that last year when Gene had it published it in TBM.
Frankly, I think I'm a Bowvine 8^).
When hunting alone it's Feline/Raptor for me. Something cool about moving about soooooo slow and quiet (deer hunting) that the tree rats pay you no mind. Then there are times when I "Become The Dog" for others waiting in ambush. But if I HAD to pick just one it would be Feline.
... mike ...