Hey Ray. Thanks for passing on Petzal's words. A great frame of mind to start the hunting season.

Well said.  A message that every young (and old) hunter needs to hear!    

Amen

Exactly why hunting shows make me sick.

Amen
X2 what Ray and Killdeer said!

Thanks Ray & Killdeer,

I save a copy along with a similar article on "Why I Hunt".  Very good words/material to pass on especially to those that are Not diehard anti-hunters but just asking Why!

tippit

And that is exactly why I don't watch that garbage, or flock to those morons like so many do at "sportsman" shows.

The reverence for the life you take should be an automatic thing.

I'm reminded of a time when my daughter (age 5, I believe) was with me when I was butchering that seasons' deer.  There was still the little tufts of fur remaining on the legs just above the hoofs.  She petted that fur and said, "don't worry deer, we'll eat you.". I had been (and am still) teaching her the importance of being a good steward of the Earth and the creatures that I believe God gave us dominion over, and asks us to be rsponsible stewards of.  She gets it.  Never, never should we take a life lightly, but in reverence and awe and thankfullness.

I was watching a show a while back and the professional hunter shot a big buck with a collar and ear tag on. Shockingly, he was so excited. It's funny, I've hunted almost 50 yrs and I don't ever remember seeing a deer with those things on. I'll take a "naturally" harvested doe kill as a real trophy, give thanks, and enjoy the meat and experience.  Peace!

This is great and very well put. I couldn't agree more. thanks!

QuoteOriginally posted by Longrifleman:
And that is exactly why I don't watch that garbage, or flock to those morons like so many do at "sportsman" shows.

Or buy any of the products they are pushing with these programs. Send them a message where it counts. Don't but their products. After all that is the real reason they want you to watch, which makes the manner in which the animal is taken all the more insidious.

QuoteOriginally posted by Ray Hammond:
In the Presence of Death
Sep 19, 2013

In this day and age here's a guy who "gets it". I don't know who the author is- but I read it on F&S
     
One of the things I talked about on this season's Gun Nuts is an (apparently) common ritual on many of the TV hunting shows. When hunter and guide (or whoever) walk up on some poor dead beast the likes of which you and I will never see, and which they have killed inside of 26 minutes, they exchange High Fives and a hearty "Yay, Hah", like one of them just rode the late Bodacious for 8 seconds and lived to tell about it.
Now call me old, mean, and cranky, but I think this shows about the same attitude toward animals as the kids who think that meat comes from the supermarket wrapped in cellophane. It does not. It comes from an animal who spent its last moments alive bawling in terror in a slaughterhouse.
If you are one of the High Five set, a reminder: The animal at your feet over which you exchange hand slaps is not there voluntarily. It spent its last day on earth hoping at whatever level animals hope that it would live another day. Given a choice, it would not have given up its life to make you joyful.
Other, very diverse, hunting cultures do not slap hands and yodel. I've seen Bakwena tribesmen in Botswana throw a handful of sand on the hooves of a departed beast and murmur a prayer thanking it for the gift of its life. In Germany, at the end of a hunt, there is an elaborate torchlight ceremony in which the day's bag is laid out in rows, and honored en masse.
I have nothing against a handshake and a "Good shot," or something like that, but it should be tempered by the realization that being alive is something of a miracle and that death is the opposite of a miracle.
In other words, show a little respect.

It's sad that this even needs to be said.  I agree completely with the blog writer.  I don't watch the hunting shows, too much of the immature behavior he mentioned for me.  "Smoked him", dancing around like children, mugging the camera, and the one I really hate..."he took a dirt nap".  

Maybe I'm just old but it didn't used to be like that.  TV has really dumbed down the whole hunting experience in my opinion.  Unfortunately I think a lot of younger hunters fall for it and think that's how you are supposed to behave.

I totally agree with you, Ray. That is one reason I never watch TV hunting shows. I don't kill a lot of stuff, but when I do it is a moment of reflection that includes only God, the animal taken, and myself. I may take pictures and spin a better tale around the camp fire than the facts actually support; however, the actual moment of the kill is very private. We should always give thanks in a solemn manner.

The garbage that is put on the outhouse channel and others like it are disgusting.  I absolutely can't stand the "I smoked him" attitude.  I hate the idea that "hunters" have that you are only as good of a hunter as the money you spend on your equipment.  It makes me sick just like the rest of you.  I was at Walmart just the other day and I was looking at the archery department looking of they might by chance have a kids sized shooting glove for my neighbors little boy and I seen a guy looking at some lighted nocks.  He turned around and I knew him actually we were friends when we were kids.  I said dang those nocks are expensive for just nocks.  He said yeah but they are worth it.  I said I guess and looked at the small broad head selection and he pointed at the latest flippy out mechanical things and said man I can't wait to start shooting them.  I asked him what bow he shot and it named off one of the big time names in compounds.  I just said oh, yeah a lot of people shoot them.  The he started bragging on how he could shoot a baseball sized group at 50 yards with no problem.  I said hum that's a LONG  ways to be shooting at a deer good luck on your season and I walked off.  I think "traditional" hunting is an attitude and a way of thinking and respect more than what equipment you carry into the woods.

I am native american and what we do here when we kill a deer is face the east and have a smoke and thank the creator and the deer for providing us. If you dont smoke, then we sprinkle some tabaco on the ground. Also we try and take the hide and put it in a running stream because we were taught that by doing that, that the deer's spirit returns. These type things are reminders for us to show respect to all living things. Except maybe for the canned type hunts that you often see on TV shows, being in the woods and hunting does by itself heal somewhat, even the most unguided person. Today many people take up hunting after hearing the talk from others at work or wherever. Years back most of us learned hunting from our dad, an uncle, or a grandpa and they taught us respect, something that is seldom done today.My earliest memory of hunting as a young boy, was my grandpa and uncle taking me rabbit hunting in the hills in east tenn with a dozen beagle hounds. We would sit on a hill top and listen to the dogs run while the men told stories. I asked grandpa why he didnt bring a gun so we could shoot some. He told me its because we had meat at home and there was no need to kill any rabbits right now. Thats something that always stuck with me.

Great stuff Ray. And it is exactly why I don't kill things that I am not going to eat (damage causing varmints excepted). For example.....I don't shoot the red squirrels that bedevil us while on stand. Lots of guys do, and thats ok. But I can't bring myself to kill something that is just doing what he is supposed to....

Great stuff Ray. And it is exactly why I don't kill things that I am not going to eat (damage causing varmints excepted). For example.....I don't shoot the red squirrels that bedevil us while on stand. Lots of guys do, and thats ok. But I can't bring myself to kill something that is just doing what he is supposed to....

Great stuff Ray. And it is exactly why I don't kill things that I am not going to eat (damage causing varmints excepted). For example.....I don't shoot the red squirrels that bedevil us while on stand. Lots of guys do, and thats ok. But I can't bring myself to kill something that is just doing what he is supposed to....

there are a few shows, like Jim Shockey's shows, and the Cody guy from Canada I think it's called Live to Hunt or something like that-  I DVR and watch each week.

They're not bowhunting, but Jim Shockey examines the local populace, culture, and food, and gives you enough of a glimpse of the places he goes to make you feel like you're there, and he seems genuinely nice.

You don't see any of that crap on their shows...there's a maturity there thats missing from most shows.