Hunting And Killing

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One does not hunt in order to kill; on the contrary, one kills in order to have hunted...If one were to present the sportsman with the death of the animal as a gift he would refuse it. What he is after is having to win it, to conquer the surly brute through his own effort and skill with all the extras that this carries with it: the immersion in the countryside, the healthfulness of the exercise, the distraction from his job.
Jose Ortega y Gasset, Meditations on Hunting
Spanish philosopher & politician (1883 - 1955)
 
Interesting opinions one and all, been hunting now for 56 years and counting. I have to say we all see it in differing ways and for some maybe the joy of the actual kill fades away and is replaced by the excitement of seeing the wild animals in the woods. I cam deer all the time fall to winter but when I go out to get the winters meat with my son that rush I get when a mature buck walks into view has never gotten old or lessened even a little. Guess that could change at some point but I'm not thinking it will......when I sit down to that plate of fresh tenderloin there is nothing I'd rather enjoy! Woods
 
Interesting opinions one and all, been hunting now for 56 years and counting. I have to say we all see it in differing ways and for some maybe the joy of the actual kill fades away and is replaced by the excitement of seeing the wild animals in the woods. I cam deer all the time fall to winter but when I go out to get the winters meat with my son that rush I get when a mature buck walks into view has never gotten old or lessened even a little. Guess that could change at some point but I'm not thinking it will......when I sit down to that plate of fresh tenderloin there is nothing I'd rather enjoy! Woods

Welcome to the forum.

I never get as much time in the woods hunting as I want.

My wife and daughter half joke about being hunting season widows. I didn't get out on thanksgiving this year, family obligations took precedent. Kept thinking that I should be out in the woods.
 
I think as we get older we gain a stronger appreciation for life and being alive. We have spent time in the outdoors and studied animals and have seen them demonstrate intelligence, and caring for their young etc.

These days, I'm not killing an animal, I am taking it's life. I have never killed a deer, rabbit, squirrel, etc and not felt remorse for killing it but it gets stronger every year as I get older.

I'll probably never quit hunting though, but I have become much more selective. I've let a lot of deer walk that I would've shot 20 year ago. I won't shoot a doe with yearlings.

There's more to hunting than just killing. Maybe take a camera instead of a gun? I like the meat though.
 
The Bible speaks explicitly of this very subject, Steve S.

Ecclesiastes 12:1 is the primary verse, but the thought carries through to its conclusion at the end of the chapter. (I prefer the KJV)





I am now an old hunter that is very conflicted. I love to be in the woods, I love to hunt deer but, I could not care less about killing an animal.
Last year, I let all the deer I could have killed walk telling myself that I would take the next animal; I never did and none of my tags were filled. I loved walking thru the wood and fields with my favorite tack-driving rifle, I tell myself that I cannot miss which within reason is probably true. All of the youthful excitement of seeing a deer, placing the crosshairs and making the shot is all gone. All of the excitement leading up to that moment is still there.
Last year, I spotted many deer (including some very nice bucks) moving in and out of a cornfield. It was a managed muzzleloader hunt and I had the entire property to myself (provably due to the 18” of fresh snow on the ground). I could have easily moved into a shooting position and killed one of those animals but I talked myself out of the long haul with a dead carcass in the deep snow - I was very happy passing on the deer and walking to my truck to head home empty-handed.
In my youth, if any legal deer walked into my shooting range, it was killed with great excitement - I felt accomplished. Now I let them walk and I feel accomplished. Maybe I am not conflicted - maybe I am just in a better place - I now just enjoy my time on the hunt, I still carry a rifle and I still chase deer but something has grandly changed when it is time to pull the trigger - very strange to me.
 
The Bible speaks explicitly of this very subject, Steve S.

Ecclesiastes 12:1 is the primary verse, but the thought carries through to its conclusion at the end of the chapter. (I prefer the KJV)


Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”—

before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain; when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim; when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when people rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint; when people are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets; when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags itself along and desire no longer is stirred.Then people go to their eternal home and mourners go about the streets. Remember him—before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Everything is meaningless!” Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true. The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd. Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. Ecclesiastes 12:1‭-‬14 NIV https://bible.com/bible/111/ecc.12.1-14.NIV
 
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