Thread: Deer season is opening

Originally Posted by davej

deer season is opening here in the US. who is heading out to the woods besides me???

I've helped drag, drain, skin, butcher and eat more than my fair share (all of the above against my will), but I don't like killing bugs, much less a fellow mammal that clearly feels fear.

I don't hold it against people that they hunt, but in my experience (fairly broad on this topic) those who continue hunting beyond adolescent experimentation tend to have a sizable sadistic streak that doesn't stop at wild animals, or non-human ones.

Originally Posted by Taosaur

I've helped drag, drain, skin, butcher and eat more than my fair share (all of the above against my will), but I don't like killing bugs, much less a fellow mammal that clearly feels fear.

I don't hold it against people that they hunt, but in my experience (fairly broad on this topic) those who continue hunting beyond adolescent experimentation tend to have a sizable sadistic streak that doesn't stop at wild animals, or non-human ones.

You should hunt because you need the meat, not because you like shooting a big gun and getting a power rush from ending the life of animals. If this is what you're saying, I agree.

There is nothing inherently sadistic about hunting. Killing for food is quite often a necessity. Less so in modern times, and in more wealthy countries, perhaps. Killing for sport—for fun, and only for fun—is something else altogether. Enjoying the chase, delighting in a clean kill, that's one thing. Killing more than you could possibly eat and doing so just to hang another head on your trophy wall is something I find dishonorable, disgusting and craven.

I do not usually hunt. I do not consider myself a 'hunter'; I take no joy in ending life. If I hunt deer this year, it will be because a good-sized doe would feed my family for months, and my parents are on a fixed income and struggling with helping my sister and myself out right now, so every little bit helps. That and nothing quite beats the taste of venison cubed steak, roast and jerky.

I hunt like a native american. I bring it to a friend that skins and makes shit out of the bones/ antlers,

I remember I was going to try tanning a deer hide when I was about 12... Had it curing in a five-gallon bucket in salt water and everything. I kept putting it off, figuring I'd give it more time to cure, and in the end gave up and buried the thing because it stunk so bad. I barely knew what I was doing anyway, I'd just read a lot.

Originally Posted by Man of Steel

I remember I was going to try tanning a deer hide when I was about 12... Had it curing in a five-gallon bucket in salt water and everything. I kept putting it off, figuring I'd give it more time to cure, and in the end gave up and buried the thing because it stunk so bad. I barely knew what I was doing anyway, I'd just read a lot.

I tried once and went along similar to that. First off, I skinned it like shit- I freaked out when I had to cut off the legs, and almost threw up when I 'undressed' it. My uncle didn't let me do that again until I was 15.

I might go out with my uncle around Thanksgiving... I want to go before hand to have vension for the meal but usually he bags one on the morning of/night before and he doesn't have time to prepare it.
I've never been before, but I can't think of another time like the present to learn more self sufficiency.


To the people who are anti hunting, I understand where you're coming from, but when the shit hits the fan, you're gonna wish you learned how to catch your food from somwhere other than Pike Place in Seattle.

Originally Posted by Man of Steel

You should hunt because you need the meat, not because you like shooting a big gun and getting a power rush from ending the life of animals. If this is what you're saying, I agree.

There is nothing inherently sadistic about hunting. Killing for food is quite often a necessity. Less so in modern times, and in more wealthy countries, perhaps. Killing for sport—for fun, and only for fun—is something else altogether. Enjoying the chase, delighting in a clean kill, that's one thing. Killing more than you could possibly eat and doing so just to hang another head on your trophy wall is something I find dishonorable, disgusting and craven.

I do not usually hunt. I do not consider myself a 'hunter'; I take no joy in ending life. If I hunt deer this year, it will be because a good-sized doe would feed my family for months, and my parents are on a fixed income and struggling with helping my sister and myself out right now, so every little bit helps. That and nothing quite beats the taste of venison cubed steak, roast and jerky.

I'm not against hunting in theory, it's just my actual experience of the people who stalk the woods for man-sized creatures once a year for most of their adult lives that they also display sadistic and controlling tendencies with their pets and families. I don't hold the hunting itself against them any more than I would hold it against a wolf or a lion. It doesn't seem to be ultimately in their self-interest; killing complicates the psyche in ways that aren't conducive to peace of mind, but we all do plenty of things that muddy the waters, so hunting is nothing special in that regard. Taking on that mental/spiritual burden is, like soldiering, a sacrifice made for family and community on the one hand, but the consequences are what they are, regardless, and while they have their epicenter at the killer, they do spill over into the family and community that demand or condone the sacrifice.

i live in a big hunting region,theirs an overpopulation of deer,they've caused numerous car accidents, every local accepts this as fact,most individuals here hunt for sport,unfortunately not cause their children face starvation,anyway people that hunt display sadistic and controling tendencies with their families?? psychobabble, i'll go alert the local sheriff this makes up about a fourth my community

Originally Posted by dostoevskyblue

i live in a big hunting region,theirs an overpopulation of deer,they've caused numerous car accidents, every local accepts this as fact,most individuals here hunt for sport,unfortunately not cause their children face starvation,anyway people that hunt display sadistic and controling tendencies with their families?? psychobabble, i'll go alert the local sheriff this makes up about a fourth my community

The word 'psychobabble' doesn't actually mean anything, whereas the words I used do. I come from precisely the same kind of region, w/ 25% as a conservative estimate. I'm aware that we're the only viable predator for deer and I'm not saying hunting is bad and wrong--just stating observations based on my experience. Lots of people go out hunting a handful of times in their lives and may or may not enjoy it when they do it but aren't drawn back to it. About 100% of the guys I've known who go out every year have a violent streak that comes out physically or verbally with those closest to them. It's strictly anecdotal, but it's what I've seen.