CaberTosser, as I was reading the posts prior to yours, I was trying to word out how I feel about it - You said it EXACTLY as I feel as well. it can be a bit guilt infused as with deer/elk/moose/bears are just minding their own business and suddenly - BANG ! But it makes me respect what I eat SOOOOO much more and has made me even more of a conservationist for the animals I hunt & wildlife on the whole.
With regards to predators - I am happy to help control the coyote population & wolfs if required - but from a conservation point of view. When you see your hunting as part of the wildlife ECOSYSTEM, it feels pretty good. I educate people who don't hunt about keeping our wild zones healthy, and It keeps me appreciating where food comes from (its not: "a steak comes fro a store !" its "something dies for me to be enjoying this- don't waste any of it.")
But thats just me. I won't shoot for the sake of an emotional self pat on the back for how awesome I am - I hunt with purpose
Quote:
Originally Posted by CaberTosser
I started out much like the OP; I had essentially no exposure to hunting until I was about 34. I did go with my uncle once when I was 12, but there was no game taken nor much on the instruction side of things. I'm not sure on the regs back then, but in hindsight it may have been out of season, but I know he was a sustenance hunter in the bush north of 100 Mile House BC. As you experience killing an animal for the first time it was a whole lot of mixed emotion; on one hand there's the euphoria for a good shot and having all your work culminate in one exciting moment, but that's counterbalanced by what I feel was some combination of sympathy and perhaps even a bit of remorse for having taken a life. It gets easier, but I think it's healthy to have had enough respect for the animal that you have some feelings for it upon having killed it. I know some who were raised on a ranch or who've killed a lot of gophers, etc may be a bit more casual about it than myself, but we all have perspectives and none are necessarily wrong. If you wind up spending much time hunting on a ranch, you'll likely learn that coyotes are not to be sympathized with, for they extend none themselves. If they happen across a calf being born they'll begin their feast before the animal is fully delivered.
I would go so far as to say I'm a reformed 'anti'. I used to be ignorant and uninformed about hunting, and while I still have plenty to learn and experience, at least I'm approaching it from a knowledgeable perspective now.
Shamefully, many years ago I laughed upon seeing a video online where a whitetail buck attacked a hunter; I no longer find it amusing these days.
|