Author Topic: HUNTING PREFERENCES (Read 1334 times)

IOWA DON · « **on:** February 16, 2010, 07:52:10 AM »

I kind of get a kick out of reading some of the threads, especially about long range sooting of game where some folks think it is unethical to shoot game at over 300 yards. I think a lot of what hunters like and don't like is a result of the way they've always hunted. That is, it's mostly emotional conditiong. For example when I was much younger there was an old guy at work (about my age now), he only wanted to hunt when it was real cold. Hunting during warmer weather di not seem like real hunting to him. Here are some of my preferences.

1. Long range shooting. By the time I was 18 years old I had shot some varmints around the farm at fairly long ranges for a kid, including a couple coyotes at around 400 yards. I got my first deer when I was 18. I knew nothing about deer hunting so worked up a good long range load for my for my 7MM Weatherby, a 175-gr bullet at what the manual said would be about 3100 fps. It was accurrate and would deliver maximum energy at 400 yards. I tried to look for deer from hilltops and hoped to snipe one from far away but never saw any that way. It snowed the night before the last day of the season and all the next morning. I found a set of large fresh tracks first thing in the morning and followed them into a large woods on the Missouri River bottoms. I tracked that deer for about three hours and finally caught up with it and shot it at about 20 yards. It was a large bodied 8-point buck. I was happy with the deer but got very little satisfaction with such a short range shot. I still get more satisfaction from long range shots. I've shot three deer with a bow and it never seemed like real hunting to me.

2. I have a buddy who has nothing against shooting rabbits or squirrels with a shotgun. To me it is worst than trying to run over them with a car. It only seems like real hunting to me when I head-shoot one with a rifle.

3. Pheasant hunting. Some folks only want to hunt pheasant if they have a dog with. I guess for them half the fun is watching the dog work. Not me. I much prefer not to have a dog with. The times when companions brought their dogs it seemed they were constantly yelling orders to their dogs. Their dogs were getting too far out. And their dogs would leave teeth marks in the birds they retreived. I much prefer hunting quietly and sneaking around like a preditor when hunting pheasants. I get closer shots where I can often get the pattern centered on their heads.

Anyway, anybody besides me got any hunting hang-ups?

Land_Owner · « **Reply #1 on:** February 16, 2010, 02:07:44 PM »

I prefer stand sitting and sniping versus stalking.

Under specific self imposed conditions, I prefer shooting hogs in the forehead "X" between the ears and eyes from 25 yards and a steady rest with a rim fire Ruger K77/22RP in 22 LR caliber and continuing to shoot the live ones the same way as they eat around their dead buddy; versus using a larger center fire caliber.

Wyo. Coyote Hunter · « **Reply #2 on:** February 16, 2010, 03:07:46 PM »

One my pet peeves is the National Wild Turkey Fed.brain washing everyone that the only sporting way to kill a turkey is with a scatter gun...while safety may be a issue some times...that should not even enter into the question as one should be sure of his target...somehow these folks have brainwashed folks into believeing it is more sporting to shoot a gobbler with a scatter gun than a small bore rifle...and at the same time they want shotguns capable of killing birds at 60 yards....we hunted turkey for years before the Federation was formed with rifles, now they come along and act as if God told them this is the true path....
This is just one...maybe others will agravate me enough to deal with them later...interesting post......

drdougrx · « **Reply #3 on:** February 16, 2010, 03:55:20 PM »

Yeah...I do...treating game without respect. It's just me maybe, but, we go out to hunt, shoot an animal, hopefully once, twice if necessary and then enjoy the moment of the hunt and the meat, etc. Nothing pi$$e$ me off more than some twit who shoots a deer or a bear or a hog and then procedes to curse its entire blood line and specie like it raped all the women in his family for generations....What's with that???

Now I understand about hogs and and other vermin and do see the point of being angry at a specie that is destroying a livelihood....but....on a guided hunt for a trophy animal that cost mucho bucks and took days to even see?

That's my pet peeve.....

squirrellluck · « **Reply #4 on:** February 16, 2010, 05:05:39 PM »

I'm gonna get flamed but... The idea that hunting is a sport! Played sports all my life nothing died except maybe by accident. To me hunting is serious. I enjoy it yes but when I quit eating wild game I will quit hunting.

IOWA DON · « **Reply #5 on:** February 17, 2010, 01:56:11 AM »

squirrellluck - I agree with you that hunting is not a sport. Hunting is the real thing. I think sports were devised as games to mimic the real things like hunting and war.

Land_Owner - I think that I would get into headshooting a hog (or several) with a silenced .22 rimfire.

Wyo. Coyote Hunter · « **Reply #6 on:** February 17, 2010, 09:06:20 AM »

I believe Robert Ruark said, hunting is the ONLY true sport, everything else is just a game...but your point is well taken...

sachel.45 · « **Reply #7 on:** February 17, 2010, 02:52:29 PM »

i dont like hunting with an atv, i'm not a huge fan of long range shooting theres nothing wrong with it i just dont like it i prefer to get as close as i can, i dont like when people say that hunting turkeys with a shotgun is murder id much rather call in a turkey than shoot it at 150 yards

Wyo. Coyote Hunter · « **Reply #8 on:** February 17, 2010, 05:08:26 PM »

.45 as the old time turkey "hunters' said if you can get a turkey close and shoot it with a rifle you have done something....Major Askins said shooting a turkey at 40 yards with a shotgun is nothing but murder...he was a real shotgunner, and a real rifle man...he felt turkey should be taken with a small bore rifle... I have done both...killing a gobbler with a shotgun at 30 yards doesn't make me feel like I have done something to be proud off...Sorry...

sachel.45 · « **Reply #9 on:** February 17, 2010, 05:37:34 PM »

thats fine but dead is dead i dont understand how one way is murder but another is fine the outcome is the same. as to what major askins dont know who he is and dont really care to know. ill stick to murdering turkeys with my shotgun

Dee · « **Reply #10 on:** February 17, 2010, 05:50:52 PM »

My hang up concerning hunting, is hunters with hang ups. I don't care what you do, just don't make me help ya. I hunt mostly by myself, and that way I don't have to entertain anyone. If I want to stop and build a small fire and make a cup of coffee, I stop. If I want to stop and roll up in my tarp and take a nap, I roll up. This way, I also don't have to listen to lectures, or theories, about ballistic coefficients, stopping power, under powered cartridges, and scent proof clothing.
Besides! All that talkin, keeps me awake.

squirrellluck · « **Reply #11 on:** February 18, 2010, 03:15:41 PM »

Dee we would get along fine. I dont talk when I hunt. Irritates the devil out of some of my relatives. Dont say much when Im fishing. Never figured it was required.

Dee · « **Reply #12 on:** February 18, 2010, 03:23:17 PM »

I figured it was cause I was old and cranky. drdoug says I'm incorriagable, but I'm too lazy to look up what that means, so I guessed it meant "old and cranky".
There's a lot words I never bothered usin and I always seemed to get my point across, but in the last few years the younger generation don't seem to get me, and I sure as hell don't get them, so I figure I'll just keep on till I quit, and not worry too much about it.
If you and I were huntin together squirrellluck, and I wanted to stop and take a break, I wouldn't expect you to stop, unless you wanted to, and vise versa. Some folks think buildin a small fire upsets the woods, but I doubt there's an animal alive that hasn't smelled wood smoke. Walkin thru the woods is what stirs things up.

jamaldog87 · « **Reply #13 on:** February 19, 2010, 11:21:51 AM »

A big thing for me are air gun can't kill small varmints/game cleanly. i have been useing one for years and if you make a head shot they die just as fast as if hit with a 22LR. Also head shot too. If you can make that shot ok, if not heart area. I always aim for the head(i don't hunt deer) and i have killed many hogs,coyotes, starlings, beavers, and other game with no problems.

drdougrx · « **Reply #14 on:** February 19, 2010, 05:13:50 PM »

Deeeee....

in·cor·ri·gi·ble /ɪnˈkɔrɪdʒəbəl, -ˈkɒr-/ Show Spelled [in-kawr-i-juh-buhl, -kor-]
–adjective
1. impervious to constraints;
2. firmly fixed; not easily changed;
3. not easily swayed or influenced:

He who has deep and passionate beliefs or opinions firmly rooted from lifes experience is incorrigible.

Hope I have the courage to be incorrigible!!!

Dee · « **Reply #15 on:** February 20, 2010, 03:59:24 AM »

Quote from: drdougrx on February 19, 2010, 05:13:50 PM

Deeeee....

in·cor·ri·gi·ble /ɪnˈkɔrɪdʒəbəl, -ˈkɒr-/ Show Spelled [in-kawr-i-juh-buhl, -kor-]
–adjective
1. impervious to constraints;
2. firmly fixed; not easily changed;
3. not easily swayed or influenced:

He who has deep and passionate beliefs or opinions firmly rooted from lifes experience is incorrigible.

Hope I have the courage to be incorrigible!!!

It doesn't take courage dr. You just decide thru trial and error what works and what doesn't, and stay away from the "what doesn't" stuff. Being old and cranky doesn't hurt either, because you've already given up on caring what the nay sayers think.

Dave in WV · « **Reply #16 on:** February 20, 2010, 04:53:13 AM »

Hunting is a tradition that is slowly dieing. The bickering between hunters about style of hunting, equipment used, and other non-important issues divides us. The things that are paramount is safety and good sportsmanship. "If" you can cleanly take game at long range "consistantly" good for you. "If" you can't, close in the range or don't shoot. If a hunter takes out a worn M94 or surplus rifle with open sights and cleanly takes game, GREAT! If you use dogs and it's legal, GREAT! If you choose to not use dogs where it's legal, GREAT! If it's legal to bait game and you choose to do so it's your business. After all, it's your hunt. If you know someone or hunt clubs that are slob hunters, don't take up for them as they are poison to the sportsmen. Being safe is never wrong and good sportsmanship never goes out of style. Doing the right thing may not be popular but it's always the right thing to do. Ethics are a part of hunting. Some are personal and others are expected. Unethical behavior has no place in hunting. Those without ethics go by the names slob hunter and/or poacher.

bearmgc · « **Reply #17 on:** February 24, 2010, 05:19:56 PM »

I'm a quiet hunter. I like the sounds of the woods. I do most of my hunting in stalking fashion, but am not adverse to sitting under a big old fir tree on a hillside, at the edge of a meadow. I used to love hunting blue grouse with my lab, but since he's getting on in years, as I am, an occassional goose hunt will have to do.

wareagleguy · « **Reply #18 on:** March 04, 2010, 03:13:53 PM »

I really enjoy hunting deer. Both close a far. When I grab the bow I like it one on one and VERY close. When I grb the rifle I like it very far. I got flamed on the site from telling folks the distance in which I have shoot deer with a rifle. Even called a lier. To date I have killed deer from as far as 600 yards and several deer 400-500 yards.

streak · « **Reply #19 on:** March 04, 2010, 04:52:32 PM »

Quote from: Dee on February 17, 2010, 05:50:52 PM

My hang up concerning hunting, is hunters with hang ups. I don't care what you do, just don't make me help ya. I hunt mostly by myself, and that way I don't have to entertain anyone. If I want to stop and build a small fire and make a cup of coffee, I stop. If I want to stop and roll up in my tarp and take a nap, I roll up. This way, I also don't have to listen to lectures, or theories, about ballistic coefficients, stopping power, under powered cartridges, and scent proof clothing.
Besides! All that talkin, keeps me awake.

AMEN!

Swampman · « **Reply #20 on:** March 04, 2010, 05:06:56 PM »

As long as it's legal I'm ok with it. I do think long range sniping of edible game is unethical & unsportsman like.

charles p · « **Reply #21 on:** March 05, 2010, 01:38:09 PM »

I've been hunting with the same group of about 12 men for 30 years. We have a nice camp and some leased farms. Getting together is the highlight of my season. We call it our hunting camp, but for most of us it has become a social gathering. Our children now do a lot of the work and serious hunting. Last year I never fired a shot. Passed up many deer. Put up four deer that others gave me.