Do you REALLY not like the kill?

thomas89 · Jul 29, 2018

I think everyone would agree the kill is the least enjoyable part of the hunt. But do you REALLY not like the kill or is it at least not AS bad as people make it out to be?

There is always the sadness of taking a life countered with the elation of a plan coming together, gratitude for the animal, etc,.

However, it is interesting to me that there are some hunters that kill WAY more game than they can personally or within one family, eat in a year. Not that there's anything wrong with that, none of the meat gets wasted, but that is essentially unneeded killing, no? In that you/me (the hunter) don't personally need to go back out hunting again to kill more. If the kill were that bad wouldn't most guys fill their freezer for the year and be done? I don't know that there is anyone here noble enough to be hunting with the sole intention of wildlife population management like, "ahh don't want to do it but it's got to be done it's my job as a hunter."

Given the opportunity, I know I prefer to shoot one elk to feed my family vs. four or five antelope to fill the freezer. Less killing for me.

I'm definitely guilty of it, I love the sh*t out of bird hunting and knock the snot out of them as long and often as I can. One antelope would get me the equivalent amount of meat but I am still out shooting hundreds of birds a year. Maybe it's not that bad. This year I'll be shooting a few antelope and a couple deer to get us through the winter because an elk hunt is not in the cards.

Hopefully I've worded this in a way that makes some kind of sense. Just something to ponder like why the 6.5 Creedmore and pumpkin spice go so well together.

Bigjay73 · Jul 29, 2018

I'm in the boat that kills what I can eat, and stop. I've never been a trophy hunter, so the need to kill something big every year never enters my mind. I like the shot, or making a good shot I should say. Ending the game between me and beast with a well placed arrow or bullet that I've spent countless hours at the range preparing for, gives me satisfaction. I do completely dislike the taking the life of a big game animal though, so I suppose I'm either hypocritical or selfish. Like you, killing a bird rarely makes me sad. I guess in the end we all just have some ancestral need inside of us to hunt. Never could explain it to those who don't hunt, it's just there. The killing is just a part of it.

okie_hotrod · Jul 29, 2018

I had a similar conversation with my wife a while back but the truth is I've always been able to compartmentalize taking the life of an animal because I know the purpose it serves. For instance, I know a predators like coyotes and bobcats are a threat to livestock and pets so I know by killing one I'm saving chickens, goats, and deer fawns. Same goes with game animals, I know they'll feed my family or someone else I know that may not have been able to go hunting for themselves and will use the meat.

We all as hunters have a responsibility to ourselves and the animals we harvest to do so with respect and dignity. It's up to us to use discretion and be responsible every time we pull the trigger or release an arrow.

Aussie_hunter_JD · Jul 29, 2018

I know guys who pretend to care but really are indifferent, i know others that don't even pretend they don't enjoy it. I can't stand the videos guys do these days with the voice overlay trying to sound profound with drone footage rolling over hills or them trekking up a hill. Real emotion for killing cannot be captured which is what makes it feel so different to anything else.

in all honesty, myself and one of my brothers are the only people i personally know who genuinely don't like killing. It's interesting that we both evolved our attitudes towards nature completely independent of one another but ending up in the same place.

It's sobering for me taking the life of an animal knowing it'll never see another sunrise, nor feed on supple grass nor feel the earth beneath its feet ever again. It's not guilt nor remorse but something else entirely.

But i am an animal, my instinct is to hunt as we all evolved to do and at the end of the day that's who I am.

Maybe Clint eastwood said it best in my favourite western "it's a hell of a thing killing a man, you take away all he's got and all he's ever gunna have".

BackofBeyond · Jul 29, 2018

I guess for me "the kill" is just a part of eating meat. I grew up around livestock so death was always something there. If you want bacon, you have to kill, butcher, cure, smoke, and eat. The "kill" part was no more or less emotional than the butcher, cure, or smoke. If you're going to eat meat, an animal is going to have to die for that to be possible.

Death is/was/will always be a part of life. No matter what. None of us, or anything alive for that matter, will get out of it. Will a properly placed bullet/arrow give the animal I'm hunting a much quicker, softer death that it would get by dying of natural causes? Absolutely, and it should be something we all strive to give that animal. If you think about it, does a black bear feel emotional about killing and eating an elk calf? Nope, it's just something it has to do to eat. Do I dislike killing? Nope, it's something I have to do to eat.

I am a meat eater. So whether I'm buying beef in the grocery store, or pulling a pack of backstrap out of the freezer, something died to make that possible. Personally, I'd rather have played a hand in that process the whole way through, which is why I hunt. I also kill and butcher a couple domestic pigs every year. Today, matter of fact, was chicken day. Now there's 15 Sunday dinners freshly stocked in the freezer. The kill is neither good nor bad, it's just a piece of the ultimate whole that goes with eating meat.

nhn2a · Jul 29, 2018

I enjoy all aspects of the hunt. Killing is just a part of it but I don't consider the hunt any more or less enjoyable if I harvest an animal. I honestly don't put too much thought into the kill itself as long as it's as clean as possible as it's just a part of life. I guess I may be a little numb from growing up on a cattle farm where we sold cattle for slaughter so death is just another aspect. Now I said as long as it's a clean kill because I do hate to see any animal suffer needlessly. That's why I practice as much as possible with my equipment and it really bothers me when people give up too quickly searching for an animal especially when they know they've made a bad shot placement (I know this is very subjective). I also don't condone senseless or needless killing or waste. Everything I harvest goes to use. Now i do enjoy the hunt and I'll often keep hunting after my freezer is full because I know a lot of people that are glad to take any extra meat I may have available so none goes to waste.

Goatshoes · Jul 29, 2018

Its not the kill that I dislike. That doesn't bother me in the least so long as it is sustainable blah blah blah... But I hate the shit out of seeing anything suffer. So while I don't kill any less, I do all I can to make clean shots and administer a coup de grace asap.

Aussie_hunter_JD · Jul 29, 2018

I think getting desensitized isn't such a great thing. I grew up on a farm, we killed a pig weekend just gone which is fine with me but a lot of guys here let that lead to other things.

In Aus where game laws are very lax people being desensitized to the point where blokes have competitions on how many deer they can kill, rarely taking anything off them.

I guess thats a completely different dynamic to the USA but when people are allowed to do as they please here yoi get guys killing over 100 deer a year for fun. So a sense of compassion for death is healthy for restraint.

Sytes · Jul 30, 2018

I take the greatest of strides to make the best shot possible for the sole purpose of minimal suffering to the animal. I've had far too many animals bush out on me at short range and I simply do not have it in me to make that immediate - quick, off the cuff shot. I've studied animals to a point where I've lost the shot because it twisted away from broadside / lost an ideal neck sight at a distance.

A long while ago (20+ years ago) I shot a deer approx 100-150 yards away and it immediately plunked to the ground. I thought, "hell yeah!" - Clean kill.
After waiting a few minutes it remained dead still. I routed to it and went to cut it's jugular/throat and suddenly the deer began thrashing around! I quickly put a round in it's heart and stepped back. It expired soon after. It turned out my shot was for crap... It was angled towards me vs my thought that it was mostly broadside, is all I could figure at the time. The round went behind the shoulder as intended however blasted out the rear opposite side hip bone.
That day and even now writing this, I feel like shit for my shot placement and not taking the time to assure he was positioned or I positioned myself for a decent broadside or a solid neck shot.
One friend is okay with stalking through the thick to rouse one out for a quick shot. He's confident in his shot and has a better harvest rate than I. To each his/her own.
I know others who like when the speed goat / 'yote halls ass before taking the shot(s). I'm not a fan of this though again, to each his/her own.
It sickened me to read from the Outdoor Radio Show of a guy amped over a recent 1800 yard shot... That's what f-in gong plates are for though apparently he was well trained up for such a shot. To each his/her own...

So to take that long story and knuckle it down to a short response, Yes, I do not like the kill though accept it as we are part of this food chain. The cleanest kill possible or let it walk.

jmveverka · Jul 30, 2018

I'll be the first on here to say heck yeah I enjoy the kill. Call it ultra-masculinity, or compensation, or whatever, but I revel in the "ending" to each hunt. (yeah the making meat comes next, but that is part of the harvest, not the hunt.) Does that mean I kill for the kill's sake, kill more than my family can consume, or take terrible shots to kill at all costs...no. Don't confuse enjoyment with a culmination for a being a blood thirsty, psychopath. I actually tend to have a negative reaction to guys who get wayyy too emotional or visibly remorseful when successfully killing an animal. Be thankful for the sacrifice, but rejoice in the triumph. If you hate the kill, as the antis say, shoot them with a camera.

JEL · Jul 30, 2018

I can honestly so I don't anymore. Getting old and soft I guess. I love to hunt, process, cook and eat wild game. The kill is by far my least liked part of the process. Seems to bother me more the older I get. I usually only kill what my wife and I will eat for the year which usually equates to one big game animal a year.

The Hedgehog · Jul 30, 2018

#thesadhunter

1_pointer · Jul 30, 2018

Greenhorn said:
#thesadhunter

That made me chuckle.

Brian in Montana · Jul 30, 2018

I enjoy the hunt, and I enjoy the kill, and I enjoy the meat. Its all part of the same adventure. I stopped trying to be too philosophical about it some years ago. Hunting is just a part of who I am and I don't have to justify that to anyone. I feel I've spent a lot of time trying to do that in my twenties, but I think now I'm just older and more comfortable with myself and what I'm all about.

Brian in Montana · Jul 30, 2018

And I don't really feel sad about taking a life. If its wasted, as in I lost a wounded animal, or let a pound of elk burger go bad, I feel shame and disappointment in myself. But still not really sadness.

I felt a little sad about the first couple of deer I shot but I got past that pretty quick. I'd say there is a sense of reverence, but that's not the same.

Doublecluck · Jul 30, 2018

#duckhuntersarephycopaths

beginnerhunter · Jul 30, 2018

Probably need to change my name here since I've been hunting most of my life. I consider myself a Beginner when it comes to Western public land hunting.

I've taken a lot of deer and waterfowl, and I'll say the feeling of the kill is bittersweet. There is the adrenaline from the shot, the satisfaction of completing a task, and the sadness of taking a life. But the sadness teaches an important life lesson that can't be replicated any other way. So yeah, I has a sad, feel the feels, and will continue to do it.

scubohuntr · Jul 30, 2018

I definitely recognize it as something to be taken seriously. That's why I am not at all in favor of kids hunting too young. Pre-adolescent kids just don't have the emotional maturity to process that they are taking a life, and all that comes with that. All that considered, though, I've seen deer killed by predators. I've seen deer starving and blasted by disease. I've seen plenty of roadkills. All living things must die. Given the options available to wild deer, my bow or gun represents the most dignity and the least painful end they are likely to encounter. So yes, I am a little sad to end the life of such a magnificent animal. If I do my part, though, the animal will never know what hit it. Honor the prey, if only in your mind, and do your part to make sure you are delivering a clean and humane death. Read Jose Ortega y Gassett's "Meditations on Hunting", if you can find it. It's a fascinating treatise on the conflicting emotions every good hunter feels. "One does not hunt in order to kill. One kills in order to have hunted."

beginnerhunter · Jul 30, 2018

scubohuntr said:
I definitely recognize it as something to be taken seriously. That's why I am not at all in favor of kids hunting too young. Pre-adolescent kids just don't have the emotional maturity to process that they are taking a life, and all that comes with that. All that considered, though, I've seen deer killed by predators. I've seen deer starving and blasted by disease. I've seen plenty of roadkills. All living things must die. Given the options available to wild deer, my bow or gun represents the most dignity and the least painful end they are likely to encounter. So yes, I am a little sad to end the life of such a magnificent animal. If I do my part, though, the animal will never know what hit it. Honor the prey, if only in your mind, and do your part to make sure you are delivering a clean and humane death. Read Jose Ortega y Gassett's "Meditations on Hunting", if you can find it. It's a fascinating treatise on the conflicting emotions every good hunter feels. "One does not hunt in order to kill. One kills in order to have hunted."

Good points. I wonder if anti hunters understand the ways an animal can die in the wild. They must think deer die peacefully in a nursing home surrounded by loved ones. In reality they often die in fear and pain while being eaten alive. I think the bullet would be preferable.

bmt99 · Jul 30, 2018

Brian in Montana said:
And I don't really feel sad about taking a life. If its wasted, as in I lost a wounded animal, or let a pound of elk burger go bad, I feel shame and disappointment in myself. But still not really sadness.

I felt a little sad about the first couple of deer I shot but I got past that pretty quick. I'd say there is a sense of reverence, but that's not the same.

This ^^^. I sometimes feel a little sad depending on the animal and how long I watched it. But reverence is definitely appropriate.

My 11 yr old daughter has been hunting with me for a few years. Last year we actually watched a deer come right to us over 30 minutes or so. When it was only about 75 yds and perfectly broadside, I gave her the go ahead. It was cold. She told me her hands were too cold to shoot. I looked at her and asked her if she was too cold or just didn't want to shoot the deer. She told me that the deer was beautiful and didn't want to shoot it but I could. I told her it wasn't my tag and we waited until it left and hiked out. She loves eating wild game but didn't want to kill the deer that time. Note, she has harvested pronghorn prior to this. I think it was the time spent watching this one lonely deer come in for a while. I respect both sides and was happy she was able to stick to her guns

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Do you REALLY not like the kill?

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