Do you feel a little (or alot) of remorse for killing a deer?

I feel something evertime, pretty sure its remorse maybe gradatude maybe a little of both.

 

not really, deer are my favorite animal i love em so entertaining to watch and hunt i've felt remorse when taking a fawn from its mother once but not regret just felt a little sorry for the mother although the fawn tasted great

 

if it is a nice clean kill i feel it. but i have also spine shot a couple deer and had to walk up and "Finish them off". i play that over and over in my head and i feel terrible every time.

 

I don't feel any remorse. If its a bad shot and it takes a while for the deer to expire, I would feel like **** though. Luckily this has not happened to me *knocks on wood*

 

Exactly! Ive accidently spine shot 2 deer and felt terrible both times. I hit a deer last year with my truck right in front of an ex state troopers house and she made me get out and slit its throat so it wouldnt suffer. I agreed with the suffering part but felt like sh*t for awhile after. Guess thats just one of those things that turns a boy into a man...kinda like putting down your favorite coon dog/best friend

 

It's not remorse for me. Its more of a bitter sweet feeling that I get.

 

There is something there, but what it is I dont know. I wouldnt call it remorse and it's definitely NOT regret. You can see it even in most of the TV shows, someone shoots a bruiser, tracks him, fist pumps etc. when they see them down. Then when they kneel down next to the animal there is a moment, usually quite brief, where a look comes over the hunter. Usually it is then that they pat the animal. I dont know what I would call that feeling, but I know it is not remorse or regret for me. Maybe like Archie said, bitter sweet. Almost a bitter sweet thankfulness.

 

Good post there cubs. I too wouldn't call what I feel remorse because I tend to relate that to doing something wrong or something I regret and neither of those apply to how I feel about hunting and taking deer. I enjoy hunting them, they are a worthy adversary and they deserve my respect, especially in that moment after the kill.

 

This is very interesting ... some awesome thoughts ... it is hard to put my finger on the feeling as as well .... there is a huge difference to me from catching and keeping a fish to killing an animal .... and for me it is definitely not remorse ... at least as I define it ... but something is there ... appreciation, awe, thankfulness, ... no sadness anymore ... interesting thoughts everyone

 

For me it depends on the shot if i have a quick clean kill which i strive for i feel little remorse or guilt knowing that i took that animals life quickly and they didn't suffer but if i make a bad shot i defiantly feel remorse and guilt that i have to make that animals last minutes of life be of suffering and pain. I take this very hard on myself and never forget those times. I have a great deal of respect for animals and their survival skills are amazing

 

Im not sure why not, and I used to just a little. I dont really anymore! I have all kinds of feelings when I take a whitetail but remorse is not one of them.

 

Remorse? Nope, I do not feel regret or guilt when shooting a deer. I have at times felt a tinge bad about how it went down. That is more like an "oops, sorry about that." Usually if I have spined a deer, but I have never had a regret over shooting a deer, or wish I hadn't shot it.

So I guess I could say I feel a touch sympathetic at times for screwing up my part, but never remorse.

 

I feel thankful that I am able to participate in conservation. The only time that I feel remorse is when I don't make a clean kill.

 

Yes, I do a bit, especially when it's a buck I have let walk and watched grow up from a young age and then built a history with. Case in point, I have a buck right now that I saw Sat while on stand. I let him walk 3 times last season. He as a 3.5 year old then. I have 3 years of trail cams of him now. He is 4.5 now. He is probably the buck I want to get the most but in a way there will be a little bit of remorse because it will be a little like shooting an old friend.

If I just hunted for deer, didnt spend any time finding their sheds, trail caming them, scouting them, watching them grow up, basically getting somewhat attached to them.. Then it would probably be much different. As of Sat after checking a couple trail cams in my honey hole.. first time I have hunted it all season... I now have 6 (5 at one area).... bucks total that are 4.5 and older ..that I have at least 2 years of history with, most of them 3... They are all on the hitlist, and I would greatly respect getting any of them and would have a little bit of remorse if I kill any of them... But I also get very excited inside to get a buck I build a history with...and let grow up.. So the excitement always overrides the remorse..

 

What he said. To a word.

 

I feel real bad about it, more so for a doe then a buck and I don't know why that is.
What is different about it for me is that I fell more just because I hunt them for meat (food) for my family and I.
If I did not feel that anymore I would not hunt anymore.
After awhile PT some people do diconnect from the feeling so that they dont have to make sense of it to them self anymore.
I know it all to well from my time in the rangers. I just try to always remember that all of us ( gods creatures) have emotional connections to eachother that should'nt be taken lightly.

 

I'm not remorseful in the least, unless the shot doesn't go as planned. I feel thankful for the opportunity and a feeling of respect for the animal I just took and the ones I pursue.

I think anytime a person takes the life of a living creature, regardless of what it is, we feel something that resembles remorse or regret. That's not to say we do regret what we did. But come on, we're almost playing God out there to an extent, choosing whether an animal lives or dies.

But I look at it like this. God put these animals on earth for us. God enables us to have the health and ability to hunt.

 

Quick update: I just killed a fly that has been buzzing in and out of my office all morning. I felt no remorse. In all honesty, I experienced a brief moment of joy. Damn thing was driving me nuts.

 

Did you kill it with a rubber band?

 

No, I smacked it with a pad of paper. It was a quick, humane kill.