Personally, I usually don't name animals that I'm going to kill. If I do it is along the lines of.......The Drop Tine Buck or the One Eyed Doe but never ever anything like Snowball, Fluffy or Princess. It just doesn't seem right to say........ Hey, try one of these backstraps........ they're from Snowball...... So tender and delicious! Makes it sound like you could eat your own pet.
I've never gotten into the deer naming thing either, but the history some guys develop on heavily managed properties I could see how they do it. The only time I've ever felt "bad" about a kill is when I've made a bad shot causing the kill to not be quick and clean. Other than that it's just respect for the life I've taken. They're animals that will be going on my dinner plate. I'm not going to get all blubbery over them.
If you are "hunting" deer, why would you not want to kill them? I guess if you have your reasons, it might be better to keep them to yourself, or between yourself and like-minded friends. If you are doing management, for a good herd and antlers, then that is a whole other thread I believe. This is exactly why I do not kill animals that I am not intending to eat. (This includes hunting for a deer with a taxidermy trip as my sole intentions) Nor do I waste a lot of my season time after a particular animal. I do not really want to develop a bonding history with an animal I intend to eat. Just my way of thinking.
What the heck does Greg's old property have to do with Snowflake and midnight, LOL Funny thingk is Greg has let it go, but some here keep bringing it up, let it go. As for the thread who cares, some feel remorse, some don't and and all of us have respect for animals. Life goes on I have respect for the way nature works, life and death is part of the natural world. I am honored to play my part
Yeah, you're right.... I did...The 170 Buck, The 163 double droptine Buck..... stuff like that, you know. But I didn't cry about them. How long are you going to keep whining about my "old" property?
Yup I kill fawns.. I pass them up too if I feel like it. Why would I wanna shoot a fawn if I'm waiting on antlers, and I have meat already, and I wanna keep this brand new mock scrape spot quiet until a buck shows, etc, etc.. I'll kill more doe fawns in my lifetime. I will shoot more with a camera instead of weapon also. I love animals. I love to kill and eat them also. My footage of fawns that I "didn't kill because I am a soft Disney film producer" is almost done uploading. Maybe I'll post it up after tomorrow's morning hunt, if I feel like stirring the pot or something
Yesterday was the opener for NY bow season. I haven't been able to sit in a stand with my bow for almost a year. It was snowy, cold, freezing rain at times and the deer weren't moving at all until right before dark. I sat for about 9-10 hours in horrible conditions and didn't see a thing. About 6 o'clock a nice big old doe comes strolling up the woods heading right by me at 15 yards. I grabbed my bow and prepared to end the day on a high note. Out of the corner of my eye as I prepare to draw I see movement.......a fawn is bounding through the trees trying to keep up. As it catches up to mom I watch as they nuzzle up to each other and the fawn makes a few instinctive moves to nurse. Time and place for everything my friends..........just because you can kill something doesn't always mean that you should. Hunting wild animals does not necessitate you act like one yourself. A conscience and a little bit of class are not bad things to carry around with you in the woods...........or life for that matter.
So what is it then? If a hunter shoots a small 1.5 buck and another hunter states he would have not shot that, he's scum of the earth, he is trying to tell someone what to shoot, he is taking away from hunters accomplishments, etc etc If a hunter shoots a mother with a fawn he has not class and is acting like a wild animal? Sorry but I don't get it, there is nothing wrong with shoot a doe with a fawn, or a fawn for that matter if you want to. If you have a legal tag, I would hope we all can respect a hunters choice to shoot what they want.
That is a big word to be only 7 letters. I understand what you are saying Germ. I can respect the hunter most of the time, if not all the time. Sometimes, I just don't understand their choices. Some probably feel the same about me as well. Why can't we all just get along?:D
I'll never not shoot a deer based off of projecting human emotions and such onto them. And I tend to agree with Dan, I've been overwhelmed with respect and the process that comes at the finish line, but never an ounce of remorse. I have passed on does with fawns, solo fawns, solo does, solo bucks, groups of does, big does, little does, stupid does, and even a few smart does. Only thing I'll never pass on is big bucks. :D Comparing the Disney Effect with passing in general misses Vitos original post IMO. Deer aren't people, which is what some people project them to be. I respect them for what they are, a witty creature whos entire life is structured around survival...and they are damn good at it (at times)!
To me particularly it doesn't. But I can see where others feel the mindset in general is a slippery slope...Where do we draw the line on which deer are human like and which ones aren't? Is it the antlers? Color phases? Spotted Fawns? Why are some deer granted human emotions while others aren't? I don't care whatsoever and if a guy feels this way, I'd find it disturbing if he went ahead and killed the animal anyway. I just can't figure out why they feel this way in the first place, again, not that it even matters. I am looking at it subjectively as I have no dog in this fight, I hope this doesn't turn to a personal volley as it really could be a good discussion. I realize that no one should be the cold hearted barbarian that disrespects animals and the like, I just keep myself from assigning human emotions to some deer and not others (although the fawns running around sometimes tempt me into this mindset until a brick seemingly hits me and I'm like, oh yea, it's just a deer same as the big buck I was hoping to see instead)
Hunting to me is not just about the killing of game. To me its about hanging out with my buddies having a good time telling hunting stories. To me i could go the season and not get a deer but as long as i am having fun it is a successful hunt to me. Yes i do have a little remorse for the animal i take and that is because i have respect for the animals. I have respect for the weapon i use knowing that it is powerful enough to take a life. I am not a person who thinks hunting is about how many animals you can kill in one season i only kill an animal for a specific purpose like for the meat.
i think that whenever a person takes a life, whether it be a bird, or a mature buck, a fawn or a bear, that the only thing that sets a hunter apart from a stone cold killer is that remorse you feel when you take the life of something that you respect. i feel a momentary twinge of remorse everytime i kill an animal, does that make me soft? no. does that make me want to quit? no. is it a part of life? yes.
