Poaching - Philosophical Question

[338magblaster]

So I am sitting in the office this morning and I overhear a conversation between a couple of people, one of whom went deer hunting over the weekend...

Here is the crux of what was discussed:

"Did you get one?"

"Yeah, I hit it in the leg and man, it was flying when I shot it... We eventually killed it. We must have shot at it 10 times. I eventually finished it off."

"Did you bring it home?"

"No, my nephew tagged it. I wanted to go out again later in the hunt."

There was more, but this much disgusted me.

Now that you know how I feel, there are multiple things that disgust me about this.

1) Openly discussing party hunting (READ POACHING).
2) Admitting to unethical shot selection
3) Teaching a presumably younger hunter that these practices are acceptable.

Does our understanding that these killing practices are WRONG only develop as you get older? I have been hunting for 30 years and I will admit that attitdudes about this sort of thing have changed (at least for me) over the years.

In addition, I couldn't help but wonder what others within earshot were thinking. We as a hunting community need to be aware that opinions are being formulated and solidified everytime there is an open conversation about hunting.

Is it just me?

I am interested in others thoughts.

Thanks,

338

 

[HoundDawgJr]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-22-07 AT 09:44AM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Oct-22-07 AT 09:42 AM (MST)

I still can't stop laughing from watching the KSL news last night. They are talking about the deer hunter that apparently shot himself in the stomach up by Kamas. (How the hell do you shoot yourself in the stomach with a rifle?)

Anyway, they interview some deer hunter... Greg something was his name I think. Tell me this - Why do they always manage to find the biggest clown on the mountain to interview? Where the hell do they find these people?????

He looks right into the camera and says, "Having a gun misfire accidentally while out hunting is a very common thing. It happened to me just last week."

Or something right along those lines... Having a gun accidentally misfire is a very common thing with hunters? I've been hunting my entire life and I'm trying to remember if I've ever seen or even heard of anyone I know having their gun misfire by accident while they were up hunting.

And this guy is telling the whole state, "Oh ya, common thing. Happens all the time. Just happened to me in fact."

Where the **** do they find these people to interview? Unbelievable.

 

[ForkWest]

I don't know if it has anything to do with getting older, rather more educated. Morals don't neccisarily come with age.

I've ran into a few old timers that have some of the worst hunting ethics I've seen, "ta hell with with the deer and land, its my right!" kinda attitude, I think that's kinda the way they were brought up.

The more I've experienced, educated myself, and the more thought I given to my chosen endevour of hunting the more respect I've gained for the animals I pursue and a higher ethical road has been the result.

 

[jeremydhinds]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-22-07 AT 11:03AM (MST)[p]Thats funny, I 've heard damn near the exact conversation before...this year in fact! makes you wonder just how often this happens. My .02$ !! POACHING !! In the context of the question....Ya we all have ancestors who did it to feed the family, but from what I gather from the story this was not the case.

 

[Wanted]

I'm not condoning party hunting by any means, but I know my grandad and my greatgrandad did'nt give a shitt who shot their game as long as it was meat for the table. I'm not sure where along the lines that this method became wrong ethically, but it is now illegal in most states I know of except for the handicapped. I shoot my own game and won't tag someone elses.

 

[Roy]

>LAST EDITED ON Oct-22-07
>AT 09:44?AM (MST)
>
>LAST EDITED ON Oct-22-07
>AT 09:42 AM (MST)
>
>I still can't stop laughing from
>watching the KSL news last
>night. They are talking about
>the deer hunter that apparently
>shot himself in the stomach
>up by Kamas. (How
>the hell do you shoot
>yourself in the stomach with
>a rifle?)
>
>Anyway, they interview some deer hunter...
>Greg something was his name
>I think. Tell me this
>- Why do they always
>manage to find the biggest
>clown on the mountain to
>interview? Where the hell do
>they find these people?????
>
>He looks right into the camera
>and says, "Having a gun
>misfire accidentally while out hunting
>is a very common thing.
>It happened to me just
>last week."
>
>Or something right along those lines...
> Having a gun
>accidentally misfire is a very
>common thing with hunters? I've
>been hunting my entire life
>and I'm trying to remember
>if I've ever seen or
>even heard of anyone I
>know having their gun misfire
>by accident while they were
>up hunting.
>
>And this guy is telling the
>whole state, "Oh ya, common
>thing. Happens all the time.
> Just happened to me
>in fact."
>
>Where the **** do they find
>these people to interview?
>Unbelievable.

These are the idiots who are road hunting up Big Cottonwood Canyon, never leaving the pavement or getting out of their truck. There is no way they would take their KSL Explorer too far off the main highway just for a quote they could just as easily get in a Wal-Mart parking lot. The reporters pick the low hanging fruit for sure. No wonder they call us "U-tards".


UTROY
Proverbs 21:19 (why I hunt!)

 

[LittleSpike]

Hey 338,

That sucks. Did you call it in to DWR? I am sure they would follow up on something like that....

RJ

 

[slamdunk]

Littlespike is exactly right, but be prepared to be a witness to the conversation in court.




Skull Krazy
"No Bones About It"

 

[driftersifter]

Without knowing the circumstances of the hunt it may well have been an ethical hunter and you didn't know the whole story. I have taken part in deer drives when a big one gives you Nothing but a running shot. Some people can hit those type of shots some cannot. I admit I'm not the best at that kind of shot. Would I still shoot? It depends. If someone in my party hit the deer I would do my best to help put it down. Its called teamwork and thats how some people hunt. Now beforw the Ethics police flame me. You ought to know that I hunt by myself 90% of the time. When I hunt with my group and we do a deer drive for the purpose of moving deer to a stander, its his or her responsibility to do the best they can. My 14 year old Niece isn't as likely to knock off a buck on the run as I am at 51 years old. Do you need any Kindling?
Driftersifter
P.S. I'm on a streak of about 6 bucks with one shot kills. Before that I missed and emptied my gun on a buck I thought I hit the first shot. The wind messed up my shot and I didn't account for it. I lokked real hard for blood with none on the ground. I hunted that buck and relocated him only to make the one shot kill. There was only one bullet in him.
Did I brag about all the misses at work on Monday?
No.

 

[338magblaster]

You are correct, I may not have the full story and I don't have enough specifics to call a CO and report it, particularly since I don't even know the guy that was talking about his weekend.

Look, there have been discussions ad-naseum on this board as to whether it is ethical to "finish" someone else's animal and who then should "reduce the animal to posession."

I'll leave other's decisions to them. For me, this is more an issue of perception of non-hunters. I work in an office of about 300 professionals. There are only a handful of co-workers who are hunters and I am more concerned that the non-hunters will have taken a negative view, or have an already negative view reinforced.

I am all for giving all hunters opportunities harvest game. It is our responsibility to do it responsibily and ethically.

 

[deserteagle500]

ROY ROY ROY!!!!
i am very disgusted with the "low hanging fruit" comment!


You honesdtly think they'd reach for any of it?? they get their S*IT right off the ground!!!lol

A++ to your comment roy!



the only eagle with enough power and speed to kill and gut you with one shot