Not really Anti's??

[GotBowAz]

Have any of you guy?s met a person that started out with, why do you hunt and kill poor defenseless animals, and run off of the mouth with a little rant and then only to turn around once they find out you're a bow hunter and then say, ?well that's different???

I have run across a few individuals like this both male and female. Now how in the world does archery make it different? It seems to me that it justifies hunting to them in their own mind. That they're not really against it even though initially that's the front they put up. I had this happen twice this month already so it has to be more common than I think.


GBA

 

[BigPig]

LAST EDITED ON Aug-19-11 AT 09:04AM (MST)[p]I've run into that. I don't really understand it, but it seems that even antis respect bowhunters more. They recognize that it's more about the chase than it is the kill.

 

[msy]

When my wifes friends find out I am a hunter, she is quick to tell them that I bow hunt though. People seem to accept it easier for whatever reason.

 

[GotBowAz]

Msy, now that you mention it my wife does the same thing. I never even gave it a thought until now.

Nate, I agree with you, I don't understand it either. I guess they don't recognize or associate a kill with an arrow like they do with a rifle.

GBA

 

[dingo]

I get that quite a bit also. I always refer to it as "primative weapons hunting" and just pray they never see my bow <grin>. I think that they think (that is a lot of thinking) that the deer have a better chance of survival if I am after them with a bow or ml. (Maybe I just need different friends???)

I also notice that people who have a negative reaction to bow hunting tend to associate it with tv personalities. If you are just shooting something to put together a 30min. show, it comes across that way. Spending time with my son in the field, observing and learning about the amazing world we live in, and sharing the stories I had hunting with my Dad are not the sort of things that people always hear about. If I can spend a little time with them, I may not convince them to go hunting but I can get them interested or excited about archery and accept that it's ok to go hunting.I always take any chance I get to promote archery, get people excited about shooting, and encourage others to elevate their skill. Big bucks....or any buck, are nice but that isn't why I hunt.

 

[Brandon82]

This happens to me constantly. The reason being is that most people see rifle hunters as being able to sit at 400 yards and make their kill with little to no effort (perception not mine). While they relate hunting with archery equipment to a form of primitive hunting more akin to native americans and the actual tradition and need for subsistence hunting.

With that said are they right? I have seen alot of good rifle hunters that put in work and ethically take game, but then there are the lazy rifle hunters who shoot a day before the season and wond 4 bucks before harvesting. The double standard in the publics thinking though is that archers are plauged with the very same issue and it all just comes down to ethics, but the general non-hunting public doesnt perceive it that way.

 

[UGAhunter]

Even the Utah Wildlife board thinks this way! How come it is legal to shoot a bear over bait with an arrow, but not a bullet? If it is ethical to shoot a bear eating doughnuts with a stick and razer blades (which I LOVE to do by the way), why not a .270 slug? Makes no sense to me!

 

[outdoorsdude]

I think it comes as an answer in two parts.

One, the person recognizes the skill level involved and thinks more highly of the archer. And I agree, getting within 30 yds vs. 230yds is two very different things. My last archery hunt took 7 days to fill; rifle took 3 hours (extremely anticlimactic).

Two, the person is anti- firearm/ Brady supporter. Since your not using an "evil"gun your an 'ok person'.

have seen this for years-

 

[wvbowhunterinalaska]

LAST EDITED ON Aug-19-11 AT 02:36PM (MST)[p]I think that they also know that bowhunting success rates on average is much much lower than gun hunters. Plus we are fewer in numbers, so there is no way we could decimate the populations in their lifetime.
WVBOWAK

 

[O_S_O_K]

Run into this all of the time as well. I also get the "Do you eat what you kill?" question a lot.

I think most everyone that has commented is spot on and I would tend to agree.

The only thing I would add is this is a chance to edumacate them on conservation in general.

I find that most of these what I will call "Fence Sitters" are looking for an understanding of why someone would want to go out and kill a poor defenseless animal.

I love it and I always take the chance to help them understand the importance of game management and conservation. I usually end up getting them to come off the fence.

In my mind, that is one less person that will buy into the Anti's hype. Just maybe they will not let emotions take over and they will be a little more prepared to call BS on some of the things they are fed because they are no longer ignorant to the "Other Side" of the story.


"The problem with quotes on Internet Forums is that it is often difficult to verify their authenticity." - Abraham Lincoln

 

[Jeff46]

I think there are a fair number of people who don't want to hunt but also don't have an ethical problem with it. There were a lot of them in my family. My grandfather didn't care to hunt, but if I got something, he'd help process it and enjoyed eating it.

 

[trophyhunter]

I also get it all the time. Unfortunately I live in Cali where there are so many liberal no gun's & anti hunters. Here unless you know the crowd you don't mention hunting because it is not pollitically correct. They always seem to feel that when you archery hunt. They say "Oh" now that is real hunting....inferring that method of hunting is more acceptable because takes skill to get close enough for a shot with a more primitive style weapon and it also is giving the game more of a chance to get away. They always feel that someone that hunts and shoots a defenseless animal at 400yds with a rifle is a butcher and is just slaughtering poor defenseless animals and that is not hunting. I always hear "because the game is not giv'n a fair chance".

I also tell them "I eat what I kill and if I don't eat it...I don't kill it". That is our philosphy and they always seem to accept that as a more justified reason for hunting the game.

I guess that is a reason we usually hunt out of State where then we are just hated by the locals...

))))------->

 

[mountainman]

I have always received more respect for being an archery hunter. I think archery hunters have a better name than rifle hunters because we are waaayyyy more dedicated to hunting therefore you get less idiots out in the field archery hunting. Rifle hunters half of them don't even shoot their rifle before the season opens. granted I rifle hunt too only for meat . If i get something with my bow I will let my rifle tag go in the garbage. My point is if more hunters demonstrated a degree of intelligence higher than that of your average idiot hunter who goes and tears the crap out of the forest with his ATV and drives home with blood dripping down his tailgate from this years kill, then less people would hate hunters. Its as simple as that. Its the stereotype we get from the few moron hunters that people see or hear about. Kinda like the one about people who drive BMW,s are all stuck up.
I do find it kinda funny that antis accept bow hunting more , because it is a lot more brutal than a rifle ( assuming your shot is in the right spot with both weapons). Don't get me wrong I love archery but its definitely a more grizzly kill method. Just my 2 cents.

 

[swbuckmaster]

I hunt in the land of the tree hugger. I also get them saying the same thing "Well at least your bow hunting them."

I have also had them yell murder at me. They've even tried to block the trail. Let their dog loose on me. Tell me I need to pick up my horse poop and put it in orange bags like they do with there dogs. lol.

Its funny when they see me with the pack goats. They never say anything bad. Im their new best friend. All because they see the goats packing and not being led with a rope. The goats are just like a dog. So if a goat wants to follow me I cant be all that bad.

I think they are all nuts.

 

[Cornhusker]

I hunt both archery and gun. One thing I know we had better stick together. In their minds gun hunters are bad now, but if they were to disappear they would shift their attention to archers. You have to protest something to be worthwhile in their mind.

 

[mountainman]

>I hunt both archery and gun.
> One thing I know
>we had better stick together.
> In their minds gun
>hunters are bad now, but
>if they were to disappear
>they would shift their attention
>to archers. You have
>to protest something to be
>worthwhile in their mind.


+1 hit the nail on the head. If you don't drive a Prius and hate capitalism your on their hitlist!

 

[AZWALKER]

Hear it all the time as well. It is completely about the difficulty involved. They don't think its fair for the animal if you're using a gun. What they do not realize is that archery hunts usually fall during times when bucks are a bit more vulnerable and visible. I couldn't imagine trying to bowhunt muleys in early Oct.

"The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle." General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, US Army
"Most men go through life wondering if they made a difference, Marines don't have that problem." President Ronald Regan