Anybody Kill Any Deer Lateley?

[Boyd]

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actually it appears very diplomatic. Many folks are proud of their hunting prowess, not nescessarily bragging. It is an uncommon skill in this day in age. Being able to provide food for your family also is very satisfying to the psyche of many men around the nation.

 

[booker81]

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Memories!

Also, continued use of the animal. Though you see the neck of the critters there, all of the meat right up to the head was probably removed (I go to the ear bases because I like neck roast.) You're left with skin, a head and antlers (or not). You can either toss it, or take the time to have it tanned, placed on a mannequin, and give it a human's attempt to copy Mother Nature's gift of life.

It's hard to remember which deer was what and give thanks and hold the memory of it when you have packs of meat in the freezer. It's a lot easier to keep some of it around to remember and honor. Much nicer than throwing it all away.

 

[Roaddog]

I have taken 3 and my wife has taken 1.


Off Topic:

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I have bragged about the deer on my wall and I'm very proud of them. I will never forget the hunts that I have had, even the ones that I don't even taken an animal. Do you have any clue about what it takes to harvest a buck of a lifetime? No you don't! You have no clue. When deer get to be that age, the are every educated. If you think it's a unfair fight your just wrong.

From you first post I'm sure your real problem is with hunting in general not just the bragging. If you don't hunt why would you even click on the topic?
'

 

[Organics North]

Boyd,
Well said for a Pagan hillbilly hippy...

Booker81, also well said on the memories... You are honoring the the animal!

Me I am a cheap subsistence living person. I have no mounts.... I do send hides off to get mittens or gloves made on occasion. I do have a pile of racks in the garage.. (I just saw them off with the skull plate while processing the animal.)

impis,
By keeping the racks and not grinding them up and using them to feed the layers calcium does that mean I am Bragging? I feel it is part of utilizing the entire animal. The mount or horns helps one utilize the "mental or thought" side. Consider them a memorial. It can be bragging, one has every right to brag, it has been that way since the cradle of civilization.. The hunter who has success and provides food for his family is a decorated honored individual...Being proud of an accomplishment such as that is in our species genetics.. It is nothing to be ashamed of....

Surely it is not "easy" Bambi is a cartoon.. not real life. Harvesting a deer or other wild animal generally takes skill.. Sure once in a while luck, but mostly skill and dedication..

Thanks for bringing it up and asking... It is good to talk about..

ON

 

[impis]

From you first post I'm sure your real problem is with hunting in general not just the bragging. If you don't hunt why would you even click on the topic?

Probably because i can. Because my opinion, whether you like it or not, is just as valid as yours and I'm entitled to express it - just as you are.

I have no wish to enter a fight here - and have tried my best to be diplomatic. As I've already said, our cultures are different, but you must understand that what you see as the norm, isn't necessarily so elsewhere.

Keeping the racks isnt bragging, no - they are beautiful and I have a couple myself. The only difference being that mine were shed, naturally, not cut off a dead animal. And I have no issue with utilising the whole animal - making leather items from the skin, for example.

I am trying very hard to see your points - and I do understand the macho thing about providing for your families. Here, men do that by going out to work, earning a living, and doing the best they can [most of them, anyway]. They do not, in the main, go off shooting things. A few, do - I will agree - and again, its those who have been brought up with it that do it. I am fully aware that had I been born to a different family, I could have a very different view.

I can only say what is in my heart, and when I see those beautiful heads with lifeless glass eyes, I feel sad that those beautiful creatures are no longer roaming free. I don't expect to change the way you feel about hunting. I do expect you to respect my opinions, just as I respect yours. [even if i disagree with it] And I also expect to be allowed to voice my opinion on a hunting thread, even though I don't hunt.​

 

[Turkeyrangler]

Quote:
Memories!

Also, continued use of the animal. Though you see the neck of the critters there, all of the meat right up to the head was probably removed (I go to the ear bases because I like neck roast.) You're left with skin, a head and antlers (or not). You can either toss it, or take the time to have it tanned, placed on a mannequin, and give it a human's attempt to copy Mother Nature's gift of life.

It's hard to remember which deer was what and give thanks and hold the memory of it when you have packs of meat in the freezer. It's a lot easier to keep some of it around to remember and honor. Much nicer than throwing it all away.

Went out this morning...brrrr...it was cold. Saw one deer, but couldn't get a clean shot so I passed it up. Nice doe that would have made some great sausage, steaks and roasts. I still have this afternoon and tomorrow for black powder hunting.

Now I guess I can comment on Impis post since it was about my living room wall. Yes, there is definitely some bragging involved. There is a certain skill set that is required to be able to take mature animals like the ones on my wall. That's one of the reasons I had them mounted. The huge buck on the top right I stalked through a snowstorm and shot him in his bed at very close range. An extremely hard thing to do, and not many people do that anymore. It is the hardest way to hunt a deer. The buck on the top left I hunted for two years with bow and black powder rifle. I saw him a total of 6 times in those two years and finally took him with my black powder rifle. This deer was very wary and hard to hunt. The buck in the lower right was taken in a roadless wilderness area of northern MN where they are constantly hunted by wolves. Makes them unbelievably hard to hunt. Probably one of the hardest, most gut wrenching hunts of my life. By time the hunt was over I had lost about 12 pounds in 5 days and covered many, many miles in the deep woods. The mule deer on the lower right was taken on day 8 of a 9 day hunt in Montana in which I went up and down at least 3000 feet in elevation a number of times a day on foot. Lost about 15 pounds on the hunt. NONE of these hunts were guided, completely DIY and fair chase. I guess you could call that bragging, but actually what it is is that I get to relive those experiences every time I look at that wall. That is why they are up there, for me, no one else, but I do like telling a story when asked, okay sometimes when I'm not asked as well

. BTW...the moose in the middle tried to make me into a greasy spot when I got between him and another bull during the rut. Shot him at less than 10 yards when he charged. Almost wet myself....

Okay, now I'm done bragging..

Again, everything gets eaten, nothing goes to waste except the bones. I put them back deep in the woods behind my house and those get cleaned up by scavengers. I give the hides to a program called hides for habitat which takes the money after selling the hides and uses it for habitat improvement thereby improving the outdoor experience for hunters and non hunters alike.

Impis, this is in no way a slam on your posts, just voicing my side of it. You're completely entitled to your opinion and I do respect that. Just letting you know why I do what I do.

 

[impis]

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Thank you for your reasoned reply - and one that I concede does have some merit. I can understand you wishing to remember times when you overcame huge challenges, and the excitement.

But............


Wouldn't it have been easier [and cheaper] to have bought the meat from a supermarket?

 

[Turkeyrangler]

Quote:
Thank you for your reasoned reply - and one that I concede does have some merit. I can understand you wishing to remember times when you overcame huge challenges, and the excitement.

But............


Wouldn't it have been easier [and cheaper] to have bought the meat from a supermarket?

Good question and I'll try to answer that as best I can. The whole thing is not about easier or cheaper. In the long run I might have broke even monetarily over the years. That has very little to do with WHY I hunt. It is so much about who I am. Trust me, there have been times , like this morning when I was out freezing my butt off that I wonder "what the heck am I doing out here?" The answer is that I can't not do it. It's is so much a part of me that it's like breathing. To go back to a more primal state and become a part of the natural world again that so many of us no longer do. It feeds my soul. I am human and as much as many of us don't want to admit it, humans are killers. For at least 150, 000 years we have been doing that to survive and a few hundred years of going to the market for our food has not removed that from who we are. I think that we have gotten so far away from our roots so to speak that we see ourselves as separate from the natural world and the processes of life and death that occur everyday. Life feeds on life. Always has been and always will be. I have chosen to experience that part of my being. I don't take killing lightly. Taking a life whether a chicken from my coop or a deer in the woods is a HUGE responsibility. I do it with as much respect that I can for the animals I take. I hope that when my turn to die comes I can go as fast and with as little pain as the animals I have killed. I doubt I'll get that lucky. I know you see the dead animals on my wall as a sad thing. I see it as a way to honor them. I hope this makes some sense to you. It may not be very cut and dried explanation, but it is what it is.

To the OP, sorry for the hijacking of this thread, but these questions get asked whenever the topic of hunting comes up and I thought I would try to answer them.

 

[impis]

You don't do it because you LIKE it then, but because it is a need?

Hmmm.

What if there were no deer around to shoot. How would you feed your need then?



Sorry - I'm playing devil's advocate here, a little. I do understand what you mean, and in no way am I trying to change your views. Perhaps, though, it is good to reflect on the reasons why we do things, and be honest with ourselves.

I have little experience with guns. You need a license, here, to own one. The latest incident that I'm aware of was when a retired policewoman took her husbands legal gun [licensed as member of a shooting club] and tried to commit suicide. Sadly, her aim wasn't true, despite the point bank range, and she merely blew off her jaw. The air ambulance had to use the school field, where I work, to land so that they could take her off to hospital.

You must think that I'm awful - sparking such a debate - but I suspect that where you live, people are so used to hunting that no one gives it a second thought. I am enjoying this debate, even though I know I will not change your mind. And you know that you won't change mine. We are thousands of miles apart, both in distance and in attitude .

Thank you for engaging in a very interesting debate - without getting cross with me.

Vive la difference!

 

[danischi24]

I feel obligated to post in reply in Impis.

Do you even know how cruelly most of those "supermarket" animals were treated prior to being meat in a store? I do. If you did, you would probably choose another way to get your meat. The chickens have horrible lives, I know because my ex managed a chicken farm. They never saw the light of day & that was the nicest thing about the way they lived. The bullocks that my dairy raises for meat, grow up in their own feces & have their horns burnt off with acid so that they wont hurt each other in the crowded conditions. Most of these animals get strange things put in their food to make them grow faster. I won't even go into what goes on during their slaughter day but it involves hours of terror & trauma even before their not so quick death blow comes.

Then you have deer.

They are born & grow up wild & free. They aren't fed strange things & they eat well. There are too many of them due to human encroachment & the near extinction of their natural predators. So many get hit by cars every year & their meat is often wasted because it's too badly damaged or in some areas, it's illegal to take it.
Hunters harvest them according to how much they are overpopulated in each state hence "tags". Most are ethical & make it quick. Isn't this the kind of meat that you would rather feed your family?

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Now you're jut being dramatic. Those bucks are so darn realistic down to a sparkle in their eyes, that they look ready to jump right out the wall.

Edited for clarity.