Don't they just realize??

[standsitter]

I wish non-hunters or people just plain against deer hunting would realize something about us! First of all, we don't hunt to kill, we hunt to harvest. But most of all, we hunt for the comraderie, the Friends who spend time in the woods with us.We hunt to hang that stand in just the right place, the quiet of pre-dawn opening day, the chicadee who chirps at us on stand ("why are you here?)-the fresh air only the woods can produce, the constant banter back and forth between hunters, the jokes, etc.The REAL hunter can handle not harvesting a Deer. The experince is way more important! Am I wrong?

[Bear55]

I can get on board with everything except the word "harvest". I think its just a PC term that is used by tv hunters who don't have the spine to tell it like it is. These aren't plant's, make no mistake, when I take a deers life it is anything but a harvest and I think the deer would back me up on that. However when I do take a deer you are right its not about the kill, it's about the entire experience and I am very thankful for the opportunity and thankful for the food it provides my family.

[gr8icefishinmind]

The REAL hunter can handle not harvesting a Deer. The experince is way more important! Am I wrong?

Totally agree!! There are alot of people who are against it because of the killing animals part, but alot are against it for other reasons that we as hunters put on ourselves! The most obvious one for me is when people strap the deer they shot on top of their vehicle and haul it home and many haul them from up north to southern minnesota! I am a outdoorsman but this even [PoorWordUsage] me off, there is really no need for it. Want to give us hunters a bad name, that will do it right there!! Another is the trespassers and road hunters! We as hunters need to do our part in keeping a good name for the sport! I hunt from sept to january but i also make sure i don't abuse it and make us look bad!

[Bear55]

The most obvious one for me is when people strap the deer they shot on top of their vehicle and haul it home and many haul them from up north to southern minnesota! I am a outdoorsman but this even [PoorWordUsage] me off, there is really no need for it.

I guess I don't see the big deal here, I process all my own deer but many others don't know how or would rather pay to have it done. I also know that people need a lot of gear to deer hunt and often car pool together so that can lead to packed vehicles and the deer usually get to ride home on roof. Why should we go out of our way to hide our deer? Should we demand that all deer hunters have a topper or enclosed trailer to haul deer? Should we force people to buy newer expensive vehicles to haul a deer they might shoot once a year?

[jeffreyd]

yes harvest is to reap the seed of crops but also the dictionary defines it as:

The product or result of any exertion or labor; gain; reward. [1913 Webster]

So to harvest an animal you have to put time and labor into it, therefore the use of the word is correct. There are many things that influence the "others" to not like hunters. While the things that were listed in the posts above are all valid, it comes from education, education of the public and education of our kids. Not bringing attention to your sport is not always bad either, as it goes with the out of sight out of mind mentality. People who do not think hunting of any kind is right, are always going to be there, it is truly now about how much money a sport can throw at them and the media to show that we are not all bad. Trophy hunters that are in it for horns only make me sick. This is a waste of an animal that in my thought is no different than taking that 25" walleye or 50" muskie.

[gurkster]

I'm with Bear55 on both of his statements. Harvesting is for plants. Also there is no shame in a animal that is taken legally and put in the bed of a truck/trailer/car top, etc. I drive a truck - hard not to have it out where it can be seen. I do agree that it is the total experience though, not just the kill. Much more to it than that.

[InTheNorthwoods]

I can get on board with everything except the word "harvest". I think its just a PC term that is used by tv hunters who don't have the spine to tell it like it is. These aren't plant's, make no mistake, when I take a deers life it is anything but a harvest and I think the deer would back me up on that. However when I do take a deer you are right its not about the kill, it's about the entire experience and I am very thankful for the opportunity and thankful for the food it provides my family.

Personally, I don't get the hate of the term "harvest". Harvesting is exactly what we are doing. Yes, killing is a part of it, but killing is really part of any harvesting. Grean beans, snow peas, cucumbers, whatever vegetable you want to think of, are all living and are "harvested" by essentially killing the plant or part of the plant in order to reap the bounty. When we harvest deer we are killing them and the meat is the bounty. So again, I don't get the hate with the use of the word "harvest," I think it has more to do with people not understanding the meaning of the word "harvest" than with people saying the word "harvest" to appease those who don't like the thought of "killing".

[gr8icefishinmind]

I would think it would be a better idea to buy an older cheap vehicle for hunting!! Find a small trailer to use, i'm sure you could find someone to lend you one! So you don't think that a person who is against hunting thinks that might be wrong or maybe even gross?? Again we are shooting ourselves in the foot by doing it!! If you have a pickup put the deer in the box! Granted the deer is already dead, strapping it on top of the roof of a vehicle doesn't look good and really looks inhumane! Its called respecting the game that you shoot!

You should go out of your way to do it so that hunters and outdoorsman don't get a bad rap!!

[SkunkedAgain]

Sorry standsitter, I don't buy it. I know many hunters and agree that many enjoy those attributes of hunting but make no mistake that they are out there to kill a deer.

Quote:

But most of all, we hunt for the comraderie, the Friends who spend time in the woods with us

As a non-hunter, I'm fine with people killing deer. Before us Europeans moved into Minnesota, the number of deer was 7-8 times lower than it is now (I'd have to find my citation for that one). I don't have moral problems with hunting. I do think that you're sugar coating it to say that the main reason is for all of the other reasons. If that were true then you wouldn't even take a gun. You're there to hunt and that's cool. You'll find that most non-hunters are cool with that as well. It's the crazy fringe that makes the most noise on both sides.

[Bear55]

Personally, I don't get the hate of the term "harvest". Harvesting is exactly what we are doing. Yes, killing is a part of it, but killing is really part of any harvesting. Grean beans, snow peas, cucumbers, whatever vegetable you want to think of, are all living and are "harvested" by essentially killing the plant or part of the plant in order to reap the bounty. When we harvest deer we are killing them and the meat is the bounty. So again, I don't get the hate with the use of the word "harvest," I think it has more to do with people not understanding the meaning of the word "harvest" than with people saying the word "harvest" to appease those who don't like the thought of "killing".

Hate is probably too strong of a word to describe my feelings about "harvesting" deer. I just think it is kind of some unnecessary sugar coating. Honestly if I didn't see all the tv and magazine guys use the term religiously it probably wouldn't bother me all that much. When I describe how I "got" a deer there is usually some form of bow, rifle, shoot, shot, car involved.

[Bear55]

I would think it would be a better idea to buy an older cheap vehicle for hunting!! Find a small trailer to use, i'm sure you could find someone to lend you one!

[gr8icefishinmind]

[ You see you are just thinking in terms of doing anything possible to hide a deer.

Yeah, and not helping give us hunters a bad name!! Unfortunately you can't always do things how you want to do them and if keeping a good name for hunters means doing something you don't want to do then i (as an avid hunter) would hope you would do it!!

I still feel that transporting deer on top of you vehicle is very unsportsmanlike, have some respect for the game you shoot!

[gr8icefishinmind]

I would say the older vehicles are more reliable and easier to work on than the new ones these days!!!

[i'majigger]

I like the one about the woman from PETA, she is horrified that we kill deer to eat, she says why don't you go to the meat market and buy your meat where no animal was hurt!!!!!

[creepworm]

Many of the past few years if you drove home with a deer on top of the car, you might as well left it in the woods. It would rot by the time it got home. Plus, there is always "that guy" that has to stop at every beer hall along the way to show off his deer.

[standsitter]

Wow, some interesting responses-SkunkedAgain, I understand when you say you don't buy it, we are out there to "kill" a deer. I agree some are. But trust me when I say this-I am VERY much out there to share a sandwich with my buddy by a creek edge for lunch, listen to the stories shared each day,getting back to camp for a warm bowl of chili, see the darkened sky with geese up high wondering where to stop-I have hunted 37 out of the last 45 years, with my good share of "Non kills", And I promise you the experience of memories shared, with or without pulling the trigger is MORE than enough to satisfy me. I hope that's not sugarcoating it!! Safe Hunt to All!!

[gr8icefishinmind]

I totally agree, for me hunting is about getting out and enjoying the outdoors. If it was about killing something i would have been done the first night i sat on stand this fall with my bow! But what fun would that be?? then i would be done for the fall and even more than shooting something i enjoy sitting in a tree and watching the different animals scurry by and hearing all the different sounds! I also enjoy the challenge of scouting the deer out and trying to find out where the big buck is and how get myself in the right spot for that shot!! Killing something is just a bonus to me!

It's the people who don't show sportsmanship that ruin it for others!!

[pulleye16]

My two cents... We do hunt to kill / harvest/ bag an animal. Thats is what we are out there to do. Being with friends, sitting out in the woods enjoying what nature has to offer, and sharing stories around the fire are all parts of "bagging" an animal that make up "hunting." One with out the other wouldn't be "hunting."

Show off your deer or other game that you may have got. MN is a pretty pro hunting state. For those that are against putting a deer on top of or car, do have any animal mounts at home that hangs on the wall for others to share? You can't go into a bar in northern MN without seeing them all over the walls!

I love driving home after deer hunting and seeing the deer on vehicles or in plain site to see how others have done.

We can't deny deny deny...we must embrace! By hiding what we do...many might forget that it excists! We don't want to be invisible, we want to be heard...and nothing is more powerfull then numbers!

[BobT]

I wonder if part of the problem comes from how we have evolved processing domestic meat. We treat them as pets, doctor them when they are sick, load them into nearly enclosed trucks to haul to market, kill them and butcher them out of sight of the general public. Those that would end hunting have lost sight of the true nature of humanity. We are omnivorous beings and therefore we will eat both plant and animal matter. It's a fact of life but when you don't have to see the gory details of butchering a steer or hog, it's easy to forget about it.

[heat checker]

As far as hauling a dead deer in plain view, it's of respect towards the animal you killed, and are proud of it! Ever stop and wonder how many deer hunters come home with bags on the roof? Maybe there's a fawn in the trunk! If I've shot something that I'm especially proud of, you can bet there's gonna be hooves or horns sticking above the boxside! As far as hiding from view, do you want people to think hunters have no skills, or that there just plain isn't any game to be got? Try selling that last one to the anti-hunter that just had a deer come through the windshield.

[BobT]

Quote:

As far as hiding from view, do you want people to think hunters have no skills, or that there just plain isn't any game to be got? Try selling that last one to the anti-hunter that just had a deer come through the windshield.

I think you answered your second question yourself with your last statement. We don't need to sell the overpopulation to the anti-hunters by displaying our quarry. They learn about that when the deer lands in their lap.

As far as the skills question: I could care less about what anti-hunters or anyone for that matter thinks about my skills. I don't have to brag for that.

[wannafish2]

i can see both sides. Frankly, years that I get a doe or get "skunked" I look forward to the drive home to see the racks on the roofs, in the trailers or the trucks! Sometimes I even give a congratulatory thumbs up to the driver as I go by! But, I also see the other side. My sister is one of those who actually gets sick when she sees deer riding on a truck. She can't even look at animals that have been to the taxidermist. But she knows I love to hunt and fish, and she eats meat. She just doesn't like the "death" part and seeing the gaping abdominal opening.

She's not judgmental tho. So, just my 2 cents.....good luck to all and enjoy the experience!

[panthrcat]

another interesting post.

I had a (short lived) friendship with a gal, due to our common interest of photography. we were beginning to learn about each other, and she knew I hunted, and I knew she did not. We both agreed that as long as we respected each other it wouldn't get in the way of our friendship (what a joke that turned out to be) She found out that we had taken a few deer, and suddenly I was the lowest form of life around!! she name called, and told me I wasn't a "photographer" due to the fact that I am a murderer of poor inocent little animals. OY!

I keep my distance from folks like that. They just don't get it, and I suspect they never will.

Sue

[MUSKY18]

I hunt because I grew up loving to hunt and being with the folks at "Deer Camp". It is certainly one of the times of the year that I truly get excited for. If any of us shoot some venison, its more of a bonus than anything. We hunt up in big woods and have a spot that we have been camping at for close to 30 years. There have been 4 different generations hunting the same area, and next year when my son starts to hunt with us, it will be 5. Sitting around the fire at night, looking up at the stars, listening to the owls, yotes and other animals is something not many in this world ever experience. Sitting in your stand and watching squirrels, fox, mink, beavers, muskrats and birds is probably one of the most surreal things you can do. Even watching deer come through that you aren't going to take, seeing them in their natural environment.

My daughter, who is going to be a tree hugger, asked me the other night when I came in from bow hunting, "Why do you hunt?" I told her about the things I listed above, how it is good to help control the population of the deer, so during the hard times, they don't suffer/starve and she thought it sounded neat to be out in the woods. Now, granted, she said she could never shoot a deer and hurt it, but that is her choice. But she understands why I love to hunt and wishes me luck everytime I go out. I believe that I have "educated" her about why I hunt and she understands it a little better.

As for hauling deer home and "hiding" them. Most of us in my hunting party drive over 100 miles to where we hunt. We pull campers with our trucks. The back of our vehicles carry coolers, food, our stands and other gear that is needed for the 3 days we hunt. When we do happen to get an animal, it goes where there is room to haul it home to the processer. Most of the time it is in the bed of the truck, sometimes it is on a trailer. We don't haul them like that to "hide" them, or to "show off" what we shot. We haul them that way out of the necessity to get the animal home.

Finally.......I can say this. There was a stretch of years (I think it was 5 or 6) where NO ONE in our hunting party shot a single deer. Still, every single year, everyone of us was back in camp, excited to be there with our buddies and ready to make some new memories. Think that says alot in itself.

[panthrcat]

Finally.......I can say this. There was a stretch of years (I think it was 5 or 6) where NO ONE in our hunting party shot a single deer. Still, every single year, everyone of us was back in camp, excited to be there with our buddies and ready to make some new memories. Think that says alot in itself.

amen to that!!!