Doug Kanter wrote:

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...


Even non-canned hunting doesn't seem especially sporting.

Couple of big guys go out in a field with a couple of dogs. The dogs go
ahead and scare little birds out of the brush. As the little birds try
to escape, the guys blast them with shotgun pellets.

Guys sit up in a tree, make deer deer, elk, moose calls. Moose moves in,
thinks he's going to get laid. Guys open up with high-powered rifles and
kill the critter.

Guys sit in a blind near a body of water. Fake ducks or geese are
floating in front of them. Guys make duck/goosing sounding noises. Birds
fly in, get blasted.

Yep. It surely is a manly "sport."

I disagree, but based only on being very familiar with the way some REAL
hunters hunt. My former neighbor's dad has about 1000 acres an hour south of
Rochester. I went "hunting" with him on that land a couple of years ago. He
brought no weapons of any kind. We spent the weekend stalking deer. He took
written notes which enabled him to identify the one he wanted. He did this
for 3 weeks afterward. Then, he brought his bow with him and got the deer
he'd chosen. A week later, he got a permit for another. I'm not sure how
that works, but I think it's got something to do with the fact that we're
overrun with deer. He took another month to choose and take the right one,
this time with a long gun.

This guy's not that unusual. I've met his neighbors down at the farmland.
They're the same way. They go out for 40 hours and come back with one deer,
just enough for their families.

There are slobs, and there are artists. It's not much different from people
who fish, and pigs who snag salmon with enormous treble hooks, all the while
keeping their eyes peeled for the DEC game warden.


Well, I see no need to get into a discussion of fishing versus hunting,
but I will point out a few differences. I just don't see hunting as
"sporting."

1. Fishing from a boat in salt water (and some bodies of fresh water) is
inherently dangerous for several reasons, including incurring the wrath
of mother nature in terms of the weather, falling overboard and
drowning, et cetera, or incurring the wrath of the fish in terms of
being bit. I have incurred these wraths, so to speak.

2. Catch and release fishing is becoming more popular, and as fishermen
get more used to this, more of the fish survive. Very few critters who
are blasted by guns can be released.

3. While sport fishermen attempt to attract their prey with bait, if
they do, they still have to hook and reel in the fish. If you get a deer
within your sights, and you're within range, the deer is dead.


Mind you, I have no problem with someone who goes out to shoot an animal
to put food on the table. But I feel better about it when the animal has
at least a sporting chance, eh?

Hey, when I go out to kill skeet, at least I miss a few. Sometimes.



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