"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...


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.

Hunters have to deal with weather that can only be called "utterly stupid",
risking frostbite and hypothermia. Deer season here corresponds with weather
that's cold and wet, which is inherently more dangerous than three feet of
snow in January.


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.

OK, but there are shortages of certain fish, which is WHY we release them.
In many areas, the deer populations are way beyond what the place is able to
support. Hunting them doesn't threaten the entire species in a given area.

Harry, here's a response that's not allowed: "Well, the deer you shoot are
certainly threatened". :-) Thought I'd save your fingers a little work.


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.

That's a big "IF", Harry. I know hunters who have been coming back
emptyhanded for years. Most of them couldn't sneak up on a garbage can.


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?

Sporting chance? You have to wear bright orange clothing, or risk your life.
The deer can smell you coming a mile away, and may even be spooked by scent
of your 1/2 hour old footprints. And, they're blazingly fast on their feet.
And, good hunters won't even take a shot if they think it may result in a
wounded deer that'll get away.

I'm not a hunter, and I have plenty of skepticism about some of the clowns I
know who tote rifles around the woods. But, there are some decent hunters.