Losing my killer instinct
- Thread starter mike a
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you know with all this talk about how we used to hunt and now we don't for various reasons, this thread could be read by a layman as a liberal board posting. HA!
jds holler
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I think a lot of us slow down in the killing department as we get older for a few reasons. One of them is that we usually grow out of that "got sumpthin to prove" mind set. Another for me is that I've come to enjoy the relaxing aspects of hunting camp as much as the excitement of the hunt. I work a job every day that pretty much provides a lot of excitement as well as kickin my ass physically. When I get a few days or a few weeks to get out in the boonies, I don't feel like making too much work out of it.
Also, if you've ever had the experience of finding a bunch of two year old ducks, or other game meat that hasn't made it to the table in too long, you kind of realize that you need to slow down the killing.
I've got bunches of old hard copy photos that I need to scan, from my "got sumpthin to prove" years, and memories of some of my best hunting years when I didn't even take pics. I grew up in a place where I could walk about a quarter mile from the house and have good success hunting and killing almost everything except elk. That's a lot different than it is for most folks these days, and also one of the reasons that many don't worry too much about the kill anymore I think.
Here's one of those old pics from back in the day. I guess I was still in my twenties here, and even then, that many coyotes at one time made for a lot of hard work. One or two seems better these days. jd
Also, if you've ever had the experience of finding a bunch of two year old ducks, or other game meat that hasn't made it to the table in too long, you kind of realize that you need to slow down the killing.
I've got bunches of old hard copy photos that I need to scan, from my "got sumpthin to prove" years, and memories of some of my best hunting years when I didn't even take pics. I grew up in a place where I could walk about a quarter mile from the house and have good success hunting and killing almost everything except elk. That's a lot different than it is for most folks these days, and also one of the reasons that many don't worry too much about the kill anymore I think.
Here's one of those old pics from back in the day. I guess I was still in my twenties here, and even then, that many coyotes at one time made for a lot of hard work. One or two seems better these days. jd
Yep again
Shot these two pesky critters out that there window. I had tags for em. drove that ratty old farm pick up over there spilled there guts and left em for coyote bait. loaded em up and took them to get butchered. pesky critters are all over these hills I run the deer gauntlet in my car every day. 
I shot four this past season..yikes! I had tags for them..They all got ate..we still have some meat. I have a sister who is not a hunter and I don't even think she likes hunting but she can cook deer meat you would swear you were eating beef.
She does this one where she cooks deer steaks in onions and garlic all day it is so tender and tasty you could feed it to anyone and they would never know it was deer meat. Me I have tried to cook it a few times and did not like how it turned out. although I have made some good hot deer sausage a time or two but it is a lot of work.So we eat them.
she makes deer jerky and her kids eat it like candy..I am lucky to get a bag or two a year.
YES sometimes I feel bad and have to shake it off. I wonder if a butcher feels bad sometimes?
She does this one where she cooks deer steaks in onions and garlic all day it is so tender and tasty you could feed it to anyone and they would never know it was deer meat. Me I have tried to cook it a few times and did not like how it turned out. although I have made some good hot deer sausage a time or two but it is a lot of work.So we eat them.
she makes deer jerky and her kids eat it like candy..I am lucky to get a bag or two a year.
YES sometimes I feel bad and have to shake it off. I wonder if a butcher feels bad sometimes?
I've got a couple friends that run the blackstrap through a slicer at 45 angle to make it longer. They soak that in liquid Caribbean jerk seasoning for about 30 min while they quarter jalapeño peppers and remove the seeds. They roll the meat around the 1/4 pepper and wrap a 1/2 strip of bacon around it with a toothpick to hold it together. Grills up quick and gets eaten even quicker.
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1885Winman4590
Gold $$ Contributor
My $.02. Me'n good friend sit in a blind all day long dawn to dusk. We choose very carefully. An old doe with no fawn,(have to see her at least five times with no fawn) or waitin for a monster. We have a .62 cal round ball gun and 45/90 sharps. We're in an open air brush blind, and use charcoal in a coffee can to keep warm in northern mi. We drink coffee, cook sandwiches on the charcoal, bs and it's more fun than when the hogs ate my little sister. Life is good!
hogpatrol
Silver $$ Contributor
You DA MAN!
I love hunting but I never really liked the killing part. I have put deer on the table to feed my 8 kids over the years. I really enjoy a good deer steak or roast. Kids are gone. Last season was the first that I didn't bring in a deer. I sat and watched many go by or even bed within 30 yards of my stand. It was a great hunt nevertheless. Last few years, I have even fed the coyotes but I still thin them out for peace of mind and limb of the chickens. I consider hunting a journey. I am yet enjoying that journey and hope to in my advancing years. Good hunting!
WOW, 8 kids! When did you find time to squeeze in hunting?
Same here. I don't eat the meat any more so no reason to kill deer, elk or antelope. When I was younger and growing up in the hills of Wy. I never heard of Boone and Crockette. So had no reason to keep the arterials. More often than not, we cut off the heads and threw them up in the brush so we didn't have to carry or drag them back to the truck. Wish I had a couple of thise racks back again now. One big muskie buck in particular. I have no doubt looking at the records that stand today, he would be in the top 5, not a doubt in the world.
So I now shoot only prairie rats, grey digger squirrels, ravens, crows and only long distance on the PDs.
UF
So I now shoot only prairie rats, grey digger squirrels, ravens, crows and only long distance on the PDs.
UF
Done a lot of deer hunting; finally got one, year before last. IMHO that's a BTDT. It probably also means that as a hunter, I really ain't one. My '06 won the deer rifle match this last Summer; so it ain't about the gun.
I can eat venison, but it's nowhere near my favorite meal, and when I prepare it, I spice it and cook it like beef. Surprise; it usually tastes like beef. I feel I can eat just as well on what comes off the butcher's shelf. Besides, I turn 70 in the next month or two.
Will have moved to So AZ by then, completely different terrain. Maybe my thinking will change with that, but I won't be heartbroken if it doesn't.
Coyote? If you've ever seen the neighbor's kids posting signs about missing pets, you probably have little love for coyotes. If I see 'em, I'll shoot 'em. Same with 'Chucks; they can kill a cow when it steps into a chuck hole and breaks a leg, horses too. They are on a short list along with the coyotes. Pasture Poodles? My next will be my first; they aren't very thick on the ground in the Northeast.
Never was about the kill, it was always about being out there. I can do that without a rifle, but I'll carry one anyway. My new home in AZ is 40 miles from the USA/Mex border; so a rifle might come in handy someday out in the Mesquite. Hope not...
Greg
I can eat venison, but it's nowhere near my favorite meal, and when I prepare it, I spice it and cook it like beef. Surprise; it usually tastes like beef. I feel I can eat just as well on what comes off the butcher's shelf. Besides, I turn 70 in the next month or two.
Will have moved to So AZ by then, completely different terrain. Maybe my thinking will change with that, but I won't be heartbroken if it doesn't.
Coyote? If you've ever seen the neighbor's kids posting signs about missing pets, you probably have little love for coyotes. If I see 'em, I'll shoot 'em. Same with 'Chucks; they can kill a cow when it steps into a chuck hole and breaks a leg, horses too. They are on a short list along with the coyotes. Pasture Poodles? My next will be my first; they aren't very thick on the ground in the Northeast.
Never was about the kill, it was always about being out there. I can do that without a rifle, but I'll carry one anyway. My new home in AZ is 40 miles from the USA/Mex border; so a rifle might come in handy someday out in the Mesquite. Hope not...
Greg
What area? I lived in Sierra Vista for a few years, and hunted the surrounding areas. Lots of coues deer, javelina, coatimundi, rattlesnakes, etc; etc;etc.
When I was young I hunted, fished, and trapped for almost everything in my area. Now I never trap unless I have to ( to keep critters out of the garden) and I don't kill anything that I don't have a reason to kill. I dear hunt for the meat and to keep the population down. I will kill coyotes and groundhogs because they need put down for a few reasons. But I have let a lot of fox and other animals walk by me because they don't do anything for me to warrant killing them. I have watched some really pretty red fox playing around and I just cant bring myself to killing them.
Joe Maisto
jam711
It happens to most of us when the years pile on. The last dear I killed is what turned me off, as it was eating when my.270 barked at about 60 feet. No more. The only thing I could still enjoy killing today is crows. All they know is how to plunder.
I do miss the taste of venison though. Now we feed the birds and squirrels, and rabbits in my yard. It makes one feel good to know that when there is a foot of snow cover with no edible food for them, you have helped them make it through the winter. I have sold my hunting rifles which were an FN. 270, and a Win. 88 in .284. Have not regretted it a bit.
Joe
In Georgia the limit for deer is 12...2 bucks and 10 does. If I get one nice buck and a big doe I am done for the season. I'll kill a ton of hogs and give the extra meat away. I killed my first bobcat last season and it will be my last. I love hunting, and I will never give it up, but animals deserve respect and should be cherished. As long as that is always my number one thought when I pull the trigger then I have no problem shooting my 1-2 deer a year.
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