Is hunting a sport?

[left field]

This fellow doesn't think so.

http://sportingclassicsdaily.com/is-hunting-a-sport/

[Doc]

Dictionary definition of "SPORT"

1    An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.

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Well, I think hunting, fishing and trapping all fit that definition. Every year I learn more and more about the "physical exertion" part of hunting. Do we compete? There is no doubt that it involves competition between the hunting individual and the prey. It may also take on additional features and motives, but the combination of challenge, competition and skill all are large components of a sport.

Yes there may be PC reasons for shying away from the word "sport", but unless you are hunting solely for necessary, life dependent sustenance, sport seems to cover it pretty well.

[wooly]

Yep, it's a sport.

Every year I try to "let the air outta one" just like Brady did with his balls,lol

[Rattler]

The way I see it (this is just my view of the world) if it doesn't involve a firearm or bow, or involve pursuit of fish or game, it isn't a sport.  That's why I have no interest in spectator "sports".

[left field]

Using that definition, Doc, where does "entertainment" factor in? Or maybe put another way, can the taking of a life remove it from the "sport" realm? Shooting skeet - sport. Shooting grouse - not.

Edited February 25, 2017 by left field

[phade]

Definitely off-season.

[stoneam2006]

For me hunting trapping fishing is a sport but can't be treated exactly as a sport. We do it for enjoyment and to connect with the earth and potentially put the best food on the table. It's not purely for "fun". So as I consider it a sport but also consider it a lifestyle.

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[Doc]

17 hours ago, left field said:

Using that definition, Doc, where does "entertainment" factor in? Or maybe put another way, can the taking of a life remove it from the "sport" realm? Shooting skeet - sport. Shooting grouse - not.

I don't see anything in sporting activities that keeps them from being entertaining or enjoyable. Those are simply potential additional features.

As far as taking life, I don't see that as being in conflict with being a sport. It is an irrelevant factor. I believe this is where the PC objections come in. Many don't want to consider taking an animal's life to be done as a sporting activity. That is a philosophical argument that has to do with "feelings", not definitions.

[bkln]

If the ball is not involved it ain't a sport (exception for hockey puck). Do you need some ball(s) to hunt? You tell me :-)

[Uncle Nicky]

Hobby/pastime, and a time-consuming one at that. But, it's the one I enjoy the most.

[airedale]

1 hour ago, bkln said:

If the ball is not involved it ain't a sport (exception for hockey puck). Do you need some ball(s) to hunt? You tell me :-)

So Gymnastics, Fencing, Track and Field, Boxing, Swimming-Diving, Wrestling, Weight Lifting, Archery, Trap and Skeet, Target shooting Rifle-Pistol, Skiing, Skating, Bobsleding, Luge, Mixed Martial Arts, Motor Sports Racing are not and should not be considered a sport by definition because of no "Ball" being involved??

As long as I can remember and in all the both old and newer literature written about this subject, Hunting, Fishing and Trapping have always been considered outdoor sports and the folks that participate in them labeled as "Sportsmen" . No need for any PC changes as far as I am concerned I will stick with and defend Hunting and the other outdoor sports as actually being a sport by definition balls or no balls.

Al

Edited February 26, 2017 by airedale

[Rattler]

The definition of "sport" may have changed over time, but there was a time when a gambler was considered a "sporting man".

Perhaps the word was meant to include all recreational activities at one time.

Merriam-Webster first defines "sport" like this:

Definition of sport

1. intransitive verb

2. 1a :  to amuse oneself :  frolic <lambs sporting in the meadow>b :  to engage in a sport

[First-light]

I don't see hunting as a sport. Just doesn't fit into my definition of sport. Hunting is an activity to fulfill a desire within myself to kill an animal. An animal that will be used for food. As hunters the excitement of the kill is not matched by most things in life. Hunting brings out your primal instincts and some are just better at it. Hunting is too complicated to be called a sport, you're killing something in the end. So just not a sport for me…thats all.

[Pygmy]

44 minutes ago, Rattler said:

The definition of "sport" may have changed over time, but there was a time when a gambler was considered a "sporting man".

Perhaps the word was meant to include all recreational activities at one time.

Merriam-Webster first defines "sport" like this:

Definition of sport

1. intransitive verb

2. 1a :  to amuse oneself :  frolic <lambs sporting in the meadow>b :  to engage in a sport

This brings to mind the "sporting ladies"  in the towns of the old west....<<GRIN>>.....

[Rattler]

Yes, they were called that at one time.  It's interesting when you consider these were not "spectator" sports either.

[Curmudgeon]

54 minutes ago, First-light said:

I don't see hunting as a sport. Just doesn't fit into my definition of sport. Hunting is an activity to fulfill a desire within myself to kill an animal. An animal that will be used for food. As hunters the excitement of the kill is not matched by most things in life. Hunting brings out your primal instincts and some are just better at it. Hunting is too complicated to be called a sport, you're killing something in the end. So just not a sport for me…thats all.

I agree with First-light. Hunting is much too serious to be a sport. It can be a way of life. It is highly social. It is certainly part of my household economy. I might find it educational and spiritual. A sport? I don't think so.

Hunting puts me in a ecological niche. I am the apex predator controlling the burgeoning deer population. I am working cooperatively with family and friends to feed our families. I am helping the native vegetation. Sport? Fooey!

[diplomat019]

I think hunting has evolved into more of a sport. Not too long ago hunting was a means of survival. But now with all the new technology applied to hunting and outdoor activities it has become more of a sport.  I do think it is more serious of a sport compared to our typical ones like baseball or basketball etc. We are harvesting a living animals life and putting it to good use. 

[bkln]

"...highly social..."? Not in the Americas, in Europe maybe you could say that they have gatherings before and after, feasting on the meat you just got, Jagermeister and full blown signals when it starts and when it ends. Here you trek for miles by your lonesome and hope your buddy answers the phone after you get that 12 pointer and need a hand dragging it...

[nodeerhere]

It's a lifestyle 

[left field]

When I use a guide they refer to me as a "sport" and I have to say I like the quaintness of that descriptor. It also tends to reinforce that the people who use guides have the means and time to hire someone to do the hunting, so to speak. Maybe "sport" applies in that case.

Certainly, there is a long tradition of the "sportsman" label applied to the outdoor pursuits of hunting and fishing. But if you look closer, more often than not it was used to describe those in the leisure class who pursued game for the thrill, accomplishment or trophy. In Hemingway's day would a guy who hunted deer for the table in the Catskills be considered a sportsman? Would he call himself one?

Does anyone remember how a grandfather referred to himself and his hunting companions? For what it's worth, the DEC uses Sportsman Education to describe hunter/bow/trapper certificate courses.

 

 

Edited February 26, 2017 by left field

[Buckmaster7600]

I don't think hunting is a sport. To me hunting is a game. No different than poker or monopoly. You can do everything you can to set yourself up but the opponent still has the final say in the outcome. I don't think anyone should say that taking a life is a "sport."


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[The_Field_Ager]

On 2/25/2017 at 8:53 AM, left field said:

This fellow doesn't think so.

http://sportingclassicsdaily.com/is-hunting-a-sport/

Me either. It is a skill, a pastime, hobby, or method of land management. Not to forget a means of putting food on the table. Americans are obsessed with turning every pastime into a 'sport' . There is an ethical 'sporting' element in terms of deer chosen and or let walk. That's about it. 

[Curmudgeon]

2 hours ago, bkln said:

"...highly social..."? Not in the Americas...........

said the man on the hunting social network.

 

[Jeremy K]

9 hours ago, bkln said:

If the ball is not involved it ain't a sport (exception for hockey puck). Do you need some ball(s) to hunt? You tell me :-)

Baseball uses a ball and is hardly a sport.

[stoneam2006]

Baseball uses a ball and is hardly a sport.

Lmao win

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