The Kill When Hunting

[airedale]

 

The kill is the satisfying, indeed essential, conclusion to a successful hunt. But, I take no pleasure in the act itself. One does not hunt in order to kill, but kills in order to have hunted. Then why do I hunt? I hunt for the same reason my well-fed cat hunts...because I must, because it is in the blood, because I am the descendent of a thousand generations of hunters. I hunt because I am a hunter! 

Finn Aagard

 

[Doc]

It's not something that very many people are willing to admit, but man is a natural predator. And that predation is not always motivated by hunger.

[Bowshotmuzzleloader]

The kill is the reward for all the time and preparation spent staring at nothing while hunting, Im not afraid to admit ...

 

[Doc]

You can hunt with just a camera and it doesn't involve killing. Every aspect of hunting can be duplicated without the killing. And yet that isn't the way we do it. The kill does add to the experience in some way. And, I am not just talking about the food motivation either. I have never eaten a woodchuck or a fox or a coyote or a crow or a rat at the dump.

[WNYBuckHunter]

I enjoy the kill, Im not afraid to admit it. Is it my favorite part of the hunt? No, not really. If I didnt enjoy it at all, Id just take pictures.

[dbHunterNY]

boat load of reasons why a deer must die; natural balance, food, people conflict, etc. no lust for blood or enjoyment comes from the actual death. watching it die sucks a little for the second or two that it sometimes takes. if anything it makes you appreciate what that animal was forced to give up for the reason it had to die. doesn't matter people in general are desensitized and ignorant to the fact that living creatures that call this earth home die for their simple needs in life.  people who complain about deer auto collisions, people who have landscaping, people who grow food, people who eat meat, vegetarians, vegans, etc. are still connected. i'm kidding we should get our meat from a petri dish, GMO experiments, or from the store where it was made as everyone else already does.

[Steuben Jerry]

22 minutes ago, Doc said:

Every aspect of hunting can be duplicated without the killing

Except the field dressing and mandatory inner loins on the grill after the photo session.

Seriously I don't necessarily "enjoy" the kill so to say, but nothing beats the adrenaline rush during the moment, and the feeling you get when you see it go down right there or at least in sight.

[Jeremy K]

I recently heard that if God did not intend for us to eat animals he wouldn't have made them out of meat . Seems logical here.

[TreeGuy]

The only animal I love to "kill" is a coyote.... The others like deer and turkey are more about the experience and the hunt. They are all challenging but theres something about a dirt nap for an animal that "kills" turkey, deer, rabbits, etc.

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[Doc]

The thing is that the hunt is not successfully completed until the prey is dead. There is no catch and release in hunting....lol. Yes, the chase or pursuit and preparation and scheming and the experience of the other interactions with nature and wild things that you see while hunting are all positive experiences of hunting. But the finality of the death of the prey is the end game.

[nyantler]

I think the kill somehow gives us ownership of the hunt and the animal at the end... completing the task ourselves instead of leaving it unfinished for someone else to complete. Maybe even for some a sense of winning against a very  formidable adversary. Truthfully, I seldom think much about the actual kill... it seems to be just part of what needs to be done if one is going to be a hunter.

[cbyzerman]

I kill for the adrenaline rush. I donate the meat............

[chrisw]

I feel a certain level of empathy for the animal, sure. The kill is the climax to all of the preparation, the journey in reality is what makes the kill more enjoyable. A kill at the end of a tough season is more enjoyable than first day success for me. I do apologize to the animal for ending it's life but my remorse is subdued by a quick, effective kill. A sloppy or prolonged suffering really gnaws at me. The journey is what's more important I guess in the end, I certainly don't need to kill to have success, but I do expect a certain level of success throughout the season. I love venison and eating something I harvested myself makes me feel a bit more grounded in reality, if something has to die to sustain me I'd just rather be the person responsible for it. I look at it like this, we're (animal and people) are going to die at some point, if I can take an animal as quick and painlessly as I can then it's a good death and no weight on my conscience. It's the few times throughout my career that I screwed up and an animal had to pay the price for it that, that weighs on me.

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[Hunter007]

It only bothers me if it' not a fast death for the animal .

If it is  not i get freaked out about it . 

[Uncle Nicky]

15 minutes ago, Storm914 said:

It only bothers me if it' not a fast death for the animal .

If it is  not i get freaked out about it . 

I won't go as far as saying I get freaked out when things don't go as planned, because sooner or later, it happens with all of us, but I agree. Exactly why I'm a huge proponent of using plenty of gun when ever you decide to shoot at something, and for archery only taking high sucess shots on dry days. But that's another thread for another day....carry on.

[turkeyfeathers]

4 hours ago, cbyzerman said:

I kill for the adrenaline rush. I donate the meat............

don't like venison ?

I'm far from being religious , I believe but haven't gone to church since conformation in 8th grade. But when I do kill a deer or turkey I tip my hat to god and thank him for the moment of the harvest of the life I have taken.

[cbyzerman]

Love venison if someone else prepares it or If I buy  it from farm.  Something about gutting it out and knowing that when I'm cooking it knowing that was deer I killed it kind of turns me off.  When I was kid and was not the one gutting the deer out and m y father was doing had no problem.  When I started gutting the deer out myself I never liked it the same.  Nothing goes to waste  so spare the remarks.  I'm not hunting to feed my family I could buy the meat myself.  I'm in it to hunt mature bucks and for the pure Adrenalin rush........

[Four Season Whitetail's]

21 minutes ago, cbyzerman said:

Love venison if someone else prepares it or If I buy  it from farm.  Something about gutting it out and knowing that when I'm cooking it knowing that was deer I killed it kind of turns me off.  When I was kid and was not the one gutting the deer out and m y father was doing had no problem.  When I started gutting the deer out myself I never liked it the same.  Nothing goes to waste  so spare the remarks.  I'm not hunting to feed my family I could buy the meat myself.  I'm in it to hunt mature bucks and for the pure Adrenalin rush........

Not a thing wrong with that. Many will never know that mature deer rush. That's Ok because we get the best of both worlds!

[nyantler]

On 2/6/2018 at 9:37 AM, TreeGuy said:

The only animal I love to "kill" is a coyote.... The others like deer and turkey are more about the experience and the hunt. They are all challenging but theres something about a dirt nap for an animal that "kills" turkey, deer, rabbits, etc.

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Yeah.. I think we should start giving dirt naps to eagles and hawks too for the same reason. Who do they think they are taking game to feed themselves to survive???

[TreeGuy]

Yeah.. I think we should start giving dirt naps to eagles and hawks too for the same reason. Who do they think they are taking game to feed themselves to survive???

Brilliant ! Or not.... I think u failed to relate what WE hunt too, which was my point. Hunting a hunter who is after the same game I am.

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[wolc123]

5 hours ago, turkeyfeathers said:

like venison ?

when I do kill a deer I tip my hat to god and thank him for the moment of the harvest of the life I have taken.

That sums up my feeling exactly.   

I love venison.  The kill is what brings it all together.   My favorite thing about deer hunting is the confirmation of the kill and the receiving of those special "blessings from Heaven".  The same thing applies to fishing (I am not a "catch and release" guy).  Prayers of thanks for those "blessings" are the single best way I know to make sure that they keep on coming.  That is very important when your family mostly lives off them like our's does.   I could not be more thankful that my wife and girls also love venison and fish.     

My least favorite thing about hunting is not being able to recover animals that I have shot at.  I thank the Good Lord every time that don't happen.  Fortunately, it has not in my last 14 years of deer hunting.   The one 15 years ago still bothers me a bit.  I learned a very important lesson there, the hard way.  That is: to assume every shot is a hit, until PROVEN otherwise.   I have mostly not been perfect over that 14 year stretch, which even included two "clean misses".  Fortunately, my third shot on that particular deer was instantly fatal, which allowed me to count the holes and "prove" the first two were misses.   I have almost always missed my point of aim by a bit.  Fortunately, all but one have been close enough to end the suffering without the need for a second shot.   I only delivered one "perfect shot" over that stretch, which was exhaustively discussed in the "Texas Heart Shot"  thread on this site few years ago.   As far as I know, I am the only one who ever "cleanly" pulled that one off.  I hate to see any animal suffer, and I always aim to end that as quickly as possible.  I have also lost a handful of squirrels and crows, that were likely missed, and one squirrel, that I know was hit.  

"Clean misses", while certainly better for the animal,  bother me more personally than non-recovered hits.   When I miss clean, I have done my part worse than I have when an animal is wounded and escapes.   When I hear someone claim a clean miss, I wonder how they know for sure, and I also loose some respect for them compared to those who report wounding game and are looking for help in recovery.                  

[Four Season Whitetail's]

34 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

That sums up my feeling exactly.   

I love venison.  The kill is what brings it all together.   My favorite thing about deer hunting is the confirmation of the kill and the receiving of those special "blessings from Heaven".  The same thing applies to fishing (I am not a "catch and release" guy).  Prayers of thanks for those "blessings" are the single best way I know to make sure that they keep on coming.  That is very important when your family mostly lives off them like our's does.   I could not be more thankful that my wife and girls also love venison and fish.     

My least favorite thing about hunting is not being able to recover animals that I have shot at.  I thank the Good Lord every time that don't happen.  Fortunately, it has not in my last 14 years of deer hunting.   The one 15 years ago still bothers me a bit.  I learned a very important lesson there, the hard way.  That is: to assume every shot is a hit, until PROVEN otherwise.   I have mostly not been perfect over that 14 year stretch, which even included two "clean misses".  Fortunately, my third shot on that particular deer was instantly fatal, which allowed me to count the holes and "prove" the first two were misses.   I have almost always missed my point of aim by a bit.  Fortunately, all but one have been close enough to end the suffering without the need for a second shot.   I only delivered one "perfect shot" over that stretch, which was exhaustively discussed in the "Texas Heart Shot"  thread on this site few years ago.   As far as I know, I am the only one who ever "cleanly" pulled that one off.  I hate to see any animal suffer, and I always aim to end that as quickly as possible.  I have also lost a handful of squirrels and crows, that were likely missed, and one squirrel, that I know was hit.  

"Clean misses", while certainly better for the animal,  bother me more personally than non-recovered hits.   When I miss clean, I have done my part worse than I have when an animal is wounded and escapes.   When I hear someone claim a clean miss, I wonder how they know for sure, and I also loose some respect for them compared to those who report wounding game and are looking for help in recovery.                  

Now we all know where the Tide Pod's go in this household.  Can one really be so stupid?

[G-Man]

I don't know why I kill..I just do.. same.deer.can walk by 100x during the season then one day  bang.. I think initially.i did to show inwas capable.. later for.meat.. now ? Idk just when the feeling strikes it seems

[wolc123]

18 minutes ago, G-Man said:

I don't know why I kill..I just do.. same.deer.can walk by 100x during the season then one day  bang.. I think initially.i did to show inwas capable.. later for.meat.. now ? Idk just when the feeling strikes it seems

Thanks for that "PA" chest girth chart you provided earlier this year.  It has been an tremendous aid in estimating my family's food provisions. Now I know more accurately how many kills are needed to make it from one year to the next.       

[hunter49]

  I use to love to take deer & turkey now I can let a deer walk by & I would rather just listen to the turkey's talk.  But I do like to wack the coyotes & see them spin around.  Does that make me a bad person?