At what point do you feel something......

[First-light]

for the animal you just killed. The doe I killed this year brought back feelings of compassion for the animal I just killed. A clean shot that kills the animal before I get to it is best for me. I have shot deer in the past and dropped them in their tracks only to have the animal live another 5-10 minutes. These animals as I approached see me and try to run but can't because of the shot placement. At this moment of time when hunter and living animal (for one the outcome is sealed) are so close together brings out compassion on my part. The doe this year was shot in the neck and could not move. She tried to get up but couldn't, her legs moved but couldn't upright herself. Terror was in her eyes as I approached and I couldn't bear to watch this animal suffer. I shot her once again in the neck and walked away. She died in a minute or two, I felt something for the animal. As a hunter this is part of the game. The game has been going on for me for me for 30 years and I'll never get used to the sight or feeling. By the time I'm done gutting the deer and looking at how much this animal will go to feeding the family I feel better. I'm sure we all have a certain tolerance for this type of thing, how about you?

[phade]

It is what it is. And, it affects each hunter differently.

My hunting buddy has ice through his veins compared to me, and I'm pretty stable in nothing being bothered by the majority of finishing acts. I just try to figure out what went wrong with the initial shot and go from there as a lesson learned. Best we can do. My partner, give him a razor blade and a loin cloth and he'll go hunting caveman style...he's just a machine that's not affected by death, ever. Now, he has compassion for them - more than me...but everything is just part of the process for him and he doesn't waste more than a moment on it.

[Doc]

Sure, the killing part is not something that happens without a little emotional difficulty. I have studied deer for my entire life, and I don't really look at them as an enemy. How can I not have some level of sympathy. And like you said, often you may have to approach and finish off an animal and that can be an unpleasant experience. There have been a couple of occasions across my lifetime where I have spine-shot a deer. That is an ugly thing that can completely un-nerve anyone who has any compassion at all.

However, I also keep in mind what alternatives these deer have in terms of how they will die. I have seen deer torn apart piece by piece over a long distance until they finally dropped. I have seen a yard of hundreds of deer standing against the cold while they slowly starved to death. I've seen the carcassesof deer hanging from fences where they caught their back legs in a mis-judged jump. There's also the slow death of a lot of lingering diseases. I doubt that any deer will ever die peacefully in its sleep from old age ..... lol. So a hunter's bullet or arrow is not really all that inhumane when balanced against what Mother Nature has in store for them.

But I agree, even with all that said, there still is a slight feeling of remorse or sympathy or whatever you want to call it. I'll bet that we have lost more than a few hunters because of that feeling. All we can do is keep it all in perspective.

[First-light]

Two excellent posts guys, thanks. BTW for me there is no right or wrong to this, just trying to see how others handle it.

[SteveMcD]

Well.. many years ago when I first started hunting and shot a deer. I felt sorrow initially, but gladness afterwards for having killed a deer. My father, who spent three years in the South Pacific never picked up a gun after WWII (but knew enough to teach me to shoot correctly, was his only exception). I explained to him how I felt after shooting the deer. And he told me, that is a good thing, it just means that you have compassion.

Nature is cruel, what you don't see on Walt Disney or the Nature channel is that prey animals such as deer and elk that are taken down by predators, are being eaten while they are still alive. OUR SITUATION IS - Man has a Conscience and we recognize our responsibility - and that is a very good thing.

Here is a little prayer I keep in my pack -

A Hunter’s Prayer

0 Lord, I am a hunter

And life I seek to take

But let me not attempt the shot

Beyond my skill to make

For Lord they are your creatures

Given for our use

But each one falls within your sight

They're not for our abuse

And when I loose my arrow

Please guide it swift and true

Or let it miss completely, Lord

That pain be not undue

A clean kill or no kill, Lord

Such is my heart's desire

Give me the skill to make it so

Or let me hold my fire

And when my time upon this earth

The days they are fulfilled

Grant that I may die at least

As clean as those I killed

Edited December 28, 2011 by SteveMcD

[nybuckboy]

Well let's see if I can add my slant to this.

A whitetail deer to me a beautiful animal. All year long I appreciate the absolute beauty and grace of the whitetail deer. In the summer I spend many hours at dusk looking with binos scouting the deer in my area. I love watching them and look forward to seeing the buck that makes my heart race.

Something begins to happen to me about the first of Sept. I begin to shift into this hunting mode and although I still appreciate their beauty I can't stop thinking of killing a great buck with my bow.

Now a doe to me anyway, is always an after thought. It is something I do for the meat and only late in the season if I haven't killed a nice buck.

Now to get on topic. To me, killing a buck doesn't not have the same emotional affect on my heart as killing a doe. I seem to have some compassion for the doe and I do sometimes feel some sorrow after killing a doe.

That being said, I do not feel the same about a buck, especially a really nice one. Killing a buck I feel victorious... like I sought, I saw, I conquered. Maybe seeing the horns is the reason. They seem to be a different animal to me and I don't have the same compassion for the buck.

Strange huh!!

[Skillet]

Remorse and regret are an integral part of hunting, anyone who does not experience these feelings after a kill is in need of help. These emotions keep us in touch with the reality and seriousness of what we are doing. It's easy for a non - hunter to buy store bought meat, yet be critical of hunters. They lack the experience of death & the finality of taking a life, yet they are still responsible for it. By killing our own meat, and accepting responsibility for death, we are some of the few who can truly appreciate where our food comes from. I'm often asked how I can claim to have the utmost respect for game, yet take life so easily. I answer that it is not easy taking a life & if I need to explain it, they would not understand anyway. I think I speak for most of us when I say that I truly love, respect and admire every animal, especially those I hunt.

[First-light]

Well.. many years ago when I first started hunting and shot a deer. I felt sorrow initially, but gladness afterwards for having killed a deer. My father, who spent three years in the South Pacific never picked up a gun after WWII (but knew enough to teach me to shoot correctly, was his only exception). I explained to him how I felt after shooting the deer. And he told me, that is a good thing, it just means that you have compassion.

Nature is cruel, what you don't see on Walt Disney or the Nature channel is that prey animals such as deer and elk that are taken down by predators, are being eaten while they are still alive. OUR SITUATION IS - Man has a Conscience and we recognize our responsibility - and that is a very good thing.

Here is a little prayer I keep in my pack -

A Hunter’s Prayer

0 Lord, I am a hunter

And life I seek to take

But let me not attempt the shot

Beyond my skill to make

For Lord they are your creatures

Given for our use

But each one falls within your sight

They're not for our abuse

And when I loose my arrow

Please guide it swift and true

Or let it miss completely, Lord

That pain be not undue

A clean kill or no kill, Lord

Such is my heart's desire

Give me the skill to make it so

Or let me hold my fire

And when my time upon this earth

The days they are fulfilled

Grant that I may die at least

As clean as those I killed

Steve,

That is a great prayer. That will go on my cabin wall for sure, thanks.

[ny hunter]

Our wall also thanks Steve..

[132 eight pointer]

I have actually said I'm sorry to deer I have killed.I know they can't hear or understand if they could but I have done it.Then I did what every hunter does and filled out the tag and gutted the animal.I am never sorry when I sit down to eat the venison especially when sharing it with others.I am sorry for ending a beautiful creature's life but thankful for my success at the same time. The only people that have zero feelings about killing are insane or not willing to admit it in my opinion.

[Dave]

for the animal you just killed. The doe I killed this year brought back feelings of compassion for the animal I just killed. A clean shot that kills the animal before I get to it is best for me. I have shot deer in the past and dropped them in their tracks only to have the animal live another 5-10 minutes. These animals as I approached see me and try to run but can't because of the shot placement. At this moment of time when hunter and living animal (for one the outcome is sealed) are so close together brings out compassion on my part. The doe this year was shot in the neck and could not move. She tried to get up but couldn't, her legs moved but couldn't upright herself. Terror was in her eyes as I approached and I couldn't bear to watch this animal suffer. I shot her once again in the neck and walked away. She died in a minute or two, I felt something for the animal. As a hunter this is part of the game. The game has been going on for me for me for 30 years and I'll never get used to the sight or feeling. By the time I'm done gutting the deer and looking at how much this animal will go to feeding the family I feel better. I'm sure we all have a certain tolerance for this type of thing, how about you?

This hunting season I had these same emotions. I filled my buck tag on opening day and later in the season I filled my doe tag. But there was this feeling of emotion that I said to myself enough killing for this season. I get this way often and it hits me right in my gut hard to explain it though. But I always end up pulling the trigger. I appreciate the hunting opportunities we have in NYS and once the season is over I can't wait till bow season starts and we get to do it all over again. And in my case that includes that feeling I get in my gut when I kill a Deer. After all how should we feel when we take a life?

[vizslas]

I can understand the hunter who has compassion, who feels a certain regret or remorse,but only for a poorly shot deer who now has a even harder time trying to survive in the wild.I have had this happen to me,thank the lord not very often,and hopefully never again.Spine shot or not a deer you can walk up on and finish the kill to me is a hunt the has nothing wrong with it.I pose this question.Would you rather be hunting with a pike or spear,with a group of men.Seems to me if the deer does not run away then your job has been done.Regardless of the final kill shot or if you so chose the knife.Now you might think i come off as a little cold but i witnessed a fella pull over get out of his van walk over to a doe,road kill,and kneel over the deer.He started to cry and pray for it.To this day I am still a little perplexed over what i saw.Yes this fella hunts.For the most part I could hunt every day without any lasting effects.What I dont do is kill just for the fun of it.This is not a job for girls or sissys. I believe this job is for a man who understands what he is doing and why it is being done.If you have any reservations about killing an animal and butchering it from start to finish them their needs to be some soul serching,and until this is done then put down the gun and reflect upon what is important to you.Hunt for meat and you will have a trophy every time.The smiles on my famillys faces beat any buck on my wall.

[SteveB]

vizslas - I'm with you.

Remorse and regret are an integral part of hunting, anyone who does not experience these feelings after a kill is in need of help.

Remorse and regret are negative emotions. Life throws enough at you to not seek out negativity.

The day I feel remorse or regret for a kill, will be the last time I go hunting. I've been killing my meals for 55 years since the age of 5. I would have stopped a long time ago if I had regret every time I did so. And I would have stopped eating meat as I see no difference between doing it myself or doing it by proxy - which you do every time you take a bite of store bought meat.

[nyantler]

I guess I'm one of the cold ones... although I am very sensitive towards wildlife and have a great love for animals.. I just never really get rapped up in the whole standing over a deer I just killed and feeling sad... I try to look at it as business... a means to an end... that end being the perpetuation of the species... I couldn't see myself being able to even pull the trigger if I thought any other way...

I assume that maybe its the way I hunt... the fair chase element keeps those emotions in check for me... at least while I'm hunting.. I sometimes reflect on how lucky I am to be able to be a part of conservation, making sure that a species of animal will continue to exist because of the efforts made by myself and other hunters...but usually at other times than after a kill... actually it seems strange to me that I don't get more emotional, I'm much more sensitive than that away from hunting... I will say that being closeup to a whitetail after I have killed it.. I sometimes am taken by how majestic the animal is... almost a perfect specimen... but I'm never saddened by the event.

[Skillet]

The experience is different for everyone. Regret and remorse are negative emotions by your standards, not mine. I do not regret killing enough to stop hunting, I do however feel sadness for the animals I kill. It doesn't ruin my hunting experience, it is just a part of the emotions I feel after being successful. I do not enjoy killing, it is simply part of what we do.

[Deerthug]

When I killed my first deer 4 years ago I felt mixed emotions. My initial feeling was like "Wow! I can't believe I just killed a deer." When I approached it and saw the shot placement I felt happy that it did not suffer. This was also met with an ever so slight feeling of sympathy. Since then I learned to look at it as business and survival of the fittest. I put myself and my family's needs above those of the whitetail or any other edible wild game. Now I'm sure some will say that I have no compassion. Well Last I checked we as humans are higher up on the food chain than any other animal. Just like chickens and cows were bred for consumption so too is the whitetail, wild turkey, wild boar and the like.

[Paula]

I don't feel bad, squirrel, deer or even one of my chickens its all meat to me. or maybe i have to think that way not to have too much feelings about it.

[jimbo91]

Honestly I detach myself a little bit. I'm not saying I'm a monster, but I try more to focus on the victory of bagging another deer than what I'm actually doing to bag it. That being said I spend many many hours shooting guns at the range and even out of my stand in the summer. i practice different shots at different distances. I know you absolutely cannot prepare for every possible situation, but I try as hard as I can to make sure when the time comes that I have to pull the trigger on the animal, its a good shot. That being said, things happen, and bad shots are a part of hunting. My young cousin started hunting last year, and shot a young doe in the neck quite like you did. He dropped it and couldnt bare the sight of the suffering deer. He didnt want to finish it so I did. It happens. I told him to take that experience and try to learn from it. What went wrong? why? He seemed to feel a little better and then I told him just to focus on the fact that he got his first deer!

[wooly]

The silence that falls over the woods after a kill can be deafening sometimes if we don't fill it with a replacement. I'm not one to hoot and hollar out loud, although I always celebrate in my mind. Most times any more my post kill ritual is a silent celebration and a time of reflecting on the life I've taken giving thanks to the critter and his creator for putting us all in the same place.

Guess I gotta admit, although I'm happy on the outside, I'm saddened on the inside.

Truth is, the woods and wildlife in it have saved my own life personally from troubled times. When I go to them and take the life of one of the critters that live there every day even when I'm not around...well, that just makes me appreciate them a little more then some folks may.

[Four Season Whitetail's]

Its even harder when you spent 24 hours a day with these great animals. We have had to put a couple down here on the farm and it is never easy. I think doc hit it best as mother nature is never nice when dealing the death blow to these animals. We still should always do our best to get a clean kill... We owe them that!!!!

[Skillet]

The silence that falls over the woods after a kill can be deafening sometimes if we don't fill it with a replacement. I'm not one to hoot and hollar out loud, although I always celebrate in my mind. Most times any more my post kill ritual is a silent celebration and a time of reflecting on the life I've taken giving thanks to the critter and his creator for putting us all in the same place.

Guess I gotta admit, although I'm happy on the outside, I'm saddened on the inside.

Truth is, the woods and wildlife in it have saved my own life personally from troubled times. When I go to them and take the life of one of the critters that live there every day even when I'm not around...well, that just makes me appreciate them a little more then some folks may.

Well said, Matt

[Pygmy]

This conversation has me really confused...

Now, after all these years, I'm not sure whether I want to shoot the deer or HUG them....

I think it's time for my NAP....

[faust1578]

If you consume that animal then it is a gift from our Maker. Now don't get me wrong I am not some religious fanatic but that animal was put there for a reason your destinies met at that moment in time. If you feel guilt when you look at that animal in the eyes then its time to find another way to spend your time my friend.

[Lever action]

I know exactly what your saying Burt.I experience the same feelings at times.

The best case scenario for me is to make a lethal shot which results in a quick kill but have the deer run out of sight and find it dead.This year I was fortunate to have both deer do that, but as we all know this isn't a perfect world and there are going to be times when our shot placement isn't exactly what we wanted and we have to finish the job with another shot.That's when things can get a little emotional for me.

[SteveB]

The experience is different for everyone. Regret and remorse are negative emotions by your standards, not mine. I do not regret killing enough to stop hunting, I do however feel sadness for the animals I kill. It doesn't ruin my hunting experience, it is just a part of the emotions I feel after being successful. I do not enjoy killing, it is simply part of what we do.

I like this much better and can fully respect someone for how it effects them.

I can't respect being told someone needs help for not feeling the same way.

Edited December 29, 2011 by SteveB