I'm hesitant to wade into this thread and would like some back-up from BuckTurgidson where 'ere he might be. First off, we need to stop calling each other p***y's whether you hunt or not. I love to hunt, I LIVE for it--I spend as much time as possible in the field and I'm lucky enough that our family has ranch to hunt on in Coleman, TX. That said, if you eat meat, of ANY kind and are calling out honest, ethical hunters for being cruel and unmanly for not taking game with a sling-shot or a gut-string bow, you need to politely excuse yourself from this discussion...period. You have no moral leg to stand on. I agree, sitting in a stand with a rifle looking at deer at a feeder doesn't sound all that challenging. Given the choice, I prefer to spot and stalk and rattle when hunting whitetail if terrain and conditions allow it and have taken 5 of my 6 "wall hanger" bucks in this manner. When I pull the trigger, I know that I am ending the life of one of god's creatures and it isn't a thought that I relish nor do I get my "jollies" by killing--I don't take that responsibility lightly, to the game I am hunting and the results of my actions which is why I harvest and consume the meat from these animals. Now, wingshooting on the other hand, THAT takes skill and I pride myself on my ill-skillz with my Citori and a hot dove field or quail flushing out of the brush. Far too many people in Texas only know hunting as beer, feeders and bubba's sitting half drunk in a deer-blind with a .300 mag waiting to plug bambi.
I personally don't hunt but I've been deer hunting a few times primarily as a spectator. I like to shoot the guns on occassion and I've eaten off of other friends' kills. I don't have an issue with hunting, though. Deer hunting helps keep deer populations in check. Also, there was an article the other day that discussed how hunting licenses are down which means hunting license revenue is down. This money, believe it or not, is directed and goes to efforts to preserve nature. Officials were wondering aloud that these efforts to preserve nature using these funds will likely suffer. So, from that standpoint, hunting is an important part of nature conservation efforts. Even though it seems like a complete paradox, hunting is actually preserving species' survival and, without that money, some species could become endangered or worse. So, hunt away.
A lot of people disagree with this. I have arguments with hunting opponents all the time about hunting being a necessity. They think hunting is not necessary and nature will fix itself. Deer populations are still prevalent in all 48 continental states yet the predators that primarily hunt them in the wild (bears, mountain lions, wolves, etc.) have populations which are very isolated now when they weren't 100 years ago. These deer populations can rise quickly and get out of control and that is why hunting is necessary, even where their current predators exist. I've seen cities issue hunting permit for resident within the city limits when deer population skyrocket out of control. It is a necessity, really.
