Had a nice day deer hunting in Maine today. Last day for regular season. A big Maine tradition.

[RBInMaine]

In Maine, and in other hunting states, Thanksgiving day and the Friday and Saturday afterward are big deer hunting days as these are the last days of the regular season. Then it is bow hunting and muzzle loaders.

I am a military veteran, former cop, own three guns, hunter (not avid, but a few outings a year - lots of sightings, never got a deer), occasional target shooter, and am a strong advocate of reasonable gun control legislation including universal background checks, closing the gun show loophole, assault weapons bans, and would even support universal registrations.

If you like to hunt, it is really about being out in the woods. It is nice to walk the woods and fields in the fresh air and see all manner of wildlife. We occasionally see such wildlife as bald eagles, turkeys, partridges, foxes, coyotes, bears, etc. I go with friends and family members.

I have to say, I love deer meat and moose meat. Great stuff.

Any other hunters, sport shooters, or just outdoor sports people in general out there? There are many great outdoor sports areas all over the nation. Maine is absolutely great for hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, canoeing, kayaking, etc.

[mainer]

1. Didja get your deer?

Not a hunter myself, but my son is, and I helped him skin and butcher his kill a few weeks ago. If the deer's killed well (fast, no stress) then I love the meat, especially the tenderloin. If the deer's killed badly, I'd as soon forego the meat because it tastes bad.

[upaloopa]

4. And a beautiful animal was killed for what?

Is it fun?

[MADem]

8. Deer meat fed my nieces and nephews for several years, there, when times were lean.

Do you think it is "fun" for children to be hungry? To lack access to protein while their little bodies are growing?

A responsible hunter is careful to kill the animal quickly.

Unless you're a vegan, never touched meat, never owned a leather jacket, never had a taste of jello, you really should just agree to disagree instead of snarking rudely at a person who is clearly a responsible hunter and a respectful steward of the land.

We get it. You don't like hunting. You "disapprove." Your objection is registered. I urge you to stay out of ME during hunting season, though--your views won't be getting a hero's welcome there.

[MicaelS]

10. To eat.

Deer meat is quite tasty. And lots of people thus fill up their freezer, and can eat all year long.

[arely staircase]

142. I disagree

too gamey for me. have had it in some chili that was ok, but basically, meh.

[MicaelS]

144. It's a matter of taste (pun intended).

I for example, hate beer. Or any bitter beverage. Or bitter anything. People say you can develop a taste for beer, but I never have.

[oneshooter]

147. It depends on how the meat is handled between shot and pot.

All of mine are skinned, gutted,and quartered within an hour of the shot. I will bring 200# or more of ice in chests for this. Once home the meat is butchered and allowed to soak in salted water for an hour. This draws the blood out.
You can take the finest beef, make a bad shot, run it a mile or so before it dies, gut but not skin it, hang it in a tree for a day or so, and butcher it badly. It WILL taste wild and gamy.

How it is handled "from the shot to the pot" does a LOT in determining the taste of the final product.

[enough]

11. Maybe in order to try to prevent over-population of deer from eating all the

native plant species until they cannot survive at all in the area, and huge swaths of land-mass become overrun by mono-cultures of invasive plant species. That is what is happening all over Pennsylvania, in any area where there are still woods containing a large diversity of native plants. The diversity is being eradicated by over-population of deer, and the entire vast area is becoming species-impoverished. The deer now live in a totally artificial environment in which they have no predators, and they in turn are destroying plant diversity.

In case you think this is some sort of fantasy, I have personally observed it happening over the past seven decades during which I have lived in the same area and have been closely involved with our native plant population.

Also, for meat. I do not buy meat from factory farms, ever. Venison is our staple meat.

[RBInMaine]

25. Have had PA deer via a friend from PA now in Maine. GREAT STUFF. Have also had Indiana deer. GREAT.

[RBInMaine]

18. Are you a vegetarian? If not, lots are "killed for what". If so, your choice. Not the majority,

[loli phabay]

23. did you get a deer, here in virginia its crawling with them kinda hard not to get them tjere is so

Many.

[RBInMaine]

26. No, but is was still great being out. Have had LOTS of deer mean in my time from friends and

relatives who did get their deer, and once from when my dad hit one with his car when I was a kid.

[loli phabay]

28. i get a lot from roadkill as its easy to harvest and less effort than dragging it out of the woods

I dont tjink i have any neighbors who have not taken a couple this year. Now for me its rabbitbseason until feb or so.

[RBInMaine]

34. My hometown area in Maine is a no-hunting zone so TOO MANY DEER. Constantly getting hit by cars.

I own property there, and people are pushing for a controlled hunt to thin out the hurd a bit so I voted for it. We'll see what happens. When I was on the police department there, we had call lists of people willing to come and get road kill deer. I had to dispatch a few who were injured badly but not killed.

[loli phabay]

42. thats what happens here as well, i have a few lots of land that i can hunt and friends who own farms

So i have a lot of hunting areas to hit.

[RBInMaine]

55. Ya, that's the best. I go with people who know people with large tracts of land.

[upaloopa]

63. Yes I am a vegetarian and Buddhist

[Eleanors38]

72. I respect that. How does even the most environmentally-sensitive agriculture

avoid the elimination of "natural" biospheres, accompanied by species extirpation and animal population distortions? I kill directly; agriculture does it by agency or abstraction.

[upaloopa]

81. I contribute to killing too. There is no perfection

in this world.
I respect hunters too. Just make my decisions for me. I don't want to impose my ideas on you.

[RBInMaine]

102. Good for you. Your choice. Please don't be too judgmental on others. Hunting is an ages-old

American tradition, deeply embedded in the American culture. It is heavily regulated. The meat is used, every bit of it.

One thing I don't like is trophy hunting. To me that is just BS. But hunting game to be used as food, and fishing too, are very long

American traditions that I grew up with. That needs to be respected as well. Further, hunters and other outdoorsmen and women are among the most ardent environmentalists. Obviously, no land, no hunting or fishing or camping or boating, etc.

[LWolf]

56. One could argue

that the deer's quality of life is much greater than the factory farm creatures that provide the majority with meat.



If you want to advocate for a vegetarian diet, go for it. I eat very little meat myself. Tonight's dinner: vegetarian chili with ground quorn for protein.

Unless you are going to take a stand against eating ALL animal products, though, it's hard to support an argument defending one beautiful animal over another.

For that matter, assuming ethical and reasonable hunting practices, the death is less stressful than a factory slaughter, too.

I'm not a hunter, although I do like deer and elk meat on occasion. But I know enough about the mass production of meat to know that hunting is not the great evil.

Happily, when I do eat meat, I can get locally home-raised and butchered meat, knowing that the animal that feeds me led a decent, if shorter, life.

I live in an area with a high deer population. If hunters quit hunting them, we're going to have to increase the cougar population and introduce wolves to keep them from over-populating themselves into famine. I'm not against either of those solutions, as long as we can keep the human population from increasing and gobbling up habitat.

[iandhr]

61. Dear cary ticks...

... that are a cause of anti-biotic resistant lyme.


Over population of deer are a major public health concern for this reason.

[Vashta Nerada]

67. Deer multiply like bunnies.

If there are too many of them, they could starve because of the lack of food.

Science backs this up.

[yeoman6987]

87. And a beautiful animal was killed for what?

To stop them for getting killed by cars (and all the damage it causes) for one thing and killing people in the process. They should have even MORE hunting to reduce the over population of the deer. They are becoming a danger to people.

[Rex]

95. Food. It is all the rage with the kids these days.

They eat those bambi looking creatures is some parts. You remember Rocky and Bullwinkle? Yep, people serve them up in a skillet and on a spit over an open fire.

[Scuba]

104. The hunt is the key tool in herd size management here in Wisconsin, with ~ 400,000 deer ...

.... killed during the bow, rifle and blackpowder seasons. Still the herd size is about 50% over what is sustainable and many animals will die of starvation over the winter. Others will be hit by cars - somewhere near 20,000 just in Wisconsin.

An ethical hunter preserves the land and cares about the herd.

Signed: another gun owner in favor of rigid gun ownership laws - universal background checks, universal registration, limitations on fire-power and insurance requirements should all be in place.

[MADem]

178. +1,000 nt

[arely staircase]

143. to prevent this

[snooper2]

182. not all deer are "beautiful", this poor creature hasn't had a date in years!

[loli phabay]

13. oit here in rural va you cant see a deer thats roadkill without the tenderloin salvaged

Even seen one being taken as rescue are still on scene with the crashed car.

[RBInMaine]

21. No, but it was still great being out in the woods. Have had lots of deer meat in my time. Yum.

[upaloopa]

2. I could not kill one

I see deer all over where I live. One place they are so tame they bring the whole family to graze. That's because they are not afraid of people because no one here would hurt them.
I am not in favor of people hunting deer.

[MADem]

6. Someone has to, though.

Really.

Otherwise, the population gets too large, and there's not enough food for all of them in winter. They starve. That is a terrible way to go, IMO.

[upaloopa]

7. That's because people have reduced their grazing area.

They will be extinct in the future and you can shoot those life size bow and arrow targets.

[MADem]

9. OK, you first--move out of your home, raze it to the ground, and return it to forest land.

They won't be "extinct in the future."

You've obviously never been to Maine.

[loli phabay]

24. this.

[enough]

12. I think you need to study the natural history of deer.

There is a massive over-population of deer that has nothing to do with reduced grazing area. Deer thrive in suburbia. Respectfully, you have a mistaken idea of what is happening.

[Eleanors38]

14. Indeed. "Creatures of the edge." There are more on woodland edges than in woods proper.

[Arugula Latte]

29. Same with people.

[upaloopa]

65. Deer lived without man and were preyed upon

by other animals. With man the system is no longer natural.
Man is the root cause of all this.
European man that is.

[Eleanors38]

70. Interesting, your "European" caveat, since Native Americans...

were known to "adjust" nature around their settlements by clearing trees (for fuel and structures), thereby encouraging re-growth of browse -- the deer's favorite food. Deer would concentrate for easier and more successful hunting. (White folks do the same thing, but often and inexplicably reject the hunting.) This was especially wide-scale in the Mound Civilizations.

I note that man IS natural as well.

[RBInMaine]

22. Hyperbolic.

[pipi_k]

79. Sometimes...

And sometimes not

In my area, the deer not only have lots of grazing area left, they also get fed very well by lots of people in the area, including myself and Mr Pipi

We don't allow hunting on our own land (8 acres), but can't do anything about other people who are non residents the rest of the year but own land in the area. When any of them gets a deer, they always remark that the deer in this area are extra meaty and very tasty. Even with the supplemented feeding, or perhaps because of it, the deer population here would get too high and negatively impact the herds. We have seen as many as 20 deer at our feeder during the winter

We feed them because they're a lot of fun to watch, year after year.

[Drahthaardogs]

84. wrong.

Deer browse not graze. Our agriculture and landscape practices actually make more deer. They are overpopulated but like snow geese we made them overpopulated.

[totodeinhere]

168. The IUCN conservation status of the two most common deer species found in North

America is "least concern." They will not be going extinct anytime soon.

[maced666]

174. Deer do not graze.

[RBInMaine]

106. Hunters are regulated hurd managers and ardent environmentalists. No land, no hunting.

[2naSalit]

155. Well

if we humans weren't killing off and preventing the predator population from balancing out the herds (this is done basically to give hunters something to kill and DNR and F&G management usually figures that allowing large herd sizes to be maintained for this purpose because, well ...$$$!) there wouldn't be an actual "need" for the killing of wildlife. That and we humans could slow down our baby making rituals...

All the rest is rhetoric posed for one special interest over another and usually the root of the issue is about $$$. (and for those who use the "tradition" argument, it's because of generations of the $$$ tradition.)

If you want to enjoy being out in the woods, just f'ing GO out in the woods, you don't need a gun or the pretext of killing something for food. If you're concerned about organic meat then why not use that pent up wanna-kill-something energy on changing the culture of corporate rule so we can all have organic meat and other foods?

[MADem]

175. No. It's not rhetoric. And I don't hunt.

So your lectures are just not hitting the mark with me.

You don't seem to get that deer live on the forest littorals, close to suburbs. If the wildlife types were going to let "predators" remain unchecked to control the deer population, they'd have to clear out those suburbs and leave the area to wilderness, unless you want to see those same predators occasionally attacking little Billy or sweet Dora on the playgrounds. Everyone back to the cities--you first??? And if you live in a city, will you give up some of your space for someone displaced from the 'burbs?

You also don't understand that, yes, for most hunters that I know, it IS about $$$$$--it's about being able to feed one's family quality protein that they wouldn't be able to afford otherwise. Not about "organic"--we're talking the difference between protein for growing kids, and no protein for growing kids.

Imagine you are making 25K a year and you have three or four kids (I KNOW people who make this small an amount of money--they are all over northern Maine, and they are very nice people, too). You have the gun your dad gave you on your 16th birthday, and you come from a community with a hunting tradition. Are you going to feed your kids shitty, fatty ground burger, or are you going to go get your own meat, and feed your kids quality food? I know what my answer would be. It's not about prissy little "walks in the woods," it's about having the integrity to get up off your ass, walk out in the cold and the dark, go kill what you eat, expend the effort to drag it home and butcher it if you know how, or get help if you don't, rather than just take off the plastic wrap and nuke the food in the microwave, and feel superior (for no good reason) while so doing.

[2naSalit]

183. Interesting

how you make so many assumptions while castigating my points about social/cultural ills that could be alleviated by people actually engaging in some actual thought processes and getting up off their butts for reasons other than killing something and feeling that outside of the sporting life or sporting food gathering food that they are acting at a utilitarian level.

Ruffled feathers? I didn't claim that you hunt, what I was saying is that we, as a species, have made some serious mistakes in thinking we can manage the natural world with impunity and then wonder why we have problems with the other species we share the biosphere with all while feeling that we are somehow superior. All that with the added offense of thinking that all the other species who make our lives possible should just suck up and move over because, well we are the champions. But let's just keeping buying plastic shit and burn that fossil fuel and keep hatching out more humans because, hey, we can... with our collective heads in the sand expecting the government to solve the problem during the football game.

I already gave up modern rat race lifestyle, grow what I can and live on less than $10K a year, most of which goes to keeping a small roof over my head. I live among the animals hunters kill and have to accept that some are just feeding their families but I don't buy the argument of culling the herds and trying to keep the burbs safe is a necessity because I know how the F&G management programs work first hand. Want an antiseptic world so you can live in the convenience of being oblivious to reality? Have at it but there is always a price to paid, one way or another. If fluffy gets eaten by something outside the house, well, that's the natural life/death cycle at work. Kids should be taught about nature beyond the XBox cartoonwolrd. Not everyone will or should live forever and the concept that death is only supposed to happen on our terms is foolish at best... who made a law that says everything in and about life should be happy like a birthday party and nobody is supposed to die? Natural selection has a purpose, when it's my turn, I won't have a problem with that.

Believe what you like, I'll stay way over here with thee wolves, bears and all the carnivores who keep the environment (air, water, forest, all the other species) around me healthy and take care whenever I step outside the cabin to ski or hike down to the town without a gun to buy the veggies I can't grow here.

Wanna experience the natural world beyond a pissy little walk in the neighborhood woods? Then get up off your butt and just do it, go for a day or week-long hike, try enjoying it without the killing for whatever reasons agenda. Might learn something about life.

[MADem]

184. I think perhaps you need to attend to the beam in your eye!

You keep yelling at me about hiking in the woods "without the killing" even after I have told you I. do. not. hunt. You acknowledge it on the one hand, then throw it in my face on your way outta the post.

Your lifestyle is NOT typical. How nice that you live in the deep dark woods in a tiny cabin on less than ten grand a year. Do you have a spouse, a grandparent, and three or four kids that need schooling--and quality protein to permit them to process that schooling-- under that roof, too? Why do I think you don't?

And you can pretend that deer don't live in the suburban littorals while you go on and on about cabins in the woods. Most people I know see deer from the windows of their centrally heated homes in their subdivisions, not walking in the forest far away from communities.

The people with the wasteful lifestyles aren't the hunters. They eat what they kill. They aren't wrapping their meat in plastic and shipping it around the world; they wrap it in butcher paper and take it home to their own freezers. Then they cook it and eat it--the cost is a bullet and their labor, not three bucks a pound.

And we, as a species, don't need deer reproducing like--dare I say--rabbits, and starving all over hell in winter. Nor do we need wolves running amuck in suburbia to control the deer population....because of course, it's much better for Fang the Wolf and his pals to tear Bambi to shreds on one's front lawn than for a hunter to take that deer down with one shot.

The people I know who hunt do so to feed their families--not to get into any "killing enjoyment" (that's your sick view, but NEWS FLASH--it's not controlling). You can't deal with that? Too bad--you don't get to be the decider about how they put protein in their children's and grandchildren's bellies. And if you want to really learn something about "actual, real" life, try telling hungry little kids that there's nothing to eat because "paw" -or "maw"- couldn't be bothered to provide anything to fill their stomachs, but that they should be ashamed because of "killing enjoyment" or some other ridiculous horseshit you're inventing to create an amazing uninformed and faux argument. You think that these parents don't engage in some actual thought processes? I'd say the "Hungry kids? Fed kids? Which is better?" thought process is a lot more salient than the sanctimonious nonsense you are putting out--to be quite blunt.

[2naSalit]

187. You've obviously missed my point.

[MADem]

189. And you've missed mine.

Here's some homework:

http://blog.georgetownvoice.com/2013/12/03/control-of-the-d-c-deer-population-continues-shrub-deprived-locals-rejoice/


http://www.ecori.org/natural-resources/2013/11/7/block-island-deer-population-to-be-culled.html


http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/cull-or-harvest-conservationists-struggle-with-the-deer-explosion-on-sensitive-lands-1.1557053


http://www.centraljersey.com/articles/2013/12/02/hillsborough_beacon/news/doc528d412075f79804498604.txt


http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/advocate_of_eldersburg/news/deer-are-waiting-but-are-hunters-ready/article_364751a1-73a2-5bfd-9f94-50a927b395b2.html

http://video.pbs.org/video/2365000001/

[RBInMaine]

19. The hurds become huge in some areas. Some starve in the winter. Many hit by cars.

[MADem]

33. I go all the way up 95 to Aroostook County, and I keep a weather eye out at this time of year, as

well as early morning and dusk.

I had to swerve once--if I'd hit that thing, it would have won (I drive a subcompact). Scared the living shit out of me--obvious that it was looking for food in the middle of a hungry winter.

[RBInMaine]

43. Oh, way up in "THE COUNTY." Ever see a Moose?

[MADem]

47. I sure as hell have--dead AND alive--and once on the damn highway, too!

I was a good distance away--I just pulled over and waited for the basstid to depart the area!

I've occasionally seen 'em hanging around the post-harvest potato fields, but they're elusive creatures. Very impressive in their own way, and MASSIVE!

[A HERETIC I AM]

154. Herd.

Not "Hurd"



Sorry.

[Gormy Cuss]

40. I see a lot of deer where I live too and have no interest in hunting

but I have family and friends who get most of their animal protein from hunting. It's inexpensive that way.

[loli phabay]

44. yup, best meat is free meat.

[LWolf]

59. It's not really free.

You pay for the tag. You pay for the gun and ammo and whatever equipment you'll need...camping, tracking, butchering, etc., etc., etc., etc., and gas to get there and back and the freezer to store it in.

It's not free. It IS the way many of my neighbors feed their families, though, and when it's a family tradition, they've built up what they need over time.

[loli phabay]

62. over the years the cost gets less, eventually its just the tag cost and cost of a round

I luckily can hunt right behind my house in the woods for squirrel and my meadow attracks deer and rabbits. Plus if your getting roadkill then its totally free as the freezer is running anyway. Either way its still much cheaper than store bought.

[Eleanors38]

74. My cost for venison range slightly over $2/lb. Beats beef.

[RBInMaine]

105. Many of these hurds must be managed or they starve. And again, it is about much more than "killiing"

deer. It is about being outside and enjoying that great outdoors, same with other outdoor activities like fishing, camping, etc.

Hunting is heavily regulated, and hunters are among the most ardent environmentalists.

[loli phabay]

3. hoping to hit a hunting lot tomorrow, going after rabbits

Already got deer in the freezer and a couple more on the way thanks to some buddies. You are right it is great to walk through the woods senses all alert, you see so much more. Its like fishing, you see so much more than when just normally traversing the waterways.

[Eleanors38]

16. Jeez, how big is your freezer?

Cottontails are thin where I hunt in Texas, prob due to the ubiquitous coyotes. But they are making something of a comeback. Love to hunt them, and the eating is exquisite.

[loli phabay]

17. well we got two chest freezers and one stand up freezer in the garage for food

We tend to do a lot of hunting, trapping and fishing to keep then stocked. I love rabbit, fav meat closely followed by lamb. I got three lots that are covered with them, we tend to only hunt one per season in order to let the population grow on the others, plus the local farmers let us take them from their fields.

[RBInMaine]

27. I've done LOTS of fishing in my time, fresh and salt water. Nothing is better than fried trout.

[loli phabay]

32. for me its yellow perch broiled with lemon, i so love it. dont do as much sea fishing nowadays

Used to love flounder roasted in the embers until the skin was crispy

[RBInMaine]

35. Flounder is awesome. Canadian relatives used to catch a dozen on a tide with a tidal line. AWESOME.

[loli phabay]

39. when younger we used the lines buried at the low tide mark

Then when the tide came in we.would wade the flats and spear them. Lots of fun and good eating.

[RBInMaine]

48. Interesting. My relatives just used a line and checked it at low tide. The Bay of Fundy has the

biggest tide differentials in the world, so the lines could be put a half mile out.

[loli phabay]

51. might be the same technique, the lines are tied to wood or a brick then its buried in the sand

And left until the next low tide, you gotta watch though as the gulls etc will get your fish if your not there on time.

[pinto]

94. My grandmother had a small cottage on the Maine coast. After a good storm, she'd send us kids down

to the rocks with 2 T-shirts apiece. Sleeves tied tight over the neck line to make a net, of sorts. We'd scoop up fish caught in the rock pools. Cleaned, fried and eaten that night.

Lobster pots were blown in sometimes, as well. But they were out of bounds. Most everyone held that standard.

[RBInMaine]

101. My brother and I would get up early in AM and get mussels off reefs at low tide and have them for

breakfast.

[RBInMaine]

37. You ought to try moose meat. GOOD !

[loli phabay]

41. had it, but not many around here lol, best meat is free meat

[RBInMaine]

45. Ah, good. Yup, I have gotten meat from hunting partners luckier than me, friends, and relatives.

[loli phabay]

46. we tend to help each other out, if someone cant get out to hunt or does not get anything

Then someone will drop a deer by or pick up some roadkill for them.

[RBInMaine]

49. Yup, and hunting groups often share the bounty no matter who gets lucky, as we do up here.

[loli phabay]

52. yeah i think thats a common.theme wherever you hunt.

[MADem]

5. No hunting, no guns, but I have relatives who hunt deer....and I think Maine is a great state!

I like your attitude!

[RBInMaine]

50. Thanks. I have LONG and DEEP connections to MA. Ancestors and family from there, lived there, etc.

[MADem]

58. Once upon a time, MA and ME were one state!

Which kinda makes all the Masshole/Maniac stuff a bit silly. My ME friends know that I find the "Masshole" term hilarious and never take offense--some people just CAN be blowhards and try to throw their weight around, instead of settin' back, getting the lay of the land, and going with the flow!

I hope to get up there this year, and do some 'codger' winter sports (that would be TUBING--less likelihood of broken bones sitting on my tired old behind!!) up at Mars Hill...!

[Eleanors38]

77. Masshole sounds like physics.

[MADem]

91. Hee hee! Well, we do have MIT on the Cambridge side of the Charles!!! nt

[Eleanors38]

15. Some states develop good customs around hunting.

I got my deer the second day of General Gun. Made lots of burger/sausage for convenient distribution to my working-poor friends. I think I'll get another around Christmas. It's great to be hunting with two different old-line Texas families who have invited me. What an honor.

I've heard much about the vast and wondrous Maine woods where deer are large, but fewer in number. The challenge of the country, the cold and the hunt must be great. Be safe! And good luck.

[RBInMaine]

30. We hunt the big woods and along adjacent fields. Many BIG deer, but LOTS of ground. Have MOOSE

season too, bear, and lots of bird hunting. Turkey season is a big deal. It is a huge tradition in Maine.

[longship]

20. Lots of shooting in the forest around my place.

Manistee National Forest, MI.

I've been hearing shots since the season opened. No big deal. Almost all are single shots -- good news. One of my best friend basically lives off his land. He always has venison in the freezer. He never shoots at a deer unless he's got the shot. He butchers it himself. We also have a lot of wild turkeys here. And all sorts of other critters.

With the windows open in summer the coyotes yipping and howling are awesome at night.

Living in the forest area is nice. I do not hunt, but I've nothing against it. I don't own a gun. I have nothing against hunting rifles or a varmint 22 either. The rest are negotiable.

[RBInMaine]

31. I hear it is a big deal up in the U.P.

[longship]

38. Yup! All the Finns up dere take it seriously.

(I am half Finn myself.)

The only time I ever went hunting was in the UP with my cousins, all older than me. I was 16 and fired a 30-06 twice for practice. It kicked my ass. I am glad I didn't see a deer. It was cold as hell and I trudged through three feet of snow all day.

Nobody got a deer.

It was fun, though.

[RBInMaine]

54. I love that "Rusty Chevrolet" song by "Da Yoopers". Too funny.

[longship]

57. All the Chevies are rusty up dere. ;-) nt

[RBInMaine]

114. I love that "Rusty Chevrolet" song by "Da Yoopers". Too funny.

[xmas74]

158. Look for the movie Escanaba in da Moonlight.

It's a comedy but it really touches on how huge hunting is in da U.P.

[loli phabay]

36. here in the mountains of va its like the battle of the bulge

You here shots going off all the time.

[Eleanors38]

66. Got a turkey 4 seasons ago in Uvalde Co. while hunting deer.

Fall turkey season is concurrent with deer in Texas, so I was using a plain vanilla .270. Luckily, I read up on where to shoot a turkey with a HP rifle so you don't blow him up. For those in a similar fix, aim for the leading edge of his folded wing (the "swoosh&quot . The bullet will pass below the breast, and only strike a portion of the thigh area, but it will pass right through the lung area: down on the spot with little damage; even the liver, gizzard & heart were intact.

Smoked wild turkey could be the best tasting meat in the woods. Turkeys all over in the Hill Country, with a bag of 4/yr.

[opiate69]

53. Not a hunter, but since Labor Day, we've been hitting the mushrooms hard.

Last edited Sat Nov 30, 2013, 11:08 PM - Edit history (1)

It's been a amazing season this year. My foraging buddy counted up the other day, and he's sitting on 60 quarts of dehydrated plus a frige full of more he needs to dry. And that doesn't count what we've eaten, nor the tons that I have, both dehydrated and frozen. And yeah, it's just really kick ass to get out into the forest and just observe the diversity of life.

[loli phabay]

60. yup shrooming is fun too, though i am the only one who eats them.

[opiate69]

73. I make a risotto with lobster mushrooms that'll make anybody a believer!

[RBInMaine]

103. My mother and step father have done that in the past. Great SHROOMS to eat all around in Maine.

[mainer]

113. I'm a coward. Love mushrooms but afraid to forage for them

for fear of picking a deadly one.

[freshwest]

64. A Large PIcture of a Healthy Pacific Northwest Elk Herd:

But they, the deer and bears are terribly stressed by suburbia. At one time there was enough farmland and timber land for them to co-exist. Now the folks moving in from out of state don't want any native plants that wildlife feeds upon. They clear cut the land and plant grass and nothing else. They never go out, they live inside.

The elk and deer used to walk right up to you, or be relaxed and unworried if you took a picture of them in a stream by the roads. But the last time I saw any, they were terrified, thin, dehydrated, chased out of the last slivers wooded acreage by coyotes.

It was refreshing to the soul my first few years, but now when one walks the woods, instead of people treating these areas with respect as they used to do, they dump household garbage and junk cars out there.

Sad stuff, being separated from nature. I notice too that yards are no longer kept up for the lovely native plants, ferns, etc. but are being trimmed to look like poodle trees or whatever in a video game. People seem to have no idea what makes anything grow. Makes me sick.

Just thought you guys would enjoy that picture, too. Are they not amazingly beautiful?

[opiate69]

82. Just last weekend, me and my buddy were out on Harstine Island.

At Jarrel Cove S.P. mushrooming, and we came upon a doe and her fawn in the big field by the parking area with apple trees. They let us get right up to about 20 feet away. We noticed that they had cleared all the apples off the ground, but before we went into the woods, we had knocked a few good ones off the trees and put them in the truck for my boys to snack on. I went over to the truck, pulled one out, and tossed it into the field. The fawn trotted over and started munching on it, so my bud went and started knocking more off one of the trees. He tossed one past the doe, and she turned around and chased it down.. I was like "how many people can honestly say they've played fetch with a fucking deer?!?" It was beyond cool.

[freshwest]

86. Years ago, I did some mountain climbing in deep snow. Only got to 10K, though. When we rested, the

birds and chipmunks came right up to us and we tossed them trail mix. No fear, they weren't accustomed to people. I love such places. And you had a good day, too. Thanks for the story, too bad no video of her going for the apple.

[opiate69]

88. Very cool.

And I was thinking about snapping some oictures at least, but we were losing light pretty quickly... But from what I understand, that's pretty normal at that park, and since the picking was so good and we didn't nearly cover the whole park, I think we'll be going back soon

[RBInMaine]

100. Oh yes. All these animals are beautiful. Hunters are among the most ardent environmentalists there

are. Without sufficient wildlife and land conservation, there could be no hunting, fishing, etc. Hunting is tightly regulated and sustainable with all kinds of rules and controls. Hunters and other outsoorsmen and women lobby heavily for land preservation.

[4bucksagallon]

68. I love deer hunting season.........

from bird season on till the end of deer season it is just great to get out into the woods, enjoy nature and it's sights. Getting a deer is a bonus.

[Ranchemp.]

78. I with ya.

There's nothing like the thrill of the hunt, the taking down of the game humanely, the taste of wild game.

[Eleanors38]

80. You know it! Had a VG dove season, and now in deer season.

It's the best time of year.

[ZRT2209]

69. gross.

[Ranchemp.]

75. What's gross?

Do you eat meat? Where do you think that shrink wrapped meat in the market comes from?
Here's a clue.




These animals live a horrible life, are pumped full of chemicals, are slaughtered in an inhumane way.
No thanks, I hunt my own meat, raise my own chickens, all without chemicals.


I bagged a turkey that we had for Thanksgiving and I'm going hunting for a mule deer tomorrow as is my wife, if we both bag 1, we'll butcher one and donate the other to the local food pantries and homeless shelters.

[Skittles]

83. I wonder if they have a "great time" doing that

[Ranchemp.]

118. To answer your question,

yes, we both had a great time this morning, didn't see any, but we'll get our deer tomorrow.
I enjoy putting chemical free meat on my table, it's delicious and much healthier than those factory farm raised animals.

[freshwest]

89. Good point.

[Coyotl]

71. I was stopped on our road today because elk hunters were craning a corpse out of the canyon w/ ropes

On my way to catching salmon to eat.

[Bonhomme Richard]

76. I used to bow hunt but gave it up for a camera.

I loved being in the woods but killing things not so much. Now I do wildlife photography. I go out every day, don't need a permit or license and get to hunt every day. What I shoot lives to see another day.
By the way, nothing against hunting…it's just not for me.

[RBInMaine]

109. Wildlife photography is great. I only believe in game hunting for food, not trophy hunting.

[Bonhomme Richard]

145. One from this morning

[IMG][/IMG]

[oneshooter]

148. He looks a little pissed off. n/t

[Bonhomme Richard]

150. Just a bit. I was interrupting his breakfast. n/t

[opiate69]

151. Beautiful pic.

[RebelOne]

188. That is the only way animals should be shot, with a camera.

I am a vegetarian and do not believe in killing.

[liberal_at_heart]

85. I watched 5 deer walk right through my front yard today. They were beautiful.

I should have taken some pictures but I just enjoyed watching them while they were there.

[mynaturalrights]

90. I don't want to kill anything anymore

but I understand wanting to hunt

[flvegan]

92. Egos and apologies intact.

Thank goodness for tradition, right? God forbid progress happens.

Congrats on killing an herbivore with your gun. Likely wouldn't have happened on any other terms, superior being. LOL

[loli phabay]

93. yeah better to kill them with chevy or ford, or have fun watching them starve.

[RBInMaine]

98. Your attitude is rather rude and elitist. I guess you are a vegetarian, right? If not, end the

hypocrisy. Millions of cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, etc. are killed every year for our food supply. Are you an active lobbyist against all that? Deer hurds have to be managed because they starve otherwise. It is a long tradition in America whether you like it or not. If you disagree, don't do it. But don't over-judge others who were raised with hunting and fishing traditions and who are outdoor enthusiasts. Don't be an elitist.

[flvegan]

173. Holy shit, really? That daft, huh? Did you see the username?

No, wait..."hurds" and then everything after that is just...word salad idiocy.

Always a good show, RB. Always.

[solarhydrocan]

107. In a perfect world, the Deer would be armed with high powered rifles

and because they would still be at a disadvantage throw in some night vision goggles and motion sensing devices.



But the world isn't perfect. Fortunately there are billions of planets and this race isn't the only so called intelligent life in the universe.

[darkangel218]

159. +1

[loli phabay]

161. factory bred chickens are so much better are they not.

[MFM008]

96. Look I get some things.......................

woods in cold crisp fall, wildlife, sun (or rain) on your face. Great, I love it to.
However as long as there is the Albertsons down the street I do not agree with shooting the place up because its tradition.

[RBInMaine]

99. You can't go shooting up anything. This is hyperbolic. There are all kinds of rules. Don't like

hunting, a centuries-old American tradition? Then don't do it. But also, don't be elitist, judgmental, under-informed, and hyperbolic.

[Eleanors38]

110. Shooting the place up? Our group in S. Texas takes five deer/yr

Using 5 - 6 cartridges on 200 acres. I'm sure a mesquite tree gets offended now and again, but far worse things occur, like drought.

[Ranchemp.]

119. You go right ahead and eat that

chemical filled, factory farmed meat if that's your thing, but don't be a hypocrite because millions of us hunters would rather kill and eat healthy, chemical free meat and not support those horrible factory farms.
And we don't shoot the place up because it's tradition, true hunters are very environmental and conservation minded.

[ScreamingMeemie]

128. "Shooting the place up..."??????

My husband only shot to kill. Maybe (and that's a big maybe) 3 shots a season. But more than likely 1 bullet. So ummmm...yeah.

[MFM008]

176. I meant

shooting the animals, any animal.
I presume someone is a good enough "hunter" not to blow down a tree.
Had nothing to do with the environment. As long as food is available and practically a stone throw away, hunting is pointless.
I dont want to hear about we should kill them or they will starve...yada yada. Its an excuse to just go out to shoot guns and kill a living creature. Yes Ive tasted it, it was vile.

[Ranchemp.]

181. If you want to shove that factory farmed, chemically filled meat

in your piehole, be my guest, myself, I'll continue to hunt for my delicious, chemical free, non factory farmed meat and I will never feel one iota of guilt for it.

And whether or not you like it, hunters do help control the deer pop., but I suppose a hypocrite like you would rather have them starve to death.

I presume someone is a good enough "hunter" not to blow down a tree.

[Hekate]

97. Enjoy the meals. We were gifted with a large piece of an elk one year....

I was very young and my parents were kinda broke, and one of my dad's friends at work shot an elk and apparently his wife said she just couldn't deal with the whole thing. Dad rented a meat locker for what he was given, and my Mom dealt with it, you bet. We ate elk that winter.

So my feeling is, and always has been: I don't care if people hunt wild game as long as they eat the results. I am aware that my little plastic packages of meat at the grocery store started out as something breathing, and so far I'm not a vegetarian, so I am not going to judge people who hunt. As far as I can tell, deer breed back rapidly and are not in danger of extinction.

To repeat: Enjoy the meals.

[RBInMaine]

108. Agreed. I am not for trophy hunting. That's just BS. I am talking about game hunting for food. Also

hunters are among the most ardent environmentalists who want to preserve land to support the hurds.

[Are_grits_groceries]

111. South Carolina has a lot of wrecks involving deer.

People die every year in them too.
My cousin totaled her car one night when she ran into one. Her brother came and helped her. After that, he put the deer in his truck and packaged the meat for the winner.

I came very close to hitting 3 of them at dawn. They were in the road around a corner. I instinctively swerved and thankfully nobody was coming in the oncoming lane.

[madville]

112. We have taken two this weekend

A doe and a nice sized buck. We usually clean it ourselves but also have one whole deer made into sausage every year, the processor here adds a little pork to it since it's so lean and it is awesome.

I have seen about 20 different deer in the last few days, we just take what we need but we are going to let some guests take a few more this year, population is getting high. My dad plants plots for them to eat year round and puts corn out at times, he's more like a deer rancher than a hunter lol.

[RBInMaine]

115. Interesting. What state are you in?

[madville]

156. Florida

Deer season runs from October until the end of February in some form (archery, muzzleloading, general gun).

[RBInMaine]

116. Is there any way to undo a "flame"? No need to flame this post.

[Ranchemp.]

122. There's always those that are going to flame hunters,

and most are hypocrites as they eat that store bought, chemical filled, factory farmed meat but yet, condemn us for having the gall to go out and harvest our own chemical free, healthy meat.

[Logical]

160. LOL, you should change your handle to 'ProHunting' nt

[Ranchemp.]

171. Why?

I happen to like Ranchemp..
And I don't apologize for being pro-hunting, as are millions of my pro-hunting comrades.

[Logical]

172. Or defending cops? n-t

[Ranchemp.]

180. Defending good cops,

which I will never apologize for.
If I bug you that much, then do us both a favor and use the ignore button.

[Logical]

186. No, I like seeing your posts! nt

[Paladin]

123. If you want to avoid flames, put your hunting threads in the Outdoor Life group.

You've been at DU since 2005, so you ought to know exactly what happens whenever a hunting thread appears in General Discussion: inevitable flame bait, with a heavy helping of self-righteousness, on both sides of the issue.

I'm a former deer hunter, by the way.....

[Enrique]

169. yep

deer meat comes with in GD

[Enthusiast]

117. I'm with you, RB.

Good post.

[ileus]

120. We have to cut up my son's deer today.

I've put it off long enough....it's been hanging 8 days now. My neighbors have conflicting advice 12 and 17 days...

[mainer]

127. Good parents! Your son will always appreciate that.

When we butchered my son's deer, it was hours of tiring work.

It's all about good, sharp knives.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

121. I don't hunt, but I am what some would call an outdoorsman.

I'm into bird- and landscape-photography. There weren't as many birds in Bodega Bay as I had hoped to find yesterday, but it was a beautiful day to be outside. I think I'll try again today.

[Eleanors38]

185. I've enjoyed & understood animals more through hunting.

Crows and other birds raising a ruckus can indicate an a large approaching animal. Jack rabbits move like silent well-oiled machines with no hop. A tiny red bunting landed on my shoulder to investigate me while I dozed against a tree on a hog hunt. And the animal which causes more dive-bombing fear in birds, and squirrel harassment is a feral cat. Poor guys live a short & brutish life when they return to the wild, but I don't blame their victims.

I've seen adult does gang up and chase and kick at feral dogs (one of the deers' biggest enemies). And I've seen lots of humming birds. Once I was surrounded by migrating butterflies, and sat down as they landed on me and my shotgun. There were so many, they deadened the wood's sounds. A few minutes later, I chased after them, but every last one was gone, like a dream.

[agent46]

124. If you don't need to hunt for survival

May I suggest wild animal photography rather than sport violence. The walk in the woods is still beautiful. The hunt is the same and you still get to pull the trigger. Nobody suffers and animal families and kinships aren't destroyed. It's a win/win. But if you admit the thrill of the kill is what it's really about for you, that's between you and your humanity. Thanks for considering another view.

[Paladin]

125. Well stated. (nt)

[alphafemale]

126. If someone is going to eat meat I'd rather they at least occasionally administer the death.

These people that seem to think the meat they buy wrapped in plastic is morally superior?

Oh gawd.

[uppityperson]

153. +1000. If you are going to eat it, you need to be involved more than plastic wrapped food

[Paladin]

157. I'm sorry, but that's just bullshit.

No one should be subjected to any guilt trips for securing their protein in a 21st-century fashion, i.e., walking into a food market (without the aid of their knuckles), buying a pound of ground beef, and taking it home. If you want to indulge in that Noble Hunter stuff, have at it. Just don't try to shame others into your way of thinking. And for damned sure, don't try it with me; as I state elsewhere in this thread, I used to be a hunter.

[uppityperson]

162. If you used to be a hunter, then you have been involved. Not sure why you are sorry.

[Paladin]

163. "I'm sorry" was used as an introductory figure of speech.

And the fact that I have to explain that tells me that any further discussion is futile.

[uppityperson]

164. Indeed. Since you seem to want to take offense what you have done, then you are right.

People should be more involved with their food, not just eating plastic wrapped food. Since you have hunted, you have been involved like I said. Now you take me to task for advocating what you have done?

I agree that further discussion may be futile.

[alphafemale]

167. Killing something you raised from a baby is even harder.

Farm kid. You damn sure know where meat comes from.

[alphafemale]

165. Just not guilt a person who actively particpates in the death that needs be for their to be meat.

Meat is death. Not really a guilt trip on it at all. But for someone to pick up a clean little plastic wrapped piece of meat and think there wasn't a terrified animal screaming?

Dream on.

[Duckhunter935]

129. Yep

I say let the deer starve to death from overpopulation. That is the way it should be.

[Ranchemp.]

130. Why can't we do both?

I and my wife thoroughly enjoy the thrill of the hunt, being in the wilderness, and providing our table with fresh, healthy chemical free meat, in the off season, we'll also photograph animals in their natural habitat.

[loli phabay]

132. out of season i dont do photos, never seen the attraction of pictures of deer, mayby one or so

But lots of them nah. I spend the off season prepping my hunting areas, clearing brush fixing waterways etc. Also its a good time to learn the patterns of the animals and seeing where you need to thin them out come the fall.

[Ranchemp.]

133. I don't mean just deer,

I meant all wildlife.
I agree with you on prepping for the hunting season.

[loli phabay]

140. not into photographing any wildlife, i guess i already know what they look like

Different strokes for different folks and all that.

[CFLDem]

131. I can't eat photos!

That's just

[totodeinhere]

170. In many areas deer populations need to be reduced in order to stop starvation

due to overpopulation. Deer habitat can only support a finite number. If not for hunting how would you manage this problem?

[Voice for Peace]

134. I couldn't do it. I don't know, even if I were starving. I don't think I could.

Maybe if I had starving children, and there was no other
choice. But otherwise, to intentionally kill another sentient
creature (one with a decent quality of life) -- how can a
person bear to make this choice?

I'm not passing judgement on you, truly -- I just couldn't
personally do it. I accidentally killed a squirrel twenty
years ago and it is still a painful memory. But I recognize
each of us is unique and each of us has our own valid
perspectives.

[oneshooter]

135. Then you prefer others to do your killing for you. n/t

[Voice for Peace]

136. no, I don't eat them.

[oneshooter]

149. Are you a vegan?

If not, then you hire out your killing.

[Voice for Peace]

166. no, I don't hire out my killing. I kill my own food.

[LanternWaste]

137. better defend the entertainment one receives from killing.

I imagine in the here and now, not too many justifications and rationalization are needed to better defend the entertainment one receives from killing. We simply continue to pretend...

[wercal]

138. This year was a first for me

I let somebody hunt my land.

Too many tics, too many deer in the driveway (one ran into my truck a few years ago), and too many young deer walking across our field every night - deep down I know some must starve to death.

We have lived on the land for 9 years, and not allowed hunting, really because I don't want a lot of people walking around. And I think I have done a disservice to the local deer population by creating this miniature refuge. So somebody asked, and I said yes.

I showed him around, and he was salivating - rubbings everywhere, droppings, clear trails in the woods.

36 hours later, he got one with a bow....if that gives an indication of how dense our population has become (bow = deer had to come very close to him). He'll take another, as he has one more tag. He shared, and I've got some meat in my freezer.

I actually think, ecologically, we would all be ahead, if we all replaced some of our beef and chicken purchases with deer meat. They are out there, a resource for food, that doesn't require clearing of land, feed lots, cruel living conditions, etc.

We might as well make use of it.

[mainer]

139. To rid of ticks, get guinea fowl!

My son had loads of ticks on him every time he came off the fields. He bought two dozen guinea fowl chicks, plus some chickens, and hardly sees a tick on him now. Guinea fowl are good at roaming free and fending for themselves, although you'll have to leave out grain for them over the winter.

[wercal]

141. We used to have chickens for their eggs

We kept them in a large fenced area - one by one they found a way to fly over the fence, and were nearly instantly killed by coyotes. There is no way we could have Guinea Fowl roaming around, and expect them to live longer than one or two nights.

Our area is obviously missing an apex predator...the rabbits can be like locusts sometimes, the coyotes are brazen and not even scared of humans, and the deer of course are everywhere. Of course most of us wouldn't feel very comfortable with wolves or bobcats roaming around, so it is what it is. There are actually people who will (for a fee) come and trap/kill coyotes on your land...something I've considered.

[mainer]

146. Guineas roost in the trees, so may be less vulnerable

My son's lost quite a few chickens to coyotes and eagles, but the guinea population has been pretty stable on their own.

[wercal]

152. Good to know...I may have to check them out.

[Rex]

179. Got to be thankful for being the apex predator.

When you are at the top of the food chain, everything is food!