Turkeygirl Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 about the death of an animal when you take it, or going to take it? I was washing the dishes tonight and all of a sudden I was thinking about the gobbler I roosted and that if I get him tomorrow...that'll be it. Such a beautiful bird that rules the woods and outwits us all...and his life can be over in a matter of seconds...I really started to feel kinda sad...that I could end his beautiful presence here on this earth...not going to stop me from hunting him,lol, but it does give you something to thinking about, not only the lives of the animals you hunt, but our lives as well...death can be such a scary and sad thing at times...even though Christ died for us, it's hard to comprehend. Ok, so I sometimes get into deep thoughts like this and ponder on them, lol. But anyway wondering if any of you contemplate the lives of the animals you take? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 Nothing wrong with feeling a little remorse Ruth, have felt a little feeling of remorse before the shot on a few deer, but never have had those type thoughts while washing dishes. Good luck with the gobbler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bowhunter56 Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 Nothing wrong, you were given the ability to feel and think about emotions. Hunting is not about killing, it's about the experience, from the thought of a hunt, the planning, and the actual hunt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DU_man_84 Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 yep ive done it, but like the others said huntings not about killing its about, the experience Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDAWG Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 There is nothing wrong with your thoughts. It's called compassion and respect. We all respect life here...and show compassion and love for the animals we pursue. After I harvest an animal those kind of feelings overwhelm me every time. I take a few minutes and think about the hunt, the animal and thank God for what he has given me......those thoughts you are having show what kind of person you are within. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaskMan Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 Sure I do....it's normal to feel a bit of remorse. I just remind myself that me taking it's lfe is far better for the deer thanhaving his guts yanked out by one coyote while another rips on it's flank, or having a raven pick at his eyes while he is on his deathbed from the grip of old man winter. Sounds grizzly...but nature is, The fate we deal any animal who's life we take is a better fate than the one awaiting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 Sure have Ruth. I don't know how anyone can't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowtech_archer07 Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 I feel them as well. Like everyone said, it's normal. When I harvest an animal, I reflect on it like Jdawg said. I just love being able to hunt and the respect and compassion I have for the animal is part of that love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest outdoorgirl Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 It's hard not to feel it....Till this day i will not take a doe if it has a yearling by it's side. I guess it's a mommy thing I feel worse if i shoot a doe then a buck So i do know what your talking about Ruth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newarcher Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 Each and every time I take an animal......that makes you human! New Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowin_in_illinois Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 I love deer...I respect them...I love to read about them...watch them...study them...hunt them...eat them. ...and because of that, I feel a little remorse when I harvest one. I not only think that's natural...I think it's required. If someone can kill something without feeling anything...they worry me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HoppeMan Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 I try not to dwell on that too much, for the reason that I might feel too sorry form them and lose my zeal for hunting LOL Instead, I think hot pretty the gobbler or deer rack might look on my wall or something :D Take care, Nathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutchies Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 A little til I cut those backstraps out................. I think it's more respect than remorse for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevebeilgard Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 i love to hunt, and hate to kill. a real dilemna. but, i do it. never without a prayer to the good lord. a thanks, and an apology. god entrusted us with his animals to respect and take care of. killing is a game management tool. so, feel bad, feel remorse, and thank god for what he's given you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OJR Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 The Swedes have a little ritual when they take an animal. After it is on the ground and dead, they will put a handful of grass in it's mouth. This is known as "Halla Bitten", which means "last bite"! I think that is pretty fitting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin R10 man Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 Never really felt bad about it, its just part of life. Making a clean quick kill always is what I think of before the shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beagleboy Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 I believe everyone thinks the same as you. As I've gotten older, I think about it more often especially when I watch hunting videos. Watching the deer run its last run as the other deer run off and he tumbles. Pretty sad but I love to hunt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeNRA Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 It's hard not to feel it....Till this day i will not take a doe if it has a yearling by it's side. I guess it's a mommy thing I feel worse if i shoot a doe then a buck So i do know what your talking about Ruth. Yep! Last year I shot my first doe in 33 years of hunting. Will I do it again, maybe. Probably not with the rifle though. But I did have a sad feeling knowing I took out more than one deer. Because that doe could have been carrying two bucks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 Sure...I imagine everyone does from time to time. The worst I ever felt about it was a gobbler I had hunted pretty hard one season. I even had him once inside the 25 yard line while taking a rookie hunting and he didn't get the shot off. Another time at 30 yards after I had limited out and I was trying to help a friend get his 2nd bird so I didn't even have a gun. We were trying the call shy trick since the bird had developed a habit of going away from calls by then. He didn't go away from mine that morning. Anyway, a couple of days before the season was over I came upon the remains of that same bird in the middle of the day. His breast was eaten out with the rest of him intact. Had to have been killed that morning. I couldn't help but feel real sad knowing with the memories of the hunts we went through hunting that old bird that he died that way. Probably a lot more turkeys die that way than die by the hands of a hunter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest IL_HuNtIn_KiD Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 I sat and hesitated on the first doe I shot for a little while...thinking that if I took her life then...would she still have a fawn around...and how would it live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlriggins Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 I try not to let it bother me too much but if I wound one and it has to run for a distance it makes me feel bad I have even found myself saying a prayer a time or two but that is the nature of the sport and one we all as hunters must deal with but it is never in vain as long as you eat what you kill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 On a good clean kill, I can't say that I have ever felt any remorse. Certainly not any more than I feel then when I am scanning the meat counters in the super market. The fact is I am generally filled with elation at my success. I don't believe there is any part of hunting where I experience any kinds of negative feelings as long as the kills are quick and humane. It may all come from the fact that I can visualize the alternatative endings that nature provides for animals. Not too many animals die peacefully in their sleep from old age. Wild diseases and predation is often a very cruel way for animals to end. One of the problems that many people have with the whole concept of hunting is the tendency to view animals in human terms by applying human traits and emotions and thinking processes to them. I have tried to avoid that trap which I think is responsible for a lot of hunters eventually deserting our ranks. I have known a lot of hunters who allowed this humanizing of animals to get carried away to the point where they have simply given up on the whole hunting thing. I know that Disney's movie, "Bambi" still lives large in all our memories, but I'm pretty sure that there is no real community of wild animals that run through the forest carrying on conversations....lol. The lives of wild animals consist of some pretty basic things, those being survival and a subconcious need to satisfy basic physical needs such as food, water and reproduction. Most of what motivates them in life is simply instinctive reactions to their environment. I'm pretty sure that they don't have hopes and aspirations and a view of their surroundings that involves any great deal of contemplation. The view of the mighty monarch strutting it's supremacy over it's environment is a pretty good scene in a movie, but one that never does play out in real life for these critters. I always try to keep things in what I consider their proper perspective. Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerClay Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 Remorse..never. There is respect but never remorse. Remember while you are having such warm wonderful thoughts, that bird on the roost is only thinking about three things. Eating, coyotes, and how many babes he is going to "bag". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZooBear Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 Eating, coyotes, and how many babes he is going to "bag". Birds are a lot like the French in that way. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyohunter Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 sure i do, thats what makes us hunters instead of killers, we love and respect our game, so in turn feel a touch of remorse...i know people who have quit hunting because it became too much for them.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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