I grew up hunting and while some of it was fun (being outside, shooting a firearm at a moving target, hanging out with dad, etc.) the thing that weirded me out the most was the “trophy” aspect of it or the “pride” aspect.
I shot my first deer at age 14 with a bow & arrow and remember feeling really odd when my city folk aunt & uncle called to tell me how proud they were.
“What an odd thing to be proud of somebody for” I thought. If I went to the local park and killed a few squirrels with a slingshot would they be just as proud?
At age 18 I quit alltogether. Not for any distaste for it, I just didn’t feel like freezing my ass off, having to clean the kill, and having to spend my own money to do so. It seemed like a task rather than something fun to do.
As for the “skill” of it I’m still amused at how many hunters use the “skill” angle yet when I wander through a Cabella’s or Gander Mountain all I see is all the technology and new products out there designed to make the task easier for them. Cameras, scent maskers, yardage finders, bait stations, etc.
WOW!
Dude, learn the words:
pertinent
relevant
IN-THE-FUCKING-BALL-PARK
They will take you far in… something
May I suggest having someone experienced in game cooking do it for you at first, whether that’s a friend or a chef. There can be a fine line between cooking & overcooking venison, with the latter being akin to shoe leather. Overcooked can be very tough.
I think the OP has relevant questions and that the snark is misplaced. I grew up with guns and with hunting and fishing. I quit hunting at about 20 years old because of circumstance, and just never went back to it. The best part at that age was hanging out with either buddies or my brother, camping in the woods, and drinking around the campfire. I never really gave a crap about killing anything. I don’t care for game meat, although I’ve had a few decent meals. It’s just not something I’d go out of my way for. I object to trophy hunting (and catch-and-release fishing), as it falls in the category of playing with one’s food.
Hunting and fishing are the same… they’re really not about the hunting or the fishing per se. They’re about the camaraderie of getting together with friends and relatives and having a common activity (usu. away from the wives/girlfriends), and having a good time.
Or, if you’re flying solo, it’s about the solitude and the appreciation of nature.
Either way, the actual catching of the fish or shooting of the deer/duck/quail/goose/hog/dove is secondary. Some of the most fun I’ve had in my life were fishing with my Grandfather and going on dove hunting trips with friends. We rarely caught much, and I think in 3 years of dove hunting trips there were a total of 10 doves shot. But we had a blast.
Hell, my father is about as disinclined as anyone I’ve ever met to go shoot ducks, but he’d rig up his camera and go duck hunting with my grandfather and just shoot pictures, because there’s just something enjoyable about the process, even if you’re not interested in actually killing something. Catch-and-release fishermen are a great example of this.
I have hunted since I was 12, and still do, but not much anymore. I took my college-age son hunting two weekends ago, hunting for squirrels. He likes to hunt for them, so I went with him. I could have shot at least four tree rats, but didn’t because I really didn’t want to gut, skin and clean them. I would have loved to see my son shoot one, though. I switched from a rifle to a revolver for deer hunting, because I have shot lots with rifles, and really don’t care if I shoot another one. Shooting one with a revolver takes a lot more skill (and luck) and is something neat and novel.
What I have always enjoyed about hunting can be summed up in just a few things:
- Bonding and camaraderie with family and friends. No. 1 by a mile. Some of my favorite memories of my deceased father involve hunting with him. Same for my brother, uncles and friends.
- It’s nice to get out in the woods away from TVs, phones, computers, cars, noise, etc. So long as it isn’t too cold, it is relaxing and rewarding. Yes, hiking has some of this, but there is something about trying to stay still and quiet and have wildlife present themselves unaware of your presence (if deer, turkey or squirrel hunting, for example). Rabbit and pheasant hunting are altogether different, and are a test of stamina and shooting skill, plus the best part is if you have a rabbit or bird dog to watch work. Talk about excitement of the hunt - watch a beagle or bird dog.
- The challenge, encompassing both skill and luck, as written above. Going “hunting” in a fenced-in preserve offers little or no appeal to most hunters. It’s not about killing an animal, though that is the desired end result for most hunters.
When I was young if not for hunting and fishing there was a lot of going to bed hungry. My single mother with five children was quite happy that my father taught my younger brother and I how to do these things before his death. Because of that I gave up both when I graduated high school and moved to the big city. I was thirty before taking it up again after escaping the big city.
Mostly I started again to spend quiet time in the woods or on the river bank. I got to see things that you just don’t see elsewhere. Like the origin of “playing possum” , one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. When it saw me it froze in its tracks and fell over on it’s side like Artie Johnson on his tricycle in Laugh In. Or a bald eagle snag a perch out of the lake forty feet from the boat. Or sitting in a deer blind sharing your lunch with a cardinal. Or watching a wolf stalking a deer in the snow. Or being bombarded with acorns by a squirrel in the tree above you.
And then the childhood memories brought on when first revisiting the meal of your youth. Some good some bad but a trip down memory lane for sure. I no longer hunt but do still spend time in the woods when the weather allows for a comfortable stroll. And I know enough people that hunt that I get an occasional gift of venison to make a nice stroganoff or chili.
He’s already apologized multiple times. He’s shown regret for what he said and offered them a chance to prove him wrong. You don’t need to use that word or its synonyms to apologize.
Not that the tone of his OP was offensive in the first place. He made the hyperbole in his post very clear. He was just expressing how much he didn’t like game meat, not literally thinking that anyone who claimed to like it must be lying.
But, then again, apologizing is often about saying sorry for things you said that you think were interpreted incorrectly.
When your opinion is that someone is a liar, that’s generally going to be seen as A) offensive, B) dismissive, and C) legitimate grounds for an argument. Defending your having called them a liar by saying “it’s just my opinion” does nothing whatsoever to improve the situation.
And don’t trot out that wide-eyed “I’d love to hear your recipes” crap, either. If you were truly interested in venison recipes, you would have done a Google search and found approximately half a million of them.
I’m not a hunter and never will be; I don’t see the appeal in dragging myself out of my cozy bed in the pitch-black wee hours to sit in a tree and freeze my arse off for hours. I’m damn glad other people see the appeal, though, because it means once in a while I get some venison.
Is a possible explanation for the OP’s dislike of game meat, particularly venison, due to the venison being taken later in the season? I haven’t noticed much difference in flavor between bucks and does, but the coastal region in California I hunted had its season early. During bow season, bucks were still in velvet. So perhaps the OP might like doe more than buck venison? I do think that game venison, at least the ones I tried in CA, tasted different than farm-raised venison, but that could be just in my head.
Hunting and fishing were ways to get out in some awfully pretty scenery, with a purpose, and much earlier in the day than you’d normally get up. I’d never have seen how beautiful the coastal slopes of Big Sur were in pre-dawn light, if I wasn’t up trying to make it to a hilltop before shooting time.
It’s also fun to outwit game. One of the hunts I remember most, didn’t even happen during hunting season. We were visiting a dam in California, when Pop saw some deer feeding in a meadow a few hundred yards away. Despite not being in camo, but by taking into account the deer’s head position and the wind direction, we were able to sneak up to 65 yds of them. (The exact distance is from pacing it after the wind shifted, and Bambi went Mach 1 out of the area. Practice enough bowhunting and you get good at telling the difference between 35 and 40 yards.) Took us about an hour or so and it was a blast. Nothing died.
Finally, I got a lot of joy out of watching others have fun. In my case, it was the Labs when we went duck hunting. The dogs looked quizzical when we were moving around at 3:30 am (or so, I don’t remember the exact time), probably thinking, “It’s not breakfast time yet. What’s going on?” Right up until Granddad grabbed the mesh bag of decoys… I was six or so, so my ‘job’ was dog wrangler, shell vest holder, and game bird holder. The look of joy on the dogs’ faces has stuck with me ever since.
??? …mm-kay…thanks for sharing… ?? I guess
you seem fun
Ya know, I’m kinda’ done now.
The “Unusual” folks have come out on this topic now, and that’s not what I expected.
Sorry if I’ve left any reasonable person out of the discussion, but I’m now out.
The “Crazy” factor has now taken over.
I’m out.
Bull. “I’m sorry you didn’t like it” isn’t an apology. I don’t really care if he does or doesn’t, but don’t proactively call us liars and then act surprised by the responses you get.
And he has gotten some great responses, despite all that. None from you, though.
Because clearly, your experience is the arbiter of truth?
Plenty of us find venison, for example, extremely tasty. (I don’t own a gun or hunt personally, but I’d like to get into hunting some day when I have the time to learn).
I think it is the mixture of social and suspense.
Picture a typical knitting circle of friends, except that instead of slowly producing doilies, socks, and cozies, at random times a fully complete Cliff Huxtable sweater will explode into being in the middle of the room.
For me the attraction is the same as for DIY house and car repairs: it’s the challenge of getting a successful, acceptable outcome while also gaining some measure of self-sufficiency. And one thing I know: when I kill something, I’m giving it a more merciful version of the unavoidable than nature has in store: starvation, disease, or fatal mauling. I still eat factory meat, but I’d really like to wean myself from it. It’s not best for me or generally humane for the farmed critters.
Nogwart, please dial back the outrage in your posts, just a bit. You seem to be a little overly hostile and snipe-ish at others.
Idle Thoughts
Mod
ok.
I’m a bit astounded, but, ok. I’ll not respond to anyone from no on.
It’s hard for me to not say “Wow”, but I will not.
Holy crap!
Did you even notice that I said I was “Done”?
I would never have even posted again, had it not been for yours…
this is all wrong…
I promise, I’m really, really done, and will not look at this thread again, ever.
That’s it. You’re done.