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< 16ga. General Discussion ~ "Is Hunting a Sport?" |
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Posted:
Wed Feb 15, 2017 6:26 am
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I think of sports as having a score, or measuring speed, weight, winner-loser, etc. Unfortunately our over-over-competative society has done just that with fishing tournaments, pheasant hunting championships, what have you, or even that "get your limit?" mentality. Getting a limit can feel good, but it's a hollow good compared to the feeling of getting one or two hard earned birds within the spirit of fair chase while appreciating good or not so good dog work. That's how it works for me anyway. Sport? No. |
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Posted:
Wed Feb 15, 2017 11:17 am
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Joined: 19 Apr 2016
Posts: 17
Location: New England
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What is an athlete? What is a game? When does a game become a sport? What is exercise? Is exercise physical education? BTW what is physical education? Can there be a sport without exercise? Is a game a sport if it does not require exercise?
Too many years ago I was bombarded with such questions as a freshmen physical education student. By the terms discussed and defined back then: no-- hunting follows the definition of a physical activity but not of a sport. |
_________________ We're all stories in the end...just make mine a good one.
16 GA Stevens 235
16 GA Stevens 107-B
16 GA Winchester 1200
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Posted:
Wed Feb 15, 2017 11:53 am
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Member
Joined: 01 Dec 2005
Posts: 1550
Location: Minnesota and Florida
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Before we get too carried away trying to discover what the word sport means, or trying to redefine it, let's look at what our language says about it: http://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/sport
Whether an individual finds his or her own hunting activity somewhere in these definitions and uses of the word is, of course, up to the individual, but the word stands on its own. It is rooted in the idea of something done for enjoyment.
For me, hunting and fishing are sports, but in the mind of the mature hunter/fisherman, they cannot be competitions with anything but the animal. We do it for sport -- for enjoyment, not as a job or for subsistence. The mature hunter also recognizes respect for the animal and its nature, and reasonable restraint in the quantity of game acquired and the methods used. Why? So the sacred tradition of hunting/fishing inherent within us can continue and be discovered by those who come after us. Needless to say, this results or should result, in a strong vein of conservationism within the hunter/fisherman.
Count me as one of those who abhor the depictions of hunting and fishing we see on TV -- all the yee-haw-ing and high-five-ing. Yes, there are "high" moments and there is exhilaration, but never to the extent seen in these TV shows where it seems to disrespect the game animal and the craft used to bring it to bag.
I'd even rather watch this dude catch a big bass by hand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL8Jh5zODMk
Tony
P.S. -- By the way, properly done driven shoots do respect the game and the craft used to nurture it as well as to bring it to bag, though there have been notable individuals in history that seemed to be intent on defining themselves by their score, same as some individuals found in the types of hunting we do here in the U.S. |
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Posted:
Wed Feb 15, 2017 3:54 pm
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Member
Joined: 08 Aug 2011
Posts: 1946
Location: Central CT
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I don't believe that hunting is a sport.
Sports pale in comparison when it comes to the moral obligation that a hunter faces.
We owe it to the wild game that we kill, that we don't treat it as sport.
I probably wouldn't have given that opinion back in 1974 when I started hunting.
At 60 my feeling now is, I love pheasant hunting. I love following my dogs. I hope that I can enjoy it for many years to come.......and I bet that there is more than a few of you that understand exactly what I mean when I say: the last thing I need to do is shoot another pheasant. |
_________________ Mark |
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Posted:
Wed Feb 15, 2017 4:06 pm
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Member
Joined: 09 Dec 2009
Posts: 1370
Location: Cheyenne, Wy
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Dogchaser37 wrote: |
I don't believe that hunting is a sport.
Sports pale in comparison when it comes to the moral obligation that a hunter faces.
We owe it to the wild game that we kill, that we don't treat it as sport.
I probably wouldn't have given that opinion back in 1974 when I started hunting.
At 60 my feeling now is, I love pheasant hunting. I love following my dogs. I hope that I can enjoy it for many years to come.......and I bet that there is more than a few of you that understand exactly what I mean when I say: the last thing I need to do is shoot another pheasant.
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I am 74, what you say is what I feel, I may not be able to ever hunt again, It was never a sport for me.
It was much more. You nailed it.
Dale |
_________________ One man with courage makes a majority.
...Andrew Jackson... |
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Posted:
Wed Feb 15, 2017 4:10 pm
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Joined: 05 Nov 2016
Posts: 189
Location: Montana
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"A peculiar virtue in wildlife ethics is that the hunter ordinarily has no gallery to applaud or disapprove of his conduct. Whatever his acts, they are dictated by his own conscience, rather than by a mob of onlookers. It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of this fact".
Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac
Dogchaser37, those dogs may hope you shoot anther pheasant |
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Posted:
Wed Feb 15, 2017 4:31 pm
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Joined: 07 Sep 2014
Posts: 419
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Don't we refer to "those that hunt or fish" as "Sportsmen" (Ops, "Sports Persons"!)
Bob |
_________________ Robert Kittine
Sag Harbor and Manhattan, New York
WA2YDV
16 Gauge O/U Browning 525 Sporting
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16 Gauge Semi-Auto Remington 1100 Sporting |
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Posted:
Wed Feb 15, 2017 4:46 pm
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Joined: 30 Dec 2012
Posts: 269
Location: Chocolate City, Florida
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I think it is not a sport. I've been hunting almost 50 years and will continue as long as I'm able. Shooting is more a hobby, against oneself, or a sport, when in competition, against others.
Hunting can be "sporting" or "unsportsmanlike" such as needless killing or waisting game.
I don't think anything is a sport, unless the other team, knows it's playing....
My thoughts.. |
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Posted:
Wed Feb 15, 2017 4:46 pm
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Joined: 13 Dec 2006
Posts: 694
Location: MN
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I see it as a privilege. Its about harvesting game to me which means I use what I harvest....I recover what I shoot. Sport to me would imply that i might take marginal shots to see if I can do it...not in my arsenal. We have no responsibility for the habitat or the management of the resource. I feel the best way we can show our appreciation is honor the privilege and the game. |
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Posted:
Wed Feb 15, 2017 4:53 pm
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Joined: 20 Jul 2011
Posts: 625
Location: Ohio..where ruffed grouse were
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JonP wrote: |
I see it as a privilege. Its about harvesting game to me which means I use what I harvest....I recover what I shoot. Sport to me would imply that i might take marginal shots to see if I can do it...not in my arsenal. We have no responsibility for the habitat or the management of the resource. I feel the best way we can show our appreciation is honor the privilege and the game.
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Hopefully we do share a responsibility to both habitat and game management.
Or we should...certainly would be a plus for our NFs if more took that responsibility to heart and shared their thoughts, as but a start.
But maybe...the keyboard just slipped....fingers crossed. |
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Posted:
Wed Feb 15, 2017 4:55 pm
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Joined: 05 Nov 2016
Posts: 189
Location: Montana
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tramroad28 beat me to that exact same post......
looking forward to a happy ending... |
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Posted:
Wed Feb 15, 2017 5:12 pm
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Joined: 16 Jul 2015
Posts: 2127
Location: Hudson,Wy
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I recently read Jay Strangis' blog over at American Waterfowler (again) that discusses this very subject. Interesting read and very similar to the link in the OP. I am unsure if both men came to their respective stands on the subject independently.
As to "sport". Many of the ingredients absolutely are there, especially the athletic part for many of us. Whether we want to fess up and admit it, there is always competition but not like that found in an arena. The moment a gun comes up on a bird in flight, it is a contest of skills and wills. One wins. One loses.
That said, there are other ingredients in this dynamic mix that are absent in other undertakings known as sport. Life and death of course, but there are many emotions and experiences that transform a hunt into more than just a stroll with a gun. I have mentioned some of these recently. Some however, simply exist beyond the realm of the spoken word and we can never truly demonstrate them for the casual bystander. This separates the hunt from sport.
If someone uses the term sportsman or calls me one, I can live with it. I have experienced worse. I lost track of how many time the Ranchero I owned was called an El Caminio or my Samurai is referred to as a Jeep. I suppose this is no different. Water off a duck's back. I have more important concerns, like staying in peak physical condition between now and next chukar season. |
_________________ Only catch snowflakes on your tongue AFTER the birds fly south for the winter... |
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Posted:
Wed Feb 15, 2017 5:27 pm
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Well said, WyoChukar.
My notion of "sportsman" came from my dad and it was mostly about the man who follows the rules and respects the game. Words mean different things to different people.
There have been so many well thought out replies to this thread. Rather than finding some ultimate truth perhaps it's enough to ponder everyone's point of view and let our own grow and evolve. I have no answers. |
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Posted:
Wed Feb 15, 2017 5:34 pm
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Joined: 07 Apr 2007
Posts: 1624
Location: northwewst Wyoming
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Wow! Three pages!!
Annie, my wife and I are going skiing as long as the snow lasts. Is skiing a sport?
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Posted:
Wed Feb 15, 2017 5:56 pm
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Joined: 16 Jul 2015
Posts: 2127
Location: Hudson,Wy
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...and what if you carry a gun while skiing? Or ski to hunt? Uh oh, I just complicated the issue. |
_________________ Only catch snowflakes on your tongue AFTER the birds fly south for the winter... |
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