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mtbirder
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 12:24 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 05 Nov 2016
Posts: 189
Location: Montana

I think we're all "old" on here.
At 54 Might I not be a youngster??
That "immaturity" leads to me still being the the thick of things. Slayin' political and other imaginary dragons.
Hope I make to the long in the tooth days, being less/more philosophical (see the advantages/disadvantages to both), and content to let others do the fighting.........have less opinions about things such as this topic.
And maybe own a $X thousand American made 16 double.........

By the way, grew up around Dulute. Never did consider curling a sport.... Very Happy
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fin2feather
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 12:40 pm  Reply with quote
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gunsrus wrote:
cowdoc87 wrote:
No. And the "whack'em and stack'em"and hi-fiving on some TV hunting shows really bothers me. A sacrilege IMO. But I'm old.


^
This


^
These.

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I feel a warm spot in my heart when I meet a man whiling away an afternoon...and stopping to chat with him, hear the sleek lines of his double gun whisper "Sixteen." - Gene Hill, Shotgunner's Notebook
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architorture23
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 2:58 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 04 Feb 2014
Posts: 28
Location: Atlanta, GA

I don't have any problem with calling it a sport. I don't buy the author's definition of "sport" as something played with a ball, etc. That is a modern definition. Sport comes from "desport" an old english word derived from being "carried away." It means enjoying yourself. I certainly enjoy myself when I'm out shooting clays or bird hunting. And I believe God granted man dominion over this Earth. I don't think there is any shame in enjoying it and its spoils.

And yes, there is almost always friendly competition when I am out bird hunting. I hunt mostly with my father and I guarantee you, he is competitive in the field... he's the 3rd of 4 sons of a father who also loved to bird hunt. Everything was a competition.

I do not think it takes away from the levity or in any way desecrates the animals that we kill. Are you excited when you shoot a big buck and do you feel accomplished when you have done so? How about when you kill a limit in the dove field? Or bring down a double on a wild quail flush? Of course.

Maybe more so in big game hunting, but I would somewhat disagree with the feeling of "defeating" your quarry. This is especially true when you scout and hunt a big buck for days, weeks, or even years. Does the animal know it is competing? Actually, I think sometimes it does.

Just as in other sports, you can defeat your opponent without taunting him or demeaning him, and in competition is when you best get to know someone. And you can still be proud of your accomplishment without being happy for the other party's defeat. I love boxing and it amazes me over and over how two men can go 12 rounds physically fighting each other only to embrace in unity at the end, regardless of outcome.
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cowdoc87
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 3:33 pm  Reply with quote
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The big difference for me is that the taking of a life separates it from shooting clays or basketballs, is the ultimate definition of "dominion over the earth", and is, for me, solemn and sacred, and always brings some level of sadness as well, as much as I've loved it since before I knew I loved it. I'm certain one day, when that last dog gets too old to hunt, I'll decide I can't take another life, and I'll walk up a bird, and watch it fly away..............Ecclesiastes 3:3 may apply?

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i reckon so. I guess we all died a little in that damn war.
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Cheyenne08
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 4:47 pm  Reply with quote
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cowdoc87 wrote:
The big difference for me is that the taking of a life separates it from shooting clays or basketballs, is the ultimate definition of "dominion over the earth", and is, for me, solemn and sacred, and always brings some level of sadness as well, as much as I've loved it since before I knew I loved it. I'm certain one day, when that last dog gets too old to hunt, I'll decide I can't take another life, and I'll walk up a bird, and watch it fly away..............Ecclesiastes 3:3 may apply?


With any "Gift" from the big guy, comes a responsibility, in youth you try to take as much as you can. As you grow older, and you realize your time here is also limited, you are satisfied with a little less.

Cowdoc, I hope you are in good enough shape and wise enough enough to watch that bird fly away.

You are a wise man.

Dale

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...Andrew Jackson...
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AmericanMeet
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 5:16 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 26 Apr 2010
Posts: 3172
Location: NCWa

Art describes Life
Sport define portions of life
Games have been developed to imitate activities in life.
Football imitates War
Track & field events imitate specific War skills
target shooting imitates specific Hunting skills

These are all activities that imitate an aspect of life

Hunting IS an aspect of life.
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wellshooter
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 6:53 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 03 Feb 2014
Posts: 325
Location: West Texas

I think a "sport" should have some physical exertion, some observation, possibly, but not necessarily competition, and some planning (stalking). Clay shooting is a sport through competition & upland hunting is physical exertion, observation and planning. Hunting from a blind whether deer or duck is not, and fishing of any kind is a not.

JMO

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BarkeyVA
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 7:27 pm  Reply with quote
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I shot my first quail and pheasant in 1957 at age 14 while hunting with my dad who died in 1993 at age 95. I think this excerpt from my article published in the Spring 2015 issue of Pheasants Forever magazine about a Kansas pheasant hunt I did in January 2014 illustrates my feelings after 60 years of upland bird hunting.

I was carrying my 12 ga. Model 90 with dad’s 1-1/2 oz. #5 shot reloads in the chambers. I had not fired my gun once the first two days. Phil and I were walking a CRP strip while Brad, Tesa and Duke were making a wide loop through the adjacent Milo field. Suddenly, a pheasant flushed towards the Milo about 10 paces to my left. As I turned toward the bird with gun raised, the bird was flying at eye level directly straight away from me, and I could not be absolutely certain it was a cock. I hesitated, not wanting to kill a hen. By the time the bird turned so I could clearly see its long tail feathers, it was probably 35 yards out, still within range for a decent shot. As much as I had hoped to bag a pheasant with the old Model 90 while shooting dad’s reloaded paper shells, I did not pull the trigger.

Brad was about 100 yards away. From his angle he could see that it was a cock and wondered why I didn’t shoot. His first thought was that I had missed my one and only chance to kill a pheasant because I had forgotten to take off the safety. (I assured him that was not the case!)

I still have mixed emotions about not taking the shot, but I feel good that I didn’t. With the bird population so severely depleted (according to Pheasants Forever, 54,000 hunters harvested a record-low 190,285 roosters in Kansas during the 2013-14 season), it may be years before the pheasant population is restored to normal. While one cock pheasant probably won’t make that much difference, I feel a little better knowing there is at least one more surviving bird to help make it happen.

On our drive out to Russell, Brad told me that if he were half way to Kansas and discovered he had forgotten his guns, he would still continue the trip just to be able to take that long walk in those CRP and Milo fields with his dogs. I have to agree with him. Although I never fired my gun, I was able to spend 2-1/2 very enjoyable days walking that incredible Post Rock Region landscape, watching three very good dogs do what they do best and spending quality time with friends.

In my youth, dad taught me by his words and actions that it is not the number of birds in one’s game bag that makes a day out hunting a success. I’m not sure I really believed him at the time; but, at this point in my life, I know exactly what he was talking about. I think he would have understood and would have agreed with my decision not to take that shot.

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dannypratt
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 10:50 pm  Reply with quote
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I'll have to add this...

1) I did not read the OPS pasted article, so I mean no direct reply towards stated article

2) I am not replying to merely contest another members point of view OR belittle his ( or hers ) outlook and opinions on stated question.

So....

I would say that for me, Waterfowl, Upland and Small game hunting is my Sport.

I am not, nor never will be inclined to participate in "team sports". I have no interest or desire to "prove" myself to anyone at anytime or for any reason. And scoring points against an adversary or team of adversaries, to me, is a completely meaningless waste of time and energy. I do personally enjoy watching the skills of athletes on the field, and some have truly grand talents and abilities, but they are no better humans than any others. We all have a purpose here, none grander than another.

The above being stated, measuring ones hunt by the weight of his game pouch and quantity of spent cases, is as well, completely pointless and self defeating. You are no better class of hunter for finding the covey of 10 one day, missing everyone as they flush and then finding another covey of 2 the next and harvesting both. The point to be merited is the fact that you found the coveys, and thru years of experience and patience have learned how to do such things in a controlled and orderly manner. ( i.e. you are not a sky buster or road hunter, both horribly detestable forms of humans)
Most, if not all, of the general non hunting populous have no concept of the idea that you would recieve any enjoyment from the activity of trudging through the wilderness in blaze orange vests, a shotgun in your hands, and pup at your side. They would not understand the experience of a sudden flush, the sound of nuts falling thru the leaves from above or the early morning whistle of wings over a marsh.
This brings me to my point of view as follows:
1) truly successful hunting requires patience, endurance, aquired knowledge and experience, proper safety practices, and an enormous ammount of research (what gun, what clothing, where, what times, what conditions) and with these ingredients comes the end result of satisfaction in the enjoyment of a day afield.
2) the satisfaction is not to be measured in the quantity of the game harvested. This is fleeting. The satisfaction is knowing you have pushed thru the brush, you have crossed the distant hill, you have endured the biting wind and the blowing rain. And you have done these things while in pursuit and in the best manner you felt was possible at the time.
3) the appreciation for what you have endured comes from the small victories you have enjoyed each successive hunt. You have enjoyed these small victories thru your use of your skills mentioned above (1) and you continue to sharpen and hone them each successive hunt. These victories may be enduring the weather longer than the last hunt, harvesting some game using fewer shells than before, using your time more efficiently in the field ( i.e. habitat identification skills, etc ), realizing that your chosen firearm for that trip may or may not be the proper tool for the task. Etc.
4) as these experiences interact and shape each other, skills and abilities are sharpened, habits are changed and/or formed, and attitudes towards the ultimate measure of success are shaped.

These are all things athletes experience in thier respective fields of Sport.

That said, I would consider hunting to be one of the finest forms of Sport possible to partake in.

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Good luck & great hunting,
-Danny Pratt
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Cold Iron
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 11:02 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 09 Mar 2016
Posts: 746
Location: Mn.

My grandfather was my mentor in hunting and introduced me to my first gun, an Ithaca 37 in 16 ga. Grouse and deer where the main game chased although he loved bunny hunting with his beagle too. Growing up near Ithaca if you didn't shoot a 37 you were considered some sort of Communist. If you were stuck using an old SxS then you likely had a wood stove and dirt floor (poorer than dirt). My how that has changed over the last few years...

Joined the Navy in the mid 70's and in 83 after taking the Coral Sea around the world got to go back "home". Grandpa had busted his body up pretty badly running a hay baler when a tree pinned him between the seat and a tree branch. Couldn't hardly walk anymore and his hunting days were over. I had a FJ55 and he had me take him through the woods so he could hear grouse flush. His hearing wasn't that good but he would hear one once in awhile and light up like a little kid. I understand what many are saying.

On the other hand recall when going into a Sporting Goods store also meant looking at a selection of guns. EVERY "sporting" goods store carried guns and hunting gear. Dicks started in Binghamton, NY as a fishing and hunting store. Been to a Dicks lately? Or any sporting goods store for that matter.

Not sure this push to move hunting away from a Sport is a good move overall. IMO of course.
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dannypratt
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 11:27 pm  Reply with quote
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I think I need to add this regarding my post above...

After reading what I wrote and then stepping away for a few minutes, I came to the realization that perhaps hunting is higher than just a " Sport " for me.

In a athlete based Sport there are the merits I mentioned about hunting. HOWEVER, there is one major difference.
Being a true and responsible hunter requires dedication to conservation of not only the game pursued, but also of the environment it is being pursued in both that particular point in time and forever after. When hunting is occuring, either ethical, responsible hunting, or the loathsome wanton waste, whack and stack variety, the environment as,a whole is greatly impacted, and that impact is lasting and very long reaching, as far as effecting seemingly unrelated environments as well.

This being said, I would say Hunting carries exceptional responsibility of the management of the earth and it's resources.
Athletes abilities and actions do not immediately impact thier surrounding and respective enviroments. At least as pertains to the impact upon the earth and it's environments.

I would have to say that Hunting far out weighs the title of Sport, given the above considerations.

Very interesting topic to consider.

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Good luck & great hunting,
-Danny Pratt
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fn16ga
PostPosted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 4:58 am  Reply with quote
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When "Hunting" I have been know to give my quarry a "sporting" chance by firing warning shots , sometimes one or two or ............sometimes three .
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dannypratt
PostPosted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 5:45 am  Reply with quote
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Hee hee hee

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Good luck & great hunting,
-Danny Pratt
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jswanson
PostPosted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 6:05 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 03 Feb 2008
Posts: 830
Location: Adirondak Mtns

Sport as in playing games and competing against someone NO! I never felt the desire to "win" or kill more than the other fellow or however else you might determine the winner. This has no place in upland or any other type of hunting at least as I practice hunting.

But as my favorite outdoor activity with my sons and dog, you betcha!

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fourtrax
PostPosted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 6:21 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 04 Jun 2009
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I bird hunt OVER DOGS 100+ days per year. I run my dogs several x / week year round.

Apparently, bird hunting & following the "one eye" is a PASSION for me making it WAY MORE than a sport. "It's a lifestyle" would be closer to my choice of words.

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