What's the thrill of hunting?

nanoboy

nanoboy

Well-Known Member
Folks, let's keep the emotions in check, and not bite each other's heads off - no pun intended.

To the hunters out there, why do you do it? You aren't hunter gatherers, so you surely don't need the food. So what am I missing? What's the thrill in killing an animal for sport?

(I am not trying to be self-righteous - I am just trying to understand.)
 
A lot of hunters do do it for food because it is a cheaper and healthier alternative. (this is the reason my family does it.) Also, sometimes you just need to do it to protect your livestock from predators such as coyotes.
 
I definitively have to subscribe to this thread, maybe someone finally answers this question...
I´ve never heard a satisfying explanation. There are always these "noble" answers like "it has to be done", "we need to protect our livestock", "hunting generates money for conservation", ... Yeah, right, we get that... But why do you do it, really? If you didn´t like it, you would find a way around it. It´s not like you do it against your will.
So how does it feel to kill an animal? What´s so great about that?
 
I don't know the answer to this question, my dad is the hunter. But sometimes, people to do it mainly relating to how they were raised an example would be the indians.
 
JBZvolunteer said:
Yes, I wasn't sure if I would be able to pull the trigger while hunting deer.
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That´s actually nice to hear.. No pressure, you can decide not to pull the trigger.. ;)
 
Game animals are generally healthier (to eat) because they consume forage and a natural diet, have little/no hormones supplemented in their diet, and are usually leaner. And many people actually like the taste of the game meat v. beef, domestic pork, chicken, etc.

As for the hunter/gatherer comment - moderation is always a wise choice in any aspect of your lifestyle. Maybe moderate all the agriculture and processed food in your diet, and add a little game food to your nutrition, if you're up to trying new things.
 
My dad made sure not to pressure me into this and if I was going to do this that it was a scary experience. He hand loaded ammo with little kick back and was going to help me gut the deer which was my main worry.
 
Whilst I personally would never hunt (or fish, come to that) and can't understand the attraction, it's nevertheless hard to find a rational objection if the hunter intends to eat what he kills...as long as several criteria are met: the hunter must not kill any more than he needs; he must not hunt during the animals' breeding season; he must never kill any member of a threatened species; he should whenever possible try to target the old, the weak and the sick; and most importantly the animal must be dispatched quickly, humanely and without pain. BUT (and it's a very big BUT) people who glorify in hunting, who take a perverted pleasure out of depriving an animal of life and who look upon animals as little more than trophies, sicken and disgust me.
 
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zooman64 said:
Whilst I personally would never hunt (or fish, come to that) and can't understand the attraction, it's nevertheless hard to find a rational objection if the hunter intends to eat what he kills...as long as several criteria are met: the hunter must not kill any more than he needs; he must not hunt during the animals' breeding season; he must never kill any member of a threatened species; he should whenever possible try to target the old, the weak and the sick; and most importantly the animal must be dispatched quickly, humanely and without pain. BUT (and it's a very big BUT) people who glorify in hunting, who take pleasure out of depriving an animal of life and who look upon animals as little more than trophies, sicken and disgust me.
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Well put,and i think that pretty much sums up my views too.
 
When you are hunting you are part of the environment, not a spectator. People who do not hunt will never understand it as they think hunting is about killing. You kill to hunt not hunt to kill. Hunting is a natural human instinct and people have been hunting since humans existed. In evolutionary terms we are still the same as we were when everybody hunted to survive.

Unless you get out in the bush and actually hunt you will not understand it. You don't have to actually kill anything to have hunted abut the possibility of success has to be there.
 
zooman64 said:
Whilst I personally would never hunt (or fish, come to that) and can't understand the attraction, it's nevertheless hard to find a rational objection if the hunter intends to eat what he kills...as long as several criteria are met: the hunter must not kill any more than he needs; he must not hunt during the animals' breeding season; he must never kill any member of a threatened species; he should whenever possible try to target the old, the weak and the sick; and most importantly the animal must be dispatched quickly, humanely and without pain. BUT (and it's a very big BUT) people who glorify in hunting, who take a perverted pleasure out of depriving an animal of life and who look upon animals as little more than trophies, sicken and disgust me.
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Well said!!!
 
Monty said:
When you are hunting you are part of the environment, not a spectator. People who do not hunt will never understand it as they think hunting is about killing. You kill to hunt not hunt to kill. Hunting is a natural human instinct and people have been hunting since humans existed. In evolutionary terms we are still the same as we were when everybody hunted to survive.

Unless you get out in the bush and actually hunt you will not understand it. You don't have to actually kill anything to have hunted abut the possibility of success has to be there.
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I think ive just read the most pitiful excuse to kill another animal,"its never about killing".. "Part of the enviroment"? :rolleyes:...Napoleon complex comes to mind. ;)
 
No it sums it up pretty well actually, it's like saying that it isn't right for a chimpanzee to fling its poo even though it's part of their nature.
 
I think that all of us non-hunters could probably understand hunting of animals like deer, when all the conditions written by zooman64 are met. It´s even necessary in countries, where all the natural predators went extinct. But this argument is only valid when talking about prey animals. (deer, wild boar, antelope..)
But what about predators? Would any of the hunters here kill a carnivore? (Bear, fox, wolf, lion, leopard.....) They are still hunted as well in some places and you certainly wouldn´t eat them, right?
 
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