older and wiser or

[Guest bitsa lurcher]

a question aimed at those of us who are shall we say on the + side of 40 years of age .......... do you hunt all year round or do you leave the wild life alone during the fine wheather and let them breed / multiply in numbers for next season ???? the reason i ask is because in the past i have hunted all year round with no let ups or breaks even if the dogs have been injured i have been out shooting , until that the last couple of years that is , now call me soft if you like but i just can't bring myself to go and hunt young or infant quarry .....does this mean i have gone soft or what ?????

[Guest timeout]

kinda getting like that myself mate.I like to see the new life in the spring.Fuk im sounding like an old hippy.........

[stubby 175]

I still hunt/ferret all year round, but then its pest control, and food for the baby ferts, saying that, on a private squirrel job in an attic, where I had to remove a nest and babies, I did feel bad knocking the little ones on the head, think thats down to how much they looked liked ferts

[Rolfe 2]

I do think the older you get the softer you get yes.........might be something to do with your own looming mortality.

As a full time "Pester" i have to remove animals and insects when and where required.......something i came to terms with years ago. BUT..........it still doesn't mean to say i dont enjoy seeing the young of any species (rats excluded) reared to maturity. I never want to see the last mole, fox, rabbit whatever........unless it is on a job i have been paid handsomely to remove them.

I do find my attitude is more geared to........"Live and let Live" nowadays than it used to be definately.... so yes i must be getting soft in my old age.

 

Rolfe.

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Just an hour ago, I was out on my ground and just stood there, watching the birds busying themselves. Thinking of the nests I'd found lately. Loving it. I thought then; I really do Love this time of year. Everything's so active and getting on about it's business. I can observe more wildlife in these times than at any other period of the year.

 

Soft? I don't think so. I lost the need to capture or kill Everything so long ago I don't really remember its passing. I think it's just a natural part of ones developement. I stopped egg collecting before I was fifteen. Stopped trapping song birds before I was twenty much. So on and so forth. Now I've got to the point where I simply kill what needs to be killed and I feel nothing in the doing. I can become excited and pleased with the result of a successful stalk, sure. But wether that results in me shooting something dead or simply getting a cracking view of something hard to observe, it's the fact that I accomplished the difficult which gives me the joy. That's why I'll post a long and detailed account of how it all went off, yet don't bother flashing up pictures of stuff I kill. What's the point?

 

These days? I'd far sooner show a rarer or difficult to find birds nest than show a dead thing. Any dick with a rifle can shoot something dead. Finding small, ground nesting birds nests, when out with that rifle, takes a more total awareness of ones surroundings. The likes of JD and P&G have inspired me so much since I found this place. Both capable and constant killers. Yet both able to prove themselves true Naturalist / Hunters. Capable of observing the minutae of what's around them. Now I'm just beggining to be able to make a tiny emmulation of their example and am showing more and more nests of my own. That gives me more satisfaction than all the kill tallys ever recorded

[Guest bitsa lurcher]

thanks for all the replies , it's a funny old life , and a happy life at that

[cúagusgiorraí 57]

It was my first season this last autumn/winter. I have stopped hunting the end of february. I think if you respect your quarry enough you would stop to let them breed, unless of course it is for pest control. Restraint is part of being a good sporting hunter in my opinion.

[Guest little lurcher]

its not going soft it simple respect and a true sportman/ hunter respects his quarry

[sue 1]

when i was younger it was great to kill everything in sight and being proud of what you had achieved bragging and boasting and now i will leave well alone if im not pushed into clearing the area,ive just come back from a stroll down the river the sun shining ,birds singing and most of the ducks paired for the first time ive had the time to sit back and take notice of the nature around me and how busy it is and leave the young to grow to adults i must be getting soft

[dennned 172]

not so much soft , but a little mature , i never have and never will hunt past the end of feb, due to the fact most thigs are either in the process of , or have allready mated , so i think it's only fair to let them breed , but i can see the other side , of say a full time pest controller, who must continue to do , his or her job,

[The one 8,397]

Still do the rabbits all summer as the freezer needs filling but try to do a farm a month so the rabbits are 3/4 grown dont wanmt to be killing them any smaller

[jasper65 6]

Yep Older but wiser No! I'm still a brainless prick and won't change now, but I do have Morals about Hunting during the breeding season.

 

If its a certain pest species then it needs to be done but 99% of quarry deserve time out this time of the year. if we keep hammering stuff all year we just end up Killing off our sporting quarry, As Hunting people we all have respect in the quarry we hunt (or should have anyway)...

 

I remember reading a piece from Archie Coats where he said "He had much respect for the Woodpigeon although he make's my living from his destruction", its good to have respect for all quarry we hunt....

 

I have got a bit softer with age and seldom Knock anything off in the Garden anymore or in the back woods! I even encouraged a Wild cock bird to feed from my hand in the back garden with a bit of coaxing ....

 

Jasper

[BlueCoyote 0]

i'm noticing its a common thing with the "maturity" thing. a young man's desire to conquer the world and beat his chest with his fists. after a certain age its lost all of its thrill.... well.... for the normal men anyway. there are the few old timers that are as gung ho now as ever.

 

i know an old man who is an ex army ranger/cop/hot rod racer/photographer and is really interesting to talk to when he is growling and grumbling about this or that.....

he's got what everyone calls the "Fiberglass patio" .. that is.. his old salt water fishing boat parked outside his house. when we lived there (and even now sometimes ) we would go out and visit him in the evening. just sit and talk and have a few drinks. i once made the comment about all the deer walking around in plain sight with no fear... not just deer but red fox, squirrels, rabbits, and other native animals.. (my dad is an obsessive deer hunter and would have died and gone to heaven to live in a place like this) which is what i said to this old man.. his boat would have been the best position to drop a deer if you wanted the occasional one for the freezer.... he just kinda scowled and said "I've done enough and seen enough killing in my life that i just dont wanna see it anymore.."

 

 

as for my dad, i've noticed he has slowed down a lot more since i was a kid. he still likes to hunt turkey and deer. he has a camper set up in the woods beside the river, which is where he lives during the season... but most of the time he just sits out there and enjoys the peace and quiet. the meat is just a bonus.

[hollands hope 1,013]

Just an hour ago, I was out on my ground and just stood there, watching the birds busying themselves. Thinking of the nests I'd found lately. Loving it. I thought then; I really do Love this time of year. Everything's so active and getting on about it's business. I can observe more wildlife in these times than at any other period of the year.

 

Soft? I don't think so. I lost the need to capture or kill Everything so long ago I don't really remember its passing. I think it's just a natural part of ones developement. I stopped egg collecting before I was fifteen. Stopped trapping song birds before I was twenty much. So on and so forth. Now I've got to the point where I simply kill what needs to be killed and I feel nothing in the doing. I can become excited and pleased with the result of a successful stalk, sure. But wether that results in me shooting something dead or simply getting a cracking view of something hard to observe, it's the fact that I accomplished the difficult which gives me the joy. That's why I'll post a long and detailed account of how it all went off, yet don't bother flashing up pictures of stuff I kill. What's the point?

 

These days? I'd far sooner show a rarer or difficult to find birds nest than show a dead thing. Any dick with a rifle can shoot something dead. Finding small, ground nesting birds nests, when out with that rifle, takes a more total awareness of ones surroundings. The likes of JD and P&G have inspired me so much since I found this place. Both capable and constant killers. Yet both able to prove themselves true Naturalist / Hunters. Capable of observing the minutae of what's around them. Now I'm just beggining to be able to make a tiny emmulation of their example and am showing more and more nests of my own. That gives me more satisfaction than all the kill tallys ever recorded

wise words ditch shitter :victory:although i still like my hunting Edited April 27, 2008 by hollands hope

[Guest greengrass123]

Christ and i thought it was just me that was going down that road.