Go Back   Alberta Outdoorsmen Forum > Main Category > Hunting Discussion

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 09-14-2019, 07:38 PM
Hogie135 Hogie135 is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Cold Lake
Posts: 1,722
Default Killing an animal

I dont know if I'm over sensitive or not. I love hunting. I love taking an animal that I've hunted. I love the whole process and dont usually have second thoughts. When I see my pics of my kills or when I see pics of others kills I have I big sense of remorse. I have feelings for the animal taken. Is it normal? I'm not sure. I dont take, taking a life easy. I love it, but I hate it.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 09-14-2019, 07:51 PM
Mavrick Mavrick is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Out of Town
Posts: 861
Default

If you didn't feel that way you wouldn't be normal. I take animal lives both on the farm and in the wild every season. Respect and use what I kill is what controls any remorse I might feel.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 09-14-2019, 07:59 PM
guywiththemule guywiththemule is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,604
Default

You are a human being(a predator)... animals are prey or competition predators ... you have the largest brain(you can thank the animal`s spirit if it makes you feel better) .. you decide when,where and why to take an animal.. Live with your choice...
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 09-14-2019, 08:09 PM
3blade's Avatar
3blade 3blade is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 5,151
Default

You have a young kid at home? Lot of guys report these kind of feelings after becoming a parent. Hormones I guess

IMO most people aren’t natural predators. That why there are those “stages of being a hunter”, defines how a lot of guys focus on other (not killing) parts of the process throughout their hunting careers.

Some guys are natural at and comfortable with killing. Those are the guys with full freezers and no concern for inches, who usually camp solo and pack meat out. Precise, dedicated, lethal.

I describe it as “guys who like hunting” vs “hunters”...though I admit that’s a bit vague. Guys who like hunting will go through the phases and have varying emotions and practices. Sounds like that’s where your at. Nothing wrong with being either one, and both categories can have very successful hunting lives.
__________________
“Nothing is more persistent than a liberal with a dumb idea” - Ebrand
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 09-14-2019, 08:32 PM
Hogie135 Hogie135 is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Cold Lake
Posts: 1,722
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by 3blade View Post
You have a young kid at home? Lot of guys report these kind of feelings after becoming a parent. Hormones I guess

IMO most people aren’t natural predators. That why there are those “stages of being a hunter”, defines how a lot of guys focus on other (not killing) parts of the process throughout their hunting careers.

Some guys are natural at and comfortable with killing. Those are the guys with full freezers and no concern for inches, who usually camp solo and pack meat out. Precise, dedicated, lethal.

I describe it as “guys who like hunting” vs “hunters”...though I admit that’s a bit vague. Guys who like hunting will go through the phases and have varying emotions and practices. Sounds like that’s where your at. Nothing wrong with being either one, and both categories can have very successful hunting lives.
When I'm hunting, and its game on I dont think about it. Is what it is. Afterwards, I think about it. I love what I do. But I also respect what I kill, and sometimes I fell bad for killing.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 09-14-2019, 08:34 PM
Hogie135 Hogie135 is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Cold Lake
Posts: 1,722
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by 3blade View Post
You have a young kid at home? Lot of guys report these kind of feelings after becoming a parent. Hormones I guess

IMO most people aren’t natural predators. That why there are those “stages of being a hunter”, defines how a lot of guys focus on other (not killing) parts of the process throughout their hunting careers.

Some guys are natural at and comfortable with killing. Those are the guys with full freezers and no concern for inches, who usually camp solo and pack meat out. Precise, dedicated, lethal.

I describe it as “guys who like hunting” vs “hunters”...though I admit that’s a bit vague. Guys who like hunting will go through the phases and have varying emotions and practices. Sounds like that’s where your at. Nothing wrong with being either one, and both categories can have very successful hunting lives.
I'm older than you think. Got kids.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 09-14-2019, 08:57 PM
3blade's Avatar
3blade 3blade is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 5,151
Default

Cant really provide any more insight man, I’m firmly in the second category. Get super stoked whether it’s a 60” bull, doe whitetail or snowshoe hare. I love the smell of fresh meat, the knife work, the memories, and definitely the meals. No remorse. Look at the pics (or freezer) and feel pure pride and happiness.

Ive seen the other side (stages, emotions) happen to many others, so I dont think there’s anything wrong with you.

Maybe camp out in a tent for a few days without any food...go hunt for it. Takes all the BS out of it and brings back that sense of an immediate primal need.
__________________
“Nothing is more persistent than a liberal with a dumb idea” - Ebrand
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 09-14-2019, 08:59 PM
Twobucks Twobucks is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Calgary
Posts: 701
Default

I don’t think it’s weird at all. I kill two or three big game animals every year and a bunch birds. We eat it all and buy almost no meat in the store. I don’t love killing things. I love the hunting more than anything and I’m just as happy watching wildlife go about it’s business. But I can’t imagine ever stopping.

Not everybody feels like you or I, but there’s nothing wrong with it either.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 09-14-2019, 09:07 PM
CaberTosser's Avatar
CaberTosser CaberTosser is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Calgary
Posts: 19,417
Default

I certainly feel remorse after killing something but not as much as with the first couple. The first times I went hunting was as a tag-along and I was already in my 30's; I didn't hunt or even have a firearm, I was just invited by an older co-worker and thought "Hey, why not?". I was not exposed to hunting as a child or anything, so it took a bit to get some of that urban-raised kid squeamishness drilled out of me, but I was determined that I had to do just that. I think its normal to have a bit of remorse and to show respect to the critters you'll soon be digesting.

For me this is way more a thing for mammals than for fish, I can't really feel anything for fish at all.
__________________
"The trouble with people idiot-proofing things, is the resulting evolution of the idiot." Me
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 09-14-2019, 09:17 PM
raw outdoors raw outdoors is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: calgary
Posts: 691
Default

When I was a kid I was ruthless killer birds, gophers, skunks everything I could. Now I have much more respect for life. If I kill it I’m going the eat it or use it somehow. Edible game I always have a little silent moment in thanks. Then back to business bringing the meat home for the family. The best way I feel to respect the animals you kill is to use them the best you can.

Gophers on the other hand I still like to vaporize them. I haven’t grown out of that.
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 09-14-2019, 09:55 PM
grouse_hunter grouse_hunter is offline
Banned
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 1,509
Default

I've never taken a picture of a wild or farmed animal that I've killed. I keep my memories in my head and most of them are of the exquisite meals that I prepare.
I only kill what is edible and I empathize with every creature that I consume. However, I feel no remorse as nature is cruel and I'm simply doing my best to be a part of it.
I go out of my way to ensure that no unnecessary suffering is imparted on the critter in the process, be it by cutting the throat on a pig, putting an extra round into a deers' head or bonking a fish. Hunting/butchering is but a satellite hobby to my gastronomic propensity.
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 09-14-2019, 10:19 PM
roper1 roper1 is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Strathmore
Posts: 5,573
Default

I love to hunt & fish, eat more steak than I should, have great respect for food animals & wild game. I can't imagine getting to the hunter stages, my dad didn't, he was hunting in his 80's.

Sure don't think there's anything wrong with either position though.
__________________
If you're not a Liberal when you're young, you have no heart. If you're not a Conservative when you're old, you have no brain. Winston Churchill

You can, you should, & if you're brave enough to start, you will. Stephen King
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 09-14-2019, 10:52 PM
Red Bullets's Avatar
Red Bullets Red Bullets is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: central Alberta
Posts: 12,627
Default

The hunting is exciting but the killing is very somber and humbling. I do not feel elation or excitement when I shoot an animal. I am the reaper when pulling the trigger. After I feel thankful and relief to have succeeded. I could never figure out how some consider killing fun. Fun can have a broad definition I guess.
__________________
___________________________________________
This country was started by voyagers whose young lives were swept away by the currents of the rivers for ten cents a day... just for the vanity of the European's beaver hats. ~ Red Bullets
___________________________________________
It is when you walk alone in nature that you discover your strengths and weaknesses. ~ Red Bullets
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 09-15-2019, 07:43 AM
58thecat's Avatar
58thecat 58thecat is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: At the end of the Thirsty Beaver Trail, Pinsky lake, Alberta.
Posts: 24,502
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hogie135 View Post
I dont know if I'm over sensitive or not. I love hunting. I love taking an animal that I've hunted. I love the whole process and dont usually have second thoughts. When I see my pics of my kills or when I see pics of others kills I have I big sense of remorse. I have feelings for the animal taken. Is it normal? I'm not sure. I dont take, taking a life easy. I love it, but I hate it.
It's normal.....your ok.
__________________

Be careful when you follow the masses, sometimes the "M" is silent...
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 09-15-2019, 08:00 AM
Pathfinder76 Pathfinder76 is offline
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 15,777
Default

Don’t lose site of the fact that cropping and controlling game populations is a conservation tool. It’s not just about sport and meat.
__________________
“I love it when clients bring Berger bullets. It means I get to kill the bear.”

-Billy Molls
Reply With Quote
  #16  
Old 09-15-2019, 08:24 AM
Bigwoodsman Bigwoodsman is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Edmonton
Posts: 8,269
Default

I always enjoyed the hunt. The kill was part of the hunt, too me it was, what made the hunt successful. That being said I never had to kill something for the hunt to be fun. I hunted with my dad at a very young age and hunted up until a couple of years ago. I still go out with the dog, and when I do it’s for the hunt not the kill as the guns stay home. I like the early morning or the late afternoons. It’s about getting out of the city, admittedly I’m usually carrying a camera and a fishing rod.

I only recall one hunt where I wish I hadn’t been there. It wasn’t because of the hunt it was a result of the people in the hunt. The hunt was very successful 3 antelope out of four tags. The unsuccessful hunter had opportunities to fill his tag yet when the end of our hunt was near and we were packing up he went on a rant blaming everyone of us successful hunters for his failures. It was a long drive home and I never hunted with him again.

BW
Reply With Quote
  #17  
Old 09-15-2019, 08:44 AM
Savage Bacon's Avatar
Savage Bacon Savage Bacon is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Calgary-Red Deer area
Posts: 3,205
Default

I think that just shows some respect that you have. Not saying that people who don't feel this way have no respect. Some show it differently. I kind of mentally thank the animal when I first kneel down and pick up their head. That's when I show my feelings. You've been waiting since this time last year for this moment. That's a lot of build up. Keep having respect and keep filling your freezer with delicious ground and steaks!
Reply With Quote
  #18  
Old 09-15-2019, 11:30 AM
Dewey Cox's Avatar
Dewey Cox Dewey Cox is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: 204
Posts: 5,397
Default

That's how vegetarians feel when they mow the lawn.
__________________
"I like to quote my own quotes" ~ Dewey Cox
Reply With Quote
  #19  
Old 09-15-2019, 11:38 AM
Caza Caza is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 25
Default

regonian _winesmile
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dewey Cox View Post
That's how vegetarians feel when they mow the lawn.
😂😂😂
Reply With Quote
  #20  
Old 09-15-2019, 12:29 PM
pikergolf's Avatar
pikergolf pikergolf is offline
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 11,287
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dewey Cox View Post
That's how vegetarians feel when they mow the lawn.
The trick is to convince them that plants can feel pain. Once they believe that, then what.
__________________
“One of the sad signs of our times is that we have demonized those who produce, subsidized those who refuse to produce, and canonized those who complain.”

Thomas Sowell
Reply With Quote
  #21  
Old 09-15-2019, 03:17 PM
fitzy17's Avatar
fitzy17 fitzy17 is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Sherwood Park
Posts: 212
Default

Imo if you don’t feel even just a little bit of sadness after taking an animal, you’re a psychopath.
Reply With Quote
  #22  
Old 09-15-2019, 03:45 PM
buckbrush's Avatar
buckbrush buckbrush is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 2,072
Default

All part of it.
Reply With Quote
  #23  
Old 09-15-2019, 03:52 PM
Ronaround Ronaround is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: USA
Posts: 386
Default

i dont feel for the animal i take if i didn't raise it and feed it and care for it.
Then it seems a bit harder.
Take WT buck or Big Moose it front of me then Game on. Its a blood lust all the way to termination.
Reply With Quote
  #24  
Old 09-15-2019, 08:01 PM
Mulehahn Mulehahn is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 908
Default

I love the hunt, the stalk, the feeling of success when you are flipping the safety off and have all the time in the world because the animal has no idea you are there. Then the seconds after I pull the trigger and I know it was a clean hit my stomach drops out. I just killed something. But it quickly passes and as I am walking up to the animal I am the happiest I have ever been. It instantly becomes fun again. I have even come to love the heavy pack out.
Reply With Quote
  #25  
Old 09-15-2019, 08:06 PM
Bushleague Bushleague is offline
 
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 3,556
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Bullets View Post
The hunting is exciting but the killing is very somber and humbling. I do not feel elation or excitement when I shoot an animal. I am the reaper when pulling the trigger. After I feel thankful and relief to have succeeded. I could never figure out how some consider killing fun. Fun can have a broad definition I guess.
Absolute best description of the complex emotions involved in killing a wild animal. I've hunted with a few guys who hoot and holler and do high fives, and frankly that type of behaviour kills my buzz to say the least. Its a friggin' funeral for Christ sakes, conduct yourself with dignity.

That said, I have had to put down a couple pets over the years... shooting something that trusts me is something I never really seem to get over completely.
__________________
If the good lord didnt want me to ride a four wheeler with no shirt on, then how come my nipples grow back after every wipeout?
Reply With Quote
  #26  
Old 09-15-2019, 08:13 PM
Xiph0id Xiph0id is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Leduc
Posts: 1,638
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mavrick View Post
If you didn't feel that way you wouldn't be normal. I take animal lives both on the farm and in the wild every season. Respect and use what I kill is what controls any remorse I might feel.
I agree 100%

Although I'm not religious, I spend a minute or 2 with the animal after the kill.
Thank it for it life, admire its beauty and such.
Makes me feel at peace with what I've done.
Reply With Quote
  #27  
Old 09-15-2019, 08:14 PM
Xiph0id Xiph0id is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Leduc
Posts: 1,638
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bushleague View Post
Absolute best description of the complex emotions involved in killing a wild animal. I've hunted with a few guys who hoot and holler and do high fives, and frankly that type of behaviour kills my buzz to say the least. Its a friggin' funeral for Christ sakes, conduct yourself with dignity.

That said, I have had to put down a couple pets over the years... shooting something that trusts me is something I never really seem to get over completely.
Another reply I agree with.

The pet thing is tough. Only time my wife has ever seen me cry.
Reply With Quote
  #28  
Old 09-15-2019, 10:21 PM
fordtruckin's Avatar
fordtruckin fordtruckin is offline
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: In the woods
Posts: 8,923
Talking

Quote:
Originally Posted by grouse_hunter View Post
I've never taken a picture of a wild or farmed animal that I've killed. I keep my memories in my head and most of them are of the exquisite meals that I prepare.
I only kill what is edible and I empathize with every creature that I consume. However, I feel no remorse as nature is cruel and I'm simply doing my best to be a part of it.
I go out of my way to ensure that no unnecessary suffering is imparted on the critter in the process, be it by cutting the throat on a pig, putting an extra round into a deers' head or bonking a fish. Hunting/butchering is but a satellite hobby to my gastronomic propensity.
I’m with you, I’ve never taken a picture of an animal I’ve killed. I don’t see the need. With my job I kill way more animals than I would have ever thought and take no joy in it. (Most are injured some how etc...) if I sit and dwell on what all hunting includes I get kind of depressed at the killing part. However During the hunt with an animal in front of me I’ve only ever let one go, a small forkhorn buck. Figured I’d let him grow up a little. I also wouldn’t shoot a doe or cow with young of the year etc... so to the OP your normal. I talk with hundreds of hunters every season while out checking licenses and the number of old timers that are more interested in getting out into the woods than harvesting game is amazing. They seem to get pretty sentimental the older they get as they recall successful hunts of yesteryear and don’t show as much interest in harvesting anything. To me behaving and feeling like that means you hunt for the right reasons and you have a deep respect for your prey. Your not just a bloodthirsty moron wanting to kill for the sake of killing.
__________________
I feel I was denied, critical, need to know Information!
Reply With Quote
  #29  
Old 09-15-2019, 10:39 PM
smith88's Avatar
smith88 smith88 is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 880
Default

I am with you on the feeling of remorse about taking a life. Now that someone mentioned it, it may have started after my son was born. I generally hunt the same herd of mule deer year after year, and I enjoy seeing the fawns in the spring, watching the bucks grow on cameras, finding a buck or two to focus on, and trying to seal the deal with my bow. I also like seeing wild pheasants around so I don't hunt them. If I find a snake on the road (which I do lots up by my work), i move the off and to a spot where they can get sun safely. I guess the point I am trying to make is that I enjoy seeing animals year round and wish for that to continue whether I can harvest them or not.
__________________
"I'll give you my gun when you take it from my cold, dead hands" - Charlton Heston, 1923-2008
Reply With Quote
  #30  
Old 09-16-2019, 07:03 AM
Fishwhere Fishwhere is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Edmonton
Posts: 388
Default

I think its a good thing. Im not a huge hunter yet but with the thousands of fish that ive dealt with the older and more experienced i get the more i am super diligent to not waste a life that ive taken. Makes me feel ashamed if something youve chosen to kill then goes bad in a freezer or wasnt cleaned nicely by someone who doesnt give a ****. When i was younger i didnt have the same view necassarily and looking back i do feel a bit bad about certain things i had done to the fish regarding not having the proper respect for it( and i rate other mammal type animals a bit higher on the totem pole for some unknown reason too).

Its a good battle to have i think because i can relate alot more and i think you would be less likely to do something to that animal that is a waste - such as clean it poorly etc. its kinda a strange double edged sword - but a good one i believe.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:13 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.5
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.