Getting harder to squeeze the trigger

HermanMerman · Jan 16, 2018

I killed two this year. I spent more time sitting where they fell while admiring and giving thanks than it took to drag them out and clean them. I don’t feel bad about killing them, but it does strike a different nerve than it did in the past.

lonesome dove · Jan 16, 2018

I don't kill any where near as many deer as I use to, but I've never felt bad about shooting one. If thats bad????
I only shoot deer that I'll put on the wall now (with the occasional doe during bow season)
To each his own though. I hope I NEVER feel the need to stop. My biggest thrill now is taking kids or 1st timers hunting. I've already bought my 17 month old grandson 4 guns to get home ready!

swamp hunter · Jan 16, 2018

Got a pile of little racks all over the place and don't need anymore.
I'll smoke a Big um in a second but if it's no challenge then I'll just enjoy the day.
Now if'n I run out of meat or want to make something special , No deer is safe, most anytime of the year.
And before ya'll go to crying I have access to a DePred Permit that's good for 100 deer a year.
I might shoot 2 total.
I am blessed with lot's of Hogs and their real fun and eat good.
Rabbits and Squirrels are good as well, so is Soft Shell Turtle , Grouper , Blackened Redfish , Oysters ..lot's to eat out there besides Deer..

Permitchaser · Jan 16, 2018

keithsto said:
Managed to get a large bodied 6 pointer around 10am yesterday, so coupled with the 8 pointer I got in November, I have enough meat for the year. Yesterday I hunted mid morning OTG, and I had barely been sitting for 5 minutes when the 6pt and another buck came walking in within 25 yards. I raised my rifle, put the crosshairs on the boiler room, and I hesitated. I didn't hesitate because I was concerned about my shot. The distance, direction the deer was walking, everything...was perfect. I hesitated because I questioned whether or not I actually wanted to take the life of the deer. I finally took the shot, the deer only ran 15 yards before piling up. I've never enjoyed the actual act of killing the deer, and it seems that the older I get, the more hesitant I am to do so. Anyone else feel the same?

Nope

T-N-T · Jan 17, 2018

I don't regret killing one. I don't hesitate over it's life.
I do however respect the act. I love the drag, the work that goes into it. The time it takes to skin and cut up the animal. All the efforts that go into making my meals for the year all on my mind as I do it all.

I don't regret eating. It's something I kinda need to do to get through life. I won't hesitate to eat.

spurrs and racks · Jan 18, 2018

Im not killing......

or catching anything that I don't intend to eat.

Mankind is the oversee of all the lords domain.

These animals, fish and plants and fruits are here for our survival. Just the facts....

s&r

keithsto · Jan 18, 2018

keithsto said:
Managed to get a large bodied 6 pointer around 10am yesterday, so coupled with the 8 pointer I got in November, I have enough meat for the year. Yesterday I hunted mid morning OTG, and I had barely been sitting for 5 minutes when the 6pt and another buck came walking in within 25 yards. I raised my rifle, put the crosshairs on the boiler room, and I hesitated. I didn't hesitate because I was concerned about my shot. The distance, direction the deer was walking, everything...was perfect. I hesitated because I questioned whether or not I actually wanted to take the life of the deer. I finally took the shot, the deer only ran 15 yards before piling up. I've never enjoyed the actual act of killing the deer, and it seems that the older I get, the more hesitant I am to do so. Anyone else feel the same?

godogs57 said:
Am I to assume the OP hunted in
GA and another state? Or perhaps a WMA buck in the mix?

I'm 60 this year and just love being out there....past the blood thirsty stage, but still love to match wits with a big ol buck. I also love to take deer with old firearms, family heirlooms, stuff like that.

Big7 said:
Did I miss something in the OP?

Thought you could only take 2 bucks?

Why would you have to "think" and "hesitate"
about shooting a 3rd buck?

I've re-read my post at least 10 times, and can't figure out what is making folks think I took 3 bucks, or even thought about taking 3 bucks. I hesitated before shooting the six point, which was my second and final deer of the season.

T-N-T · Jan 18, 2018

keithsto said:
I've re-read my post at least 10 times, and can't figure out what is making folks think I took 3 bucks, or even thought about taking 3 bucks. I hesitated before shooting the six point, which was my second and final deer of the season.

I understood.
But I pay attention.

ProAngler · Jan 19, 2018

NCHillbilly said:
I have never enjoyed the act of taking an animal's life-it's a serious thing. If I ever quit feeling a little twinge of regret after killing a deer, I'll quit hunting, because I'll know that I've lost sight of the seriousness of it, and have turned it into a game.

The inescapable rule of nature, though, is that you are alive because something else is dead. It's the way it works. I prefer to participate in the circle myself, instead of hiring a middleman to do the dirty work for me by buying meat in a nice, sanitary plastic-wrapped bundle at the store.

Another reason I process my own. Respect for the animal I just killed, and trying to make the most use of it that I can.

I have yet to send a deer to a processor, largely for that reason. I still feel bad when I think of deer in the past I have processed and feel like I could have gotten more meat off the shoulder or something

Getting harder to squeeze the trigger

HermanMerman

Senior Member

lonesome dove

Senior Member

swamp hunter

Senior Member

Attachments

Permitchaser

Senior Member

T-N-T

Senior Member

spurrs and racks

Banned

keithsto

Senior Member

T-N-T

Senior Member

ProAngler

Senior Member

Similar threads

Latest posts

Share this page