Hunting trophies

[Erby]

Some people REALLY get into their trophies. Check out the wall behind the loft railing. This is only about half of what was there!

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[AHI in AR]

Nuthin' screams "I have more testosterone than you!" than a room full of dead critters and selected parts thereof. Right?

For the record, I'm not philosophically opposed to legitimate hunting but I don't "get" the whole excessive trophy display thing.

[John Kogel]

This guy from a few mos ago went for variety, one of everything. A Lynx, a sheep, a goat, etc. He had the head of a walrus even, but no tusks, so it was a juvenile or female.

I felt kind of sad for the young grizzly.

Bear hunters are road hunters. They drive the logging roads until they spot the unlucky bear. Sometimes they dump a bunch of watermelon for bait. You're not going to pack a bear out of the woods on your shoulders, are you? So they drive around ready to jump out and shoot.

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[Steven Hockstein]

Nuthin' screams "I have more testosterone than you!" than a room full of dead critters and selected parts thereof. Right?

For the record, I'm not philosophically opposed to legitimate hunting but I don't "get" the whole excessive trophy display thing.

"Legitimate Hunting"?

If you are hunting or fishing for food I get it. Killing animals for sport is weird to me. Mounting your killing success on the wall is even weirder. Kinda reminds me of when Dexter kept the blood slides in his home as trophies of his murders.

[Bain]

I get it when it's for food, too. But if my dog were roaming through the woods, digging on life, doing what dogs do? He shouldn't have his brains blown out simply because he exists.

If someone can outrun the deer, wrestle the deer to the ground, and beat the deer in a fair fight, maybe then the deer should become a trophy. But to sit in a tree stand and use a rifle to shoot the deer from afar? That's nothing to be proud of. That's something a p*ssy should be ashamed of.

[AHI in AR]

In case it wasn't clear, by "legitimate hunting" I was referring to hunting for food. I don't understand the appeal of hunting just to kill something. I suspect that those who line their walls with this many reminders of their kills don't do it just for food.

[kurt]

I haven't done it in 30 years, but I hunted all the time as a kid and know what it is. If you hunt it and kill it, you better ****ing eat it. Otherwise, if there's a hell, you're going to be in it.

After that, trophy hounds are the puke of the Earth.

[Brandon Whitmore]

Wow, looks like I'm in the minority here........ But no, I don't do the trophy mount thing, just eat them. I would understand some of the comments more if you were vegetarians. (maybe you are)

Bear hunters are road hunters. They drive the logging roads until they spot the unlucky bear. Sometimes they dump a bunch of watermelon for bait. You're not going to pack a bear out of the woods on your shoulders, are you? So they drive around ready to jump out and shoot.

Yes, I did pack mine out on my shoulders, as I do with all of my game. The harder I have to work for it, the better it tastes:)

You can't really lump all hunters into the same group. I just ate black bear backstrap tonight. I hiked my ass off, bagged it, boned it out so I could physically pack it, and made it back to the bottom of the canyon (Hells Canyon) just before dark. No dogs, no bait, just hiking.....

[Jim Katen]

Brandon, if you can find a copy, you should buy and read, "Oregon Bear Man," an autobiography by McMinnville resident Mauri Mayor. He's a genuine larger than life character who worked as a logger, catskinner, river runner, hunter, and trapper -- all with only one arm. For years he worked for the US Fish & Wildlife Service doing bear control and he's probably killed more bears than anyone else in Oregon. His weapon of choice? A .22 pistol.

In particular, you might enjoy reading about his technique of packing bears out of the woods on a motorcycle. . .

[Steven Hockstein]

Wow, looks like I'm in the minority here........ But no, I don't do the trophy mount thing, just eat them. I would understand some of the comments more if you were vegetarians. (maybe you are)

Bear hunters are road hunters. They drive the logging roads until they spot the unlucky bear. Sometimes they dump a bunch of watermelon for bait. You're not going to pack a bear out of the woods on your shoulders, are you? So they drive around ready to jump out and shoot.

Yes, I did pack mine out on my shoulders, as I do with all of my game. The harder I have to work for it, the better it tastes:)

You can't really lump all hunters into the same group. I just ate black bear backstrap tonight. I hiked my ass off, bagged it, boned it out so I could physically pack it, and made it back to the bottom of the canyon (Hells Canyon) just before dark. No dogs, no bait, just hiking.....

Brandon,

I don't think you are in the minority. We all agree that hunting for food is legit. It is the hunting for the sport and trophy mounting part that is not cool.

[John Kogel]

Wow, looks like I'm in the minority here........ But no, I don't do the trophy mount thing, just eat them. I would understand some of the comments more if you were vegetarians. (maybe you are)

Bear hunters are road hunters. They drive the logging roads until they spot the unlucky bear. Sometimes they dump a bunch of watermelon for bait. You're not going to pack a bear out of the woods on your shoulders, are you? So they drive around ready to jump out and shoot.

Yes, I did pack mine out on my shoulders, as I do with all of my game. The harder I have to work for it, the better it tastes:)

You can't really lump all hunters into the same group. I just ate black bear backstrap tonight. I hiked my ass off, bagged it, boned it out so I could physically pack it, and made it back to the bottom of the canyon (Hells Canyon) just before dark. No dogs, no bait, just hiking.....

Brandon,

I don't think you are in the minority. We all agree that hunting for food is legit. It is the hunting for the sport and trophy mounting part that is not cool.

Sorry, Brandon. Yes, I did lump all bear hunters into the category I've seen in action. Of course i wouldn't have seen you down in the gully cutting up your meat to pack it out. Congrats for that.

[gtblum]

I've harvested more deer than I can remember the number of. They didn't come from sitting on a stump and hoping. I worked for them.

I have one out of all of them that was sent to the taxidermist to be immortalized. I'm proud of the effort I made, and thankful to be able to re-live the memory when I look up from my desk.

These so called trophy hunters, are in fact, not hunters at all. You can order the buck of your choice from an online catalog, have it shipped to a local game farm, and shoot it after they open the gate, and ring the bell at the feeder on the opposite side of the lot. It's very expensive, and way over the budget, for most. More in the price range of wanna be's like Ted Nugent.

Fact is, they plan for about 10% of the hunters having any success at all, when they consider deer management plans.

They know people have a limited amount of time they can spend in the woods, and they're aware most are stump sitters, whose success likely depends on a great deal of luck. Some hunt for years and come up empty. It's just not that easy. If anyone here thinks the "Bambi daddy" is just going to take a casual stroll though anything but the nastiest overgrown razor wire in the forest, you've seen the movie too many times. If one of these folks are lucky enough to kill a big racked buck What's the problem with keeping a tax paying taxidermist in business?

These hunters are the reason there's any wild game left, to begin with. Their licensing fees are what sponsor the propagation of the wildlife, the acquisition of habitat, and even the costs of building and maintaining the man made roads some call, "nature trails." Without that revenue, the there wouldn't be much of any of the above.

I've hunted with a group of serious hardcores for a very long time. We've earned what we take. We consider The backstraps to be the trophy. The racks are incidental.

I've yet to ever meet of anyone who considered themselves, a "trophy hunter." That kind of proclamation in front of us would be a serious mistake. Paid for, with a week or two in hell.

Bain,

If you ever call me a p*ssy, I'll come down there, crack open a jar of that Kentucky Kool-Aid with you, and we'll see who the p*ssy is. []

[Bain]

Gary, dude, I would never. I realize the consequences of doing so would be . . . severe.

Don't misunderstand. I'm not anti-hunting. It's just that anyone who has a gazillion deer heads on his walls is absolutely overcompensating for SOMETHING. The same is true for someone who wants to kill a bunch of animals that aren't eaten. In my opinion . . .

[John Dirks Jr]

How about those ranches where they fence animals in so big dollar executives pay to come in and shoot them. Now that's crap!

[ghentjr]

How about those ranches where they fence animals in so big dollar executives pay to come in and shoot them. Now that's crap!

Any different than a beef feed lot where they make them fat before they sledge their head? At least the live (insert animal) has a slim chance of surviving a bad shot. And, I bet is wasn't too long ago that you had a nice juicy burger.

[Brandon Whitmore]

Quote: Originally posted by John Dirks Jr

How about those ranches where they fence animals in so big dollar executives pay to come in and shoot them. Now that's crap!


Any different than a beef feed lot where they make them fat before they sledge their head? At least the live (insert animal) has a slim chance of surviving a bad shot. And, I bet is wasn't too long ago that you had a nice juicy burger.

I'd bet that those game farm animals live a better life than most chickens and cows. Game farm hunting isn't my thing, but to each his own.

[Brandon Whitmore]

Brandon, if you can find a copy, you should buy and read, "Oregon Bear Man," an autobiography by McMinnville resident Mauri Mayor. He's a genuine larger than life character who worked as a logger, catskinner, river runner, hunter, and trapper -- all with only one arm. For years he worked for the US Fish & Wildlife Service doing bear control and he's probably killed more bears than anyone else in Oregon. His weapon of choice? A .22 pistol.

In particular, you might enjoy reading about his technique of packing bears out of the woods on a motorcycle. .

I'll have to check that book out at the library.

Packing something out on a motorcycle sure would be nice. I'd bet the environmentalists would love that one though.

Our group once spent two and a half days packing some elk out of Hells Canyon--it was brutal. I think only a hang glider would have helped us out there.

[John Dirks Jr]

How about those ranches where they fence animals in so big dollar executives pay to come in and shoot them. Now that's crap!

Any different than a beef feed lot where they make them fat before they sledge their head? At least the live (insert animal) has a slim chance of surviving a bad shot. And, I bet is wasn't too long ago that you had a nice juicy burger.

Instead of risking their own lives in the rigors of the wild, they pay to play in a controlled environment. You're cool, with that?

As for a slaughtered beef cow, they get killed quickly and precisely. (or that's what is supposed to happen). An animal being hit but surviving a bad shot will likely suffer. It could suffer a long time before dying.

[gtblum]

Gary, dude, I would never. I realize the consequences of doing so would be . . . severe.

Don't misunderstand. I'm not anti-hunting. It's just that anyone who has a gazillion deer heads on his walls is absolutely overcompensating for SOMETHING. The same is true for someone who wants to kill a bunch of animals that aren't eaten. In my opinion . . .

Jon,

I'm disappointed. I thought for sure you were going to Just call me a p*ssy and force me to fabricate a reason to drink it over with you.

Damn it!

My, My. It sure did get exciting since I left. []

[kurt]

Everyone should work a feed lot, a killing floor, and a processing plant for a day.

With a little exposure to industrialized meat and how it gets that way, hunting starts looking pretty good.

[Tom Raymond]

I worked in the packaging department at Russer for a few weeks. That's all I could take. It was months before I could eat deli meat again, nearly a year before I could eat anything from Russer.

The problem I have with hunting is all the stupid people out in the woods. The last time I was out was over 20 years ago. I was walking through some scrub brush and kicked up a buck and doe maybe ten feet in front of me. I raised my shot gun to take aim and heard a chainsaw start. I held my shot. Maybe 50 yards away my stupid neighbor was standing in the tree line cutting firewood in head to toe camouflage. She was right in my line of fire.

Every year some idiot shoots his hunting buddy, his car, or someone's house. A few years ago one of the local mountain men shot himself in the nuts. Last year a local 20 year old fell out of his tree stand. He was too injured to walk out of the woods and would have died if the VFD hadn't combed the woods and found him. I was taught to be sure of what I shoot at, I have zero confidence that anyone else in the woods has.

[gtblum]

Everyone should work a feed lot, a killing floor, and a processing plant for a day.

With a little exposure to industrialized meat and how it gets that way, hunting starts looking pretty good.

I think my old man might have been the last of a unique breed.

He worked in a small slaughter house for eleven years, with about four other guys who took the cattle from the knocking cage to the grinder. They did everything. These guys working assembly lines, are meat cutters, not butchers.

I think they butchered one day, and processed, the rest of the week. Maybe, killed 10 on the day they butchered. They also did pigs.

We were the only kids on the block who hated steak.

[John Dirks Jr]

I have nothing against hunting or hunters. But if you hit an animal, you better track it 'till you find it, or drop dead yourself.

Otherwise, you shouldn't have taken the shot. If you don't know for sure when about to squeeze the trigger, get closer before you take the shot.

I'm done......

[gtblum]

I have nothing against hunting or hunters. But if you hit an animal, you better track it 'till you find it, or drop dead yourself.

Otherwise, you shouldn't have taken the shot. If you don't know for sure when about to squeeze the trigger, get closer before you take the shot.

I'm done......

Perfectly said.

[rdhutch]

My two cents worth, hunting and fishing are not sports, they are recreational activities. Sports, imo, involve two opponents in the same environment, each with an equal chance of winning or losing.

Run down and tackle a deer, that's a sport and you won.

Dive deep and catch a fish, that's a sport.

Modern technology has taken most guess work and all sport out of these two activities.

I say all of this even though I frequently fish and hunt because I enjoy the activity and the meal. Actually, most of my fishing is catch and release for conservation purposes.

As for trophys, to each his own. The fish hanging on my wall is a fiberglass replica made from a photo I took of my best catch, then released.

If anyone wants hunting and fishing to be around for the next generations, conservatism and conservation is the key.