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Permalink Reply by Marc on September 4, 2012 at 3:51pm

I think that there are a few different things going on. The gun tradition, like the hunting, tradition, and religious tradition, are things that many Americans grow into always knowing. I don't remember a time as a child not getting up for church on a Sunday or getting up early and watching my Dad and uncles leave to go hunting. Today, I'm a 47 year old father of two, and my Dad at 82, is still trying to give me a gun he bought for me to have when I was a child. Much like the religious tradition, if you get your teachings and social group activities implemented early enough, you have a high rate of success that it passes to the next generation. And, not only do the traditions get passed along, but so do the excuses and reasons for doing so, not matter how ridiculous, illogical, and incomplete they might be. Besides, very few will admit to bloodlust, although I believe it prevalence is higher than one might think. Whether its a behavior that is made needless by our progress, or still lurks within many of us, I struggle with the idea of the 'sport' of hunting, though I will eat any animal protein put in front of me. I like alcohol a lot too.

Secondly, for many I think it acts as a continued justification for having guns around and at arms length (no pun intended) along with target shooting, whenever a 2nd Ammendment discussion pops up. If we keep hunting, no matter how critical it may or may not be to an individuals survival (as I do remember families growing up that got a lot of their meals from hunting and needed to), then the volume and flow of guns into people's hands stays high, and the idea of any kind of gun control is met with a high percentage of citizens with guns. That threat is also useful to keep the government in line as they tend to get 'uppity' from time to time.

For the record, I only hunt wabbits, so be vewy, vewy, quiet.

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Permalink Reply by Unseen on September 5, 2012 at 12:36pm

As I said elsewhere, here in the Cleveland, area we have a problem with urban deer wandering around residential neighborhoods. They are just as unwise about traffic in town as they are out in the country. A wholesale deer hunt is needed by responsible hunters who can be counted on not to shoot people thinking they are deer.

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Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on September 5, 2012 at 12:44pm

RE: "not to shoot people thinking they are deer."

I've personally always felt that people who think they are deer should be shot, but that's just me --

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Permalink Reply by James Cox on September 5, 2012 at 1:30pm

We have lots of deer here, if I see a dead one, the bodies(mostly) are on a road that is along the river, where the speed limit is higher. Else the deer are just on a afternoon walk, sometimes with their family, nibbling at what ever plant takes their fancy. It might help here to have lots of tree cover and rather dense forage.

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Permalink Reply by Ed on September 5, 2012 at 5:10pm

My brother in law grinds a small amount of hamburger meat in with his deer meat and they make fantastic burgers. The cow meat gives you just enough of the grease necessary to keep your bad cholesterol levels properly elevated.

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Permalink Reply by Ed on September 5, 2012 at 5:16pm

Not to get off topic or anything but did you know that there is a very small group of people who actually stop and harvest, eh, pick up, carcasses off the highways of more than just our country. There is a bloke in England who has a huge freezer full of all sort of road kill. He has a party every so often and invites fellow road kill enthusiasts over to sample the different entries. Would that be a taboo activity for you?

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Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on September 5, 2012 at 5:53pm

I'd have to say that would depend on how long they'd been on the road before they made it to the freezer - and under no circumstances am I overly partial to skunk.

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Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on September 5, 2012 at 5:59pm

Don't misunderstand me Ed, my Daddy used to take me hunting with him when I was just a kid, and at 12, I'd bought my own .410 with money from doing odd jobs. I've certainly shot my share of birds, rabbits, squirrels and deer. I fired "Expert" in the Army.

But like Clint Eastwood whispered in The Unforgiven, "I don't do that no more --"

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Permalink Reply by Melissa Mays on September 6, 2012 at 10:45pm

..hmmm. I have no problem with hunters killing deer, etc (in proper season). The caveat being.. if you're going to kill a little woodland creature, you should eat the meat (or give it to a hungry family who WILL) & the hide should be used in some fashion.. by someone..Don't be wasteful of a life you've chosen to take; without any real necessity whatsoever. In short, heading out on a trophy hunt, for no other reason than to mount some damned antlers on a piece of wood in your living room, is utterly reprehensible; plain and simple. 

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