Do you view shooting as sport?

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Do you view shooting as sport?
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tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45674
Location: Essex

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 04 11:16 am Post subject:
Welcome on board leebu

leebu

Joined: 23 Nov 2004
Posts: 418
Location: east yorkshire

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 04 10:07 pm Post subject:
Glad to be here. Enjoying the site- some very interesting stuff, particularly on the homebrewing front...

deerstalker

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 589

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 04 10:57 pm Post subject:

leebu wrote:

For me the kill is the worst bit-I was very interested to read Deerstalkers description of the heart pounding moment... not just novices then!
Truth is, if I ever started enjoying any part of actually shooting at live animals I'd stop.

Sorry to disappoint you leebu, but that was my point. You (I) do enjoy that moment. Maybe, as I've said, it's satisfying the hunter instinct - I don't know.

What I do know, is, you can't rationalise it by saying "I'm a civilised person, I don't enjoy killing things - it's a means to an end.

If I could do that, I'd be buying rabbit from the butcher or game dealer and shooting at targets to prove my skill.

I enjoy being in lonely beautiful places, I enjoy the fieldcraft, I enjoy the stalk, I enjoy the moment of the "kill", I'm disappointed if I miss, I admire and mourn my dead quarry. I then go home and revere and enjoy my prize (and talk about my exploits)

Jonnyboy

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 04 11:07 pm Post subject:
Have to agree with DS. There is a particular excitement to stalking your prey and seeing it fall. It's coupled with a certain sadness when you see it lying there, but if there was no regrets, then your morality would need adjusting. I shoot for the pot, not for sport. but I do enjoy it.

deerstalker

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 589

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 04 11:27 pm Post subject:
It's interesting, I also shoot foxes (because one has to control them). The stalk and kill give you the same excitement, but aferwards, when you see your kill, there is a little loss (you can't eat it, so something is missing). I always take some fox fur for flytying (I have more than I need) - but somehow I feel the fox hasn't been wasted. A criminoligist would call that trophy hunting!

mrutty

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 1578

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 04 12:12 am Post subject:

My father always inisisted that foxes where to be controlled in order to protect the weaker animals. It was the only thing accept targets that we were allowed to shoot without eating the kill.

I think it's worse if you move away from shooting and then look back. I don't think I could bring myself to do it these days. I don't think it's cruel or anything, I just couldn't take the life (also I'm so out of practice that a barn door would be safe).

I also don't like this new fad of shooting in singles, we always had to shoot in pairs. You can trip and hurt yourself easily and no one would know where you were.

Maybe I'm getting really soft in my old age

leebu

Joined: 23 Nov 2004
Posts: 418
Location: east yorkshire

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 04 5:27 pm Post subject:

Deerstalker wrote:

Sorry to disappoint you leebu, but that was my point. You (I) do enjoy that moment. Maybe, as I've said, it's satisfying the hunter instinct - I don't know.

Not disappointed, and not trying to take the moral high ground. But I really don't enjoy the kill. I don't even like killing flies. But I do like the occasional bit of meat and I do like to get out and about and play hunter gatherer. The moment of discomfort is worth it as far as I'm concerned.

Legion

Joined: 24 Nov 2004
Posts: 170
Location: Western isles, Scotland

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 04 6:08 pm Post subject:
hooting to some people is a sport , to others its a hobby, to us its a way of life, part and parcel of everyday living.

jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28238
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 04 6:11 pm Post subject:

Legion wrote:

hooting to some people is a sport , to others its a hobby, to us its a way of life, part and parcel of everyday living.

A lot more harmless than shooting

jema

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 04 7:49 pm Post subject:
Not sure about hooting. I think that the question-mark is over the word 'sport'. A bit like, I don't have any desire to see boxing banned, but I'm not entirely comfortable with the word sport being used to describe it. Having said that, I don't know what would be a better word.

Legion

Joined: 24 Nov 2004
Posts: 170
Location: Western isles, Scotland

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 04 9:29 pm Post subject:
lol@ me .....ya daft buggas, I meant shooting , and y'all knew that!! lol - been a long day , still its a way of life, for us anyway

Sarah D

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 2584

Posted: Sat Nov 27, 04 1:40 am Post subject:

It's not often I reply to a question about shooting.
Shooting as a sport , to me, implies soemthing like Olympic target shooting, or clay pigeon shotting for example.
Shooting for the pot, where you eat/use/pass on your kill for food use (either human or animal, whatever) is fine in my book.
What I object to is the bigmoney-fuelled mass slaughter of eg birds that are not used, but are ploughed into the ground or just left to rot, which I believe happens. Not sport, but a total disregard of life.
I don't know what the answer is, but as is often the case, money is at the root of it.
This is my view of the subject.

Legion

Joined: 24 Nov 2004
Posts: 170
Location: Western isles, Scotland

Posted: Sat Nov 27, 04 8:49 am Post subject:

Lowlander wrote:

Not sport, but a total disregard of life.
I don't know what the answer is, but as is often the case, money is at the root of it.
This is my view of the subject.

I agree with you, that the 'sport aspect' can be a disregard for life - and have witnessed it , but have never taken part in it, nor would we, anything we take we use.

The money aspect comes into it with the large estates that rear purely for 'sport' , and - I know i'll get shot down for this - for that reason alone, 'shooting' will eventually be banned. I rekon only wildfowling, rough shooting and stalking will come through as the only survivors.

Goose shooting up here will remain as strong as ever, due to the fact they are a huge agricultural pest, as will limited rough shooting (especially rabbit control whether it done with lurchers or them being shot) - stalking, a means of control will also remain, as obviously living on an island the ever increasing population of deer have to be controlled, due to food limitations. So in a way, although we are worlds apart there is again - like I say - that common ground.

shaun

Joined: 29 Nov 2004
Posts: 13

Posted: Mon Nov 29, 04 4:51 pm Post subject:

i once thought the same about big shoots until a few years back when i gained access to a place that was once a large shoot but had fell by the way side. the woods on that shoot were barren of the wild life that was once there. not long after a syndiate took over the running and rebuilding of the shoot did the flora & fauna return. if you do not agree with large shhots that is fine but think for a moment what they do contribute to the countryside.

i have shot for sport/pastime, roughshooting, wildfowling, pigeon & rabbiting from the age of 14 to present (37) and more than ever realise that we all should stick together.

Legion

Joined: 24 Nov 2004
Posts: 170
Location: Western isles, Scotland

Posted: Mon Nov 29, 04 6:09 pm Post subject:

Absolutley I couldnt agree more, we all have to adapt to which way the world is turning and its going back,( or at least many people are trying to) far beyond more than many of these modern day 'hunters' will ever realise. Adapting and utilising traditional / regional skills, knowledge etc - the politically acceptable way - hence the show rc....its the living or experiencing the ideal life.....or at least i hope its leaning that way - it would be a refreshing change.

anyone watch the programme about the 'river rat' last night on bbc2 - i think - just ordered the book from amazon, cant wait to get it, love extremeists!!Just think how many there must be in this country - must be loads - must compile a list.
Bill Oddy - bird watcher , he's one - a bit rosecoloured glasses rspb banner carrier for us never the less an extremeist! and a well known one.What about the lesser known ones, like for example we have a breed of pony on the islands called eriskay ponies, its main guardian is an awesome bearded gaint of a man, who lives on south uist, he was originally from Mull - hence he is known as the 'Mulluch'. A living history book on the islands culture and history of the ponies. someone should do a documentory series of these people before they die out. Eoghann used to get a grant from the local council for hay as his children travelled to school by these eriskay ponies - every day of the year - boy can he spin a tale............

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