Re: Trophy Heads on the Wall Debate

"Steven Oakford" <steven.oakford@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1121943367.864147.93510@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> This weekend I was at a dinner party hosted by a friend and his
> wife. About half the men and one of the women are hunters, which is an
> uncommonly high percentage for this neck of the woods (Southern
> California). The conversation was on the outdoors and I mentioned the
> huge racks on the blacktails in a nearby protected sanctuary. How big?
> Bigger than I'd ever seen in a magazine or on a wall. Then the hostess
> said she thought that trophy heads on walls was sick and disrespectful.

***At that point, I would have (and have in the past) told her that "that is
YOUR opinion, however mine differs." I think that by mounting the trophy on
the wall, I am conveying the ultimate respect for that animal, immortalizing
it and the memory of the hunt. Every time I look at one of my trophies on
the wall, I am instantly transported back to the moment. I can remember
what the day was like, the weather, how it looked from the moment I first
saw it, to the excitement I felt when I realized that I might actually get
within range. I remember fighting the shakes, how my mouth went dry and how
my heart pounded. I remember the flight of the arrow, how it looked in the
scope as I pulled the trigger. I remember all of these things, including
the bittersweet moment when I realized that I had ended a living creature's
life. Those are all things that I see when I look at a trophy of mine. I
enjoy hearing the same excitement in another's voice when I hear about their
experiences.

> I tried conveying how much respect I had for everything I hunted.

***Many people have a hard time with this concept. I ask which they feel is
better for the animal, a quick and humane death via bullet or arrow or
slowly like "Mother Nature" seems to prefer? I once watched a deer pulled
down by a coyote pack and they began feeding on the doe while she was still
bleating and obviously still quite alive. Mother Nature's way of
starvation, disease and predators is rarely quick, easy or humane. At least
when I pull the trigger on an animal, the end is fast and in comparison,
painless.

When
> questioned on why not take pictures I brought up traditions that
> started before cameras.

***Yeah, I've seen/heard that argument as well. I point out that I utilize
as much of the animal as possible and that I like the taste of wild game. I
point out that this animal is feeding my family with healthy, low-fat,
low-cholesterol, chemical free protein. When my wife's sister once asked me
why I couldn't just hunt with a camera, that the end result was the same, a
"trophy picture" on the wall versus a animal's head, I asked her a series of
questions that she thought to be quite vulgar, but she had no reply to.
Sorry if I offend anyone, but this is pretty much how the conversation went.

Moira: Why can't you just take a picture, you would still have to get close
to the animal and you wouldn't have to kill it? The end result is the same!

Me: Do you enjoy sex with your husband?

Moira: Yes, why?

Me: Is the only reason for procreation or do you enjoy the orgasm?

Moira: Well, obviously I do.

Me: Well, you could use a vibrator and you'd have the same end result!

The conversation ended right there and she's never hassled me about hunting,
ever again......

When one of the jerks that hunts thought he'd
> help out by chipping in with logic that the anti's use against us and
> everyone stopped listening and I was happy when the conversation
> shifted.

***Some "hunters" really need to be educated in how to "enlighten" the
non-hunting public. Some of our fraternity are our own worst enemies.

> The non-hunters at the dinner aren't anti-hunters by any means.
> They are happy to eat fish and game that we've caught or shot; as long
> as it looks like something bought at the grocery store. None are
> vegetarians, they don't want to put a face to what's for dinner.

***There are many people like that. I believe one of my sisters in law
thinks chickens are hatched in a plastic wrapped container in the cooler at
the grocery store. She used to constantly berate me for hunting/eating wild
game as did her other sister. When I pointed out her leather shoes, leather
belt, leather purse, leather jacket, walked to her freezer and pointed to
the frozen meat, I asked her how many animals were killed for her? I told
her that at least I understood my place in the food chain and was
comfortable with that. Sure, I could hunt with a camera, but there's not
too much nourishment in a photo.

I've
> fished my whole life but grew up in a family that didn't hunt and have
> only started hunting in the last five years. I don't take it for
> granted, especially in a state like California, where everyone is an
> activist against something, and it seems like it takes very little to
> get something banned.
> I'd like help from anyone that can intelligently articulate the
> whys of our sport, not the "if it flies it dies, if it's brown it's
> down" arguments.

***I believe that we have a responsibility to manage the resources, to be
one of the checks and balances in the natural world, as we have been since
the first time man picked up a rock and killed his meal. The tradition of
man hunting beast is as old as mankind itself and I'm not going to turn my
back on that. Hunting is a heathy, wholesome activity that not only
provides a diversion from the all too hectic modern world, it challenges the
body, the mind and restores the soul. The act of hunting pits reasoning man
against instinct and superior senses, strength and speed of an animal.
Hunting to me, even without the kill is something that satisfys me on a
level that must be experienced. I think that many won't hunt because they
are afraid that they might actually enjoy the thrill of the hunt, and that
would also mean they would have to admit that they are not as far removed
from Cro-Magnon man as they'd like to be. We ARE predators, with our
forward facing eyes and vestigal canine teeth, NOT vegetarians.

I don't know if any of this will help, but that's my take on things.
--
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com
.

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