Hunting - Is fair really fair?

Nice Post.

Fair, nothing in life is fair. you have to earn it.

As one travel from one country to another fair changes.

A single shot vs a bolt or even a break open shotgun or rifle...i have use them alll...

Correct nothting in life is fair, we are the only sesnsitive predators because we have the ability to reason... (this is human and what being human is all about) evolution has given us this ability, Ethics is a personal issue granted,.... each to his own.

I dislike shooting from a vehicle and will not book a hunter that likes to do this, as a full time professional hunter I have the ability and reasoning to choose the way I like to hunt as well as the kind of hunter I like to associate myself with on a personal/professional level.

I was taught to hunt a certain way and will do so until I die, while ethics is a truely personal thing, for many shooters its about shooting the animal and not about the pursuit, for me personally its about the whole experince building up to the moment just before the trigger breaks, any other way would be a hollow experience in my view.

As early humans we use to kill to survive and "ethics" was of no real concern, but when the need to kill for survival took a back seat, it became the thrill of the chase as well as the thrill of the kill that became the main focus of our obsession or for mine for the most part.

We have come along way in the hunting industry and I belive it is within every hunter to decide what their ethic entails, I have learned something valuable though and that is that i do not need as someone stated my "own empire", I still hunt for the love of it, and for the thrill of the chase as well as the possibility of a kill.

Call me ignorant but that makes it all worth it.

Jaco,

With every day and every situation we, as individuals, face choices-this is a good thing because it means we are alive (any day we go vertical is a blessing). I reason, for the most part, that you and I are on the same page. I truly appreciate your response to my article and my thinking.

May I point something out-something that has its basis strictly in experience? I have come to learn not to dislike one method of hunting over another, and this is because the variable associated with each hunt/individual constantly change. I have come, however, to dislike poachers-those operating outside the law.

I would be a liar if I said I have never shot an animal from a vehicle...coyotes and pairie dogs come to mind on my private land. The vehicle provided the highest shooting platform within the area, and thus, assured a better success rate for the task at hand (legally eliminating serious problems in a fast efficient manner). In those cases, the vehicle was merely a tool like the gun in hand...and definitely a part of the chase.

If one reasons enough, one realizes that every "hunt" fall somewhere between these two extremes: hunter takes the hunt to the quarry, or the quarry comes to the hunter. And you are right, It is about " the whole experience building up to the moment just before the trigger breaks,". It's the plane ride which brought you closer. It's the man picking you up at the airport. It's the ride through unfamilair land. It's the stepping out of the vehicle and moving through the bushveld...providing you have legs. I hope you see where a person could go with this.

I have had the pleasure of hunting with severely handicapped individuals (outside of carrying my son to a ground blind). Each of those hunts were filled with incredible experiences and new challenges. In your case, to disassociate with these individuals for legally shooting from a vehicle, although this is your prerogative, would really be doing them and yourself a disservice. I am sure you have a lot of first hand knowledge to share. I am also sure you could provide these hunters with life changing experiences. On the other hand, I'm sure you will learn from the experiences as well. You have within yourself the ability to help men grow. Keep an open mind and don't always take for granted that which appears on the surface...do keep reasoning.

The experience is truly the trophy.

Great post.

I struggle with the "hunter" versus "shooter" concept a great deal. I bow hunt, pistol hunt and hunt with a rifle. But I am not a true "hunter" by the standards of this forum. I have shot animals from a truck. I've shot animals from a blind. I have done several long, arduos spot and stalk hunts and taken animals at distance with an exceptional shot. But I have also shot animals at close range from concealment.

But each time I have been on a great adventure. I'm a lawyer living in Florida. We don't have much qaulity when it comes to hunting. I have 2 kids, a business and a wife. Ball practice takes up all my free time for hunting during the Fall Season. So once every 2 or 4 years, I get a trip to Africa. I love it. Love the experience. Love the relationships.

I'm not shooting animals tied up to a tree. But, I'll admit - I want a nice trophy for my wall. I have taken 10 animals in Africa, and I can remember everything about each one. The conditions, distances, weapons, etc.

But I have to concede I am probably a "shooter."

So, does that make my contribution to the hunting community worthless?

IAYHLBY, You are way to right we do seem to be on the same page for the most part and You have raised some very valid points on this site, as my previous post only adressed one aspect of your article I shall now adress the other and then the other again.

Variables should be taken into consideration,.. especially when taking individuals into consideration..., Very true I can not argue facts.

As you correctly mention, how can anyone distance them self from an individual that would not in any other way have been able to take a Warthog, or a Wildebeest if it was not for the mobility of a vehicle or for the camouflage of a stand on a feeding spot, preventing any person from this would be sinfull and selfish to say the least, I have hunted with a couple (by no means an expert) of hunters with limitations,

For one,

I have returning client with multiple sclerosis in its advanced stage. When we started hunting togehter 7 years ago neither of us knew what live was going to throw at Jukka, and yet with every year we have adapted and changed teqniques to bring about a consumate hunting experience for him, the camaraderie that we have built and experiences shared I will not exchange for any other I have experinced.

However with this being said, I have a very strong feeling about what we consider to be acceptable, we have fallen into the the habit of instant gratification, Fast food, High speed internet, quick books and recently instant safaris, simply put we have become lazy, we want what we want when we want it and how we want it.

My problem with this is the fact that we know what the outcome will be, long before we are done, it is so easy.... I can go out and buy a 60" Kudu bull from an outfitter, as long as I am willing to pay $6000-00?? and I'll shoot it...... I'll even be guaranteed the lenght as it was tape measured the week before, in some casses.
With this being said the trophy with the longest horns, is not always the sustainable/right, trophy to take, trophy hunting revolves around taking mature animals (past prime) this makes it sustainable.

But then who cares I want a nice trophy for my wall, surely this does not make any sense, or am I simply missing something?

It has no mystery (for the most part) any more... it has become a Wallmart, maybe we should sit back and reflect on what we are doing, (especially in SA.) But then again maybe we wont as doing it any other way won't be as good for the bank account or more over the little empires that we are trying to build all in the name of conservation.

I am pro hunting! It is what I do for a living! It also puts food on my table! But I believe in sustainabillity of all species involved, there is virtually no Ethic or fairchase or sustainability involved in opening a truck trailer, loaded with 30 oryx or 15 Blesbuck rams or 20 Impala rams and having 4 hunters with guns on that particular day or a week stalk a fence line to harvest a good trophy, or is there? Once this happens is it Sustainable?

Once I need to bring in trophies, it is a clear indication that hunting is not taking place in a sustainable fashion, and please.. I am not refering to gene variation or any of the hog wash that some might try to put out there, if you are dropping of 15 Blesbuck rams it is to kill and has absolutly nothing to do with gene variation or so called blood stock.

Bringing in breeding stock can be achieved by supplementing females and young of both sexes.

I am not "putting down" outfitters, but in all honesty my quarry and therby I mean, for me in particular, must have an honest chance to get away, chasing after disorientated animals in unfamiliar terrain (to "them") can surely not be considered a hunt and if so maybe in that case...... I am not a hunter.

I do believe that there are good hunts to be had all over SA on many properties, as long as there is enough land for my quarry to evade me.

I love hunting countries like Zimbabwe (please do not make this a leagal issue because I do so legally) and so Mozambique or any other wild setting for that matter, it is simply put the ultimate hunting experience in Africa.
I have learned much from individuals in these respective countries and have come to understand their ideas and concerns and to be honest these are mine as well.

We should step out of the box sometime hopefully soon, and look back in, to what we are occupying ourselves with, we might laugh it off, but then we might cry...

I have most definitly come to dislike on method over another, seen in perspective many others might feel the same way.

This is a great post and it is good to pass ideas to a fro, Good hunting to all.

My best always.

It's fair if its legal.
No to some it may not be sportsman like or even fair. But if its legal its fair.
I wont pay big bucks to get a so called trophy. To me a trophy is what I bring home, even if it is only good memories. What's not fair is when hunters start complaining about some method or type of weapon or the number of animals taken. All this does is give the anti-hunting people ammunition (pardon the pun) to try and stop hunting. We are all hunters and should band together as such support the sport and one another.

So "It's fair if its legal."
Thanks/randy

Randy what ever makes you sleep better at night bud, at one stage Apartheid was leagal in south africa, in Germany killing millions of people was seen as nothing wrong.

I believe it is up to every hunter to select or decide what his ethic is and the way he wants to hunt I think we should agree to not agree on this subject as this will get into a continuall bumping of heads and running into a brick wall......

Your opinion of leagal being fair is yours and I do respect that, unfortunatly I refuse to share it and can not be faulted for that.

Happy legal hunting!