In a message dated 10/12/04 8:20:50 PM Central Daylight Time,
pat90218@yahoo.com writes:
Is it for the joy of the kill? Is it for the visceral thrill as you
see the high-powered shell rip into the deer's ribcage, blood
spurting out the exit wound? Is it for the deeply satisfying sight
of seeing the deer's eyes widen is fear, shock, and pain, and then
seeing it collapse to the ground in agony?
It's almost the same as when I go down to the stockyards and watch as they
place a metal rod right between a cow's eyes and it drops in a heap. Cows that
have been spiked with all kinds of hormones and pesticides in the diet which
will eventually go into the shopper's body.
Is it for the manly comraderie, the opportunity to camp out with the
boys, drink beer, and compare the size of each other's rifles? (I
may be close here, especially with the part about the beer.)
Actually, it's to see the rewards of the planting of food plots rich with
vitamins and minerals on our land throughout pre-hunting season to ensure that
this species continues onward
I was passed by a huge pickup truck. In the bed
sat four hunters on soem kind of improvised bench. Each had his
rifle detween his knees, pointed upwards. Each was staring straight
ahead, unaware of the beauty around him. It was one of the saddest
sights I have ever witnessed.
I can look out of a vehicle and not really be impressed by things I see from
the road everyday. It's when I get in the woods that I am awed by the
quietness of the air and the volume of beauty around me. While I wait for a select
deer, I usually have my digital camera/recorder going because these are sights
that I can share with others who aren't as lucky to be able to hike in the woods
or sit in a tree.
The answer, of course, is that since HUNTERS have largely
extirpated the deer's natural predators, the herds thrive to the
point of overpopulation. If we'd just let the whole mess alone for a
few decades, the predator AND deer populations would stabilize.
Well, then the automobiles and trucks would have to be banned because 1 out
of every 10 accidents in Wisconsin is deer related.
Just my opinion form a female deer hunter.
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