How about a Hunting Thread

Its has been interesting and quite informative. I will try and preach my last sermon on what I think ( Again) :P

As this thread dies I went through a lot of the posts again as you can get carried away during debate. If we lived in a perfect world there would be no need to have these type of debates. But then we would have no wars , conflict , expansion , growth as a species , need to learn , need to fail , need to survive , need to debate. Etc. Etc. We would also be doomed as a species as we would have stagnation which will ultimately lead to a reversal and decline of our species. We would also not need to hunt or kill our food. That would mean we would have to have a finite number of entity’s ( XXX number of people xxx number of insects etc . etc. ) or an expanding planet , well we aren’t going to have that.

People get very emotive about wild life, hunting, seals , whales etc. and so they should as man has a history of using up what he can or destroying what he can’t use or gets in the way. Living in Africa maybe gives you a bit of a different view to life and the going’s on of the world. My approach to wild life and conservation has to be a compromise as it no good to say don’t hunt . Or don’t poach. Sometimes poaching is done not by greedy people but people who need to eat or shoot the rhinos 9and example) and sell the horn for a pittance to someone who is exploiting them. So not only do you have a theft problem but an empowerment problem as well. You have look after the needs of local people in and about these conservation areas that will kill the game if they get hungry. That is according to some OK hunt when you are hungry. But if you are unemployed you will always be hungry and wild game has finite numbers.

You need to protect wild life by giving it value and by doing that it becomes an asset , people protect assets , don’t give a person a tree huger speech because he can’t eat it. What we are doing in South Africa it involving the locals in our national park as to preference tenders ( It can take a bit of time to get things done) preference employment , and levis to all visitors ( Local and international) that goes into a fund for local development. This does not solve all problems but gives locals a felling of ownership. This helps protect the areas and game. ( Alas not always though)

OK hunting. We can only have so many National parks or State park of City parks. Our type of game needs very large areas and a variety of terrains and this is where the game farms come in. These farmers breed for commercial use hunting and viewing. They also resupply and repopulate areas that have been previously depleted. ( at a monetary cost of course ) . There farmers charge hunters to shoot game under strict supervision and monitoring. You pay for what you shoot. There is also some game that is not allowed to he hunted I.E. any animal that is classed as endangered by Cites.

As to the Killer Hunter. Well if he ( and surprisingly quite a few she’s as well) want to come and kill game for trophies so be it. They kill and take their trophies home with them in a very controlled environment. The meat is sold locally or processed , often dried meat products. The skins are processed and sold. This income allows the farmer employ staff breed replacement stock , expand his game holding and variety , do maintenance and repairs ( Fences normally electrified , miles and miles of it , as the game has value) It also maintains the number of animals of a specific type and breed . These farmers also keep animals that would normally be considered a pest to BALACE the system ( Jackals etc.) as everything is required in a ecosystem.

I told you it was long .

Continued in next Post.

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Collin

(Aficionado Olympus DSLR )

http://collinbaxter.zenfolio.com/

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. (George Carlin)

New Seventh Wonder of the World.

 
We have a problems in one of our national parks. Kruger Park has to many elephant’s the size of the park ( 2,000,000 hectares which is enormous ) is too small to carry the number of elephants. 14,000 at this point. The number it can sustain without ecology destruction is 8,000. Kruger elephants are also very stressed due to numbers and very destructive. So what happens now , well after many years of trying to relocated sterilize etc. etc. they are having to start culling. The animals are destroyed by Park Officials and not by commercial hunters. It’s terrible and effective. They destroy a whole family ( Everything , calves , young , adults etc). this is done as elephants have a very social nature and structure and the stress of removing a few ( Old ,Young) is devastating to the herd. So it’s more Humane ( Love that word as we always put a HUMAN touch to it.) to remove the entire herd. The tusks are destroyed and the carcasses left to rot. Terrible is it not . These problems are due to wars , and poaching in the surrounding countries and Kruger is a haven to these animals fleeing strife . I forgot to mention the fences. Thankfully there has been no mention of culling lately maybe due to the very good and frequent rains they have had. ( Strangely due to climate change). or culling could possibly be going on but very quietly due to human emotions. These people are in my mind heroes as they have to destroy what they nurture and build. They do what is right not what is nice.

Nature conservation today is a dance with the devil. Compromises and pragmatisms. Emotive speakers can fill our heads with words but our hands with nothing. Wild life needs to survive and if it takes dancing with the devil ( Hunters) then so be it. Or to make the enemy of my enemy my fiend. I know I use shock tactics in my assumption that that people don’t think and I can be pretty blunt and single minded in some cases. If you can make anyone think about wild life and come up with some compromise or goal then conservation can go forward.

I ran the slaughter house and hunting meat comparison thing past my wife and got the “I don’t want to know.” Well I see I have some home work to do.

She did however later on say “ You could have a nicer way of being right.” On this subject I really could live with being totally wrong.

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Collin

(Aficionado Olympus DSLR )

http://collinbaxter.zenfolio.com/

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. (George Carlin)

New Seventh Wonder of the World.

 
Just some ramdom old stuff out my pbase galleries . Some not so good.



































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Collin

(Aficionado Olympus DSLR )

http://collinbaxter.zenfolio.com/

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. (George Carlin)

New Seventh Wonder of the World.

 
Very well put Colin and I'm a bit like you I think, ethically opposed but happy to listen to every side of the argument. BUT in Europe we have a lot of shooting, to call it hunting would be a traversty, where the object is to shoot birds out of the sky. No food, no conservation message just killing for fun. The worst culprits are Cypriots and the Maltese and I would love to hear any justification for what they do. Like everything in life it is not a simple argument and being pro or anti hunting is not as black and white as it may first seem.



My Galleries are at
http://picasaweb.google.com/trevorfcarpenter
 
Trevor strangely that is not allowed to happen here. You have to have a hunting licences which limits the bag. Responsible hunters control some of the irresponsible guys. This is done by peer pressure or alienation. Maybe because there is a hunting ethos in the country there are written and unwrtten rules which most hunters abide. If you shoot game on a farmers land without permision/ileagaly you could be shoot. It has happend (a few times ) so maybe you will get shoot. ( I don't know if I should put a smilly face here)

You are not allowed to hunt on state land and on private land the owner sets the rules within the law as all wild game is covered by the law. It does not mean that because you own a animal you are entiteled to ileagly shoot it. No compliance will lead to confiscation of your guns , and vehicles and arrest. With the amount of poaching going on hunters are not getting any spare change if they break the rules.
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Collin

(Aficionado Olympus DSLR )

http://collinbaxter.zenfolio.com/

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. (George Carlin)

New Seventh Wonder of the World.

 
like anything else, when the OP started the thread, he was only displaying some photos he took on a hunting expedition. And I'm also sure that he didn't intend for it to offend. That's the problem with this forum - the PC police will jump on someone in a heartbeat. The OP was probably as surprised as I was to begin reading all the rubbish that occurred after his posting.

I, on the other hand, make no bones about my proclivity (and pleasure) of periodically ramming something home towards Progressives.....;)

Have a very Merry "Christmas" - one and all!!!!! (not Holiday - rather, Christmas)
--

 
"The OP was probably as surprised as I was to begin reading all the rubbish that occurred after his posting".
I on the other hand had a good idea of what was coming and I was correct. On here there are enough (FAR LESS) controversial topics/posts that will bring on all kinds of rabid ravings.

Mayby it was the OP's header suggesting that a "hunting thread" be started that really riled some people up to make some extremely insensitive statements.

All of a sudden I've got this urge.......................to go dowstairs and punch some holes in some paper with my underpowered air rifle (under 500fps muzzle velocity, of course) strictly regulated by our government. AND no pellet "drum magazines " allowed either.....sighhhhhhh.

Bill
 
"i dont have a problem with people who choose to hunt with a camera
i do have a problem with people who hunt animals to kill them

you want to hunt animals with weapons, hunt each other
see how it feels when the opponents have equal risk "

I'm sure that would help you with your "problem". Don't kill the poor animals. Kill each other! Now there is a warm and fuzzy approach. Thanks for sharing. I think I can speak for many, although not all, of us here when I say, if you find the op's subject not to your liking, go somewhere else instead of trying to impose your beliefs on others. Not only was your comment rude but it was said in a way that could only elicit bad feeling.
ahhh...maybe I'm doing the same thing.
 
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Bob (formerly bobmax)
 
where are the educators when we need them? i'm sure they could come up with equivalence factors for a .22 long rifle versus a .375H&H.
 
Na.

Today people don't want to get technical they want things simplified. When bying a wepon state cal. for what use, who uses it or what movie you have seen it in.

.22 = small bullet ( Sissy and assain gun)
5.56 nato = bigger Bullet (Good Guys, shoot lots hits few)
7.62 nato = big Bullet ( Good Guys to big for some though)
7.62 Russian AK47 ( Got to be the bad guys big bullet shoot at everything)
50 Cal = Bigest Bullet ( shoot lots execpt for snippers)
38 Special = ( Someone to small or scared to use a 458/357 )
458 Magnum = Dirty Harry (Good Guys some lucky some not)
357 Magnum ( Some one to weak or scared to shoot a 458 magnum , or smater)
45 APC = US Officers hand gun ww ( Good Guys )
45 = ( Cowboy vs indians with arrows.)
9×19mm Parabellum = (Depends who won what war)
30.06 = ( stolen nato skimed to fit hunting rifle)
303 = ( Britsh good guys or faviorit poachers wepon in africa after ak47)
Bigger tha 50 cal = ( Stupid to shoot or has wheels )


--
Collin

(Aficionado Olympus DSLR )

http://collinbaxter.zenfolio.com/

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. (George Carlin)

New Seventh Wonder of the World.

 
Na.

Today people don't want to get technical they want things simplified. When bying a wepon state cal. for what use, who uses it or what movie you have seen it in.

.22 = small bullet ( Sissy and assain gun)
5.56 nato = bigger Bullet (Good Guys, shoot lots hits few)
7.62 nato = big Bullet ( Good Guys to big for some though)
7.62 Russian AK47 ( Got to be the bad guys big bullet shoot at everything)
50 Cal = Bigest Bullet ( shoot lots execpt for snippers)
38 Special = ( Someone to small or scared to use a 458/357 )
458 Magnum = Dirty Harry (Good Guys some lucky some not)
357 Magnum ( Some one to weak or scared to shoot a 458 magnum , or smater)
45 APC = US Officers hand gun ww ( Good Guys )
45 = ( Cowboy vs indians with arrows.)
9×19mm Parabellum = (Depends who won what war)
30.06 = ( stolen nato skimed to fit hunting rifle)
303 = ( Britsh good guys or faviorit poachers wepon in africa after ak47)
Bigger tha 50 cal = ( Stupid to shoot or has wheels )


--
Collin
Good job Collin! Though Dirty Harry's main gun was a S&W .44 mag. And a fine gun it is. But no doubt if Harry was in Africa he'd get the bad guys with the .458 mag.
 
That's what he is, but never been trained. He's fun in the woods.

Brittany Spaniel
E1 50-200mm @50mm external light source f9 1/125 100iso
jpg right out of camera



 

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