Hunting with bows

[gunmender]

Im with EB on this one, if and only if required. I have had to do culls and its quick and clean with a firearm, depending on the beast.

[gunmender]

The Germans are great hunters, they have an 18 month course (part time)to gain a Jagdshine, a licence basically. The detail involved is intense and i found it very interesting, they do a lot of safety and anatomy study as well.

[JohnK]

Originally Posted by thunk

It's all very well to talk about 'culling to maintain the ecological balance', but nature does that itself if left alone. It's us - mankind - who have upset that balance in the first place.

This is true. However, in the case of deer in the UK, for example, we have removed the only other predator completely, i.e. the wolf. Deer herds have to be managed. Where they aren't, the population booms, they strip the available food and then start to die off from starvation and disease.

I know some US bowhunters, and they fall into two categories - those who only hunt what they'll eat, stick to strict quotas and relish the challenge of getting close enough to their prey to kill it cleanly and ethically; and those who want to kill all the animals - including endangered ones - on a particular list because someone did the same thing several decades ago. One of these types I have the utmost respect for, the other I despise. Guess which is which?

[Stu]

I only shoot game for the pot or the purse. Shotgun or rifle where a clean kill shot can be made at all times, if there is ever a doubt then the safety remains on. There is nothing worse than haveing to despatch a wounded animal that another gun has wounded and then shied away when the deed has to be done.
Culling improves the blood line within the herds as natural predation doesnt take place any longer, but correct management requires humane methods of despatch which unfortuanately an arrow even in the kill zone will still let the animal suffer.

As another negative reason for not hunting with bows in this country - I suspect it would give archery another perspective, a negative one. The none archery puplic may consider our bows to be a dangerous sport. It seems just now we have little problem with the law and the attitude of people. As soon as 'Blood & Guts weekly turned up on the shelves of the local news agent I wonder if the time would come where we would end up going down the gun law route too. It may also encourage every 'Chav' from all around to buy a Compound from 'Ebay' and pop away at anything that breaths.

[Max]

Ah! - but then we could pop back at them too - and we have a head start! Hmmmm - Chav hunting season - that should be popular. We could have little Burberry hats and trainers hung from our study walls!

[Medoc]

On a trip to Canada this year, I was invited by a Canadian field/hunting club to go shooting with them, the only thing we ended up getting was some Steelhead (a sort of Salmon I think), they tasted lovely on the BBQ, I didnt have a problem with this and wouldnt have an issue if it would have been Elk, Deer or anything else, so long as it was meat for the table.

However I do see an issue with allowing hunting over here for all the safety issues involved, the tought of idiots loose in woods with compounds trying to earn a few quid is chilling.

[Tarkwin]

Originally Posted by Max

Ah! - but then we could pop back at them too - and we have a head start! Hmmmm - Chav hunting season - that should be popular. We could have little Burberry hats and trainers hung from our study walls!

In the same way that hunters in the US spray themselves with deer urine (or extracts thereof) so as not to be scented so easily, would we all have to cover ourselves with knock-off CK one....

I envision a vast array of hides and tree stands at the local McDonalds & KFC..

Stuffed heads, complete with cap, earring and 9ct necklaces mounted along with photos of the hunter posing beside the fallen prey on office walls up and down the country.

T.

Originally Posted by Max

Ah! - but then we could pop back at them too - and we have a head start! Hmmmm - Chav hunting season - that should be popular. We could have little Burberry hats and trainers hung from our study walls!

We can but dream Max...

Originally Posted by tarkwin

In the same way that hunters in the US spray themselves with deer urine (or extracts thereof) so as not to be scented so easily, would we all have to cover ourselves with knock-off CK one....

I envision a vast array of hides and tree stands at the local McDonalds & KFC..

Stuffed heads, complete with cap, earring and 9ct necklaces mounted along with photos of the hunter posing beside the fallen prey on office walls up and down the country.

T.

Tarkwin, now that was funny!lol