Buying a Springfield XD45

[Merrida]

Dan, I am not trying to provide any moral awakening. For one, that isn't my job. For a second thing, I eat venison. I've already told you that. I also explained why I commented as I did re: doe because where I live, the regs are completely opposite. I come from a family of hunters on both sides, so my personal issues regarding hunting are rather botched because I eat some meat, have hunters in my family, every one of us on all sides own and shoot weapons of many kinds, (including bow), I have always grown up with hunters in my life, I have dated my share of hunters (and one of my closest friend's husband, their family owns a slaughter). So please don't think that my direct questions to you were meant in any way to send you on some type of spiritual journey because I have this inner need to make the world full of deer.

I do, however, find it sickening repulsive and morally irresponsible when people kill for the sake of killing and don't utlize the meat, skin, everything from their hunt. And that isn't something I picked up from my Native American inlaws either, that's the way I was raised,....by all the hunters in my family.

Law may say you can shoot and leave deer bodies scattered around (much like people do if they survive hitting a deer, when I've seen the deer limp away, depending on the size, we have big deer,.... and the car totaled but that's another story). It makes doing that no better than hunting people down. (I'll extend my cyber cheek for you to cyber slap, but I'm not flinching).

I can appreciate that you eat what you hunt and you don't show disregard by killing for trophy or pure target pleasure (we have ranges for that and skeet if you enjoy the thrill of a moving target). I also know how dumb deer can be and have seen them starve to death and die on frozen ground when growing grass has been within eye sight. I do not know my deer anatomy well enough to know what their senses are like when it comes to how they find (or totally miss) their food.

So trying to spew out enough to show you I am NOT bagging on you for hunting or trying to force you or anyone into any kind of awakening. (Do I really seem like I do that? I'm more acerbic than that and sometimes causitic. If I had something to say, I'd damn well say it).

So my point was obvious with regards to the doe (as I explained how it varies by region and how the doe is looked upon), and also with regards to eating what you kill.


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[Dan C]

Well, I just figured your tongue-in-cheek question about me eating 36 deer was in hopes that I'd re-evaluate the reason I hunt (or more specifically, the reason I plan to hunt more this year).

I can appreciate your concerns about a hunter utilizing all of his harvest. I feel the same way. I eat what I kill, but admit I have little use for the hyde, head, bones or organs. I could perhaps save the hydes for the taxidermists (we did when I worked at the shop)... the organs go to the foxes, vultures, etc... I don't think I've ever heard of anyone using the bones for anything.

[Merrida]

To be honest Dan, I have more respect for people like you, than people like myself. You have the balls to go and hunt and kill the meat you eat, while the little bit of meat I do eat, I leave the gory details to someone else to handle. I believe that makes me somewhat hypocritical. I believe that today, if I had to hunt what I ate, I eat even less meat than I do, and I'm sure the occasions I do eat venison would dwindle rapidly. I may end up eating fish only. Even then, meh.

The hides are beautiful and deer skin can have great uses. (But then again, I grew up in households where we had bear skin rugs all over and mounts on the wall,....eeww, but it's how I was raised). For the most part, as I said, I hold in higher esteem the people who truly utilize their kills and do not kill for mere "sport of killing."

That may be what you picked up when I inquired about if you kill in excess of what you and your family would eat (directly and freeze, given the length of the season). Peace?


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[Dan C]

About 4 years ago I took a part time job working at a deer processing shop. Other than cooking, I had never worked with meat like that before. After learning to skin, cut, grind and wrap, I figured the only thing left for me to do was kill (Lord knows I've got the cooking and eating part down). I looked at it as a survival skill incase I ever had to "run to the hills."

My first experience hunting was enough to turn the biggest carnivore into a vegetarian. I won't go into the details but lets just say I had not yet fulfilled my goal of killing, cleaning, cutting and cooking my own food from start to finish. When I had, there was definitely a sense of gratification.

But I know hunting is not for everyone. And I do not consider you a hypocrite for not wanting to do it. (If you were a meat eater who was against hunting, then yes - hypocrite.)