how can deer hunting be considered a sport,worse still how can someone enjoy shooting a defenceless animal?

Question

where is the sport or the skil.
How about getting in a ring with no weapons and fighting a bull
now that would be sport,more of a fair fight

i appear to have angered some of the hunters out there.I watched deer hunting on tv,i couldn't beleive it was even on tv,but it was.It showed two guy's in a camoflage tent 50 yards away from a deer,on a fenced in ranch ,saying how hard it was going to be to kill him,jesus i could have killed it with a rock from that distance!
For you guy's out there who hunt for food to feed you're family total respect for you,but it the people who are killing for fun that i don't agree with,and lets face it the animal is defenceless, how many times have any hunters been killed by a charging deer.Once you have decided to kill, for food or fun, the animal is as good as dead. If you can get a shot.It isn't going to see you and think i'm going to kill him before he kills me.

to H
although i don't agree with all of your'e points,you have given a good answer very informative and i obviously have a different view point,i do respect you view also
.....plus good name you have there!

Answer 1

There is no way it's a sport.
With a properly calibrated rifle, I could choose a spot wait less than six hours and kill a large mammal at 800m. Almost everytime. Fact.
The only skills I have are a lifetime of observing nature and a couple of shots at beercans with a .22 rifle.
To compare this with what nature photographers do is ignorant. Photographers not only have to get the light and background right, but they have to get perfect focus. They also are more interested in behaviour, and will spend years getting detailed knowledge of their subject in order to observe a particular behaviour.
It would be much more sporting to supply these b*stards with fake ammunition. Let's see them in real combat, with both parties just as surprised and unarmed. I have a feeling we would start to hear about hunters being killed after being savaged by a muskrat.

(edit)
As usual, those holding ignorant views, base their arguments on fantasy land. Jumping at the first criticism.
Hunting for food is OK, provided the animals are naturally managed (farmed). Like pheasant and deer are in certain areas. Killing for pleasure is never acceptable and totally SICK. Just ask any native hunters. They hate what you are doing.
800m is based on the British army's manufacturing tolerance of their standard weapon. They also expect their recruits to attain this standard. Firing a GOOD rifle is NOT difficult, it's p*ss easy.
Even living in a wildlife de-populated area I could find wild boar and wild buffalo any night. If I could choose a wilder country, no contest.
I have spent a lifetime tracking and observing animals, I know what I am talking about. And forget 'rifle-range' at a waterhole or animal path. I go to where they live and sometimes get close enough to touch. Most hunters will probably be surprised at these basics of tracking - ignorant drunk hicks playing at being men.
Yes I agree markmanship is a skill, just watch the olympics. But if hunters want to attain this level, get out of my precious nature and get on a range. Otherwise it's TOO EASY.

Answer 2

Because hunting is enjoyable. Especially if you have woodsmanship skills. I hate the "city hunters" myself. I also prefer to use bow and arrow. More up close and personal. Besides, there are many many misses by folks more than kills. The animals taste delicious. 99% of hunters do it for the meat. So don't believe all that crap you see on TV about the "big game hunters" that just go for the rack. Most of those folks are independantly wealthy and usually only hunt on fenced in private property. I think that they are idiots most of the time. I also don't care for rifle hunting. I understand that they do need it in some states where they take long 200 or more yard shots. That is a difficult shot no matter what. I hunt in Ohio where you can only use a shotgun or bow. I prefer smaller gauge gun (20 gauge) because you don't need a cannon to kill a deer. It is all about shot placement. Nearly all of the deer I have shot have dropped right where I hit them and were probably dead before they hit the ground. I enjoy the time away from the hustle of work and life by being in the woods even if I don't get any game. Hunting is hard and luck plays a large part in it. Don't let anyone ever tell you different.

Answer 3

I'm a licensed concealed handgun owner. Not that its special to be one really but before the all your flaming commences I 'm just clarifying my position on guns in general. As for the guys question about calling hunting a sport - eh. I dont really do it. Sports are suppose to be difficult. Shooting seems to easy to be called a sport to me. Frankly it doesn't take much skill to shoot a gun or a high powered bow. You point the end at something and move your index finger a tiny bit and bang. That reeeeeally doesnt take that much skill. Or maybe I just find it so easy that I personally do not think it takes skill. I guess I could be that great (hehe) I suppose others not so great might find it pretty difficult to point AND pull a trigger. I know - I know what your thinking (minus the expletives). What do you mean no skill? You have to aim at a target that is moving so its hard. yes you have to aim and to aim in front if something moving in a direction and that might seem complicated for some people - I guess. frankly most people are actually not shooting at a MOVING target but rather a stationary one that is munching on grass or feed. Gimme a break - moving target ya right. I guess if it hears you set down you beer can to pick up your gun it might be moving. If someone was shooting at say... flies and did it successfully and yes I'll even count those big *** horse flies then that I would have to admit would take some skill. But a deer come on now its not like they are small and hard to see. they are not camouflaged and they arent wearing armor. They aren't even waving a gun back - although I would find that amusing if deer could shoot back. Then maybe I'd call it a sport, of sorts. Of course my big foam finger would be rooting for the deer hahahaha Sure sure every hunter wants to say it is difficult cause they want to feel proud like they accomplished something but lets be honest - really honest - if it took that much skill why are so many people able to do it and do it successfully oh and usually while being half drunk. I'm just keeping it real. I learned a long time ago not to take things on the internet so seriously. So lighten up on the guy. He is entitled to his opinion - it does take all kinds to keep society balanced after all. BTW if a person were trying to tackle an alert deer (not sleeping or at a feeder - feeders are totally BS cheating) anywaaaay trying to tackle an alert deer barehanded (that also means no ropes of anykind), just man on deer, 1 on 1 - no ganging up or using vehicles or cheating as such then ok I would call that a sport.

Answer 4

No skill? You have obviously never hunted and probably have not shot a gun. An average deer shot is about 100 yards, now trying to hit the deer while it is possibly moving, the adrenaline in your body and just making the actual shot all make it a bit of a challenge to make a clean kill.

So are you saying an un-armed, 200 pound human vs. a 2 ton, horned bull is a fair fight?

If you think about it hunting is much more ethical than buying a turkey or chicken from the store. If you go buy a turkey at the grocery store, you don't realize that that turkey was born on a farm for the specific reason to be killed and eaten. And when that turkey becomes big enough to eat he is brutally killed for it.

Hunting on the other hand allows the turkey to live in the wild and really experience life before it dies. Hunting and killing your own food is so much more respectful for the animal, then being raised in essentially a death camp.

Answer 5

Anyone who has ever stalked a deer - Or hunted fruitlessly for day after day without seeing one has no problem understanding the sport involved in doing so. It's called sport, because sometimes you do not win.
Deer do not just walk up and stand there to be shot.
Drive through any rural area in the U.S. , And you are driving by deer. Why don't you see them, if there are so many, you ask?
They don't want to be seen. You have to HUNT for them to find them.
Shooting a deer in real life is not as easy as those unfamiliar with deer, guns and hunting may think.
Guns do not automatically hit whatever you would like them to, like they do on TV.
At 100yds., the shape and size of a deer can be neatly hidden behind a coin held in front of your face. Hitting an eight inch circle on the deers chest at this distance takes an incredible amount of skill.
Additionally, deer hunting is not about enjoying killing the deer -
It's about enjoying EATING the deer.
An adult whitetail deer will yeild sixty or more pounds of meat.
With hamburger at 1.85 a pound or more these days, That is a substantial financial consideration. Most deer hunting occurs in rural , ecconomically depressed areas, and a lot of kids might go hungry if it were not for the fact that the law allows their fathers to utilize this resource.
In areas where deer hunting has been suspended, it doesn't take long for the effects to be seen. While deer are solitary animals, they are also territorial. As population expands without hunting to limit the size of the herd, Rapidly starvation sets in. As the starving animals deplete their limited natural food supply endangering not only the newest animals, but the original population as well. Deer then begin to try to migrate to new feeding areas, and in the process, get killed by cars, hung up in fences and left to starve, and generally face fates far more miserable than a quick, clean death at the hands of a hunter.
If you assumed that deer hunting is about hanging antlers on the wall, You assumed wrong. I have no problem with the antlers on the wall - They are a symbol of a great effort comming to fruition on the part of the hunter, and a sign of respect toward an animal that was a worthy prey which may well have kept the children's bellys full one cold winter.

Answer 6

You're an idiot. Try it. Go hunting and see how difficult it is. There are so many things that go wrong. Ask any neophite hunter how many times they have been close but not quite made it. After living in a world full of technology, where everything is made available to you at the touch of a button, you assume that the animal must be defenseless, obviously it doesn't possess all that you do. You have no appreciation for it's natural defense mechanisms, no appreciation for the mechanics of nature and further insult the rest of us by presumming that you do after watching it on TV. If you don't know what you are talking about, either shut up and listen to people who do, or do some research and try first hand experience. I'm hoping you simply throw an electrical item in the bath while you lay in the water.

Answer 7

Update re: your update.

If there are two guys and a cameraman filming it,
it's probably a arranged hunt on a outfitters ranch.
Each state has it's own rules on this - so this is for Missouri only.

These people want to "hunt" and pay a lot of money for it.
I'd guess $800 and way up - excluding licenses.)
The outfitters spend the rest of the year providing salt & mineral blocks, food plots (specially planted crops to attract deer), and habitat restoration - which benefits local hunters as well.

The deer are enclosed, fattened, and get used to people.
They are basically cattle, but in MO, you can't keep them in a fence over 7' high. That's like jumping up two steps would be to you or me. If they decide to leave - they will.

The customer gets a chance to "hunt" a deer. The outfitter is there with a quick follow-up shot so that deer don't suffer if the "hunter" does not get a good shot on it.

The meat is not wasted. If the hunter doesn't want it, it's taken in for processing (about $60-$100 - and I imagine is included in the fee), then distributed to needy people throughout MO via the "Share the Harvest" program. I've gotten a couple of pounds that way (they mix it heavily with hamburger so that everyone wil eat it).

Non-resident permits are $145 (plus $25 surcharge for some states) for an antlered deer, subsequent doe permits are $7, but you must have purchased the $145 permit first.

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It takes some skill in shooting, planning (finding a good position), and using calls. It also takes a certain amount of luck.

I think that skill and luck are elements of any sport.
It's a sport.

I enjoy it as I'm on social security disability, and I can get 200 pounds of extremely lean meat for less that $30 a year.

I also enjoy it because they are a nuisance and hardly defenseless!
In two years, I hit two of them, and one hit me.

Two have jumped out into the road where I hit them.
One ran into my drivers door and dented it.

The insurance claims cost me about triple my insurance rate for about 2 years. Luckily I drove a fairly tough truck, so it wasn't totaled (which is often the case with cars).

However, when the Air-Conditioning didn't work the next summer, I couldn't prove and claim it as deer damage (although, it was working fine before that).
It's an older style R-12 freon unit which means it costs a lot to repair or get replaced (more than I have).
I haven't had air-conditioning for 4-1/2 years (and some medications I take make me feel like it's 10 degrees warmer to start with anyway). The heat index is above at least 90 for a couple of months in this area

Do you know how many people are injured, maimed, or killed by deer, elk, moose and all of those defenseless animals in the road in a year?

Of course not!

You don't even know how to spell or use spell-check!
Not to mention grammar, punctuation, or capitalization.

So, I hope that your _one_ question ("?") has been answered.


800 meters and you used a .22 on beer cans?
Ok. I'll give you the 6 hours for setup and everything else.
You get 600 meters and 5 shots.
You give me a .22 handgun at 60 meters and 5 shots (iron sights are fine for me - don't need a scope).

Answer 8

Any type of hunting is done to control the number of species in a certain habitat. Like you said, people take that a step farther and actually do it just for the fun of it. Hunters come in 2 types: Sportsmen and idiots. Sportsmen take their limit and quit and clean and eat all the game they harvest. Idiots kill just to see the rack hanging on their wall. But to have something you take the good and the bad because without hunters there would be a lot more deer related deaths and a lot more farms destroyed.

Answer 9

Well deer hunting is a lot more sporting than going to get a Big Mac at your fast food chain. Those of you that eat meat have no right to complain about us hunters who "murder" deer or other animals. If you eat meat you are just paying a "hit man" to kill the animal for you. A deer had a much better chance against hunters, than a cow in a slaughter house. As others mentioned hunting is not about the kill. I hunt because:

I get out and enjoy being in the woods.
Seeing all the animals out there (I saw owls, turkey, squirrels, rabbits, coyotes, countless song birds, etc.)
Providing food for me family (I fixed barbacque for my co-workers and a roast for my kids last night from a deer I killed)
Fellowship of my friends. I spent two days with two very dear friends and enjoyed hunting with them this weekend.
As far as skill, a deer has better hearing, smell, and about the same eyesight as we do. If you never have hunted one of these animals you cannot appreciate how difficult it can be to get within shooting range. And a 600 meter shot on a deer, Yeah right. If you take into your considerations the flight time of a bullet out that range, a deer can move and your "easy shot" just turned into a miss. The longest shot I have ever made on a deer is 40-50 yards.

Answer 10

The killing is not what hunting is all about. Yes, it is the end result, but the true sport, experience, and joy of hunting is in everything leading up to the shot. Matching your skills and training against an animal's instincts, and superior senses. Not to mention being out, away from the city, usually with good friends or family. As for the guy who said he could hit "easy" at 800 meters, if that's the case, we need to recommend you for the Olympic team. I practice at 200-300 yards, and still will turn down a questionable shot. I varmint hunt at ranges up to 500 yards, and I have all the respect in the world for anyone who can hit at that range or longer. Oh, and for the record, I missed my buck this year, I never got closer than 200 yards (due to those superior senses.)

Answer 11

I ll take the bull by the horns hear then,,
You anties come and live in the country with me for the week you think were all barbaric and thoughtless, Guess again. Afetr a day you would be begging to go home, just from the work along I have never come across a hunter whos is not just onley a hunter, but a conservationist as well. I get sick of you lot just voicing your opinions thank god its not you lot us hunters have to answer too.
How many of you eat meet ?, get your self to the slorter house and see how much more barbaric that is to hunting and shooting a deer. Your all strate to the mark when casting judgment but how many of you exactly know what your talking about,,, i wounder
come on lets have the thumbs down from you anties

To your additional comments H, you say you watched 2 hunters kill a deer at 50 yards in a enclose ranch, First of all was it british tv you saw this on and secondley you use the word ranch, which makes me think your american. I class my self as an ambaseder to my spot and any man shooting a deer at 50 yards or less with the appropriat caliber rifel is most certanly not, I know when stalking a deer the object is to get as close as you can but even 100 yards is to close for my likeing.
I asure you any experianced hunter gives the deer a chance.