Why so little interest in hunting on the forum?

[cmort666]

How long of a shot are you willing to take when handgun hunting? Always hear about people doing it but never been willing to try it myself. I'll stick with my bow or my rifle. Plus, don't really have a handgun that's suited for it.

Before the panic anyway, Ruger Redhawks in .44 Magnum were very reasonably priced. If I were getting started in handgun hunting, that'd be the way I'd go.

Personally, I've got a 6" Model 29-2 that I've carried as a backup on a couple of hunts in Missouri. That's what I'd use were I to hunt with a handgun as my primary gun.

 

[410bore]

I have a very modest interest in hunting that's tempered by:

• game laws in Ohio which limit me to shotgun, handgun, black powder or bow. I have a TOTAL disinterest in bow, shotgun and black powder hunting. My preference would be rifle.
• my complete disinclination to hunt crowded public land.
• my job, which affords me NO vacation at all.

If I can get a real job some time in the near future, I plan to go hunting again on my best friend from college's family farm outside of St. Louis. We actually talked about it a couple of days ago. It's great hunting land, and being privately owned and posted, we don't have to worry about dubious characters with poor judgment. Plus we plan to shoot some coyotes since the place is thick with them and they prey on game and livestock in the area.

You, my friend, are missing out. Bowhunting is a very enjoyable and rewarding sport. Yes, public land is crowded but in my area private land is accessible with permission of course. I dont think Public grounds recieve much hunting pressure during bow season.

 

[jem450r]

Before the panic anyway, Ruger Redhawks in .44 Magnum were very reasonably priced. If I were getting started in handgun hunting, that'd be the way I'd go.

Personally, I've got a 6" Model 29-2 that I've carried as a backup on a couple of hunts in Missouri. That's what I'd use were I to hunt with a handgun as my primary gun.

I use a super redhawk very enjoyable to hunt with!

 

[CajunBass]

I used to deer hunt quite a bit. Around here, at least back then, meant running deer with hounds, and shotguns and buckshot. I enjoyed every minute of it.

Then I got bit by the bass fishing bug. I had an expensive bass boat that I really enjoyed and the weather here stayed nice enough to fish until early January at least. Everyone else was out hunting, so I had the river to myself. By the time the weather turned really bad, hunting season was over. I didn't hunt for a number of years.

Now, I've quit bass fishing, and hunting is beginning to interest me again. Not so much deer hunting anymore, that's too much like work, but I enjoy squirrel hunting with a 22. I can go out when I want to, wear what I want to, stay as long as I want, and shoot when and if I want to. I do a lot of what I call "catch and release" hunting. I get a squirrel in my sights and think "BANG...gotcha." No skinning, no cleaning. I might do that two or three times, then kill the next one. Even I don't know for sure which I'll do until I do it.



We do go deer hunting at least once a year. My wife is handicapped and gets invited to a handicapped hunt through the rehab hospital where she was a patient, and I get to go along. This is a classic southern dog/shotgun hunt. We've never killed a deer, but have really enjoyed the fellowship. She looks forward to that every year.

Although she didn't look too happy just then.

 

[cmort666]

You, my friend, are missing out. Bowhunting is a very enjoyable and rewarding sport. Yes, public land is crowded but in my area private land is accessible with permission of course. I dont think Public grounds recieve much hunting pressure during bow season.

I'm not missing anything since I have zero interest (and skill) in archery. Give me a bow and an arrow, and flip a coin as to which goes downrange.

Like sports, country, and serious cooking, it's just one of those things in which I have no interest.

 

[kisportolt]

Before the panic anyway, Ruger Redhawks in .44 Magnum were very reasonably priced. If I were getting started in handgun hunting, that'd be the way I'd go.

Personally, I've got a 6" Model 29-2 that I've carried as a backup on a couple of hunts in Missouri. That's what I'd use were I to hunt with a handgun as my primary gun.

I carry my 1911 with me when I hunt as a backup, especially when I bow hunt in bear country. Not the ideal choice to use primarily, but one day I'll get a better hunting handgun maybe. I would consider my .22 for small game (Beretta Neos)

You, my friend, are missing out. Bowhunting is a very enjoyable and rewarding sport. Yes, public land is crowded but in my area private land is accessible with permission of course. I dont think Public grounds recieve much hunting pressure during bow season.

+1. Bow hunting is a completely different game than gun. The fact that you have to be much closer and quieter alone makes it fun. Sure, you can see the buck at 100 yards or even 60, but good luck taking a decent shot. Shooting a bow takes more skill IMO, with wind and drop being such a significant factor. Much more practice is needed, which lets you spread the hobby out all summer. And as long as you don't break arrows, you're not spending much to shoot.

 

[cmort666]

I use a super redhawk very enjoyable to hunt with!

Those are probably the best all around SERIOUS hunting handguns around these days.

I'm just not serious enough about it to spend the money on a handgun that's pretty much, as Alton Brown would say, a "uni-tasker".

A 6" .44 Magnum Redhawk is versatile enough for what little handgun hunting I'd do.

I've already got a couple of 29-2s so it's mostly a moot point for me, although I wouldn't mind having a 4" or 5" Redhawk in .45 Colt, and that as a self-defense gun.

 

[Bill Bates]

More than anything else, I'm a bird hunter. I spend my Fall and Winters hiking behind a English Setter or two waiting for the point, the flush, shot and retrieve. I have Smith & Wessons in the safe but my shotguns are my working guns.

Last year I discovered turkey hunting is another excuse to be in the field during the Spring. This is my first wild turkey, taken last week with my birth year (1958) Winchester Model 12 16 Gauge.

 

[vigil617]

Here's a picture of Andy. He watches over my reloading bench from the wall. I never had the heart to tell him that the bullet that took him was loaded on the same bench.

"Andy" -- as in "'And he' walked into my sights one day, and that was it for him."?

I would advise not telling him about the bullet; otherwise, he'll be spittin' into your powder when you're not looking!

EDIT: Darn it! Just figured it out.... another dadgum Zombie Thread! Arrrghhhh......

 

[kwselke]

"Andy" -- as in "'And he' walked into my sights one day, and that was it for him."?

I would advise not telling him about the bullet; otherwise, he'll be spittin' into your powder when you're not looking!

EDIT: Darn it! Just figured it out.... another dadgum Zombie Thread! Arrrghhhh......

Actually, Andy was taken with a .308 Remington Model 700 BDL Varmintmaster rifle, loaded with a 150 grain Sierra GameKing Spitzer BT, in Imperial (a defunct Canadian Co.) brass, with a Winchester LR primer, and 46.1 grains of IMR 4064. That rifle and load will put 10 holes in a nickle at 200 yards all day long.

I prefer shotguns and semiauto pistols for zombies.

 

[woodsltc]

When a banjo playing shoeless and toothless mammy Yokum can get her meals courtesy of the Super Walmart just down the road a piece from her sugar shack, what's the point of hunting? The advent of a supermarket in every hamlet came on the heels of a chicken in every pot and a car in every back yard. Hunting for food is oh so passe; hunting for trophies is for 1 percenters.

Uninformed, insulting, elitist rubbish !!!

Don

 

[chud333]

Proud to be a hunter and as long as i am able, will do so.
I also will talk hunting with anybody who has the time.
Something special about going afield in pursuit of a game animal
whether or not you have any success or not. To me the kill, if one
is made, is secondary to the actual experience of being with family
and friends and the fellowship enjoyed. I was taught by my grandfather
to enjoy hunting and to pass it on to my grandkids. Just being out there
in nature and observing is very special to me. Some don't get this and
that's fine as well.

Chuck

 

[jgh4445]

Hunting is my passion! The only hunting I don't get totally into is Duck hunting. Just never took it up. Jump shoot lots of woodies for the frying pan though and my Lab loves it, but I'm not a died in the wool duck hunter. Love deer hunting. Turkey hunting is so special.Sh ould have taken up crack cocaine..cheaper and less addictive. Funny how a "big chicken" can make a fool of a grown man.Love to hunt with flintlocks or modern, just as long as I'm hunting. Hogs, dove, quail. I love it all. So do my son and daughter and my Grandson. This fall, I'm going on my first prairie dog hunt. Going to Wyoming. More of a prairie dog shoot than a hunt I'm told. I'm really looking forward to it. Loading for the .22-250 and the .223 so I'll be ready.

 

[Wee Hooker]

Given this is largely a handgun forum that is frequented by handgun collectors and enthusiasts, I don't find it surprising. Lets face it, most handguns are either not used for (or are not well suited/allowed for hunting.) If S&W hunting rifles and /or shotguns had a bigger share of the market, I'd bet there would be plenty of hunting discussion.
Personally, I like the wild mix of topics here. Keeps it interesting.

p.s. I've got nothing against hunting and used to do a fair bit of it myself. Now life is ruled by other complexities that eat up my free time.

 

[Peak53]

It's about the hunt, not the kill

Proud to be a hunter and as long as i am able, will do so.
I also will talk hunting with anybody who has the time.
Something special about going afield in pursuit of a game animal
whether or not you have any success or not. To me the kill, if one
is made, is secondary to the actual experience of being with family
and friends and the fellowship enjoyed. I was taught by my grandfather
to enjoy hunting and to pass it on to my grandkids. Just being out there
in nature and observing is very special to me. Some don't get this and
that's fine as well.

Chuck

Well said, Chuck. Couldn't agree more. Actually, I think most hunters get it. People that don't hunt are less likely to understand. When I return from hunting, lot's of people are going to ask, "Well, did you get your elk?" More often than not, the answer is "No, not this time, but I sure had a great time." That's when they lose interest and change the subject. I don't get to tell them about sitting in the cold and dark waiting for the sun to come up and loving every blessed minute, then the sun peaks over the ridge to turn everything to color. Or, when I get close enough to a big bull to hear him breathe, but can't get a shot, and my heart is trying to break out of my chest. Guess you had to be there!

 

[Old 44 Guy]

I've hunted since I was 13, Quail, Doves & rabbits then. Then came duck & goose hunting, did that for a few years. Took my first buck in 1953 & never looked back. Best times I ever had was in a deer camp around the camp fire talking about the days hunt.I was the kid then now I'm the old man. All my old hunting buddys are gone so I hunt with kids now. Son in laws, their friends & family members mostly. Yeah, it's hard on these old bones getting up @ 5AM but worth it. Planning a deer & elk hunt in Oct. As far as guns go I collected a bunch, mostly S&W's. Passed most to family members when I moved here. Kept my hunting guns & my pre war Colt SA 44 Special. I've taken 5 deer with the old hogleg in the past.

 

[gunfish]

I like to hunt. I don't kill what I go after or what I find. I take a pic. I am fine with guys that kill what they hunt. I used to fish and keep. Then I switched to catch and release from a kayak. Now I leave the rods at home. I have learned that animals are easy to find. I had a conversation with a turkey today.

 

[fat tom]

Looks like that old boy is sayin'"kiss my you know what".
f.t.

 

[don5]

Proud to be a hunter and as long as i am able, will do so.
I also will talk hunting with anybody who has the time.
Something special about going afield in pursuit of a game animal
whether or not you have any success or not. To me the kill, if one
is made, is secondary to the actual experience of being with family
and friends and the fellowship enjoyed. I was taught by my grandfather
to enjoy hunting and to pass it on to my grandkids. Just being out there
in nature and observing is very special to me. Some don't get this and
that's fine as well.

Chuck

Well said! You "get it". Some people would rather watch nature on TV than get out and see it up close. I really enjoy getting out and watching the wildlife. I enjoy watching my son get excited when he sees a deer, squirrel, ground hog, whatever. My son loves to be outside and he loves to go hunting. I am thankful for that.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

count me in!

I still like to hunt...mainly just deer now and pigs if I see one. Rifle, Muzzleloader, and Shotgun work for me. Haven't bow hunted in years.

I have a North Carolina Lifetime Sportsman's License (hunting/fishing.) Might as well take advantage of it.

Cooked up some deer burger in the iron skillet tonight I did.