Wild stuff (hunting thread)

[Virtuous]

My grandpop is a wildly prolific big game hunter, he’s the one that got me into it and into guns.

I just visited and grabbed some pics - let me know what ya think:

 

[Scorpyd]

Grandad has my utmost respect ! The bear trophies look truly amazing.
Has he written a book by chance?
I'd love to have the pleasure visiting his trophy room and listen to some of his adventures around the campfire.

As an aside, I am taking my wife bear hunting in 2 weeks. I taught my wife to hunt so I don't have to hunt for my wife. We are using short range crossbows. he arrowed her first bear at 18 yards last year.

 

[01dragonslayer]

Very impressive collection of trophies. How many years did it take to assemble that army?

 

[fisther69]

Why don’t stuffed lions ever look right? Lol

I’m not big into taxidermy, I’ve always just did it for the experience and the meat. But now that I’m rapidly approaching 40 I wish I would’ve stuffed have the shit I killed for a cool room like that.

 

[Virtuous]

Very impressive collection of trophies. How many years did it take to assemble that army?

About 40, he’s 96 now

 

[Virtuous]

Grandad has my utmost respect ! The bear trophies look truly amazing.
Has he written a book by chance?
I'd love to have the pleasure visiting his trophy room and listen to some of his adventures around the campfire.

As an aside, I am taking my wife bear hunting in 2 weeks. I taught my wife to hunt so I don't have to hunt for my wife. We are using short range crossbows. he arrowed her first bear at 18 yards last year.

He did a 90 minute video interview. I’ll dig it up. No book though, but yeah, he welcomes anyone over to see it if you’re in Iowa.

 

[Virtuous]

Why don’t stuffed lions ever look right? Lol

I’m not big into taxidermy, I’ve always just did it for the experience and the meat. But now that I’m rapidly approaching 40 I wish I would’ve stuffed have the shit I killed for a cool room like that.

Yeah same, wild meat is amazing but the souvenirs woulda been cool.

The lion DOES look goofy

 

[w8tlifterty]

I kill to eat but I don’t personally understand big game hunting on that level?

Unless you’re out there w a knife or something similar I don’t understand taking trophies from something that you were never in really any real danger from? Now, if you killed it with your bare hands… by all means.

Maybe that’s overly simplistic and I don’t mean to offend but I’ve never understood stuffing something (and relishing it) you killed from a safe distance by putting a bullet/arrow through it. If you went to actual combat w that animal and came out on top, stuff the shit out of it and hang er’ up otherwise I don’t really get it?

Im originally from the Midwest and killed my fair share but I just don’t get the wild game hunting thing at a level greater than hunting for food. That bear or lion would literally tear the very biggest and baddest of us a new asshole had the playing field been leveled.

Maybe someone can enlighten me?

 

[Virtuous]

I kill to eat but I don’t personally understand big game hunting on that level?

Unless you’re out there w a knife or something similar I don’t understand taking trophies from something that you were never in really any real danger from? Now, if you killed it with your bare hands… by all means.

Maybe that’s overly simplistic and I don’t mean to offend but I’ve never understood stuffing something (and relishing it) you killed from a safe distance by putting a bullet/arrow through it. If you went to actual combat w that animal and came out on top, stuff the shit out of it and hang er’ up otherwise I don’t really get it?

Im originally from the Midwest and killed my fair share but I just don’t get the wild game hunting thing at a level greater than hunting for food. That bear or lion would literally tear the very biggest and baddest of us a new asshole had the playing field been leveled.

Maybe someone can enlighten me?

He’s huge into conservation.

Nearly all the animals he’s killed are old, impotent males that need to be culled to allow younger males to breed, or part of a large over population that is threatening other species.

He pays game tags of anywhere from $5-100k per animal, and that money is recycled back into the ecosystem to help increase animal populations.

It’s hard to wrap your head around it at first, because there’s a lot of nuance, but effectively he’s helping promote conservation via hunting.

He’s gotten a lot (like dozens) of conservation awards.

Plus, the meat is really cool to eat. Hippo steaks anyone?

 

[w8tlifterty]

He’s huge into conservation.

Nearly all the animals he’s killed are old, impotent males that need to be culled to allow younger males to breed, or part of a large over population that is threatening other species.

He pays game tags of anywhere from $5-100k per animal, and that money is recycled back into the ecosystem to help increase animal populations.

It’s hard to wrap your head around it at first, because there’s a lot of nuance, but effectively he’s helping promote conservation via hunting.

He’s gotten a lot (like dozens) of conservation awards.

Plus, the meat is really cool to eat. Hippo steaks anyone?

Very interesting, see none of that stuff I knew.

I was hoping you wouldn’t take that offensively and I bet he has some stories to tell. I’ve heard of the notion of conservation through hunting but always kind of thought it was a bullshit thing just for ppl to get their rocks off killing something that would easily kill them without even breaking a sweat had the playing field been leveled.

 

[OuchThatHurts]

About 10 years ago, I got an albino whitetail doe right near here in central PA. I really should have had her mounted. At about 1 in 25,000 you could hunt all your life and never even see an albino. It wasn't all white though. There were patches of brown with grey eyes but still, would have made a nice conversation piece.

Messy kill though. Wasn't broadside so hit the flank ended up chasing it down and cutting it's neck.

Not exactly one of my prouder moments, honestly.

 

[Virtuous]

About 10 years ago, I got an albino whitetail doe right near here in central PA. I really should have had her mounted. At about 1 in 25,000 you could hunt all your life and never even see an albino. It wasn't all white though. There were patches of brown with grey eyes but still, would have made a nice conversation piece.

Messy kill though. Wasn't broadside so hit the flank ended up chasing it down and cutting it's neck.

Not exactly one of my prouder moments, honestly.

That’s always rough, man. Bow hunting is serious business, and not landing a clean shot feels awful.

That being said, there’s no easy death in the wild. Starvation, disease, or predation were the only other outcomes available.

 

[Virtuous]

Very interesting, see none of that stuff I knew.

I was hoping you wouldn’t take that offensively and I bet he has some stories to tell. I’ve heard of the notion of conservation through hunting but always kind of thought it was a bullshit thing just for ppl to get their rocks off killing something that would easily kill them without even breaking a sweat had the playing field been leveled.

Yeah no offense whatsoever man, and there certainly people who don’t do it right. There’s asshats in every area of life.

Thankfully he’s not one of them.

He’s bagged the polar bear after a week long dog sled journey close to the North Pole, wild stuff.

 

[USMuscle9403]

Yeah no offense whatsoever man, and there certainly people who don’t do it right. There’s asshats in every area of life.

Thankfully he’s not one of them.

He’s bagged the polar bear after a week long dog sled journey close to the North Pole, wild stuff.

The polar bear stuck out to me. They get up to 1500lbs, holy fuckamoly...

 

[Heath82]

Good friend of mine goes to Africa every year. Told me a lion cost 100k. Doesn’t matter if it’s climbing the tree to get you, you shoot it and you gotta pay!

 

[buck]

Good friend of mine goes to Africa every year. Told me a lion cost 100k. Doesn’t matter if it’s climbing the tree to get you, you shoot it and you gotta pay!

My x was a wildlife biologist that lived in africa for a few years in a park trying to help build up the wild life populations. From her and other places i have read that much/most of the money does not get used for conservation. And just lines the pockets of politicians and others that are well off.

 

[OuchThatHurts]

That’s always rough, man. Bow hunting is serious business, and not landing a clean shot feels awful.

That being said, there’s no easy death in the wild. Starvation, disease, or predation were the only other outcomes available.

Yup. My dad is a former game warden and the deer he would find and kill were shot, emaciated, gangrenous, horrible deaths. I had no choice. I no longer bow hunt after that. I'm a hunter, but damn.

 

[01dragonslayer]

About 40, he’s 96 now

Does he still hunt at 96?

 

[alfresco]

My x was a wildlife biologist that lived in africa for a few years in a park trying to help build up the wild life populations. From her and other places i have read that much/most of the money does not get used for conservation. And just lines the pockets of politicians and others that are well off.

Got a story (long) I will share about this when I get home about my time working on a game preserve in East Africa.

 

[Gunsmith]

About 10 years ago, I got an albino whitetail doe right near here in central PA. I really should have had her mounted. At about 1 in 25,000 you could hunt all your life and never even see an albino. It wasn't all white though. There were patches of brown with grey eyes but still, would have made a nice conversation piece.

Messy kill though. Wasn't broadside so hit the flank ended up chasing it down and cutting it's neck.

Not exactly one of my prouder moments, honestly.

If it had any color it's actually call a "piebald" , piebaldism is a genetic mutation similar to albinoism and just as rare. I've seen some pictures of beautiful mounts of them.
I bow hunt more than anything anymore and a botched shot can be "messy" , I specifically shoot high poundage so I can shoot bigger cutting broadheads. Even a marginal "gut shot" ends pretty fast