Deer Hunting: How Much Of A Sport Is It?
A story in the Indianapolis Star prompted me to re-open the blog.
I don’t hunt.
I clipped a deer with the front of my car many years ago. The deer ran off.
My wife is the real hunter in our family. The deer she hit with her car two years ago died by the side of the road.
That is the extent of our adventures with deer. We see them behind our house in the woods from time to time.
So, you would think I might be against deer hunting given the overall tone of the blog. Not really.
Guys I worked with during my time in the Postal Service hunted during deer season. I always teased them about shooting Bambi and they swore they would shoot Bambi every chance they got.
Most of them used a bow. Bow hunting is far removed from what it was many years ago. The technology has improved to the point that most anyone can become proficient with a bow.
My friend, Doug, always bagged a deer each season. He would bring sausage and jerky into work for us to sample. I never tried it but people who did said it was good.
The story above talks about allowing the use of high-powered rifles to hunt deer. You can use rifles now, they just want a higher caliber of ammo allowed. You can tell from the article that there is a divide in the deer hunting community about whether or not to change the law.
The author of the piece, told me , (regarding hunting) “It’s harder than you think.”
My response was, “It should be.”
My gripe, and I addressed this on Twitter, is if you want to call this a sport, shouldn’t there be a chance you come up empty in your quest?
It’s not like shooting a cow, for example. Deer are very quick and will bolt at the slightest sound or movement. Good for them. It’s not like they can shoot back. If it is difficult to do, that should be part of the exhilaration of the hunt. You will at least have stories about “the one that got away”.
We here at the Bellbottom Blog vote no on using high-powered rifles for hunting deer.
One other note about my friend Doug:
Several years ago, he bought a house that borders a flood plain in the city. They have a large wooded area behind his house. Soon after he moved in, he was surprised to see his shrubs looked as if something was eating them.
One day, he got up early enough to see deer in his lawn.
He told me at work, “Man, JB, they are close enough for me to shoot them right off of my balcony! But we can’t hunt in the city.”
Karma strikes again.
Peace
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