Looney…it’s not my job to be rational.
I provoke thought from those who are capable of thinking.

While I do not hunt, I do not disagree with those that do, if they play by the rules and are respectful of the animal. I do not believe in shooting an animal to injure it, that’s not right. If you are going to hunt shoot to kill so the animal doesn’t suffer. God put animals on this Earth for us to eat. In my opinion if you are going to hunt, you need to be willing to eat the animal as well. Or at least donate the meat to a butcher or to a place where other people can purchase and eat it.

“Looney…it’s not my job to be rational.”—-Garrison

It’s a good thing being rational isn’t your job. No union in the world could save you from you incompetence.

You don’t provoke thought from anyone. I’ve already nailed your MO. You pick a topic, google it, then pick a few things that support your lame position. Many of the times you just copy someone else’s work that supports your opinion. You have no clue about the hunters that are NRA members, styles of bullets, or hunting period. You just have some stereotypes of what you perceive hunters to be.

You’re funny Looney…
Hey, I have an uncle who was a nice church-going pacifist until he started getting NRA membership information through the mail. Now he drinks, hates kids and dogs, and carries a concealed weapon when he visits his wife at the nursing home.

Garrison,

You can’t generalize about NRA members – I’m one. I also have a CCW, collect firearms and know entirely too much about ballistics. But I love my children, have pets, and even voted for Obama.

Sometimes, the NRA acts more like the National Republican Association than the National Rifle Association, but they always stand up for our second amendment rights. To borrow from the other discussion, just as not all Union members are militant, neither are all NRA members. Each group has their agenda (protecting labor rights and protecting second amendment rights), but only the fringes take these legitimate causes to extremes.

I know it is tempting to judge a group by its most extreme/vocal/colorful members, but doing so rarely gives you a true feel for the group – and this applies to everyone from Hunters to Muslims.

Enough bashing hunters and hunting, already!! By the way, I don’t hunt so I’m not biased towards either side of the argument.

Hunting is an enjoyable and traditional way for them to procure some game while fulfilling the necessary function of keeping the animal population in check.

The more astute of you may recognize the invisible hand (Adam Smith) at work here. Hunters seeking to fufill their self interest (meat/recreation) are at the same time contributing to the greater good (thinning herd), whether or not their intention is selfish or altruistic, not that their intentions matter either way.

Now, if you are one of those well meaning but naive people who think that the animals should be left alone, you haven’t been paying attention to the enormous environmental damage that feral pigs have, or the explosion in the population of the otters that were reintroduced to MO a couple of decades ago.

We are fortunate to have a Conservation dept. that recognizes that hunting/trapping/fishing is an effective means to manage wildlife populations. That is truly a great example of your tax dollars at work.

Enough bashing hunters and hunting, already!! By the way, I don\’t hunt so I\’m not biased towards either side of the argument.

Hunting is an enjoyable and traditional way for them to procure some game while fulfilling the necessary function of keeping the animal population in check.

The more astute of you may recognize the invisible hand (Adam Smith) at work here. Hunters seeking to fufill their self interest (meat/recreation) are at the same time contributing to the greater good (thinning herd), whether or not their intention is selfish or altruistic, not that their intentions matter either way.

Now, if you are one of those well meaning but naive people who think that the animals should be left alone, you haven\’t been paying attention to the enormous environmental damage that feral pigs have, or the explosion in the population of the otters that were reintroduced to MO a couple of decades ago.

We are fortunate to have a Conservation dept. that recognizes that hunting/trapping/fishing is an effective means to manage wildlife populations. That is truly a great example of your tax dollars at work.

Mr. Phillips… I’m sure PETA and other similar organizations contribute more to factory farm animal concerns than Ducks Unlimited, Whitetail Unlimited, et al. What does the dollar amount and/or the particulars of the cause prove? The difference is the motivating factor: PETA and organizations like it are acting out of the animals’ interests, not out of their vested interest in a hobby. It’s in the interests of the organizations you cite to do what they do.

I certainly enjoy camping, mountain biking and hiking in the great outdoors, but hanging around outside in cold temps on a tiny stool and little vials of doe piss scent with a rifle in hand, and then having to haul something dead onto your car and tie it down (or throw it in your truck bed) isn’t my idea of fun. I have no beef (or venison, for that matter) with anyone who chooses to do it responsibly and safely. But not enjoying an activity is no reason for me to dis it.

Plus, even though I wouldn’t hunt, I do eat meat, so I can’t find fault with anyone who kills and eats their own meat. In fact, in many respects, that’s kind of cool. We like our meat in this modern society, we just don’t want to have to kill, clean (or field-dress), and butcher the animal to get to it. Most people prefer to have it wrapped us for us, waiting at the grocery store.

Hunting is largely referenced in country music and in the acts of the “Blue Collar Comedy” stand-up entertainers. It’s a favorite in rural areas and a “Red State” pastime. It’s just another cultural touchstone - like vacationing in Branson, living in trailer homes, country music, tractor pulls, and NASCAR, that is associated with redneck-ishness. It’s another battle of the culture wars, for sure.

Moneyed, privileged people in our country and Europe also used to like to hunt in Africa - except not for meat, but for the sole purpose of getting a zebra skin rug or an elephant leg wastebasket. This to me is far less worthy of respect than deer hunting and eating meat, but I think people forget that hunting was once the pastime of the rich, not the rural middle class. I’m a liberal woman and definitely no hunter, but I will defend law-abiding deer hunters. Don’t trust a deer with its eyes closed!!!

Asia… The masses get their meat from factory farms. It’s not Bambi. There’s no comparison between the two. And one of the big problems is the meat they are eating `didn’t’ walk about on all fours. They were crammed in as tight as possible to maximize profit for the company. Have you even researched the issue of how most of the meat in grocery stores is supplied?