Why do hunters get such a bad rap?
Today’s Talk of the Day is inspired by a couple of things that have intersected in the last few days.
1) This week, we ran a story about a Sedalia deer hunter who shot a deer — and was subsequently mauled by the same animal before he finally finished him off. That story, as I write this, has 247 comments on it. Many of them run in favor of the deer and against the hunter.
2) I’ve noticed a steady flow of photos into our reader-supported IWitness “hunting and fishing” photo album. Every day, we get several more photos from hunters who have bagged a deer.
My colleague, Teak Phillips, a hunter himself, has also blogged about the Sedalia incident on his Hook and Bullet blog. I’m not a hunter, so I’m fairly ignorant about these matters. Teak gave me a lot of insight into the Sedalia case and hunting in general:
> Hunters were scornful of the hunter in that case. He should have let the deer alone for an hour, then approached it with his gun ready. If it’s eyes were closed, he should have shot it again; deer don’t die with their eyes shut.
> Hunters are very scornful of others that don’t follow the rules, which include abiding by state-imposed limits, getting licensed, hauling out what you kill, finishing off wounded animals, etc.
> A deer’s defense is more powerful than a hunter’s offense. They can smell a person a long way off, and hear them, too. They spend all their time surviving; actually finding a deer in the wild isn’t as easy as you might think.
> Critics complain that it’s not a fair fight. Deer don’t have opposable thumbs or a large brain; hunters have guns. But Teak says that once a deer is in a hunter’s sight, it’s NOT a fair fight. It isn’t designed to be. Hunting is designed for thinning overpopulated deer populations and providing food for those who want it. Again, hunters who drop deer and leave them to rot are scorned.
So, the question is, then, why do hunters who follow the rules get such a bad rap?
Kurt is the director of social media for the Post-Dispatch, where he has worked since August 2002. He's been a journalist since 1982, covering municipal government, courts, education and two hurricanes as a reporter before becoming an editor. 
Also, McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, etc.?
Geez, you don’t think it’s drunken bubba and his plump little boyz giving hunters a bad rap, do ya? I watched a man in a Ford pick up truck (yeah, bubba likes those Fords) pull a rifle from the back of his truck and shoot at a deer right by a school on our street. This is a wooded suburb, mind you. I can also go right by the deer in my yard (which I don’t feed), so your pal is off the mark Kurt. On a few things. Hunters who follow the rules don’t get a bad rap. It’s just that fewer of those kinds of hunters exist now. It’s always fun to see the underdog win. If this guy had any balls at all he would be admiring his superior adversary (the deer) in public forums. Look, these doofuses shoot the largest and best genetic specimens, then say they are good hunters. A good hunter leaves the best to breed more of the best. None of these humans are superior to these beasts who can survive, even amongst man’s follies and earth foolishness.
“People like P. Carpenter, Nugent was young, Teresa, lunar, Boyd, Karen, and Dave Misham are all prime examples of the uninformed bashing something ONLY because of their beliefs, and they have that right but look unintelligent in the process. But they have missed the point and should not take part in this discussion solely as a cultural assault. How many of them have given back as BIG as the deer hunters they are putting down?” -A. Patriot
I was not bashing the great majority of responsible deer hunters, although I did express my unvarnished opinion of Mr. Nugent (who is a celebrity, and I’m sure his approach has been dissed by people more colorfully than I did). You need to read my remarks again if you think I am anti-hunter. And I can assure you that I have “given back” to the natural world over the last 25 years in many many hours of unpaid, and often dirty, wet and cold service to Missouri public and private land natural resources– at least as much as a deer hunter who annually has all the fun of the hunt and the kill, and then “magnanimously” donates to Share the Harvest.
I have not missed the point; the question at hand was why do lawful hunters get a bad rap, and yes, that is a cultural question.
Because the powers that be want to make all the gun owners out to be crazy people..That way they can get the guns and kill everyone!
The problem is with the identification of a “deer hunter” many men go “deer hunting” once a year with the only real desire is to get out of the house, drink like a fish, wonder around in the woods and maybe just maybe shoot a deer.
The true hunter has been schooled by his father, grandfather, uncle or other close friend in the true meaning and correct methods in taking game. He his a great respect for the quarry he pursues and takes all necessary actions to see that the game is taken swiftly and fairly.
The true hunter knows more about the quarry than the average biologist, he works with the land to produce food and cover for the continued survival of the animals in the area.
Hunting is not a sport to many of us hunters, it is a way of life. It is a philosophy towards life.
Then some A–h— comes along and shoots the road signs and drives through the local landowners fences.
One bad apple, you know.