SOME THOUGHTS ON SPORTSMANLIKE HUNTING

While stalking buck one day during the last hunting season I saw a fully grown springbok standing some distance from the herd, but he had already noticed me. Carefully I took aim. He showed up beautifully through my sights. “Too farâ€, a voice in me warned; a second voice cried: “Shoot, before it is too lateâ€. Simultaneously my springbok and his herd disappeared in full flight.

After some further stalking I suddenly wondered why I had not fired. I decided that I had not wanted to burden my huntsman’s conscience with a doubtful shot. Must we always shoot? I wondered. Does it afford us as much pleasure to watch a herd of springbok through binoculars, learning and studying their habits?

That night in bed ( after my friends and I had emptied the usual bottles of beer while talking of hunting and our experiences – always one of the most enjoyable aspects of a hunt) the thought struck me to cross-examine that second self which had frozen my trigger finger during the morning’s hunt.

“Lookâ€, I said, “that buck was as good as dead and you prevented me from firing. Why?â€

My second Self considered this and then replied, “You claim that you are a hunter in the true sporting tradition, following the long established rules of the hunt. Yet how do you act? You would not shoot a duck which is sitting, but would give it a chance to rise. But do you give the kudu or the springbok the same sporting chance? No, you shoot them in cold blood whilst they are grazing and you feel so proud of yourself when you receive the blood-stained twig from your companion and he puts the other twig in the buck’s mouth. Well may you feel uncomfortable and wish that you need not hear such things said of you. Isn’t it your own selfishness which dictates the method of killing, according to the measures of enjoyment it affords you? You make the traditions of hunting an empty phraseâ€.

I tossed and turned in my bed. Where did these strange thoughts come from? Did I, that evening, perhaps drink one glass of beer too much?

Such thoughts have doubtless gone through the minds of many hunters besides myself. Could the strange bed have caused them or excitement at the prospect of tomorrow’s hunt? I got up and walked around. The cool night air did me good and after futher reflections I lay down again. Enough of these contradictory thoughts. After all, “Sportsmanshipâ€, the “Law of the Huntâ€, is nothing but the law of conscience within each hunter which rules his actions.

Too often hunting has the same meaning for us as for the cheetah and the leopard, namely, to kill. Sportsmanlike hunting should have a deeper meaning:- a man should enjoy the hunt but should not hunt like a beast of prey, insatiable, unchecked.

The first commandment of the “Law of the Hunt†is CONSIDERATION of the game. The life of the animal is in our hands and it has little chance of escaping. Therefore it is our task to kill it painlessly whenever possible. Hunting is a skilled occupation. We should at all times choose a “safe†shot in preference to an exciting one, particularly when accompanied by an ill-trained dog or no dog at all.

The second rule binding us is consideration of our neighbours, and although this does not actually concern the animals, the obligation nevertheless exists to respect the property of other people. The game may not respect the fences, but this is no excuse for the hunter not to do so. The simplest rule to follow is the old one: “Never do unto others what you would not have them do unto youâ€.

To summarize: sportsmanlike shooting means the hunter is self-disciplined and self-controlled. An excellent way of achieving this in practice is to learn the old hunting traditions and to uphold them. The green twig, the buck’s last bite, is not an idle triviality, but forms part of the rules of the hunt, which, conscientiously and properly applied, causes the heart of the true hunter to beat faster.

We have to bear in mind that sportsmanlike hunting and game preservation are necessities, and I am asking everybody to help before it is too late. We should therefore start revising our thoughts and attitude towards this question. He who has discovered that watching is far better than killing has fully understood and should start influencing his friends and particularly the younger generation. This is also a field for our teachers. Awaken the love of nature in our children, teach them to respect all living creatures, show them the thousand secrets of the animal world. Then the protection of our wild animals life will in future years be no problem at all, otherwise coming generations will face many conservation difficulties.
Hunting has to be, otherwise the game would increase to such an extent that it would make farming in our country impossible, and we all want to live. However, it need not be ruthless shooting. The S.W.A. Hunters Association considers it a primary goal to train and help young hunters and others who are interested, to hunt in a sportsmanlike manner.


BE A SPORTSMANLIKE HUNTER,
STRONG, QUICK, COOL, YET GLAD.
LOVE YOUR GAME, BE NO SHOOTER.
HAPPY HUNTING, MY LAD.
Department of Game Preservation
S.W.A. Hunters Association.
OTTO PULON.

Seloushunter

quote:

The first commandment of the “Law of the Hunt†is CONSIDERATION of the game.

to often this is forgotten. Great post

Nice read and some provoking ideas for all of us to consider.

In context, it is hard to explain to people who are not hunters just how many deer I passed on in my life because for one reason or another. Mostly because they were too young, too interesting (I didn't feel like killing that day) or just not in the right position.

These same people fail to realize that I don't kill everything I see. HOWEVER, when I kill something, it is a kill, not a harvest, not a 'take', etc. I see no shame in the term and that is how I explain it to them. The animal is, after all, going on my plate or someone else's in the case of African hunting.

What does confound me is that there are some people who have a different value concerning hunting/killing. They are the ones who shoot anything and everything (the brown it's down crowd). Those who do not study their game, carefully select or even manage their hunting property for their game and the other animals using it. They are confused by me and I by them.

Is my way more right than their way? For that I have no answer, my experience is what is important to me.

I've been keeping a journal for many years. The stories I keep going back to all start with some variation of the title "A Shot Not Taken". These are my best memories of the hunt.

Passing up a shot on the buck that has some growing left, or on the bulls that pose for pictures, knowing that you are watching them is, indeed, a mark of the mature hunter. As to shooting while an animal is grazing or eating, taking the animal when it is unaware is best for the animal--the shot is less likely to wound.
Ann, I have always liked the words "harvest" and "take" when I have shot something that I loved to hunt. The word "kill" doesn't bother me, but for me, I "kill" things when I'm angry or eliminating a problem, and I "harvest" things that I love to hunt, or have no animosity towards. But that's just a preference for words, and of little importance.

It has also become a personal rule to not shoot anything that has entertained me--can't remember who first had that rule.

A point to consider is that young game makes great table fare. Every kill does need to be a trophy.

quote:

Originally posted by WPN:
A point to consider is that young game makes great table fare. Every kill does need to be a trophy.

None of the primary reasons I hunt is to satisfy my palate, although that is a secondary benefit. It's way cheaper to eat veal or lamb if young critters for palate satisfaction are one's primary goals. If the Sport of Hunting is the goal itself, it seems to make sense to let the young one's go by. There are certainly good folks who hunt locally on a cheap tag for anything legal to help out wih groceries, and that is a different story, but those folks are not able to hunt Africa.

I lived with my great grandfather and grandmother for three years during my early teens.

I once shot a simple cottontail rabbit while hunting with my grandfather and because I took a "snap shot" only wounded it and it escaped never to be recovered.

My grandfather looked at me and said "Larry, a real hunter respects the animal he hunts, sureness of shot is a kind of respect."

I have never forgotten that admonishment from a man I both respected and loved...many is the shot I have not taken since that day.

Merry Christmas to all,
SFC E7 (retired)

I have come to the conclusion from this post that I am probably not a 'Sportsman' or a 'Hunter'.
I just kill game. I am 73 years old and have been taking game,not hunting,not harvesting or any of these other terms,since I was about 8 or so. I can NEVER remember not taking a shot for any reason other than I didn't think I could make it. I derive great pleasure from the planning and the execution of the outing very much and the kill is certainly a major part of that experience. I do not attach any major mystical romantic feeling or meta-physical experience to the act of 'Hunting' nor do I give game any more respect than the fact that it is game. I try to shoot representative animals that are an example of the mature of the species but rarely if ever take 'trophies'. I believe in conservation and game management but since I have little authority in these matters (usually done by the owner of the animals as in Africa or by the State in the U.S.) I generally shoot what the PH says in Africa or what presents itself in the U.S. with little if any thought to anything other than making the shot. At this late date I shall probably never change.

quote:

Originally posted by zimbabwe:
I can NEVER remember not taking a shot for any reason other than I didn't think I could make it.

zim, in my book, that's more than enough to make you a hunter and a sportsman.

Why don't we shoot when we think we can't make the shot? It's not the fear of wasting ammunition or the fear of missing in and of itself. It's because we don't want to wound our quarry, we want to kill it, quickly and cleanly.

Learning when not to shoot is one of the hardest things a hunter must do.

quote:

Originally posted by SGraves155:

None of the primary reasons I hunt is to satisfy my palate, although that is a secondary benefit. It's way cheaper to eat veal or lamb if young critters for palate satisfaction are one's primary goals. If the Sport of Hunting is the goal itself, it seems to make sense to let the young one's go by. There are certainly good folks who hunt locally on a cheap tag for anything legal to help out wih groceries, and that is a different story, but those folks are not able to hunt Africa.

Call it a cook's point of view. I am a chef and I do. I also know people who are able to and do hunt Africa and take young does every year for the table. All hunting is not about sport. It can be different things for the same man at different times. It's about the experience and all that can entail.

I once happily spent a day at the end of a PG hunt in Namibia in the lodge kitchen cooking a bit of almost everything I shot that week. It was enormously satisfying to me in light of the fact I could not legally bring any of the meat back home.

You sure talk alot for a hunter.

Garrett

Merry Christmas to you, too.

While I'm waiting for my in-laws to show up for Christmas dinner, I think I'll chime in. I have always rejected the politically correct term "harvest" instead of "kill" and not just because everyone seems to think that you should use it, but out of respect for the game that I love to hunt. Now maybe there are a few rare cases in our hunting lives where we are involved in some sort of cull shoot, but for the most part we never "harvest" game, even if the intention is to provide for the table. I "harvest" corn and broccoli from my garden, and I don't consider it any challenge. I don't consider the game that I hunt a form of vegetable, but a living, breathing, heart pumping animal that is ultimately killed for our sport. To call it anything else dishonors the process in my opinion. Oops, the in-laws are here! Gotta put on smile and go.

Merry Christmas

Hello too all and a late Merry Christmas too all that celebrate it,

Yesterday, we (my wife is a vegetarian) had the whole shebang of in laws, parents and family, what a

but I did prepare the results of some of this years killing fields, a leg of impala with cherries, a leg of smoked bushpig with figs and mushrooms done in bulgarian yoghurt, a leg of springbuck in cream with sauteed onions stuffed with garlic and cloves.

Man we ate like pigs, the wife had made a rissotto, with cream and mushrooms with ginger, and potato bake that creamed all.

Did anyone there say something hell yeah, all wanted too know what we are cooking up for New Years,

I love hunting, and I love looking at animals but I absolutely go crazy about eating them