New York Times takes a look:
Wow great… poor kid basically gets called a pussy by his dad for not taking the shots. I don’t see the point of pressuring people of any age to get into hunting (or shooting in general). If you want to, great… if you don’t, that should be alright too.
I guess we don’t have to worry about that kid taking up manhunting now that Feinstein told everyone it is legal.
Thoughts?
Comments
25 responses to “A Teenager’s Traumatizing First Deer Hunt”
There comes a time where you have to man up and take the shot. I don’t know too many people who really enjoying killing, but they do it to put food on the table. Hunting was critical in teaching a boy to be a man. He was able to leave the house and come home with enough food to feed his family for weeks. We’re missing that in today’s society. Today it’s all about feelings and wandering dreams. So yes. Man up, take the shot and do what you know you need to do and not what you want to do.
I find your point of view interesting Nate, really. I had never thought about it this way…
I guess we still needs tests to become a grown-up…
Anyway, the thing that traumatizes me the most in this video, and all the hunting things in general, is that these hunters are still wearing camouflage clothes.
YOU HAVE A DAMN BRIGHT ORANGE VEST ON YOU !! No need to prepare like your going to war, with all your tiger stripes and ghillie suits…
And please do not even try to justify the fact that your orange vest has trees printed on it, it’s just too much for me.
Morons.
THIS^^^^
People wearing camo traumatizes you?
No Seb, people STILL wearing camo while they are required to put on an orange vest puzzles me.
ok gotcha.
Deer don’t see orange like we do.
I’ve heard this, i’ve also heard the important thing is to ‘break up the mass’ (if you will), such as having orange cammo so its not one big constant patch of the same color, thus helping you move better. but the people who say this could be morons
Yep. The orange is for the humans, dude.
The reason they’re wearing camo under the orange is really a simple answer. Not all hunting requires wearing orange, the bigger the game the more orange you have to wear. It’s a lot easier to have hunting gear that stays hunting gear. Nothing sucks worse than tearing or getting blood and guts all over your skiiing gear.
It’s not the hunters who are the morons.
we don’t needs tests to become a grown-up, but we have them all the time and many fail. the purse is strong with glen.
i wear my orange over my cammo because i have to (wear the orange), yet when i’m in stealth mode you wont see the orange, yet the cammo has to be exposed (its hard to hide your arms/head)
I know it’s compulsory to wear the orange vest, but I find it oxymoronic to have camo printed-high visibility vest.
Just out of curiosity, how do you get in stealth mode with this on you? (I am not a hunter myself, and when I’m hiding in the trees I don’t have the orange, so I honestly don’t know…)
cover, position, positioning etc
it also helps when you wear the minimum required coverage instead of a full on vest / jacket
http://www.qdma.com/images/made/uploads/articles/4670/human_vs._deer_lead_574_250_s.jpg
TN state law requires 360 degrees of orange. I put 4 small squares of orange duct tape on all 4 sides of me.
dont you need 500 sq. in. of said orange?
they require 400 sqin here
500 actually, yes. But TWRA officers usually don’t care. they are just happy to see you acknowledge they exist by =trying= to be safe. most folks wont wear any.
http://www.qdma.com/articles/can-deer-see-blaze-orange
That’s the rest of that article about the subject.
I’ve often thought of what I would do if my kids hesitated or refused to take a shot. I used to think I would be disappointed. I don’t think I would be now. When they are ready, they will. If they hesitate, I won’t berate them. Everybody has to try it once. If it isn’t for them, then they can help me out. Essential life skill, yes. Worth alienating or berating your kid over, no. I have no issues shooting at people who shoot at me (I have more confirmed people than deer as a marksman/cs in the Iraq conflict), but I will be the first to man up and admit that after the thrill of the shot, I always whisper an almost sad little utterance when I drop an animal. Respect, maybe. Isn’t that how it’s supposed to be?
Well, I gotta say that the NY Times found what they were looking for when they were scouting families for what amounts to a hit piece about hunting.
As far as I’m concerned, there is quite a bit of irresponsibility across the board in this clip.
For dad, telling a kid who clearly does not feel comfortable to take an unsupported shot at an animal that’s (at least) 50 yards away? And berating him while he’s trying to line it up?
And it was just a shot of opportunity. The deer happened to be there when they got out of the truck. If Pops was so fucking hot and bothered to take that deer, why didn’t he shoot it? Is it imperative that you shoot anytime you see an animal?
And that extends to the kid too. He shot his deer “in the butt.” Jesus Christ. I guess he couldn’t wait for a side shot or Daddy didn’t bother to tell him about a clean kill. That’s unconscionable. And he couldn’t finish the animal? Yeah, he doesn’t need to be hunting. Or he needs to take the extremely basic Hunter’s Safety Course most states mandate.
I’ve been hunting since a very early age and my Dad NEVER encouraged me to take a shot. He taught me how to shoot, where to shoot, and when to shoot.
And I sure didn’t need to be taught how to load my gun or how it functions on the morning of the hunt like this kid.
This “Op-Doc” NY Times news piece is in no way representative of any hunters I know or would care to know.
Ok, I gotta admit I’ve been taught some really interesting stuff. My first post must look silly now ;-) . Thanks guys (Mac, shank) for the educational content!!
Oh, dude, this isn’t a hunting blog. It does surprise me that the blaze orange thing isn’t more common knowledge. If you are in the woods and you move around, some asshole is liable to take a shot because they think you are an animal. Also, if a dude has a legitimate shot at an animal and spots orange past it, don’t take the shot (know your target and what lies beyond it).
Animals don’t see the same way we do. A lot of it is covered in that article I posted above but it’s the same thing as why you can shine a red or green light on predators like hogs or coyotes at night and they just can’t see it.
I won’t claim to understand all the mechanics of animal optometry (shit, ducks seem to uncannily pick out unnatural colors in their environments), but the orange is there to keep you safe.
I knew the final purpose was to prevent accidents, but I didn’t go far enough into thinking hunters are going to hunt animals, not men. Thus they have to adapt to (and hide from) the animals…
Man, this thing is an out and out agenda driven hit piece about hunting. I know it clearly states that it is an “opinion/editorial”, but it provides no commentary about what it sees, other than that bullshit text on the screen when the father is berating the kid. It doesn’t bother to question the obviously unethical practices it captures. It just presents them at face value.
They found ’em some nimrods and they put ’em on the TV.
I have never genuinely been hunting. I went coon hunting once in 4th grade when a neighbor was watching me on a school night when dad was working night shift. We didn’t actually get anything, it was just a bunch of rednecks drinking and running/riding through the woods with guns and dogs. Real safe baby sitting strategies. Nonetheless I have had to shoot several animals before. Each time was difficult. I had no real desire to kill any of the animals, here and there the situation just required/warranted it. There was no camouflage, no stalking, no baiting. Again, I have never really desired to shoot or kill an animal even though I have done it. That being said, I really enjoy venison and wild duck. I am trying to get a billet at USMC OCS this September and become an infantry officer. I have never shot at a human being before but I think I will find that easier than shooting at animals. The enemy is the enemy and a deer is a deer. One deserves death, one is tasty. I’ll just continue to eat the meat my friends provide me with on occasion I guess.
WOW.
Thanks in advance for your service. They’ll line all that out for you in OCS. I think there are some pretty distinct differences there that those guys know more about than either of us do. Best of luck.