Thread: What sort of hunter are you?

Whatever I can get!

1. To be in the hills
2. Freezer
3. Pest control
4. Memorabilia (not trophies)

In that order, but default seems to be 1 and 3.

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Just to be out there.
Freezer
Enjoying mates company when out there.

great idea Ned - Freezer filling for me, time in the hills and pest control. No interest in trophies for me. Could add in trying to keep semi fit too - but that's probably time in the hills eh.

I think the GAC "section that talks about herd management, it reads weighted towards hunters being motivated for chasing trophy animals" commentry might be due to it championing 'Heads of Special Interest'.
If we were all only hunting for meat there would be no need for hunters to go to Fiordland for wapiti, Rakuira for whitetail, or have tahr inside Mt Cook National park - or the current block system during the roar/rut seasons (who eats skinny, smelly males?).
If GAC doesn't stand up for these then who does?

Freezer, enjoying the outdoors and to get away from it all

I think we are seeing a result of pitching Hunting as a competitive Sport. As a Game with rules, as it is in England.
This is formalised by the scoring and competitions run by NZDA, SCI and so on but which it seems is not really an important part of most NZ Hunters’ motivation.

In Europe, “Sport Shooting” means target and that is competitive.

“Jagd” is tradition to them but is driven by the hunting instinct which prompts humans to patrol wild country, seek out prey animals, stalk closer, kill them and (crazily sometimes) carry out large quantities of meat to present to family and community. I don’t understand why all people don’t feel this drive. Prior to about 5000 years ago, non hunters would have left fewer descendants but perhaps since the advent of agriculture, null mutations affecting this behaviour have had a less deleterious effect and selective pressure has relaxed.

I go hunting as an excuse to buy hunting equipment if I'm honest. If MPI want some free population control how about they do us some favors such as lobbying for gun and hunting rights. Or perhaps explaining why a deer, a much more intelligent animal capable of empathy must die to save a cold uncaring and rather worthless bird

I hunt for enjoying nature and for meat. If I do shoot a stag it’s either late summer to early roar or in the winter when the meat is still good otherwise I aim for hinds where possible.

Depends on the day / trip. Can't vote on a single answer.

They consider hunters are only after trophies because it suits their own agenda; so they can belittle or ignore our contribution.

Just about everyone I know is all of those at various times and at different times of the year.

If you want to see the effect that hunters have - just remember what the result was after the year of Covid - when I went back to hunting when the lockdown was over there was young animals all over the place. From my own experience of that, I believe that hunters shoot half at least of the new generation each year.

For me it depends. Being from the US, in a state that has a lot of deer, I hunt bucks for the trophy and shoot does for meat.When I come to NZ next year I will be interested in a good representative of the species, but not necissarily a trophy. I hunt mostly to be out in nature, I pass on animals all the time.

I do it for the love of hunting, shooting and being in the outdoors. The venison is a huge part of it.

Hunting is primal to me - hard wired in my DNA. If I am asked to explain it to another, I know that without the gene, that person simply cannot understand and my breath is wasted attempting.

Being in the bush with the intent of taking an animal is a completely different sense to bushwalking. In one activity I am an invested, active, participant in the dynamics of the moments. The other, simply an interested observer, passing through.

I hunt with a purpose to secure food. The satisfaction that comes with success is intensely fulfilling. To find, stalk, take, extract, butcher, prepare cook, present and share what I have taken is one of life’s most satisfying accomplishments….. for me. It is defining.

The taking of introduced species for me is a proper and sensible use of a valuable resource and a productive use of my time.

I recover the antlers from the animals I take. Boil out the heads and they get gifted to people who want them or adorn the garage.

They look down from the walls and hang as a silent testament to very special moments that provide purpose and enrich my life.

Rob

It's also missing # because it's huge part of WHO I am.... When renewing my licence recently I said" if I can't have guns I will use a crossbow,if I can't have one of them I take up compound bow...then long bow..then spear...then rock and snares...it's quite simple for me..I'm a hunter,therefore I hunt.... No different to breathing or taking a daily dump,it just is what I do. I was sober driver at party yesterday,out till 02:00. While others getting pissed I'm glued to binos and spotted two pigs over on hill face,watched them for hour or more just because I could.