Are you a Deer Stalker or a killer?

[jimbo1984]

The difference between a deer stalker and a deer killer has everything to do with what's going on in the mind and nothing to do with the equipment used !

+1 best response yet respect for quarry means everything , equipment to me counts for little however using good reliable equipment to make your kills humane could easily be argued that it's showing your quarry respect

 

[exmarksman9870]

Is that why i keep getting funny looks when i use the HK416 kitted with full spec ops operations kit...that ready mag is handy when you get in amongst them...

 

[Monkey Spanker]

This is purely semantics. Why and how people kill deer is entirely their choice and we still have that freedom to some extent (don't mention Bows!), but essentially anyone that kills a deer is arguably a deer killer? I did a poll a while back to get people to think about what they were and why they chose to kill deer:
http://www.thestalkingdirectory.co....-What-are-you?highlight=trophy+hunter+manager
I'm not sure the results were worth anything as I strongly suspect that there are more trophy hunters out there than would care to admit it! I'm not sure how their equipment should really come into the equation though with regard to ethics. Not everyone can afford the best equipment, but as long as they operate within theirs and their equipments capabilities and do a humane job, there can be no room for criticism surely? Deer welfare is paramount and as long as that remains upheld, quite frankly who cares what equipment people use as long as it is legal and humane.
MS

 

[jamross65]

I don't, the question is "are you a sportsman or a technicial killing deer"?

Id rather be a technical deer killer than claim to be a sportsman because I won't use something that helps to assist with a a clean kill!!!!

 

[Cootmeurer]

?........

There is a group in the US that calls themselves "The One-Mile Deer Hunters". They set-up with benchrests, lasers etc. and actually fire test shots before engaging animals they locate in their "hunting area", a distance side hill. While certainly successful they are not true sportsman.........
SS

That is simply your opinion, no more valid than one of the "one milers". Who are you to to decide who is and who is not a sportsman?

i prefer to bowhunt, does that give me a right to declare that you are not a sportsman because you cannot close the distance to 20 yard and make the kill with a very very sub sonic projectile? But then I came over to the UK and shot Sika and roe with a rifle in excess of 100 yards, does that mean the "bow hunter" me can say "rifleman" me is not a sportsman?

 

[Psyxologos]

I see a lot a traffic here about high value guns with higher value scopes being shot off of some form of artifical rest, bipod etc. I propose that those using such are not stalkers but rather shooters. A friend of mine who is a professional forester there in the Uk described hiself as a deer killer, not a stalker. I think these folks with their "sniper" set-ups are also "Deer killers", not stalkers. We are no longer subsistance hunters and in my mind are not true sportsmen unless we are shooting off our elbows or at most using a leather sling. Any moron with hi-tech equipment can shoot deer fron long ranges but they are certainly not stalkers.

SS

Where are the good old days when you had to try for your animal kill? I propose we only allow hunting with spears.

P.S: This is obviously meant as a joke, and not a dig at the OP. Technology moves on, nothing wrong with using the advances it offers...

 

[finnbear270]

I run after deer , wrestle them to the ground and then strangle them.

I run after deer, then run a bit more, then some more,....... ah Fe**it!, then give em a wave.

 

[Erik Hamburger]

I run after deer , wrestle them to the ground and then strangle them.

I simply stare them down. Now that is real sport!

 

[kib16]

Marcbo I'm new to stalking/hunting can you tell me why in the us do you use orange jackets when out shooting, is it so you do not shoot yourself instead of the animals you are after

 

[exmarksman9870]

Marcbo I'm new to stalking/hunting can you tell me why in the us do you use orange jackets when out shooting, is it so you do not shoot yourself instead of the animals you are after

Lol..

 

[Taff]

Marcbo I'm new to stalking/hunting can you tell me why in the us do you use orange jackets when out shooting, is it so you do not shoot yourself instead of the animals you are after

Not everywhere in the USA do you have to wear orange all the time, they wear it for the same reason as they do on the continent , if this was a attempt at sarcasm it was a bad attempt.

 

[kib16]

As I explained I am new, I was asking a question. I admit I could have phased it better, I meant no bad intentions. But surely if Americans stalking is the proper way stalking is done and not the way we do it, by which I meant track the animal, then their would not need the jackets, as they would see what they are aiming at is not an animal

 

[willie_gunn]

Marcbo I'm new to stalking/hunting can you tell me why in the us do you use orange jackets when out shooting, is it so you do not shoot yourself instead of the animals you are after

If you ever get to go hunting for driven boar on the continent you'll wear a fluorescent vest....and be glad of it

 

[kib16]

Why do you need to wear them, is what I am trying to find out. Also why do we not wear them in the uk

 

[willie_gunn]

As I explained I am new, I was asking a question. I admit I could have phased it better, I meant no bad intentions. But surely if Americans stalking is the proper way stalking is done and not the way we do it, by which I meant track the animal, then their would not need the jackets, as they would see what they are aiming at is not an animal

Wearing blaze orange or yellow is a safety measure, and something that is relatively widespread and not just in the US. Since deer don't see in colour there is no good reason not to wear blaze camouflage, for example. Why don't we wear it in the UK? Because in general we try to hide our hunting away from the public gaze. Go to the US or the continent and there are no such qualms.

Your point about shooting the wrong thing is not something to make light of - you can sadly find numerous examples here in the UK of where similar has occurred, proof that neither tragedy nor stupidity respect international borders.

 

[willie_gunn]

This article might make for an interesting read: What do Deer See? | Quality Deer Management Association

The best of both worlds would be a product that provides both camouflage for concealment and blaze orange for safety. Such camouflage blaze orange hunting apparel is available but unfortunately is not legal in many states.

 

[kib16]

I was not trying to make light of any tragedy, I have seen enough to last a life time and then some. SO TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO I MAY UPSET, I AM SORRY I MEANT NO OFFENCE

 

[willie_gunn]

I was not trying to make light of any tragedy, I have seen enough to last a life time and then some. SO TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO I MAY UPSET, I AM SORRY I MEANT NO OFFENCE

No apology necessary - other than from me for jumping on your initial post.

I posted a link to some of the latest research on what deer see, which has - or at least should have - an impact on what we wear when stalking.

Wearing blaze orange is a safety measure, pure and simple. As I mentioned, we wear it when driven boar shooting on the continent. I've had boar stop near me and not see me, so I guess the boar's eye view is no different to the deer's. Here in the UK I'm also seeing blaze tabards more and more on driven game days, presumably because the guns on the pegs on the big corporate days may not be regular shots, so any step necessary to avoid them shooting a beater is worth taking.

As per the article I posted, there's no logical reason for us not to wear blaze camouflage when stalking, since it makes little difference to what the deer actually sees. The psychological reasons not to wear it, however, are more complex. Because it stands out to the human eye we need more than just research to convince us that the deer can't see it - we need proof. Because no-one wears it, we don't get the proof that it works, so no-one wears it. In the US and on the continent that psychological barrier doesn't exist. However I think it's the more conservative nature of hunting in the UK that really prevents us wearing it. Because the UK is more densely populated, and because the general population has become distanced from how food is produced, we don't want to draw attention to ourselves when in the field, which of course is the whole point of blaze clothing.

 

[Taff]

I think you have to remember that in the US NZ etc where there are large public hunting areas, safety has to paramount, you may hit the deer or what ever you are after, but if the bullet goes through, there maybe someone else tracking the same deer. Where as in the UK to our shame we don,t have public hunting areas

 

[Taff]

WG I have to agree on public knowledge of where food comes from, we had a news film crew in today, who did not want to film lambs being born, as it could upset some people.