Ok, Ok, I removed my commentary on the word "sparky". XOXO





My videos are a lot more self-incriminating than using the phrase "sparky" if that's any consolation.

It was meant to be over the top/ silly.
Apparenty too far is way too subjective for y'all and dammit I hate typing on a tablet.....
Sorry to op for hijack.
Proceed.

You guys kill me.

So then if you "get" the purpose of hunting, the right animal is the one that will best feed your family.  It sounds like you are still an antler counter, which in your case seems like a contradiction.  If your "right" animal has a massive rack, do you keep that rack on your wall?  If that is so, your argument holds no water.
The photo is nothing more than capturing the moment, more or less.  

I however don't care for the idiots that hoop and hollar like they just scored the game winning goal or TD when they shoot a nice buck.  Show some respect for the beautiful creation of god that you just killed (and enough of the touchy feely harvested BS on all the hunting shows ansd crap magazines).  That animal probably had more nobility and purpose in its hard life than these sorts of d bags ever had.

'cause sometimes words just aren't enough
" />

this is a pic thread, right

This. I don't whoop and hollar, but my fiancee says, when I'm with her when she's hunting, and a deer walks out of the woods, I sound like I'm having a myocardial infarction.

For people that react with the whooping and hollering afterwards, that is their way of respecting the animal. They appreciate its greatness so much, they can't contain themselves.

Some call it Buck Fever.  It's that heart pounding, nerve rattling experience during the moments you see that magnificent, noble animal and decide you're going to take its life.

You can be an excellent target shooter, but a terrible shot when it comes to shooting at animals because of the emotions and stress.  Louis (Burt Reynolds character also talks about it in Deliverance, before Ned Beatty gets raped.)

Awesome, well done!
Wow, firearm season doesn't open for us here in Michigan until Nov 15.  I'll be in a tree with a bow this weekend.

I hoop and holler quietly so as not to scare anything else that might be out there. Afterwards there's a lot of high fiving and smiling.



Then there is the re-enactment and the retelling of the story for probably weeks on end.



We don't get as many kills as most here so when we finally get one we're happy about it, all that time sitting, patterning, passing up non-legal ones that prance around in front of you, sitting, looking for sign, sitting - it finally pays off.



Some of the stuff we say afterwards would sound bad to a non-hunter. Before I hunted large wary animals that took effort I would have thought it crass as well. The reaction tends to be proportional to the effort it took to acquire them. A squirrel gets a little "yeah". My dogs "hoop and holler" in their own way. I think they would rather I get a squirrel than a deer. They LOVE to trail though, but after they've found the deer they just kind of sit there, proud.





I think I saw this article here, or maybe on facebook. I LOVE IT!!!!! I have had 2 beagles (down to one) and a beagle dachshund mix. She is the best doggie evar!!!! Oh I love my little beagle but Blue is a little more well rounded and less stubborn. We want more of them, they are the perfect breed. She is content to be on the couch or the woods. When Lucy (the beagle) trails she will get in modes sometimes where she will not quit until she drops. I love the sound she makes when she trails though. Blue is getting old, we want more Deagles but haven't found one yet.



Deer finding dachshunds

http://www.louisianasportsman.com/details.php?id=6029





The trio when abbie was still alive.





The two trackers. The one in the background has the dachsund blood in 'er.







My babies sleep in the same camper we do. I don't care what they smell like.


Blue waddles on her stubby little legs

In three years of bow hunting, I have taken no deer, and have only taken two shots. One miss, and one hit . . . on a tree.  

The nervous energy prior to taking those two shots were ridiculous.  Trying to remain calm, quiet and focused while your heart is pounding, that first shot I took, my body had to find a way to release that nervous energy, and my right leg started jumping up and down like a sewing machine before even released the arrow.  I have no idea what my reaction will be like when I actually hit one, but I know damn well I'm taking pictures.

but I just did in that particular game

TONKA..............

I shake a lot and get kind of weak. Then I worry if I can get out of the stand without falling. Sometimes I feel a moment of sadness over the cute dead animal, but I'm a woman what do you expect.    I remind myself that it had a good quality life and died quickly. Then I eat it.



Definitely a HUGE adrenalin rush.

This is a little different then taking pics, but just another way of celebrating and remembering the hunt..these are from the first moose I shot(back then a bull was legal to harvest  if it had  a spike, a fork, or 3 or more brow tines on one side) this bull was 3 on each side and pretty symmetrical so I had a friend who owed me some favors and got these carved for me..they are made to hang on the wall......


If you look close some of the points appear flat, thats because he was still in velvet and the horns weren't done growing, if you look at the inside brow point on the right horn(as pictured) you can see it is broke off, I have the point as it was still hanging there in velvet.....



These were done years ago, today they are quite popular and pretty expensive, I was told recently a set like mine would sell for 800-1000 per horn.....(don't have any idea if thats true, but wouldn't surprise me)..

Do you have pictures of loved ones who have died. I would say it is somewhat similar. I know when I harvested my largest buck it was a proud moment and I wanted to capture that memory. We also put together a collage of animals harvested at our club. It is all about the memories...

I like what you have done there.

 

Ahh buck fever, I experienced that when I was a kid and thought I grew out of it until a huge buck appeared, damned if I didn't have a hard time breathing



 

those carved antlers are awesome



 

Because how else are your buddies going to believe you got that big buck?

I don't think it matters how old or how much hunting you do..you see really trophy animals and it makes you crazy.......

I JUST GOT A SMALL BUCK!!!!! My first kill in years!!!!

I took a pic but can't post it yet.  Also did not hoop. Hoping others will come out. Shaking.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Congrats man, save me some jerky.

It's just a small buck. Basically where we are now is in a strip of land outside of city limits. Hardly backcountry hunting but a lot of deer travel through here, to go from the developments to the river. The woods are thick right here but there is traffic noise around, we're less than a mile from a school (it was a stupid place to put a school). About a mile from Walmart.

Still there are all kinds of critters. Lots of squirrels, raccoons, saw bunnies last night.

It's private property nestled in amongst everything else. A lot of them get hit by cars.

Basically they are subdivision deer. Glad to finally have some venison!

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

If OP was you, this thread would have never started since it would bring OP perfect clarity.  Congrats!

I have to tag this thread. Hopefully, in two weeks, I'll be posting pictures that hurts the OP's frail sensibilities.

Looking forward to the picture.

Whole lotta good old fashioned America in this thread.  Great pics!

A fair chase animal killed in accordance with the law is ALWAYS a trophy.  Congrats!

 

it's been going on for a long time too.  Someone already posted the cave painting.

what is a spanish mount?

 

those are cool! They double as dinner pics!


Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

I am just not familiar with this distinction between trophy hunting and subsistence hunting.

 

I agree with you about the OP's original claim to have a 'hunting license'

 

Ok, here they are. The first is the deer when I walked up. It came out on my right, I had to stand up to be able to turn to take the shot and had no rifle rest. I was exited it was a legal buck AND IT WAS GETTING AWAY!!! It was steadily crossing the path and I didn't bring my grunt to stop it. I took a shot but there was brush in the way, I missed.



But it didn't run off?!?!?!!!!! It just ambered on into the thicker woods and stood behind a clump of brush. At least it was more broadside now. I waited and started to think it snuck off. It started walking to my left though.



The woods were thick AND IT WAS GETTING AWAY!!!! I kept trying to put the scope hairs in a clear spot as it was walking but it was going too fast to take the shot. I found a spot further ahead and took the shot as he entered the clearing. HE FLOPPED OVER ON HIS BACK AND KICKED A LITTLE!!! No groaning, no thrashing about.



I got down as quick as I could and he was dead. I started to drag him out but the sammich maker was still in the stand and deer wasn't going anywhere so I got back in the tree. This happened around 0930.



This was the entrance wound. It seemed to go in at the base of the neck and come out at the back of the shoulder. It seemed to take out lungs and liver. Only a small amount of shoulder meat was damaged. Between the shoulders was pretty blown up.









It was taken with a marlin 30/30, a newer one, nothing special but it seems to shoot well. I use hornady leverevolution ammo with the red pointy tip, made special for 30/30's



Here is the gratuitous "kill shot". Tongue was not hanging out.


Here is a view from the stand. It's pretty populated all around, hence the need to hunt from elevation. Shooting level around here is just crazy.





If you look carefully you can see the buck behind the small dark stump in the middle of the pic. It's facing the opposite way from when it was walking. This is a zoomed in shot from the above pic, you can tell if you look at the pattern of leaves. Just to give you some perspective.





That little branchless area was the only shot at that time.





We brought it home to the burbs and butchered it in the yard. No HOA where I live, obviously!

The pen in the back is for the chickens. The beagles and chickens gather around the area for scraps. Lucy always eats too much and throws up. On the carpet. It's already happened and we cleaned it up. It had a lot of fur in it so it was easy to clean up and didn't leave a mark. I didn't get a pic of the throw up, which is too bad because it was pretty impressive. I should have tossed it back out for the chickens.



You can see the offending beagle at the head of the deer. I threw them the legs. I took them back when we were done but obviously not soon enough to prevent the binging and purging. That's a beagle for you.

Thanks for those links.  Going to buy some of that art.

That's a nice buck! Congrats! There is some phenomenal hunting around subdivisions, up here in the southern part of the state there are trophy's shot every year in those areas. Sounds like you are doing it right, that spot should provide venison every year, maybe a big rack now and then as well.

 

I just got another one!!!! A small buck!!!


I think this thread has been very very lucky for me.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Congrats!  I'll be in the woods in a couple of hours myself

Too many people think hunters just walk out and *BANG*, the six-by-seven bull drops dead. They have no concept of the hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars of preparation and stalking which that kill represents.

I used to consider that the "I shot a giraffe!" crowd, but through threads like this I have a understanding of the benefits those hunts bring.

I've never hunted. Only been a shooter. Just seems like another big investment of time and gear that I spend on other things.

Nice animals in those pics. Are trophy animals over any certain size not legal in any typical hunt? I mean beyond typical?

Nice attempt to support the "we've bred all the masculinity out of men" argument, but I'm not buying.

Personally, I just bow my head and weep over my kills, lamenting the tragedy that magnificent creatures must die that my unworthy self might live...