Opinion: Political Correctness in Hunting

This is an opinion piece, representing one viewpoint on common ethics issues in hunting. We'd love to hear your takes, agreeing or disagreeing, in the comments section below.

My hunter for the week and I had spotted a herd of elk just after daylight. We spent a couple of hours getting into position for a shot. Finally, after several frustrating minutes, the cows cleared. “Kill’em!” I said in my loudest excited whisper. The client pulled up off his scope and looked at me in complete disgust. “What the hell are you doing?!” I asked, now in a much louder voice. He said nothing as he stood to walk away. The elk, meanwhile, didn't walk. They put country between us and them in a matter of seconds. Game over. The long walk back toward the truck was quiet until he spoke. “You said, 'Kill him,'” he said. “No, I said, 'Kill’em!'” I stated back in my smart-mouthed tone. “I don't use such violent words," he said. Violent? I said kill’em. Where's the violence? I wondered. He spoke again, “I use the word harvest.”

Could you actually believe that such a thing would ever happen? It didn't but I won't be surprised when it does.

"Harvest" vs "Kill"

I have used the word ‘harvest’ many times in my life. We harvest corn, soybeans and wheat. Growing up, we killed or slaughtered cows, chickens and pigs. It was never looked at as a ‘harvest.' Why then have we in the hunting world changed? When someone shoots something nowadays, everyone says they "harvested” the animal. There's nothing wrong with saying, “I killed an 8 pt buck this year.” As hunters, that's what we do: We kill animals. I am not sorry for that. It's a process that's part of living. It's how we should all be. Killing or death is not pretty.

So instead of telling it how it is, we cover it up with a word like harvest. What good is that? It's like putting a bandaid on something that needs stitches. You cover up the problem for a little bit, then when it gets worse and that bandaid rips, you really have problems. The word ‘kill’ is not a dirty four letter word. It's a way of life. A way of life that a bunch of tree hugging, vegan people don't understand. Instead of taking a stance with a solid backbone, we cave into people who will never have a realistic outlook on life as we know it. It doesn't seem like a big deal at the present time but every time you let such groups of people get a foothold into our way of life, you'd better look out because they will come for more. Their purpose in life is to put an end to hunting. Why do we continue to help them along by sugar coating everything? Haven't we learned by now that camouflage only works when hunting? It's much better to stick to the facts than to make an excuse. If they don't like it, so what? Deal with it, just like we have to deal with all their hallucinated agendas.

Shooting a Bedded Animal

Another case in point: A couple years ago, we were filming a segment for Guidefitter. We snuck up on the buck as he lay in his bed. We lay there debating whether or not to shoot him in his bed or wait for him to stand. I was always taught that killing an animal in his bed is the ultimate accomplishment. Turns out, I was wrong again! You are suppose to let them stand up and have a chance to run away!

What?!

The whole point of hunting is to kill, (I mean harvest!) your quarry as quickly and humanely as possible. Why would you want it to run? So you may miss it? Or worse yet, wound it? Who comes up with such stuff? Is it sugar coating things again to make another group happy? That's what I suspect. It's ridiculous when you think about it. We spend too much time trying to make other people feel good about what we do. Sorry folks, ain't gonna happen. They are who they are. As are we. We shouldn't change and they sure aren't.

Hunting Heritage and Today

Hunting has been around since the beginning of mankind. There were people who did the killing and there were people who helped take care of the meat when the killing was done. Everyone participated in one way or another. It was a joyous occasion. After all, the kill meant your tribe or party wouldn't starve, at least for a couple more days.

The Indians would use any available means to secure food. They would ‘drive’ buffalo off cliffs in great numbers. They would build V- shaped traps out of rocks in rivers, then ‘push’ fish in the direction of the trap. When the fish got to the point in the V, the pickings were easy as they speared them or tossed them up onto the bank. Their methods were genius. Could you imagine the outcry there would be today if we did something like the buffalo jumps? I know, we shoot them in their beds nowadays, there's no chance for them to run off cliffs!

Seriously though, we are hunters. Our end goal is to take an animal's life in the fastest, most humane way possible. Is it pretty watching the life go out of something? Absolutely not. Should we shove it in people's faces? Absolutely not, but we need to be truthful. That does not mean we should explain it in gory detail. By saying, to the non-hunter, things like, “Yes, I killed an 8pt this year. He was laying in his bed when I snuck up on him. One shot and it was all over,” we are keeping it simple and being honest. If the conversation goes further, you can explain eating the meat, donating some of it to the needy and why he now hangs on your living room wall.

The Disconnect

Many people today live in fantasy land. They are not connected to the earth the way you and I are. It's sad.

We, as hunters, know the consequences of piss poor game management or no management. We see and know the benefits of fire on our landscape. We know that when you pull the trigger, you can't bring that bullet back. Ever wonder why fifty years ago this was a much safer place to live in? Ever think it's because people were much more connected to the land? They knew about their food and where it came from and what it took to get it. More people hunted and saw the results of bullets tearing through flesh first hand. Many today don't see that until it's human flesh. And by then, it's too late to realize the consequences of a bad mistake. Fantasy land suddenly turns into a bad case of reality. Hunting is so much more than killing animals. Sad that all the folks who want to criticize it will never receive all the life lessons that it teaches.

Just My Opinion

This whole piece was basically just ranting and raving. Clearing the air about what I see as problems that are occurring today and of things that are on the horizon. It's a pretty frightening thing when I realize all we’ve “lost” in my 38 years. When you lose something like a right or a freedom, it's pretty tough to get it back. I don't like it. I don't like the direction we are heading as people, as a country. I see problems when we have to use the word ‘harvest’ to describe killing something, just to make people feel better about a situation. Maybe that is the new norm and I'm the one that should adapt or change. But I sure hope not. I do believe we should respect others' opinions and views. I also believe our opinions and views, as hunters, need to be respected. It's a two-way street that dang sure feels like one side is often closed due to construction.

Additional Opinions:

• Hunting Matters: Harvest or Kill? by Paul McCarney
• Is It Ethical to Shoot a Deer in its Bed? by Andrew McKean
• The Words We Use by Smith Hammer
• Is It Ethical to Shoot a Bedded Animal? by Wasp Archery