You are what you eat

Somethin hit me when I was driven home today, been readin through that Long Range huntin threat and it finally hit me (not a car).

  As a be'ings your only what you do (a man is defined by his actions), live clean enjoy life and your a healthy, happy individual.  Live mean, and cruel, and you'll end up thet away.

  Same thing goes fer huntin, if you get close enough to see them with your own eyes - even more so if your lookin the beast in the eye, close enough to see whiskers, it changes your connection to the beast, changes the way you act when you hunt, and generally you as a person.  You get to know the critter, what does the tail movement mean, how they move, see, eat, crap, ....   Makes a bond tween you and the critter.  Trackin is a bunch of the same, you start knowin where they're gonna go because you understand the beast.  Good trackers can tell ya when the critter saw somethin thet worried them, they can tell how long that particular animal wait 0 - 20 minutes before entering a field and such.  Which plants they're chewin, where they wallow, sleep, play, ....  To me that's becomin a hunter, your actually part of what your doin.  Ethical hunting like not shootin at deer that flag you is the introduction to this life.  The rest is up to the man.

Spot

Geez klay,

Kinda rough on the feller who posted something to which you have the both the option of not reading and not responding.  You come home to find somebody kilt yer prize rose bushes or poisoned yer cocker spaniel?  I git sick of this banter 'bout calibers (when they really mean cartridges), but I reckin' I've grown smart enuff to jus' avoid the threads with ominous labels indicating another tired cat fight about the relative merits of the 30-06 and the 7mm-06.  I suggest that you do likewise for any topics too controverisal or too deep for yer mind to handle, or take a valium before logging on.

I wonder sometimes 'bout that sayin' "you are what you eat".  Mos' folks eat hog meat reglar.  Last hog I saw was wallerin' in his own filth an smelt like nothin' I ever wanna git close to my mouth.  My best memory of an elk is a bull I called in to 27 yards a couple seasons back.  He was bellowing, blowin' smoke from his nostrils, an' had whore frost on his whiskers.  If you are what you eat, I believe I'll pass on the bacon.

Klallen,

  As fer your "simply cain't grasp" part - if yer gonna say somethin that questions a man's intent, ideas, or values, at least make it funny.  You should have said does not reading reply's too one's own posts make ya stupid as a horse, or stubborn as a mule.  NOW, thet would add value! 

     And as far as addin value, when I put a thread like "you are what ya eat." it's to get opinions on how to say what most folks can't.  What makes us hunt, and what does huntin make us into.  The way you become a qualified old fart, is to understand things past words that you have to express them.  But you have to figuire them out, and if your worth your salt you qualify them with others who have experience in the areana.  Luckily enough there be some guy's here with more mileage then me, thet can help.

  So Hoss, can you expand on what part of the hunt I enjoy the most?  Like to hear what you value the most, probably not what I do but thet jest might be cause your talkin bout a different topic.  Like I said before, I value what can't be taken away from me. 

  Now just to let you know I'm stubborn, you never answered me on what the definition of LR hunting was, but do me a favor and don't do it in this thread.  I ain't really interested in it no more, I was attemptin to learn when I asked.  Now to add isult to injury - my longest range confirmed kill is over twice the distance of your posted shot's.  Now I had a spotter, I used Kentucky windage off the first round to take it.  Did it on a varn-mint when I was a kid, don't see any value in this type of killin anymore, that is unless the thing needs killing (and that's a leagal defense in Missouri).

Keep the threads clean, Want to talk about what you value in a hunt, or what hunting makes ya do it here - if your rantin bout LR put it in the other thread.

Have a good day!   

Spot

Respectable enough list, SPOT SHOOTER.  Do me a quick favor and read through it one more time.  Carefully.  Cause what you've printed is a universal list of things that make hunting enjoyable to "all" who participate responsibly.  >>  klallen

NH,

figured I should be colorful if I was gonna be a bit of an arse.  Hope old KL didn't take my ribbin too hard, don't do it much so's he might get the idear I was serious.  Heck, we gotta spar sometimes.

   Whats up with that avatar of yer's? 

Spot

spot -

i agree with korey. the list you compiled is a pretty good definition of why most of us (those who truly enjoy it) hunt. whether it is from 30 yards or 400 yards is unimportant. my own abilities keep my max ranges to 200 (250MAX) yards, but i can think of at least a dozen nice deer that i could have had at longer ranges if i would have been more proficient with my shooting skills. in these cases, there wasn't much between me and the critter except a few patches of tall grass, or wide creek bottoms (coulees) devoid of trees. in trying to negotiate closer shots, i managed to lose the game. no skin off my nose, i cna go out the next day and get an animal almost as nice, or maybe even better......

part of this "miscommunication" about values might be related to perception. out here in our area it is common to find huge areas that are empty, looking just the same as they did 200 or 2000 or even 20000 years ago. when i say huge areas, i mean HUGE. like the size of some small states and countries. we have counties that are bigger than rhode island. even a lot areas that are "populated"  are by towns of only couple of hundred folks, and they are dozens of miles apart. as montanans, we are fortunate enough to live out here, and being close to nature and "the way things were" is as natural as frogs in a pond for us.

hunting can be crawl-through-the brush-on-your-bellyfor a whitetail, or it can be a shot at a mulie from across the top of a 500-yard coulee. it can be hiking across rocky, rough terrain in search of an elk, or it can be scanning miles of prairie for a glimpse of an antelope. since the time of lewis and clark, EVERYONE who has come to montana has been overwhelmed by the sheer SIZE and wide-open SPACE that we enjoy. also, they have been totally unprepared for the wildlife, climate and other special circumstances which come with these wide-open spaces. it is impossible to over-estimate the effect that this has on PERCEPTION. out here a 400-yard shot is literally as natural as a 30-yard shot can be in a more-densely populated area that is hunted more.

there is a lot of truth to the notion of "western" big game hunting, which implies longer shots necessitating flatter, faster cartridges. like i said, 20 yards or 300 yards don't matter much when the PERCEPTIONS change, but the VALUES stay the same. as far as i can tell, ALL of us here share those values, otherwise we wouldn't be here.

NH,

   Thet looks like "babe" from the movie.

Tas,

   Well put.

KL,

   Sorry man, just cain't stand complainin - guess them other folk must have chewed on ya a bit hard, cuz your reactin like I was aimin fer your heart or somethin.  Don't take my spar'in to heart, Started smokin when I was on vacation, and I've been tryin to quit again.  Bad timin's all it were, I'm a loveable drunk, but mean as heck when I quit smokin.  - no harm intended, just didn't want the thread to degrade. 

Tas is pretty much on point, I'm a north woods hunter and strugglin a bit with how far I should be shootin out west.   Thet ain't what this thread is about, what I was gettin at is us hunters fill in a place in the food chain.  Maybe I'm jest crazy, but it feels right to get close to a whitetail on a hunt.  Like Tas says, under the big sky's of the west, this most likely won't hold true lest I start archery hunting Elk.  I do bow hunt whitetails, an its a great thrill. 

Anyhoo fer the long range stuff,  cain't say I do understand what others get from it other than being able to take somethin at LR.  Been there, done that - didn't enjoy it so I quit doin it.  Doesn't mean I know everythin though, that's why I keep askin what it means to LR hunt, and what does ya get from it.  (if you answer it do it in the LR hunting thread).  Other than that it sounds like I owe ya a beer.

Spot 

   Stalkin very different depend where you are and what type of huntin yer doin.  When I think of stalkin, I'm ususally talkin about still huntin a whitetail you've seen.  With elk, it's the same but your not it the deepwoods, competely two different things. 

For all it's worth I think stalkin elk could be the most exciting thing in the world.  Whitetail stalkin, or still huntin, is bein calm, quiet, and slow.  Doesn't really get exciting until the last second when you see them, and your tryin to raise your gun.  Guess it has to do with the fact you cain't see, or hear them old whitetails until your on them.  With elk, you probably can see them even if its from far off, and if yer hunting during the rut you might be able to hear'em.  Can't wait fer that, hearin a elk answer a call at close range will most likely make my hair stand on end. 

I Keep wonderin what will be the part of the hunt I charish the most.  Fer whitetail, I really enjoy gettin close, real close - I've had them walk up and smell my boot's (scent) while in a tree stand (bow), love letttin the does go past at close range waitin fer the buck.  Don't know if it will be the last leg of the stalk , the chase, or what with elk. 

Sure am lookin forward to findin out, I was hopin thet some of them elk hunters here would point out what part of the hunt they liked the most.  Hell, just spendin a week at the higher altitude makes me get excited bout going.  A wilderness hunt using horses has everything a guy could ask for in the way of an exciting hunt.  Chase, Stalk, challenge of closing the distance without bein detected, callin, an you can smell these critters easy.  Makin the shot, and when you get one it's a whole nother task.  Cutting up packin out.   To find a richer hunt seems immpossible, and fer me thats about as close to heaven on earth as It'll ever get. But like I said this is all in my mind, I ain't done it yet - but some of these old elk hunters are helpin me out by tell'in me what to look fer.  Which is a real important thing fer me, cause It's very likely I'll be geared up thinkin about what to do, and what not to instead of enjoyin the hunt as much as I could.  Heck I know guy's who enjoy figuirin out where to chase them just as much as the hunt itself.   

Spot 

Muleskinner,

     Cheese is from Island of Crete Greece, but yer right them Greeks are pretty short folk, an the womens either look hot, or like zorba (ain't no middle ground).  Some say it's a question of age, guess I'll be findin that out.  You'd better drive fast, once they open them sticks it's hard to stop.  Thought that might happen though, so I put the summer sausage in,  it'll take'm longer to get through.   Wish I could of brought over myself, oh well.  Hey, any mention of dry ice bein left?

Spot