The way that I look at it, it is just an animal. As long as you kill it cleanly and do not put it into pain it is no big deal. I support trophy hunting because I see nothing wrong with it. I do think that too many bucks and not enough doe are shot just so people can get antlers, no matter how small. Most trophy bucks or any bucks for that matter have nasty tasting meat, but it can still be used for jerky or sausage and can be fed to pets.

 

You were saying about how animals looked beautiful....when they were alive.

I don't know you in person, and that makes this difficult, because I can't give you an example or an explanation to each of your questions.

You seem slightly confused as to why people hunt, I rarely even talk about it, most people are so bullheaded that they don't want to liisten, and I walk away with elevated blood pressure. I guess this time I should have walked away. This is where teaching kids helps. They are way more interested than adults.

 

Cost of license, including doe tag and taxes: $26.00
Cost of box of shells: $8.96
Cost of deer: $0 if you shoot one
Processing: varies, here $35-$85
Self-processing: free but for a few labor hours

(Cost of 1/4 cow from butcher: $285.00)

Knowing my meat is free of hormones, irradiation, preservatives, etc., and is leaner and better for me: priceless

As far as trophy animals, in my case deer, sure I would love to get one. And I would have it mounted too, just the skull and antlers though. But I won't hunt exclusively for that buck, if I'm lucky enough to get one you can bet I'll eat it.
The hormone glands are what makes buck meat taste odd, they have to be cut out when you dress the deer. Also a deer that has been running will produce more hormones, that's why still-hunting is better than driving (for bucks anyway).

 

Don't forget gas to get to that spot, the cost of the firearm, the truck payment (that is why you bought the truck), if oyu have to pay for access, camo, orange, gunsmithing, time at the range, shells expended at the range, other hunting gear, etc.

thats just a few,

my tags cost $83
doe tag $11
Deer A (either sex either species tag), Elk, and Bear (spring OR fall), upland game birds, & season fishing, are included in the combination tag -$65
Warm water game fish stamp (for the Fort Peck fishery) - $5
Hunting access enhancement fee - $2

That usually gets me a few trout up in the wilderness area thta I backpack in every summer, and one deer in the fall, as I run out of time to go elk hunting, or finish the season.

I can shoot up to 8 more does in the late season, for $4 a piece.

 

I love to hunt, its way fun and even though I gotta work my butt off to get an animal, It's my "vacation". Heck, I'll be the first one to admit that when I go hunting, I am looking for that huge trophy bull or buck, but Ill always pass em up for a nice young one if they're too deep in the rut to be tasty. And at the risk of redneck hillbilly jokes (for in truth that is what I am) I gotta say that I've probably dressed out and eaten more animals killed by vehicles than buy guns (let the roadkill jokes commence). I also gotta defend my guns here, I guess. Humans are ill equiped to be hunters given our physical qualities: we're slow, weak, fang and clawless, frail bodied, and we dont adapt to different environments very well. But weve been granted intelligence that is incomparable to any other creature on earth, and with our brains we have been able to make up for all these inequities. The first guy to kill an animal was probably the guy that invented the pointy stick, and a lot of people probably told him that they didn't think that it was very sporting unless the mammoth had a pointy stick too. But the guy and his friends ate good and then commenced to see which one would have the biggest pair of mammoth tusks hanging above the firepit in their cave the next year.

 

You got a house for a neigbor?
I never seen a house own a residence hehe

 

Matt, I wasn't counting incidentals or the list could go on for awhile. I should have counted gasoline though. And insurance.
Everything else only needs to be purchased once, unless someone actually buys a new gun, gear, etc. every season. I do add a few small items every year but the Big Stuff is paid for. In the long run it pays off.

One could say the cost of a trophy mount should be included, as I don't see many mounted cows over the mantel. That runs several hundred dollars I think, but we can do skull mounts ourselves for almost nothing.

We are fortunate to have our own practice area to sight in our guns, and family-owned property and state gamelands to hunt free. For those in urban areas, or without access, it can get pricey I'm sure.

Men (most men anyway) seem to have "bigger is better" ingrained in their heads. Everyone wants to brag about their big rack, big fish, etc. And for every guy who has a trophy, another guy will have a bigger one to make the other jealous. I think it does go back to the guy with the pointy stick. Bet his neighbor made a bigger pointy stick to show him up!

 

I was gonna say that too, but I didn't want to get embroiled in the argument over whos stick is bigger and pointier. To paraphrase Unkle Kracker, it may be small, but it kills em all!!! Wow, 100th post, too.

 

Congrats on the 100th post OldSkoolRacer