tsoc

Very good question Atlas! I see this from two perspectives,if it is legal you would have a hard time not calling it hunting.Personally for me it is tied to effort,challenge and satisfaction.I have been on two guided hunts in my life,both rifle.The first one was a rifle tree stand hunt,free ranging animals on land that was accessible to anyone.Froze my a-- off,sat in a tree stand from dark to dark,killed a pretty good buck after grunting it in after I heard it grunting in the distance.I endured,I used skill's to give myself a shot opportunity,but it was really not very satisfying.The other guided trip was a rifle spot and stalk,I was walking 8 to 10 miles a day with the owner/outfitter,rugged,beautiful country,game was not at all abundant,six days of covering that much ground and we saw three deer,one buck that was not even close to a buck I would consider killing.The second hunt was much more satisfying to me because of the effort involved.
For me I would rather work my a-- off and shoot nothing than have something be to easy.I guess basically I want to earn it!
The distinction between hunting and shooting is slippery and elusive.I do believe beyond legality it is very individual and personal.

eatsleephunt

For most of us these days, hunting is recreational, non-essential. I define non-essential in terms of the food value we bring home to our families. Sure it helps, but most of us spend more money hunting than what we see in digestible dividends. There are other spiritual, psychological, etc... necessary reasons for us being out there, but basically, food isn't high on the list.

Let's look ata single mother who hunts for instance. Let's say she has four kids, a limited income, and a 30-06. Do you think she cares how she kills an elk as long as the result saves her 600 bucks in beef bills. If someone like that shot an elk/moose/deer off the shoulder of the road (legally)- I call it hunting. In fact, it would bring tears to my eyes to be able to help her load it in the truck.

GMMAT

"I" don't care. I used to.....even until recently. This statement says a lot about why the question came up, too.....

There's been a LOT of people that would seek to diminish what I did this past year....based on the above criteria. LOL......it's hillarious. "I" call what I do "suburban deer hunting".....because I have stands that I can see barns......houses....etc...from. I could hear my dogs barking at the house from most anywhere I hunted, last year. There are no fences. The area I hunt is old farms.....consisting of about 700 acres. I only have access to hunt 60 or so, though.....and really only hunt about 35 of that. The deer I hunt are free to go anywhere they want. I just happen to have everything they need on the land I hunt.....or....they go through that land to get back "home".

I scout.....I supplemental feed (don't hunt over bait, though it's legal)......I keep trail cams out.......but there are those who would diminish my success.....I guess to make themselves feel better about their hunting. Hell I'm not trying to make hunting as hard as possible! If their normal patterns brought them closer to my house.....I'd hunt 'em there!

The harvest numbers, if I'm successful next year, are gonn get weird. I'm not going to post my numbers, next year. I don't wanna hear it..............

Jeff

laxdad

Would this be Howland Island?? Hunting, in my opinion is an individual experience that one judges for him/herself. For me, the killing/shooting is a separate element that adds very little to the hunting experience.To others it is the measure of a successful hunt. So be it....

On the subject of fences, I do not find the presence/abscence of a fence on a reasonable property size (1500+) acres as being the measure of hunting. More depends on the nature of the "hunt". If one is totally on their own to search, find and shoot at a legalanimal of their choice than to me it is a hunt. I have trouble with the "managed hunts", on managed lands, where indivduals are placed in shooting positions, told what they can and cannot shoot, driven to their killlocation, etc.. To me this is simply shooting and I'd rather shoot at paper because I can do that in my backyard.

laxdad

mtfreezer

I'm with you on this one. Nothing is more satisfing then working hard for your game. My hunts are most allways like your spot and stalk. I love the deer vs. me, who's better, me or the deer. I do go to the Black Hills every year with my brother and dad but that really isn't true hunting to me. We just drive around looking for deer on logging and firetrails. We also walk some but anything we see is just by luck. No scouting involved. These trips are just for the time with my father. I didn't evendraw a tag this year but still went along.

I have heard that high fence hunting is classified as Agriculture in some states because they are "raised animals". Does a person have to buy a tag or license to "hunt" these animals? Fenced hunting is not true hunting in my opinion. Even if the area is 10,000 acres. I read somewhere about a month ago that the average buck in the U.S. travels around 25 miles from the place that he was born to find his own territory. I'd post a link to post this if I could remember where I read this. They have been known to travel over 100 miles. 10,000 acres isn't that large.

Arthur P

Well, there are high fence operations here in Texas that are much larger than a deer's normal territorial range, but I completely agree with the sentiment. Especially the livestock part. The more acreage goes in to high fence and management, the less able I am to afford to go hunting. It's already cheaper to go hunt caribou in Alaska than to hunt deer on many of the ranches here, and I don't have the money to do that either.

Anyway, to the question... HUNTING, to me, means going out, sneaking around the woods and looking for the animal, not sitting on my duff waiting for it to wander by. Of course, the older I've gotten, I've wound up doing less sneaking and more sitting.

GMMAT

Wow, Arthur....You said:

I guess I do my "hunting" (per your criteria) in the off-season, then. I've got a bow and arrow in my hand when I hunt....which will require me to get to within +/- 30yds. of the animal I'm pursuing.....undetected. You wouldn't sneak up on a whitetail deer in my woods. Period. I do what I have to to take the ones I get lucky enough to harvest.

I love reading the opinions....and we're all entitled to our own. No right.....no wrong.

indianahunter83

oops wrong post... disregard my enormous stupidity!

atlasman

This has been a common theme.........and I think, a good one. I believe it is what drives most people's opinions about fences........they view it as not being a challenge and you can just go and kill a deer.........thus the label of "shooting" appears (P+Y and B+C both focus their definitions of "fair chase" and "shooting" on fences).

What gets confusing is when a situation presents itself outside of a fence that is perhaps even easier and requires less effort and skill as a hunter to kill a deer............but it is not viewed in the same manner and is in fact praised as a "honey hole".

We pretty much all know someone or somewhere to go where killing a deer is as simple as not missing...........inside a fence this is called a "guarantee" and makes most people sick.............why is the reaction different towards a "guaranteed" spot with no (literal) fence?? (That is why I asked earlier if the fence was the deal breaker in some people's opinions).

j_beste

Well I think if you have a natural "honey hole" more power to ya. But if you have a man made structure like a fence it is not fair chase. Take the fence down!