Do you gardeners hunt also?

[JPHowell]

Love to duck and deer hunt. Didn't know if you other gardeners put up a few deer in the freezer like myself.

[cynthia_h]

I think there are a few among us who hunt. One member posted pix of himself ice-fishing a couple of winters ago, but I haven't seen any photos or even posts of his for a while now.

My uncle used to hunt; my aunt was reputed to have "the best" venison chili recipe in Texas *and* Pennsylvania! Sadly, he had to give it up about 20 years ago, due to his health, and then he passed on last September. But I absolutely respect and support responsible hunting.

Feral pigs are a nuisance animal here in California, and in some areas deer over-burden the ability of the landscape to support them. But the multi-point buck...he needs to procreate, IMHO. Maybe the more junior male deer? Not sure of the deer hierarchy--or the human regulations either, for that matter.

(And with this post, any "liberal" reputation I might have had has evaporated, no doubt! )

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[rainbowgardener]

I'm sure many do. I don't. To start with I'm vegetarian, don't eat any meat. I certainly would never kill something I wasn't going to eat (unless you count some of the slugs and destroyers in my garden and I don't kill any more of those than I have to). I have enough trouble killing my carrot plants to eat them, when they could live another year, flower and seed.

But yes, I get it that we have a huge over-population of deer, Canada geese, and a few other large animals. Having removed a lot of their habitat and all of their predators, we need to be those predators. But as noted, natural predators prey on the weak and sick and old, thus forcing survival of the fittest and improving the species. Humans tend to prey on the younger, bigger, most beautiful ones, thus devolving the species.

[Bobberman]

Use to hunt especially phesant but now you rarlysee one. I remember when there were 20 in the air at one time. I only hunt worms for fishing now in my gaden!

[jpr54_]

I don't hunt but I have a great cookbook Kill It and Grill It
My son hunts and fishes

[gumbo2176]

At one time I hunted a good bit every year. Rabbit, squirrel, duck, geese and hog hunting areas were close enough to give it a go. However, over the past 30 years or so, a lot of the open land is now privately owned or built into subdivisions, so it got so hard to find abundant land to sustain a wild game population, I just gave up.

I still have friends that hunt out of state, mainly for deer, and they are kind enough to toss me a nice deer roast every once in a while.

Now, if I lived in a more rural environment, I'd likely have to break out the shotgun or .22 long rifle for a go at it. My sister and brother-in-law live in rural Oklahoma and he's killed more hogs and deer up there than he ever killed here in La.---------and practically out his back door to boot.

[tomf]

I used to hunt and lived by the code “if you kill it you eat itâ€

[JPHowell]

Well during winter I fill the freezer. I am not a horn hunter I hunt to save on grocery bills. I usually like to kill 3 or 4 deer and an occasional hog always makes for a good winter. Now my passion is duck hunting and I do eat them. And of course you have to dove hunt. Every year on labor day weekend we have a shoot.

[luvthesnapper]

I deer hunt, though alot less than I used to. The public hunting land here is overrun with people who shouldn't own guns in my opinion, and my private spot was sold to a logging company, by the owner.

I stopped hunting on public land when I was up in a stand, and shot came through the trees, from duck hunters at a nearby pond. The stand had a big back on it, and I had to get down behind it. That's why I stopped hunting on public land.

[cubs204]

I'm an avid, and I mean avid, bowhunter. There's nothing quite like the rush of bowhunting a whitetail in Illinois

[lorax]

Another bowhunter and blow-dart hunter down here. I'm mostly after Guanta (a type of Agouti-looking creature that is fantastically tasty) and bunnies. Occasionally I'll take a whitetail but only if I've got freezer space.

[Francis Barnswallow]

I fish whenever I have the chance. The only things I hunt are garden pests.

[hendi_alex]

I find myself hunting more and more these days. Where did I leave my garden shoes? Where is that trowel, I know that I laid it down somewhere? Where's that pesky measuring tape? The only thing that I seem to be doing more than hunting, is trying to remember what it was that I was looking for. Why did I walk upstairs, know it was for some reason? Didn't I come in here to get something?..........................

As far as critters are concerned, my wife is vegetarian and I'm close behind as only a limited meat eater. But I wish that we could find a pretty good hunter to thin out the deer who are pretty destructive to the yard and garden. My no count lab and the deer must have some arrangement worked out, as the deer pay the dog absolutely no attention. For now the animals visit our 130 acres with impunity, as no one hunts the acreage, though I'm sure that the hunting dogs often ignore our property lines.

[JPHowell]

Sounds like we hunters just found a new place to come on a vacation and have veggies for dinner.

[Jeremy brua]

I hunt every chance i get! But when im not hunting im trapping, and when im not trapping im fishing. I love the outdoors and everything that gos along with it.

Here is 53 geese that helped destroy an entire field of wheat.