2006 British Columbia Moose Hunt (why I work out)

daffodilsoup

That makes no sense. I notice lots of anti-hunters tend to go looking for a fight, to tell everyone how righteous they are. Again, you entered the thread for no reason other than to tell the OP how "revolting" his post was. I seriously doubt you entered with an open mind.

You're correct, I didn't. But if people are so offended that I find this revolting, then perhaps it should only be shown to a pro-hunter group. I'm not instigating anything, I simply find pictures of death to be distasteful.

Gatominx

Beautiful photo's. I'm lucky enough to live in BC (Queen Charlotte/Haida Gwaii) and have our freezer full of delicious, healthy, moose, deer, elk, and bear.

tsh0ck

Gorgeous scenery. I understand why you are proud of your health and progress. However, I have to say that I am disgusted that you would kill such a beautiful creature. It is sad and disheartening to know that you took such a graceful and majestic animal from the earth. Nature is becoming scarce as society progresses and I think we should all respect and give back, not destroy what little beauty we have left.

see my previous points on hunters. we protect nature more than most. honestly. and, probably, love it more than most, too, honestly. and most hunters have great respect for the land and the animals on it. we are part of the checks and balances that keep everything running smoothly.

HEATHERB500

Thankyou for sharing the pics are absolutely gorgeous. I don't hunt myself, not against it or anything its jsut not my thing. (I prefer to fish), but I used to love to go sit in the blinds and just watch the wildlife its so peaceful.

Ruger2506

Gorgeous scenery. I understand why you are proud of your health and progress. However, I have to say that I am disgusted that you would kill such a beautiful creature. It is sad and disheartening to know that you took such a graceful and majestic animal from the earth. Nature is becoming scarce as society progresses and I think we should all respect and give back, not destroy what little beauty we have left.

Your points are you opinions and you have every right to them.

I would like to ask though. That moose hunt took $20,000 of my cash and put it into a industry and country to help protect the moose's habitat from man. Man in general has killed more animals (habitat loss, eradication, etc) than hunters ever will.

Same for New Zealand. $15,000 of my money spent in various ways.

For what it's worth, wild game in New Zealand is little more than rats to the locals. They are simply over run with game and allow the locals to shoot pretty much how ever many they want whenever they want. I wouldn't call that natural world scarce.

Thanks for looking though.

Hunting as an industry spends Billions (yes billions) a year on the outdoors. Much of that goes to habitat and management. How much would you say elitest anti-hunters give to game and habitat?

Trail_Addict

Gorgeous scenery. I understand why you are proud of your health and progress. However, I have to say that I am disgusted that you would kill such a beautiful creature. It is sad and disheartening to know that you took such a graceful and majestic animal from the earth. Nature is becoming scarce as society progresses and I think we should all respect and give back, not destroy what little beauty we have left.

see my previous points on hunters. we protect nature more than most. honestly. and, probably, love it more than most, too, honestly. and most hunters have great respect for the land and the animals on it. we are part of the checks and balances that keep everything running smoothly.

Most anti-hunters have no idea that it's the Sportman's hunting fees that help develop refuges for protected species, restocking lakes and ponds, build watering tanks for the wild life, special nesting sites for exotic birds. Hunters do more to protect wildlife than non-hunters. They just see kill, kill, kill, and most don't have a clue how much hunters do to keep a healthy balance.

heresmyinsidevoice

I live a few hours drive away from Ft. St. John. The camping, hunting and fishing up north here is amazing stuff. There's so much thick forest and backroads to navigate for those who are into that sort of thing. An outdoor enthusiast's paradise. Not to mention, moose and deer meat is so delicious and healthy. Other great areas for hunting and fishing are going up Hwy 16 West past Smithers BC all the way to Prince Rupert. The Bulkley Valley is really beautiful country.

Trail_Addict

Nature is becoming scarce as society progresses and I think we should all respect and give back, not destroy what little beauty we have left.

With the encroachment of man and housing, it is even more vital that hunting be a part of the overall wildlife management plan. The more houses that pop up, the more predators will disappear. Without natural predators, the non-predatory animals will quickly overpopulate a given area, and eat themselves out of house and home. Thus begins the slow demise through starvation, and eventually disease... making an uncertain future for the species. The hunters are the ones paying for the protection of the balance, and also the right to harvest a specific number of animals.

Ruger2506

Thankyou for sharing the pics are absolutely gorgeous. I don't hunt myself, not against it or anything its jsut not my thing. (I prefer to fish), but I used to love to go sit in the blinds and just watch the wildlife its so peaceful.

Oh yes. We love fishing to. In fact I've recently jumped into the tournament walleye series on a entry level to try my hand at that.

kokaneesailor

Awesome pictures. Huffing and puffing your way through the bush is a total bummer. It feels great to lose the weight.

BC is a terrible place to live, especially the North. ( you have to keep the secret)

Vodkha

The story is fine, but maybe leave a space for the pics and warn people of the dead animal pics. Not everyone wants to see them.

Julz2586

I love the pictures!!! great works!! Used to go rabbit hunting on my uncles farm back in NZ... i never did any of the shooting i was the person with the spotlight on the back of the four wheeled bike hehehe (i would have only been 10)


It really annoys me when people go into a board knowing exactly what they are going into JUST to start a fight.... have you got nothing better to do?

mustgetmuscles1

So awesome. I am an avid hunter here in WA state. One of my main reasons for getting in better shape also.

raevynn

But you came into this thread KNOWING that you were against what was inside and came in here just to argue. I don't go into vegan threads trying to push meat on people. And yes, that would be the same damn thing.

And for that, we vegans are thankful.

Sounds like you had a great time, OP... As long as you are eating what you take from the land, you won't get b*tching from me.

Hunters that just shoot for the "sport" of it... trophies, then leave the meat behind, are contemptible.

jcstanton

Awesome pictures. Huffing and puffing your way through the bush is a total bummer. It feels great to lose the weight.

BC is a terrible place to live, especially the North. ( you have to keep the secret)

You can't fool me. I've seen too many photos of BC and the Canadian Rockies. It's on my Top Ten List of Places to Visit Before I Die...along with Alaska, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, France, Germany, England, Northern Italy, and Northwestern U.S.

RaeLB

But it wasn't needless. The meat was awesome and the mount is an attraction at my place for hunters and non-hunters alike.

Then you and I have different definitions of "needless".

are you a vegan?

RaeLB

it's really fun i've heard many people that have strong opinions on hunting but they eat meat & animal products from factory farming
this is as free-range as it gets



anyways thanks for sharing!

daffodilsoup

are you a vegan?

I am.

marsellient

Great pics! My Dad was a hunter and fisher and I grew up on venison (haven't had it in years;) ) and fish. I miss him.

Trail_Addict

Hunters that just shoot for the "sport" of it... trophies, then leave the meat behind, are contemptible.

Actually, what you are describing is against the law in just about every single state. Law-abiding hunters don't poach or leave the meat on the ground.

ChaosMoosie

And yet you chose to enter a thread entitled "Moose Hunt". :noway:

I don't like discussions about TOM, and therefore I stay clear of those threads. Why would you enter this thread?

See the neat thing about posting things on a public forum is that you gather all different opinions. If people aren't prepared to hear different opinions, then perhaps its a better idea to post it somewhere where only like-minded people go.

Yet, you had the option of ignoring the thread "Moose Hunt", but instead chose of your own free will to enter it, become offended, and express your displeasure with the author for his honouring of not only the trip and his and his father's involvement with that trip, but with the animals and the opinions of others who do not agree with you.

And to what end? Will your opinion make a difference in Ruger's approach to life? I think not. Nor should it. He is not attempting to influence your life, he is only expressing some of the delight that his life has brought to him and sharing that delight with us who, like Marsellient, remember a kind and good time and for whom Ruger's musings bring back pleasurable memories of his father and times they spent together and will never have again...

I think it is gross when people who think they are doing wildlife a kindness, stop the 'needless harvest of the animals' and as a result find the population growing unchecked to the point of overpopulation, starvation and a lingering death by the hands of those people too kind to hunt, and too cruel to allow others to do the job, yet are too 'fragile' or 'ethical' to take care of the problem they created themselves.

Here is what happens.

www.biologycorner.com/worksheets/kaibab.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaibab_Plateau
www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=8515

Here is a very detailed study, drawing inferences from the dynamics of climate, predation, hunting and of the population of deer in the kaibab during the years when the deer were protected as completely as humanly possible. It's long (17 pages) but scientifically traceable.

http://www.rmtrr.org/data/Binkleyetal_2006_Ecosystems.pdf

further, see:

http://westinstenv.org/wibio/2010/01/20/the-kaibab-deer-incident-myths-lies-and-scientific-fraud/

Whereas Ruger's photos and his description of his hunt with his father is a depiction of a beautiful time, the harsh reality of the Kaibab - of intentional elimination of predators, of restricting hunting as a management tool (often the only management tool available to wildlife biologists) - is a quite different recitation of facts.

Here is what is gross...

Browse line (the level deer stretch to to reach food) at 9 feet or greater through the entire range of their habitat.
Deer with normal body weights of 200 pounds weighing 70 - or less.
Does (females) giving birth to single fawns (instead of twins as normal). The fawns born being less than 60% normal weight.
Does dying after birth due to the shock to their systems. Other does dying because their fawns nursing them was too much strain for their decimated bodies.
Finally death of 80% of the population of deer (or more, depending on whose account you read) in a matter of two or three years, the dead and decaying bodies laying where they fell or where they lay sleeping, exhausted, with no energy to even search for food.

That is what is Gross, ma'am. Not a hunter making a clean kill then utilizing the bounty that he worked for personally to the greatest extent possible. There is nothing gross about that, it is simply something that harmonizes perfectly with the natural rhythm of life, death, and rebirth. It is an honorable thing, unlike condemning beautiful creatures to a slow death by starvation due to misplaced sympathy from people who understand nothing of the reality of life.

It is fine for you to be a Vegan. No one here will condemn or question you for your legal choices - no one has that right. It is just as fine and just as honorable for Ruger to be a Hunter. But as the converse to none having the right to condemn you for your legal choices, neither have you the right to condemn or question Ruger - or anyone else - for theirs.

Trail_Addict

And yet you chose to enter a thread entitled "Moose Hunt". :noway:

I don't like discussions about TOM, and therefore I stay clear of those threads. Why would you enter this thread?

See the neat thing about posting things on a public forum is that you gather all different opinions. If people aren't prepared to hear different opinions, then perhaps its a better idea to post it somewhere where only like-minded people go.

Yet, you had the option of ignoring the thread "Moose Hunt", but instead chose of your own free will to enter it, become offended, and express your displeasure with the author for his honouring of not only the trip and his and his father's involvement with that trip, but with the animals and the opinions of others who do not agree with you.

And to what end? Will your opinion make a difference in Ruger's approach to life? I think not. Nor should it. He is not attempting to influence your life, he is only expressing some of the delight that his life has brought to him and sharing that delight with us who, like Marsellient, remember a kind and good time and for whom Ruger's musings bring back pleasurable memories of his father and times they spent together and will never have again...

I think it is gross when people who think they are doing wildlife a kindness, stop the 'needless harvest of the animals' and as a result find the population growing unchecked to the point of overpopulation, starvation and a lingering death by the hands of those people too kind to hunt, and too cruel to allow others to do the job, yet are too 'fragile' or 'ethical' to take care of the problem they created themselves.

Here is what happens.

www.biologycorner.com/worksheets/kaibab.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaibab_Plateau
www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=8515

Here is a very detailed study, drawing inferences from the dynamics of climate, predation, hunting and of the population of deer in the kaibab during the years when the deer were protected as completely as humanly possible. It's long (17 pages) but scientifically traceable.

http://www.rmtrr.org/data/Binkleyetal_2006_Ecosystems.pdf

further, see:

http://westinstenv.org/wibio/2010/01/20/the-kaibab-deer-incident-myths-lies-and-scientific-fraud/

Whereas Ruger's photos and his description of his hunt with his father is a depiction of a beautiful time, the harsh reality of the Kaibab - of intentional elimination of predators, of restricting hunting as a management tool (often the only management tool available to wildlife biologists) - is a quite different recitation of facts.

Here is what is gross...

Browse line (the level deer stretch to to reach food) at 9 feet or greater through the entire range of their habitat.
Deer with normal body weights of 200 pounds weighing 70 - or less.
Does (females) giving birth to single fawns (instead of twins as normal). The fawns born being less than 60% normal weight.
Does dying after birth due to the shock to their systems. Other does dying because their fawns nursing them was too much strain for their decimated bodies.
Finally death of 80% of the population of deer (or more, depending on whose account you read) in a matter of two or three years, the dead and decaying bodies laying where they fell or where they lay sleeping, exhausted, with no energy to even search for food.

That is what is Gross, ma'am. Not a hunter making a clean kill then utilizing the bounty that he worked for personally to the greatest extent possible. There is nothing gross about that, it is simply something that harmonizes perfectly with the natural rhythm of life, death, and rebirth. It is an honorable thing, unlike condemning beautiful creatures to a slow death by starvation due to misplaced sympathy from people who understand nothing of the reality of life.

It is fine for you to be a Vegan. No one here will condemn or question you for your legal choices - no one has that right. It is just as fine and just as honorable for Ruger to be a Hunter. But as the converse to none having the right to condemn you for your legal choices, neither have you the right to condemn or question Ruger - or anyone else - for theirs.

I was going to post the exact same study. LOL

ChaosMoosie

Gorgeous scenery. I understand why you are proud of your health and progress. However, I have to say that I am disgusted that you would kill such a beautiful creature. It is sad and disheartening to know that you took such a graceful and majestic animal from the earth. Nature is becoming scarce as society progresses and I think we should all respect and give back, not destroy what little beauty we have left.

You misunderstand. Hunters and fishermen do more for the environment and the welfare and good of animals than any other segment of the population of the world. We LIVE to be a part of the out-of-doors.

Ruger did kill a beautiful animal. That animal and hundreds of others like it became so beautiful because of people like Ruger - hunters and fishermen who care deeply about the habitat of these animals and are willing to put their money and their time and effort into ensuring that these animals are there today for them and tomorrow and tomorrow for other generations to see, enjoy, to know that such magnificence still treads on the earth, and yes, to hunt and take a portion of that bounty for themselves.

It is because of the hunters and the fishermen that beauty still exists. It is because of urban sprawl - the moving of thousands of people from cities into the 'country' and the building of houses and housing developments on farmland and in the mountains and valleys of our land - that animals are losing their places to live... forever.

Which person is cruel? Is it the person like Ruger who takes two moose in a lifetime with his father, or is it the developer who builds a housing development in the moose's home territory and destroys that creatures place to live (all the while extolling the beauty of the land as a selling feature). Or is it the person who, in their escape from the 'city' buys that house the developer built, believing they will be able to live with and see this beautiful wildlife as they drive their ecologically friendly car 100 miles to work in the city?

I would really like to know what you think about this when you take more time to consider the whole of the question, not just the instantaneous gut reaction to something you personally do not like.

Vodkha

The topic is BC Moose Hunt (why I got fit). This is a fitness board. he got fit so he could climb the hills to shoot the animals. photos of the hills and the landscape are relevant but the actual photos of his kills arent really. the least he could have done is separate the kill pics from the others with a warning.

tsh0ck

yeah. because if you get fit to run a marathon, posting photos of you at the finish would be irrelevant, huh?

mustgetmuscles1

So refreshing to see hunters that can educate others on the benefits of hunting. So many people today get their biology lessons from Disney movies. Hunters along with state and federal game management agencies have been managing wildlife for about a hundred years. Most of the studies and biological samples and surveys of our wildlife are all paid for by hunters and anglers. Hunters and anglers are allow to harvest all excess animals and those numbers are carefully managed.

The simplest way it was explained to me was:

You have a piece of land. That piece of land can support 10 deer. That is referred to as "carrying capacity". 50% are female and have 1 fawn every year. At the beginning of the new year you now have 15 deer living on a piece of land that could only support 10. How many will die come winter? Most people that dont know any better will say 5. What they fail to realize is that 15 deer were sharing the resources for 10 all year long. They are ALL weaker and malnourished and come winter they may all be so weak that none survive.

Of course this is a very simplistic explanation and does not account for all of natures variables but it is a very basic idea of why hunters and anglers are a very important part of game management in modern wildlife management.

I know someone will come on and say: Well nature did just fine before humans came along. That is a very uneducated statement. There have been thousands of species that went extinct before humans rose to level we are at today. You would have massive swings in populations do to predators or disease or starvation.

Say the deer are plentiful and doing great. Wolves, coyotes, bears, cougars and so on start to grow in numbers due to the large numbers of prey available. Their numbers go unchecked and soon they are so plentiful the deer start to decline and rapidly once there are so many predators. Soon there is not enough prey for all the predators and they start to die from starvation, disease spreads due to weakened animals and they also turn on each other. Pretty soon predator numbers are low again and deer numbers start to make a rapid comeback. The cycle starts over. Modern management and hunting take all the suffering and waste away. Stable population of all species are maintained and if one starts to suffer from either over harvest, a disease outbreak. natural disaster or what have you biologist can quickly identify and make changes to management. All of that can happen thanks to the money paid by...you guessed it hunters.

Trail_Addict

So refreshing to see hunters that can educate others on the benefits of hunting. So many people today get their biology lessons from Disney movies. Hunters along with state .......

......The cycle starts over. Modern management and hunting take all the suffering and waste away. Stable population of all species are maintained and if one starts to suffer from either over harvest, a disease outbreak. natural disaster or what have you biologist can quickly identify and make changes to management. All of that can happen thanks to the money paid by...you guessed it hunters.

Very well stated, my friend!

Firefighter_Jay

If you eat it, you should be able to kill it.

NewTeena

I live a few hours drive away from Ft. St. John. The camping, hunting and fishing up north here is amazing stuff. There's so much thick forest and backroads to navigate for those who are into that sort of thing. An outdoor enthusiast's paradise. Not to mention, moose and deer meat is so delicious and healthy. Other great areas for hunting and fishing are going up Hwy 16 West past Smithers BC all the way to Prince Rupert. The Bulkley Valley is really beautiful country.

I live right in the heart of that area in Terrace!

If you love to fish for salmon you must come to Terrace and fish our beautiful Skeena River. The Kalum River is nice too, and joins the Skeena just west of town. Another popular fishing spot is the Kitmat River.

Beautiful pics btw.

Vodkha

yeah. because if you get fit to run a marathon, posting photos of you at the finish would be irrelevant, huh?

if the finish line had something dead at the end of it, some people may not want to see it. You are missing my point. I didnt say hunting was bad. I said just warn people before posting those pics, or at least write something about it not being for everyone in your subject line.