Any more non-hunters out there?

I don't hunt, but used to. I mostly enjoy shooting MLs because they challenge me more than other rifles.

I don't condemn hunting, but I don't care for deer meat and my grandkids think squirrels are dear little creatures. (I do like squirrel.) My back yard is full of them and I can get within 10 feet of them without alarming them. I might take a few after the first cold spell kills all the wolves in them.

So my shooting is at paper. This makes me quite happy. Am I alone here?

Nope you're not alone. I haven't hunted in years, but like to keep my aim sharp if the need arises.

There's nothing wrong with shooting targets....

I found that I liked shooting more than hunting. My wife and I spend about 3 weeks a year traveling to Phoenix, Az, Grants Pass, Ore and Boise, Id for either the Nationals or Territorials.
We have been blessed to meet people from all over the US and have made many friends wouldn't have it any other way.
We also shoot the California State Championships and Territorials, but it is near our home, so our pals come here!
Michael

I quit hunting big game with my flintlock about 10 years ago, as it just became too much work (not the hunting, stalking, and bringing the animal down, but the work involved in getting it out of the field). But I do enjoy going out with my grown boys when they hunt. I shoot my flintlock from 2 to 4 times each week but I see little fun in just poking holes in paper anymore too. So I spend my time down along the Tongue River shooting among the cottonwoods at steel gongs and clay discs - something that either spins or breaks when I hit it. I do enjoy the challenge of shooting my flintlock on a regular basis, as well as it is very relaxing. What hunting I do, though, is confined to hunting cottontail rabbits out on the prairie. I typically go out in the winter months, hike around for the day, and usually kill one rabbit to take home for my evening meal.

Nope, never hunted. It wasn't a part of my upbringing and I think it's a little late for me to learn what my of y'all learned long ago.

Got into muzzle loading because of my late brother-in-law. I now own his mountain pistol.

nope....I get tired of seeing dead lil fellows on the side of the road....all a animal has is it's life....and when that's taken, it looses.....I was raised on a big farm....and was always stuff with doing the dirty deed......so now, I build for fun, and paper punching.....maybe a pesky tin can sometimes...... :rotf:
marc n tomtom

I grew up hunting rabbits, squirrels, quail, pheasants, ducks, geese and raccoons. We could not hunt deer as you had to draw for a license and it could be anywhere in Iowa. We could not afford to travel/stay in a county far away, so I did not hunt deer till we came back to Virginia, where we also hunted Turkey and Deer. I am very PRO Responsible Hunting.

Having said that, I have not hunted the last 10 years, due to a combination of eye problems, some health issues going back to my tour in Somalia and quite frankly the deer got to look too much like my Collie Dogs.

So nowadays I help my Great Nephews prepare for and do things to help them when they hunt.

Gus

Do to my wife's health we had to leave the country and move in to town. So I can't hunt in my back yard or the near 2 sq miles of woodlands that was around my home. I sure don't hunt as much as I used to. I miss it in general but find just trekking to be almost as fun. Some times even more fun.

I am not a hunter currently but am warming back up to it thanks to traditional weapons and gear. Might start back with small game rather soon.

Historical interpretation and the challenges of learning traditional weapons has been a fun ride even without hunting

I'm borderline these days. No kids at home and changing diet spells less meat needed, so I just don't shoot so much. I still love hunting, but don't have the need to pull the trigger so often. I get in more by mostly switching from big game to small, but even there we don't need all that much with a bunch of fish in the house.

Saying all that, I still "hunt" like crazy. I get out in the hills with the animals a lot, even if I'm not carrying.

I'm not blessed with a muzzleloader club and not inclined to competition shooting, much as I love to shoot. All my shooting is casual field shooting solo or with friends. Still have access to lots of wild country, so I'm stalking clam shells on beaches, rocks in creek beds and kelp balls bobbing in the ocean. Call it "trail walks" with no trails and no manufactured targets.

I don't hunt but I know how, just in case someday I have to. Used to tag along with friends and my best friend switched from a gun to a camera and taking a trophy meant a good close up action shot. I love game meat and manage to mooch or trade for some game meat once in awhile. My Son has become very interested in taking venison so I may have to tag along once again.

colorado clyde said:

There's nothing wrong with shooting targets....

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Well, they taste like ^$*@.

Never did figure out how to gut and skin one either. :grin:

hanshi said:

colorado clyde said:

There's nothing wrong with shooting targets....

Click to expand...

Well, they taste like ^$*@.

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And just how is it you know what ^$*@ tastes like :rotf:

colorado clyde said:

There's nothing wrong with shooting targets....

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I agree - haven't gone for deer or elk for over a decade. Last "Targets" I brought home were a bunch'a tree rats taken with the .62 cal fusil

I really like to Dress up in My Primitive Duds and go out in the Pa. Primitive Deer Season. Really don`t care if I get anything or not. Just like the feel of a Possible Bag and Powder Horn on my side and a flintlock in my Hands....

You aren't alone. I grew up around folks who regularly went hunting. In fact, you could tell when the first week end of hunting season started. There was nobody in church except women, girls, a few older men, and boys too young to go out with their dads, uncles, and older brothers.

Dad wasn't into hunting much at all. The one uncle and cousins I had who did hunt lived too far away for me to tag along.

Nowadays, I don't have a place to hunt, and truth be told, I never learned the art of skinning, field butchering, etc. So I've pretty much given up the dream. I do love game meat, however. One of my dreams used to be to hunt buffalo with my flint lock rifle. Probably never will happen. So I content myself with shooting targets at the monthly club shoots, and dressing up for the three different annual rendezvous my club hosts.

Don't eat them! They do help start the cooking fire for the steaks on Sat night.
Michael

AZbpBurner said:

hanshi said:

colorado clyde said:

There's nothing wrong with shooting targets....

Click to expand...

Well, they taste like ^$*@.

Click to expand...

And just how is it you know what ^$*@ tastes like :rotf:

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Well, one way to learn what it tastes like is to step in what you're shoveling and then put your foot in your mouth... :haha: Don't ask how I know..... :barf:

On a serious side though.......If you're target shooting, please pick up your trash.....