DUDE, SMOKED HIM!!!???

When I see hunting video's( and I don't really watch them) I think of the movie Funny Farm where there is someone out of sight that lets a deer loose.

Not sure why it has to be either silence or noise.

I mostly hunt by myself. For me, the shot starts a sequence of behaviors and emotions. Suffice it to say that, upon finding the animal, I say some kind of prayer to both the animal and the land -- apologizing for the kill, giving thanks and making promises about my future actions with the carcass and my life. I don't find it necessary for small game for some reason. Don't know why -- just big game & turkeys.

After a minute or 10 of solemn respect, I break the silence with a whoop that you'll hear for a mile. Coyotes and wolves are known to howl after a kill, why shouldn't I if I feel like it? I mostly hunt CA public land so just getting a chance at forked-horn can be years in between. It's a big deal for me and I intend to celebrate it a little.

But then it's all business & labor -- tag it, take a couple photos, make some meat, pack it up and get ready to hike out. No wheelie carts out here -- just the quads we were born with. That joy is the fuel to get me, the animal and my gear all back to the truck, which could be several miles each way and often takes 2 trips.

Come to think of it, the entire process is almost like a liturgy and follows a similar format, right down to the parting benediction (uplifting celebration & admonition). I wouldn't run too far with that idea, though.

Now in the presence of others, even my own kids, I'm more filtered. Back-slapping "atta-boy" stuff doesn't appeal to me at all. I just keep it all brief. I've been hunting solo for so long that I hardly know what to do now that my boys join me on occasion.

megasupermagnum said:

It absolutely blows my mind that in this day and age that this kind of thinking still exists. I'm just going to say you are 100% wrong, and it is wrong of you to suggest that others suppress their emotions because you don't feel comfortable with your own.

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I made it pretty clear that I find the over the top celebrations in many of today's hunting shows to be buffoonery. I also said that on the instance that I behaved that way myself when I was a very young teen, that I was embarrassed for my behavior and didn't think it reflected the nature of the hunt. If you choose to carry on after a harvest, I won't try to stop you, enjoy yourself. I simply said that I think it's way over the top. I've harvested an awful lot of big game animals in my life and I feel that I've earned the right to have an opinion about how one should behave, but I'm certainly not so stuck on myself that I believe that everyone has to behave the way I do. I never said that you can't behave anyway that you wish.

Furthermore and for the record, none of these over the top celebrations that I've seen on TV are even remotely passionate or spur of the moment. They all strike me as being incredibly fake and rehearsed. To each their own, but I don't have to like it.

YouTube money, they need viewers to get paid. It's a double edged sword.

The following quote by Ben Rogers Lee says it all for me.

"I wish I could breath life back in him, I'd hunt him again tomorrow."

Years ago, in a pub in the Adirondacks, my buddy and I sat in for a pint or two. The walls were adorned with the usual head mounts and photos of big bucks gone by. The barmaid was local and we talked of family history in the area for all of us. We talked of the years of hunting stories, both hits and misses. A nice evening for old guys.
Then in come two twenty or twenty one year olds, and after getting carded and served they look at the same mounts and photos on the walls. The response from them was like black and white. But what really set us off was when they looked at the shot of a 225 lb. plus buck that was taken the year before. Our takeaway was he was a magnificent animal able to elude hunters for many years. Their take on the photo was "What a slob!"
My friend had had enough at that point. He walked up to them and asked where do you get off calling such a magnificent animal "a slob"?
That deer has been on his own for 90% of his life. He hid deep in the hills to avoid you and your inline scoped pellet poppin' kind.
He lived through the worst weather imaginable, searched every day for his food, got by on his wits, fought off other bucks for a mate....while you two sit in your parents house waiting for mommy to cook you supper and playing around on fartbook. .
By that bucks comparison you two are the slobs and should learn to respect the wildlife.
They said nothing. And it probably changed nothing. But they left and the rest of the pub felt a little warmer that night.
And......the next round was on the bar maid.

After 6 years of teaching myself to hunt turkeys, at the age of 36, finally calling in a nice gobbler and making the kill, the last instant felt like me and the turkey had switched places and were connected by an invisible thread broken when the shot went off. All the hard work, anticipation, the fulfillment of a vision. I was overcome with emotion. I did cry and had a very difficult time getting a hold of myself. I was at once exhilarated, sad for the animal, thankful for the day and proud of my accomplishment. I never even considered saying, “I smoked him!” I did have the wherewithal to tell him I was sorry and thank God. Not everyone feels how I do about it and that’s fine.

Ponderosaman said:

After 6 years of teaching myself to hunt turkeys, at the age of 36, finally calling in a nice gobbler and making the kill, the last instant felt like me and the turkey had switched places and were connected by an invisible thread broken when the shot went off. All the hard work, anticipation, the fulfillment of a vision. I was overcome with emotion. I did cry and had a very difficult time getting a hold of myself. I was at once exhilarated, sad for the animal, thankful for the day and proud of my accomplishment. I never even considered saying, “I smoked him!” I did have the wherewithal to tell him I was sorry and thank God. Not everyone feels how I do about it and that’s fine.

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That's a great story, and it makes me as happy as can be to hear it. There's nothing wrong at all with crying, even to this day, I tear up sometimes. As you found, there isn't much in life that offer such an instantaneous emotional burst, compressed into a single moment. That's the way it should be. It makes me sad to hear from people who loose this feeling in time. I know I never want to.

megasupermagnum said:

That's a great story, and it makes me as happy as can be to hear it. There's nothing wrong at all with crying, even to this day, I tear up sometimes. As you found, there isn't much in life that offer such an instantaneous emotional burst, compressed into a single moment. That's the way it should be. It makes me sad to hear from people who loose this feeling in time. I know I never want to.

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Thanks for saying so. When I watch the movie The Sound of Music, it looks so natural and wonderful to sing in the deep wilderness. In real life my voice feels harsh and small in the forest’s majesty. Once a tiny bird, part of a flock of fifteen or so, jaunting through the junipers, landed on my leafy camo covered shoulder. I was delighted and absolutely quiet and still. Everyone of us that has spent time hunting has seen such delights. You can’t buy a ticket to that.

Skychief said:

I just want to make sure I haven't been doing things wrong to this point.

You see, I've been watching a few deer hunting videos on the world wide web lately. It seems that 90% of them contain fist pumping, with screams of "DUDE, DUDE, DUDE", and "SMOKED HIM"!! Also popular is " Now THAT'S what I'm talking about"!!! after a kill shot.

Viewed one video this evening, where a poor guy seemingly became instantly possessed after shooting a buck. There's not enough money in Indiana to have swayed me to want to be within 5 miles of the fellow in the several minutes that followed his pulling the trigger.

Different strokes for different folks I suppose. That's why they build both Chevys and Fords, but, i 'm concerned that I'm missing something, having never reacted with such gusto after taking game.

What say you, dudes? (Nope, doesn't feel right here, either).

Best regards, Skychief.

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Feel the same. I hunt for meat and to be in the woods. Not to sport kill.

gustrolland said:

Feel the same. I hunt for meat and to be in the woods. Not to sport kill.

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Absolutely, that's why hunt with a muzzleloader. It makes me slow down and pay attention to game's surroundings and habits to get good clean shot. The bonus is being outdoors.

Did some hunting as a youngster but not with much success, no one else in the family was interested. Never had a lots of chances over the years because of military/family raising. Now we have our own place with good sized deer well situated for hunting. Take one every year, let a lot go until later. Only myself and the grandsons are on the place.

It is more about being there and connecting with the natural environment. Also, my trees, my dirt, my rocks, bought and paid for, no one can make me leave. The animals belong to themselves and do as they please.

I consider it a good day when I get skunked and don't get a shot. Like the time I fell asleep and woke up to a 6 pt buck staring at me from 10 yards away. We looked at each other for a minute and he took off. He won which is fine with me. Or the time a decent buck showed up at the limit of my comfortable range for a clean shot. He would wander off and I would call him back. Had the hammer back and sights on him several times, just not comfortable with the shot. Kept this up for almost an hour until he left. Again a really good day hunting and he won.

Don

Different strokes for different folks. It’s a shame to see so much intolerance for others that may be different than yourself. Our sports, black powder shooting and hunting are vanishing and will disappear if we don’t encourage and make way for and attract the younger participants. They do it differently than us old timers and their hunting videos have a decidedly different flavor. Not necessarily bad just different.

as TED says- you gotta kill it to grill it!!

You don't have to go hunting to see the difference between the way we talked and did things back in the day, and the way things are done today. The "yo DUDE" and the "hey BRO", seems to manifest itself at work or at play just about everywhere I go with the younger set. The wife #2 or 3 seems to talk as filthy as their husbands do, and just as loud. I think the youngsters are losing command of the language, near as I can tell. I still go about hunting and other things quite differently. "Never before has a generation documented themselves so well doing so little"

Having been a Professional Hunter for 25-years (Ret.) I've seen all sorts of reactions from clients. Some on their first and only kill and some on their last of their lifetime. The reaction varies tremendously. From uncontrollable sobbing, with real remorse, to cursing and kicking the carcass because it wasn't what they thought it was in size or something. What is an obvious trend is that when a popular outdoor figure uses a slogan or logo statement, I saw more and more clients repeating those same words. Overall, the European clients were much more reverent and respectful of the game than those from North America. It may be the lack of Outdoor TV influence, and a deep rooted cultural history. As far as what you see on TV, I've been on several shows and I've hosted quite a few different shows at my ranch and as their guide. Some of the most predominant personalities in the outdoor industry, real pioneers in outdoor TV and owners of "famous" product companies were real disappointing. In a few instances, they wanted a scripted skit and when things weren't just like they wanted them they would carry on ridiculously. Then once the cameraman got enough footage to make the scene, the "fake" reaction to everything going as planned comes out. My position is different than that of a casual observer or a co-participant. These folks have paid decent money for my service. Its part of my delivery - I let them do just about whatever they want if its safe and legal. On one end of the spectrum people have sworn never to kill anything again, tore up their license and left their guns at the ranch before leaving early. Opposite end, I've had them smash rifles, stomp gear and literally spit on the dead animal because of being disappointed by their own shortcomings (no fault of the animal of course). I don't watch hunting on TV because I personally don't get anything out of it. To me its not entertaining, I don't really learn anything and a lot of it is a product endorsement. Nonetheless, I hear and see these interesting reactions still. Human nature is to act in front of an audience. A lot of the reaction is pumped up for the audience. Some of them are legit and some are completely orchestrated. I've seen the TV crew "cut" the scene and start over, with the "Hunter" doing the whole high-five woo hoo for the 5th time. It's great for you and your buddy to get excited over a successful hunt. A guide should be excited for his clients too. When the whole situation is destined for an audience and to satisfy a paying sponsor, expect much artificial hype. It doesn't make them bad people or anything, they are just caught up in the culture of being a media personality. The best thing you can do is pray for them.

megasupermagnum said:

"If the average 13-year-old knows that shouting and getting wound up over a harvest is silly" -Ganggreen

If you believe this, you are a bad person. We should not be promoting bottling up emotions. That's the fast track to living a sad, miserable life. The fact that he felt embarrassed is simply sad, he never had a chance.

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Now you are calling hunters who don't share your view bad people? What does that say about you? Words like arrogant, judgmental and meanspirited come to mind. Troll fits too.

toot said:

as TED says- you gotta kill it to grill it!!

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Except if its Seafood like Lobsters, Crabs, Clams, Oysters. They have Better be Alive when you Cook them.

Russ T Frizzen said:

Now you are calling hunters who don't share your view bad people? What does that say about you? Words like arrogant, judgmental and meanspirited come to mind. Troll fits too.

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That's probably about right. I'm also tolerant. I'll tolerate bad people and their choices, if it is their own. If they want to bottle them selves up because they think excitement is a bad then, then I don't care. As long as you aren't trying to force that upon others, as some in this thread are, then it's none of my concern.

Ultimately I'm realizing this thread is not as it seems. It seems people aren't angry that hunters are happy when they kill. It seems people have a problem with the way anyone under 60 years old talks, which I don't even know what to say about that. As someone somehow found out, and pointed out, I'm 27 years old. I hear WAY more 40-50 year old's say Bro/Dude than I ever heard from my generation. Especially dude, I considered that a hippie thing.

Myself, I've been known to let out from a "right on" all the way to a "yee haw". If you've got a problem with the words I use, then you've got problems way beyond what I know about.

People get used to what is.
If you kill your own meat (in the pen or in the woods) the new wears off.

Two years ago, my grand daughter killed her first deer, a 10 point buck, at the age of six. First hunt, first shot. We were all excited. Had it mounted $500 for next year's Christmas. Her mother refused to have it in their house, so it's in our dining room.

She took photos to school. Teacher belittled her. City kids at school also. She likes to fish, run the pontoon boat, throw rocks, etc. but has not wanted to hunt again. B/C they live in a city, little opportunity to walk in woods without a sidewalk, study anything wilder'n a squirrel or critters in zoos, that buck may well be the first and last deer she ever shoots.

Her hunt was from a collapsible blind and she did, indeed call it in with a "can call", but it was just like most "hunting" shows - no effort, just killing. I don't like blinds, won't hunt over food plots, do "drives" nor use dogs. "My" deer live here on the farm. Fun watching them throughout the year - same deer, day after day, same pattern (except for the rut). I enjoy "hunting" with my flinters and caplocks but seldom shoot a deer these days. More enjoyable to watch the woods come alive at dawn, drink coffee, smoke a "Kool", and be glad the ONE in charge let me do it one more time.

"Hunting" shows in plastic blinds over motorized feeders? - not my thing.