Feeling remorse after shooting

[George1990]

Felt the same duckdog, though i started on rabbit. Though i love taking aim and firing, with air rifle or shotgun.

Out rough shooting the other day and dropped a pigeon - screwed up in the air and fell through all the branches which tore him up - but when i went to pick him up he flapped around like mad. Got to admit i don't get enjoyment out of that, especially as he was such a mess! Too messy to wring so whacked him on the head.

 

All the time they're clean kills I got no probs doing a vital job

[urikastu]

It is normal to feel a bit upsert after shooting a bird. I ask because when I shot my first pigeon's I felt a bit upset and I did not wan't to shoto for the rest of the day. I have no problem killing rat's or anything.

Is it like this for everyone, or do I just need to toughen up.

I'm only 14

 

Cheers

 

 

Just think of them as rats with wings.

I've just come back from Norfolk. If you seen the sky full of them as I did, you wouldn't worry, we estimated at least 1500+. They were just about to devastate a rape crop and we were only driving round looking for a future spot at the time.

[magman]

Just think of them as rats with wings.

 

This is the sort of thing that's gets us a bad name there not rats they are a living food source .

Although they need controlling , they do not deserve that .

[Harnser]

This is the sort of thing that's gets us a bad name there not rats they are a living food source .

Although they need controlling , they do not deserve that .

 

 

Absolutly right Mag man . Thats were the respect comes in or the lack of it . Harnser .

Edited November 24, 2008 by Harnser

[browning 425]

sh;;t hot post there from a 14th yaer old if my son has a look on life like that when he gets two your age i will be cuff keep on shooting m8 well done

[the_commoner]

i have the same feelings as many echoed on here and hope they will continue

 

i shoot driven game ''for sport'' but still feel the same respect and admiration for the quarry as i do when i go rabbitting, pigeon shooting, ratting or anything else which can be classed as ''sport'' or ''vermin control''

 

at the end of the day there should not necessarily be a division in sport and vermin control both have their place as long as equal respect is placed on the quarry what ever it may be and in all instances then long may this continue

 

every sportman or hunter, call yourself what you like, should feel a little guilt but it should be more than outweighed by the fact that as long as you have conducted yourself in a sportsmanlike / effecient manner then your quarry whatever it may have been will not have suffered in the same way as it may have done in natures hands, and if you are keeping it for food then you have bagged yourself THE MOST free range meet that is available.

 

happy albeit it slightly guilty hunting all

[lurcherboy]

It is normal to feel a bit upsert after shooting a bird. I ask because when I shot my first pigeon's I felt a bit upset and I did not wan't to shoto for the rest of the day. I have no problem killing rat's or anything.

Is it like this for everyone, or do I just need to toughen up.

I'm only 14

 

Cheers

 

Perfectly normal duckdog and it shows your not a sociopath or worse

 

 

 

LB

[TheHunter]

Hi Duckdog

 

Not saying anyone should feel guilty for pest control as it really is a very necessary task, one thing I have taken up is preparing and cooking my quarry (not the corvids but even they can go to the dogs) this way I have seen the game all the way through the food chain. I find this rounds off the hunter gatherer loop.

[staglioni]

at the end of the day it shows your human mate

stag

[CEREALTHRILLER]

Great post Duckdog

 

I still feel remorse sometimes even after years of shooting/killing game

 

It's a normal emotion to have IMHO

[POW!]

Like you and many others , I also feel like this at times , even after 50 years of shooting ,

Good post from someone so young ,

It shows what a well ballanced young man you are ,

Credit not only to you but, your parents , POW

[Pinkfooty]

One of the greatest myths put about by the anti-shooting weirdos is that "we kill for sport" or "kill for fun".

 

We do not.

 

Only the most depraved pervert would get any enjoyment from killing any bird or animal.

 

We hunt for sport and enjoy the hunting.

 

We shoot for sport and enjoy the shooting.

 

We may fish for sport and enjoy the fishing.

 

But we do not enjoy killing. If we did, it would be time to sell our guns and take up tiddlywinks instead.

 

That's why we all have out personal limits in shooting (and, incidentally, why we do not require statutory bag limits).

 

In my case, at the ripe old age of 63, my personal limit when wildfowling is two ducks or two geese in a day.

 

Like every true sportsman, I feel twinge of regret every time my dog brings back a bird I have shot.

 

But, of course, I get immense satisfaction from having successfully hunted the duck or goose and brought off a good shot.

 

The limit is reached when the regret balances the satisfaction.

 

When I was younger my limit was higher - maybe 8 or 6 fowl.

 

And that is why we must never impose our personal limits on anyone else - they change as we get older. I am delighted if a young wildfowler does not reach the regret/satisfaction balance until he has shot maybe 6 or 8 ducks or geese.

 

That's what the antis just don't understand.

 

Look at it another way. You cannot get/keep a SGC or FAC if you are mentally ill - but anyone who got pleasure from killing would, by definition, be mentally ill. It would be the classic Catch-22.

 

That's why we can confidently say that responsible fieldsportsmen and women are amongst the most mentally balanced people in our society.

 

Long may it remain so.

[Kev Todd]

great post, and fantastic to see so many honest replies!

 

i can still remember the very first creature i directly killed (i.e. not in a trap) it was a magpie, i felt guilty all night!

 

over the years i have killed thousands of mice, rats, rabbits, covids, etc, etc, ................ after a while i have to admit that you do harden up to the reality that you are ending a living creatures life. i do still feel for the creatures, in the sense that i do my best to kill them as cleanly as possible. you should never make any of them suffer that would just be cruel. every now and then though we all miss place a shot and do not provide our quarry with instantanious death, having to quickly follow up with another shot or blow to the head. these will be the ones that stay in your memory longest and put the strain on your concience the most.

 

emotions are a normal part of life, if you did not have any then you should start to be worried.

 

i wish you all the best and good hunting.

 

WELL DONE TO YOU FOR STARTING THIS POST

[kennym]

One of the greatest myths put about by the anti-shooting weirdos is that "we kill for sport" or "kill for fun".

 

We do not.

 

Only the most depraved pervert would get any enjoyment from killing any bird or animal.

 

We hunt for sport and enjoy the hunting.

 

We shoot for sport and enjoy the shooting.

 

We may fish for sport and enjoy the fishing.

 

But we do not enjoy killing. If we did, it would be time to sell our guns and take up tiddlywinks instead.

 

That's why we all have out personal limits in shooting (and, incidentally, why we do not require statutory bag limits).

 

In my case, at the ripe old age of 63, my personal limit when wildfowling is two ducks or two geese in a day.

 

Like every true sportsman, I feel twinge of regret every time my dog brings back a bird I have shot.

 

But, of course, I get immense satisfaction from having successfully hunted the duck or goose and brought off a good shot.

 

The limit is reached when the regret balances the satisfaction.

 

When I was younger my limit was higher - maybe 8 or 6 fowl.

 

And that is why we must never impose our personal limits on anyone else - they change as we get older. I am delighted if a young wildfowler does not reach the regret/satisfaction balance until he has shot maybe 6 or 8 ducks or geese.

 

That's what the antis just don't understand.

 

Look at it another way. You cannot get/keep a SGC or FAC if you are mentally ill - but anyone who got pleasure from killing would, by definition, be mentally ill. It would be the classic Catch-22.

 

That's why we can confidently say that responsible fieldsportsmen and women are amongst the most mentally balanced people in our society.

 

Long may it remain so.

 

What a great post, the way this forum should always be someone with vast experiance, trying to help or advise those who have less,

 

WELL DONE SIR,

 

however I have recently read on this forum about people shooting birds in a driven shoot who have shot and not known what type of bird they were shooting and doing it seamingly for the thrill of the kill. I do admit these arein the minority and are not representertive of people in our sport

[myzeneye]

interesting post mate, me, i eat what i shoot and stop when ive bagged what i know i will use from fresh... anything over my pot/fridge limit is sensless killing...UNLESS, its pest control.... i do see the need for ridding fox's or thinning out large numbers of pigeon/rabbit... corvids/magpies/rats... well theyve gotta go to im afraid....

 

its very hard to explain mate, especially,even more so, to an anti.... i do feel guilt, but none whatsoever if its for the pot.... it always amazes me how anti's dont associate the meat they buy from the supermarket with death or killing either, yet decide what we do is blood lusted perversion... more care, thought and effort goes into the meat on my table then theirs, that is for certain...

[tomberry]

I walked out into the field after 10 years of not shooting and bagged 2 mallard and 3 pigeons and it felt quite normal if you think how farmed animals are kept in dictated to when the eat sleep and die you begin to realise that a pigeon flying along prob doesnt even hear the gun and its dead before it hits the ground, everyone and everything dies eventually and to be honest is there a better way to go than quickly and not seeing it coming?

[duckdog]

Thanks for the replies everyone, it has really made a me feel better. I reckon I felt sad because the bodies where still warm when touched, and one of the bird was still flapping around which added to the guilt.

I'm not into driven shooting either. I've been beating before but I alway felt there was something wrong with it, but that is just me.

I'll stick to clays and pest shooting, plus the odd one for the pot.

 

I'll probally put some pics up saturday

[urikastu]

This is the sort of thing that's gets us a bad name there not rats they are a living food source .

Although they need controlling , they do not deserve that .

 

 

Absolutly right Mag man . Thats were the respect comes in or the lack of it . Harnser .

 

 

Obviously you two don't see the devastation that these vermin cause that I do.get real, there not just a food source, there vermin in every sense of the word

[duckdog]

Is it okay to feed pigeon breast to your dog? as I would pluck a breast 200+ if I could cook it and feed it to my young lab. I reckon it would be okay but most of the people I know say it would upset his tummy. But then again what do townies know

 

[Pinkfooty]

Any change of diet can temporarily upset a dog's stomach. It's probably best to only feed "natural" stuff if you can guarantee a regular supply of it. And introduce it gradually.

[duckdog]

I could maybe feed him two breats a day, chopped up and mixed with his dry food.

[Harnser]

Obviously you two don't see the devastation that these vermin cause that I do.get real, there not just a food source, there vermin in every sense of the word

 

Urikastu ,

You are coming across as a bit of a gung ho shooter the type that i and any sensible shooter likes to stay clear of . Of course i have seen the damage that pigeons can do to crops ,i have been pigeon shooting for the last 50 years in a county that has allways held huge numbers of pigeons . I would concider myself an expert in pigeon shooting and proberbly i have been shooting longer than you have been alive . I have allways carried out pest control and stalking with the utmost respect and compassion for my quarry . Perhaps compassion and respect for your quarry is something that you need to learn . As to refering to pigeons as vermin and flying rats is to mind the thoughts of somebody who knows very little about the real side of shooting . You would do well to read this thread through from the begining . There are some comments from some very experianced shooters reff this thread and none of them agree with what you have said . Harnser .

[auto culto]

Obviously you two don't see the devastation that these vermin cause that I do.get real, there not just a food source, there vermin in every sense of the word

 

 

I feel that's bang out of order. Just because an animal is classed as vermin does not mean it can be treated any less humanly. I think you should learn a little respect for your quarry.

[duckdog]

Crows are vermin like foxes, but not so much pigeon's though IMO

Pigeon's O.K to feed to the dog then if introduced gradually?

 

Cheers

Edited November 25, 2008 by duckdog

[Kev Todd]

pigeon as dog food.

just try and add some to its normal food over a period of time, keep your eye on the dog and look for signs of an upset stomach, from both ends . obviously you will need to feed other foods too, but in my honest opinion you should be fine, (however all dogs will react differently)

p.s. dogs will eat all sorts of muck if left to their own devices!

 

hope this helps.