gibspoon Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 Maybe I’m just feeling a bit philosophical because I had a great shoot on a great day yesterday evening, but I thought I’d delve into the whys of shooting, and probably fieldsports in general. I’ve always loved going shooting. From the days when I could hassle the old man into letting me tag along, I knew I loved it. I’ll never forget him getting my skinny, 13 year old body to rattle off five magnums as fast as I could into a plastic box hanging from a branch (why I joined Pump Club!). At school the next day or so, we had to do an essay called ‘The Best Day Of My Life’. I obviously wrote about my induction to Pump Club. But being a kid, it was more about getting to fire a gun than anything else. Naturally, as you grow up things change and it becomes a joy for different reasons. Appreciation of the outdoors, respect for nature, self-reliance and solitude. Or watching a sunset, a sunrise, or mist clearing from a glen four hundred feet below you. Everything about it from getting the gear ready to the drive there is golden. The clean kills, the bad misses and worse weather. Then home for the smell of gun oil and looking forward to the next time you go out. But the best part about shooting for me, I realised yesterday, is that when I’m out there, I totally forget about everything else. And THAT, is the crux of why I love shooting. It gives clarity of mind. So now I’ve had my Grasshopper moment, what about you? What is it about shooting that makes you do it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin&Oakley Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 Death and destruction, only joking. I was an Army cadet at 11 then joined the Regs at 16, so to not shoot would be like not breathing.The transition from rifles to shotgun has been ok but at times i feel the old left eye closing when tracking the birds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 Shooting and *** have always been my passions. Both are primeval urges, one to hunt and kill to eat and survive, the other to reproduce. I am told that I am pretty poor at both of them but for obvious reasons the same person could not come to those conclusions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archiebald Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 Its an escape away from everyone to the peace and quiet, getting close to nature, seeing everything change through the seasons, the meat it brings and as said nothing else exists when your shooting . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperfection Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 A bit long winded,but bear with me. I watched a documentory some time ago and it explained the differences between male and female mentality. Men generally like shooting because we still have that hunter part in our brains from when we were running around wearing animal skins.Now whether you target shoot,live shoot or even do archery its still that part of our brain which gives us that same buzz from caveman era.It also said that men can park cars easier than women because we can judge distances better due to throwing spears at prey. We're also not inclined to feel or show remorse when dispatching animals which is why most vets and abatoirs are a male enviroment. Women are maternal so generally make excellent mothers and good homekeepers (or cavekeepers back then).Also,their feet are often small so they can stand comfortably infront of the sink. So basically,men cant help liking shooting-it was what we were born to do. *The bit about the sink might have been a fib though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobt Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 actually women like to hunt, have you seen them in a sale? or outside a shoeshop with offers on? its the same instinct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerry Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 i agree with every comment but my mrs is sat beside me and love is grand and divorce is 100k plus so stroll on wk end out there piece and quiet lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daks Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 Maybe I’m just feeling a bit philosophical because I had a great shoot on a great day yesterday evening, but I thought I’d delve into the whys of shooting, and probably fieldsports in general. I’ve always loved going shooting. From the days when I could hassle the old man into letting me tag along, I knew I loved it. I’ll never forget him getting my skinny, 13 year old body to rattle off five magnums as fast as I could into a plastic box hanging from a branch (why I joined Pump Club!). At school the next day or so, we had to do an essay called ‘The Best Day Of My Life’. I obviously wrote about my induction to Pump Club. But being a kid, it was more about getting to fire a gun than anything else. Naturally, as you grow up things change and it becomes a joy for different reasons. Appreciation of the outdoors, respect for nature, self-reliance and solitude. Or watching a sunset, a sunrise, or mist clearing from a glen four hundred feet below you. Everything about it from getting the gear ready to the drive there is golden. The clean kills, the bad misses and worse weather. Then home for the smell of gun oil and looking forward to the next time you go out. But the best part about shooting for me, I realised yesterday, is that when I’m out there, I totally forget about everything else. And THAT, is the crux of why I love shooting. It gives clarity of mind. So now I’ve had my Grasshopper moment, what about you? What is it about shooting that makes you do it? Couldn't have painted it more fluently, spot on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShotGun98 Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 Everything about it from getting the gear ready to the drive there is golden. The clean kills, the bad misses and worse weather. Then home for the smell of gun oil and looking forward to the next time you go out. But the best part about shooting for me, I realised yesterday, is that when I’m out there, I totally forget about everything else. And THAT, is the crux of why I love shooting. It gives clarity of mind. couldn't of said it better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 Most of will shoot because we feel the same. Figgy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkfanz Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 some days i really suffer goin out cos of my dissabilities,but so long as i,m breathin i,ll keep doin it,ive fished and shot all my life an cant ever see me changin,its this hunter instinct,dont eat roach an perch or pike any more but did when i was akid.but i,m sure we all know where we are at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fabarm gamma boy Posted April 19, 2013 Report Share Posted April 19, 2013 I just love being out there in the wilds! iv had some great days out and not even fired a shot!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misser Posted April 19, 2013 Report Share Posted April 19, 2013 sunsets on the marsh - used to get so excited when rough weather gave good flighting conditions but now the sights & sounds of a marsh on a still clearish evening are just as fantastic (& dont forget the sausage roll & flask) - atb - regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted April 19, 2013 Report Share Posted April 19, 2013 I do it because I love to kill things----------------------------------------------- only joking I guess I got my love of shooting from my grandfather , I can remember when I was very young there would always be a brace of pheasants or a rabbit etc hanging in the shed. He taught me to shoot with his 20 gauge when I was about 11 and I can clearly recall the very first live quarry that I shot with it , a hen pheasant with my first ever shot at a live target , unbelievably as the hen came down a cock got up and I missed it , he looked at me and I could tell he was disappointed , he never ever missed a walked up pheasant on the many occasions he took me out! He had no interest at all in the pigeon shooting I love so much and when I was older and had my own land to shoot never accepted any invitations to come pigeon shooting but I still miss him enormously even though he died in 1996. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodo123 Posted April 19, 2013 Report Share Posted April 19, 2013 My dad started taking me claying from I guess about 8? Initially it was intrigue what caught me, then over the years you start looking at things differently the more you learn, being outside in the country or even on a clay ground. Their is also that challenge, that clay trap your carp at then you suddenly just get it. The hide you just built, how could it have been better. The pigeons rabbits or whatever the quarry being just out of reach or blatantly ignoring the decoys.... Then you learn a bit more... You learn you cannot beat nature.... You can only learn to understand it better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aris Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 I will go for the innate instinct to hunt theory. There are some women who like hunting too, but there are also men who carry man bags too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLondon Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 My dad took me when I was about 6yrs old and over the years sitting in hides,walking hedgerows and such we really bonded. Sadly my dad past away some years ago, but the chats and bonding I shared with him I'm now sharing with my own son...and that's why I love shooting, I've even sat in hides with my son that I shared with my dad. ATB Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchieboy Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 (edited) I was brought up in the heart of the Cotswolds during the 50s and 60s. Being one of 8 children times were hard and money was short so any extra food that was put on the table was helpful. Much of my childhood was not spent playing footy or cricket with the other lads, I prefered my own company sitting in woodlands or hedges just watching and learning from the wildlife around me. I spent some time going about with a real old country man who taught me all about ferretting and by the time I was 12 I had my own ferrets and was tying my own nets and I was putting fresh rabbit on the table, which more often than not was made into a stew. I then at the age of 13 got my first air rifle, a BSA Airsporter, which started my shooting days off and I was now getting rabbits, wood pigeons and the odd pheasant, all of which added to the family meals. The next natural progression from there was to get a shotgun at the age of 14. (That was when you could go to the post office and buy a gun licence for just 10 shillings a year) The shotgun which was an old Robert S Garden side by side 16 bore opened up a whole new world. I could get rabbits on the run and pigeons and pheasant on the wing along with an occasional hare. I got real pleasure out of my shooting and killing in those days! My army years put a stop to my shooting and although I didn't get really back into shooting till about 15 years ago I stayed involved in "Fieldsports" with lurchers and terriers - It was a sad day for me when hunting with dogs got banned! Now I am back in the full swing of shooting I find that I have a lot more respect for my quarry, especially as I no longer have to "shoot for the pot" so am more particular about what I aim at and I am not too worried if i get a shot or not whenever I get out with any of my guns. The important thing to me is getting out in the fresh air and appreciating what I have around me, and I am still learning an awful lot just by watching how the wildlife behaves. I would hope that there are a few more good years in me yet to continue with my shooting but as the years are starting to catch up and I have to face the realisation that i am not as fit as I used to be so I can't cover the ground like I used to be able to do. Even so my pasion for shooting and fieldsports is still as strong as it ever was and nowadays I get a lot of my pleasure out of trying to help other new shooters and passing on what bit of knowledge that I have picked up over the many and pleasurable years of my life! Edited April 20, 2013 by Frenchieboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 Nicely put! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reece Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 I will go for the innate instinct to hunt theory. There are some women who like hunting too, but there are also men who carry man bags too. I'd go with that as well. Humans are supposed to hunt their food, when we hunt we are in our natural state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandalf Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 Young boy during the war years. Rabbit snares, pike/eel fishing in the Thames and gravel pits, scavenging the countryside for whatever nature threw our way was a way of life. (Still don't know what killed that swan but it fed six people for three days and tasted delicious to our meat starved pallets)! Army cadet at 13, boy soldier at 15 followed by 12 years in the regulars introduced me to rifles - and lots of other interesting weaponry and explosive thingies. After demob shot gunning and fowling took over. Then, after a move to East Anglia, it was into keepering and vermin control and stalking with much conservation work and mentoring. It's good to be able to pass on some of the knowledge you have aquired along the way. The biggest love is still fowling on my own. Peace and solitude with the company of a dog - Bliss! (74 next month but no intention of giving anything up whilst I am still able to do it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.