doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Post Deleted

Well I tried:

IMO: Showing a picture of you with your dog and gun and a brace of pheasants doesn't engender the same emotional response in most people* as a picture of someone shooting an animal in the ass with a bird shot load that's not designed to quickly and cleanly dispatch the animal. Even if that animal is a lowly coyote. Furthermore many non hunters look upon the coyote as a romantic link with the past in a State such as Arizona. I don't know how many times I had people tell me how much they enjoy hearing coyotes howl at dusk. When you tell them the reason they're doing this is to pack up and go kill something you get at most a confused look.
*Obviously this doesn't apply to the PETA people of other fringe groups of this ilk.
Jim

I feel that same as Jim (italiansxs). The issue isn't killing a coyote, nothing wrong that. I see the issue being the posting of the pictures on a public forum. Doesn't do us any good. And yes, I feel it's a whole different situation than a photo of a hunter and his kill, be it birds or big game.

Any image, posted on a public forum, that doesn't show respect for the dead animal, doesn't serve our purposes.

I bet a load of #5's in the ass would work good on anits too...

Bret
As FYI, I address every guy as Friend or Brother (as in Bret, my Friend; or Brother Bret); just an old time way of greeting folks and "doing business" down here in the South (Brother Ken Hurst observes that same policy). And no we havn't met; but I'm convinced you're an alright guy and we'd have no issues in getting along and being friendly whenever we do have that opportunity, wheather we disagreed on an issue or not. One thing's for sure, were that not the case; you'd be the first guy in my 58 years with whom I was unable to be friendly! but in the interim, since I don't see myself as "the problem"; and further, am obviously too stupid to ever comprehend how I am "perpetuating the problem with the anti-hunting public", I'll just go blindly on my merry way promoting the great sport of hunting, promoting the continued use and study of fine double guns, donating to conservation organizations and causes, buying all sorts of guns and gear I don't need in doing my part to protect the sporting goods industry, promote and vote for politicians supporting 2nd Amendment rights, sharing my enthusisam and limited knowlege with anyone who asks, etc, etc, etc, and spreading good will and cheer where ever I go. But the one thing I won't ever do is apologize for any of my words or actions to any anti-hunting/anti-gun person or group! And further, I submit to you that if our collective rights to hunt are ever voted out of existence; that happenstance will not have occurred because a well-intentioned guy like Randy posted a few pix to this website, it'll be because those extremists have learned most expertly how to divide us as a group and put us at odds with each other. Your friend,
Tom

Rob, you are right, it is not about the posting of hunting pictures in general. And arguing otherwise is disingenuous at best. I too post such pictures a lot, on this forum and oterhs, and I will continue to do so. For a long while, I even had my own website loaded with such pictures. Eventually it will back with yet more photos of successful hunting.

However, there are a couple of other issues here.

First, is that this is obviously not a kill shot, and coupled with the narrative, this detail was obviously not even slightly troubling to the shooter or poster. Wounding an animal happens. Discussing that in an open forum is legit in my opinion. But boasting about it as an accomplishment rather than an error (which we all make) is quite different.

Second, many hunters have a rather ignorant idea of what a coyote represents. They see them only as threats and competition which then justifiy their being targets of opportunity. Both of these justifications are pretty weak. Golden retrievers are more dangerous than that coyote and yet, had that coyote been a golden instead, I doubt anyone would have shot. anyone that finds coyotes a threat to raising puppies or chickens or children probably should have none of the above if they can't figure out how to avoid that problem. So the threat issue does not wash.

Nor does the competition for game birds excuse hold much water, esp where racoons, opposums, skunks, feral house cats or most especially, foxes are common (and that is pretty much everywhere). In fact, coyotes have been shown to be beneficial to birds in most cases where anyone has looked closely. While it may not be immediately obvious to the average hunter, we have discussed this many times before and some folks just can't give up on the notion that it is their god given duty to kill coyotes everywhere, when really the excuse is that they just want to blast something for the pure hell of it. And in the end that was really the whole point of taking that shot.

Brent

You're not reading what I'm saying, we're all painted with the same brush when it comes to sporting photos. What's in the pictures doesn't matter, it can ALL be turned against us.

What we see: A nice picture of a boy and his grandfather after a day at the game farm with a couple of pheasants. They've had good dog work, killed their birds cleanly, and had a fine family day out in the open.

What they see: Some old redneck who's teaching the next generation how to slaughter on a place that raised birds only to throw them out into the cold so some cowboy with a shotgun can blast them into kingdom come.

Now grandpa took him there to try and show him what it was like around home before the coyote packs moved in and ate all the wild birds. Before Farmer Johson started spraying all his fields with every chemical known to man and plowed everything right up to the ditch edges so as to get every last stalk of corn possible so he could sell it to the Green Freaks to make into ethanol so they could feel like they're saving the planet.

As far as most of us would say, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. The boy got to see his grandpa's old setter point a bird, got to shoot one, and spent the day with somebody learning something worth knowing, not sitting in front of the TV playing video games.

But to the people that don't feel the way we feel, don't know the things we know, it's all wrong no matter how you do it or what's been done. So, by what some of you are saying, any sporting photo shown on the internet is damaging to our cause.

Think boys, think real hard.

And again: "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately"


Destry

P.S. This will be my last post on the matter, I should be preaching to the choir here but I don't think anything is sinking in so I won't waste anymore time.

It takes two to be divided. Generally, those that decry the hanging separately are really only willing to hang together on their side. Rather a disingenous argument I think. What you are really saying is "my way or the highway" of course.

Tom, I don't bandy about the word "friend" so loosely. It has real meaning to me that it does not to you.

Destry, as usual, you are making an argument where there is none. I think Rob made that quite clear, but you choose to ignore that point in his post and all the others.

How could you say it's not a killing shot...would you not shoot a game bird from the rear ?

I've killed plenty of coyotees over the years...shot the very same way most while turkey hunting...and will continue to shoot...kill or wound...every coyotee that crosses my path.

As far as most hunters being "ignorant" when it comes to coyotees...

It's the ignorant hunter that won't shoot them.

hOme jOe
I usually don't agree with much you have to say.........but this time i'm with ya!

Learning to live with them? Is that like, learning to living with rattlers in West Texas that crawl up under you portch? Not me pal!