doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com shooting flying vs ground sluicing

i'll try...

sadly, killing is a very necessary down side of successful bird hunting...

but like some other pursuits, how one does it is as important or perhaps even more important than what one achieves...

when killing and hunting become the same experience, our lives are diminished...

there are many published writers who have done a far better job of describing the complexity of this paradox...

one is george bird evans whose writings are highly recommended...

https://www.amazon.com/Upland-Shooting-Life-1st/dp/0394472950

I normally ground sluice squirrels and rabbits, and sometimes other game

wow, day got flyin rabbits in tejas?

or is hit dat dim jack rabbits is so fas...

hit looks like day is flyin...

an as fur dim squi als...

now I knows yal got hardly any trees in texas...

so hit does make cents dat one would likely half to shoot erm on duh groun...

if one was lookin fur thu makins uv ah stew...

usin jes duh heads...

don juh no...

Soooo what is the difference , It seems to be a fowl situation

well, perhaps the shooting of game birds over dogs, in the company of friends an family caused a decline in ground sluicing of game birds...in an effort to avoid tragic shooting accidents...

unless of course, one is hunting in the presence of a chainy type character...best to stay as far away from him as you can...and be ready to hit the deck...

For me, “hunting” is about the journey and not the destination. As such, I am more about the “hunt” than the kill. I have never, and never will, ground sluice a bird with a shotgun. Of course I eat anything g I kill, however, “food” is NOT the driving force behind my going hunting. Some of my best and most memorable hunts did not end in filling a tag and some of the worst hunts I have been on I DID fill a tag. To each his own, there is no right or wrong answer, just different goals. I DID allow my son to shoot his first grouse out of a tree with a .410 when he was about 11 but the following year, I made him follow a “runner” for probably 70 or 80 yards because it wouldn’t take flight and I wouldn’t let him shoot it on the ground (he was packing a vintage 12ga sxs with black powder shells. That grouse DID finally take flight and Billy swatted that thing out if the sky like a pro. Shot plenty of grouse out of trees with a rifle though, often a .45 flintlock but sometimes a .22.

I totally agree that hunting is not about the killing.

The killing of a gamebird (or a deer, or a fish) is the stated goal, but all the rest of it is easily as important. The stepping back into the role of a predator is an escape from all the humdrum things of modern life. Being alone (or with friends/family) in nature and honing your skills is a great way to reconnect with reality and ultimately...with life & death. It tends to give one a fresh perspective on living as it is raw, and honest, and there are no falsehoods or illusions about what you are up to. In my mind, all the male pursuits are escapist in nature (hunting, fishing, working on your playtoy car [or boat, or whatever] in the garage, riding your mountain bike, watching football on TV, going to the bar, etc. [perhaps all hobbies are this?]). Instead of focusing on making money or taking care of one of your many responsibilities (as a fully functional adult), you've chosen to do something else, something more traditional (& that was once necessary for survival in early human history). But...if you've taken the time and trouble (not to mention the significant expense) to do it properly, you should only claim true and full success if you do it well-enough to put something in your bag. Moralizing about how pure you are or how sporting you have been is just posturing (and is perhaps your excuse for your failures in that arena?). A bird shot on the wing, a trout taken on a fly, a deer shot after a long stalk is the ultimate evolution of your skills as a predator and are all laudable goals, and then... a meal prepared with the fruits of your labors afield is another goal (& is perhaps the best celebration of it all?).

To me, to be able to share that meal (well & properly prepared) with friends and family is on a whole different level, and is perhaps the most honest celebration of life that I know.