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[damnedifIknow]

This message was self-deleted by its author (damnedifIknow) on Thu Jan 31, 2013, 07:35 PM. When the original post in a discussion thread is self-deleted, the entire discussion thread is automatically locked so new replies cannot be posted.

[graham4anything]

1. wasn't there some rightwing singer who once shot a bear who was penned up & drugged?

I mean, that was sick, and not to mention, where is the challenge in that?
Reminds me of bullies who light a homeless person on fire while they are sleeping.

I would rather be bowling.If you are feeling angry, there are 10 pins waiting for you at the end of the alley.

I have had bears on my lawn. They are MORE WELCOME in my yard, than anybody who backs the NRA.

And I truly mean it.
Have you ever seen a bear close up? They are beautiful creatures IMHO.

I do back the right of bears to carry arms, to defend themselves against the Zimmerman's out there. I know which one is the vicious animal, and which one is one of God's creature's
(or the Universe's denizens.)

[Auggie]

2. It's not

[mokawanis]

3. I wonder about that too

Guy puts a bag of donuts on the ground and then conceals himself and guns down the bear that shows up for the treats. Not what I would categorize as a sport.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

4. Not all sport is athletic in nature.

I think "sports" and "sporting" is a pretty big umbrella.

Perhaps this question would be better posted in the 'outdoor life' group where you get answers more from the demographic you seek.

[joeybee12]

5. Sport implies athletic ability...hunting is not a sport...nt

[Go Vols]

6. I don't consider hunting a sport,

its work.

[Brickbat]

8. Good answer.

[Brickbat]

7. If you haven't done it, it's hard to imagine, I guess.

For deer hunting, the sport is in learning the animals' habits in the months and weeks before the season opens. You look for droppings, signs of where they feed, scrapes and rubs, and trails. You stake out the feeding spots and trails, trying to figure out when your best chances might come. Getting up early to sit in a cold stand is work, but it's exhilarating and rewarding they way uncomfortable work is. Venison tastes great, and there is a lot of satisfaction in harvesting, field dressing and in some cases butchering your own meat.

[digonswine]

9. There can be sport-

like you explained. I know a few bow-hunters who do as you describe. But the fact is, most hunters plunk themselves in a stand and wait for a deer to come into gun range-around here anyway(northern Wisconsin).
We locals can't afford land here anymore because of those guys. I see them going back to Chicago with their trophies on their SUV's. Yes-I am bitter. Oh well.

[damnedifIknow]

10. I can understand hunting out of necessity

but for thrill seeking I find that kind of odd. I've hunted one time and I felt bad for years after killing a squirrel. I don't know, I'm just not the type I guess.

[Brickbat]

12. I find it odd when DUers talk about hunting out of "necessity," and the implication that if it's not

out of "necessity," then it's poor sport or "for the thrill." I like venison and grouse; I can afford beef and chicken -- should I not hunt? With the big push to eat local and be self-reliant, hunting makes a lot of sense to me.

[RebelOne]

21. Yes, it is mainly for the thrill of the kill.

I was a copy editor for 35 outdoors magazines for 13 years, and I have edited thousands of hunting and fishing articles. The majority of the hunting articles were all about trophy hunting. In most of the hunting first-hand stories narrated by the hunters, they would always state that they would feel a rush of adrenaline after the kill.

[Brickbat]

22. Is it the kill itself, though?

A release of tension after waiting for, sometimes, hours? The thrill of a clean hit? A comparable excitement that one feels when hitting a baseball on the bat's sweet spot, or feeling a football hit you in the chest?

Not to pick nits, but as a fellow copy editor I find it interesting that you said "rush of adrenaline after the kill." For some, it is the killing. For others, I would say that the thrill comes from a job well done. Which happens after the kill.

[wandy]

13. +1 You've summed that up nicely. "Venison tastes great".

[rjj621]

11. There are a lot of 'sports'

That I don't think qualify and hunting in many cases is one of them. I don't see how sitting in a tree for hours on end waiting for something to come along and shoot is a sport. I also don't think being on the ground and using tricks to draw them to you is a sport. Now give someone maybe a bow and no trick to draw the animal, let them track the bear which can also track and eat them, then I can see the argument for it being a sport, at least much more sporty. I couldn't do it, I don't have it in me to do it but I do like a good cut of venison.

I'm all for someone hunting if they intend to eat the meat, I don't agree with hunting just as a 'sport'.

[madokie]

14. As a kid we hunted to eat

Back in the 50s there wasn't the game we have today so if you came home with some food you had to work for it or just get lucky, which lucky didn't happen often.

[Yavin4]

15. A sport where only one side knows about it

Sort of like playing football where you just randomly tackle people as they're walking down the street. "Hey! We're playing football!"

[Brickbat]

23. Interesting -- the deer definitely know I'm out there, when I'm out there.

And as prey animals, they're used to being pursued.

[NoGOPZone]

28. and where the other side may be dead before learning they're involved nt

[Dpm12]

16. As a sport, no

as a means for food, yes

[LeftofObama]

17. I've often wondered why they call it hunting and not stalking.

If you lose your car keys you don't know where they are so you hunt for them.

If the kids are outside playing and you don't hear them anymore you go outside and hunt for them.

You know that the bear/deer/elk/whatever is going to be about where you are looking for it and when you see it it doesn't stand a chance against a gun. It's not hunting, it's stalking.

[davidn3600]

18. Well...Shooting and Archery are Olympic Sports

There is skill involved.

[think]

27. I watched US Olympian Kim Rhode win gold last year hitting 99/100 targets

If that doesn't make it a sport I don't know what will.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/30/sports/olympics/kim-rhode-of-us-takes-gold-in-womens-skeet-setting-records.html?_r=0

[RebelOne]

19. In my eyes it is not.

For it to be called a sport, both sides have to be equally armed.

[Hoyt]

20. Necessity for some, yes. Sport, nope, no more than shooting paper targets resembling

Humans. Dogs might get a workout, and some guys benefit from long walk in woods.

[cleanhippie]

24. How is trolling considered a sport?

Is it sporting to post flame bait on an anonymous message board and sit and wait to to see who gets upset at the nonsense you post?

[damnedifIknow]

29. Deeeee

Intelligent post there. If I was a troll I wouldn't dick around I'd flat out tell ya jack.

[damnedifIknow]

32. People like you

is why new people drop off this board. Anyone new is subject to post censoring by the self acclaimed elite of DU. I'm sick of hearing troll so stfu.

[lumberjack_jeff]

25. Not all recreation is "sport".

If you can do it while smoking, it's not a "sport", IMHO.

Hunting? fishing? "Recreation" but not "sport", even if a meaningful degree of skill, experience and tactics are involved.

[CBGLuthier]

26. It is not a sport. it is a way to put food on the table

Not for me but I have no problem with hunters who eat their kills. That is life.

[Helen Reddy]

30. When the day comes

the human hunter can outrun a deer and choke the life out of it with his bare hands....is the day I will call this killing a 'sport'.

Th extreme measure such as purchasing scented urine, extravagant hidey-hole cammo shelters, fancy hunting dogs, four wheelers etc really does not seem like a fair fight. For those who go-along with killing bears using dogs when the bears hibernate? Take a minute and reflect how absolutely nasty and inhumane this is. Thank you.

[Spider Jerusalem]

31. Words change in meaning or acquire new ones.

"Sport" referred to hunting before it meant "football or rugby or baseball (and so on)".

OED:

1.c spec. Pastime afforded by the endeavour to take or kill wild animals, game, or fish. Freq. with adjs. referring to the result achieved.

With quotations illustrating use from the 17th century. The earliest use shown for "sport" in the sense of "competitive athletic endeavour" is from 1863.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

33. I'm a lifelong hunter and I don't consider it a sport

I have this belief that anything you can do with a beer in one hand is not a sport. Golf, NASCAR, Hunting: Not sports.