Hunting.. the beginning

This is a blog that has been long in the making, and due to all the content I want to add this has become a multi-post subject that will take place over the course of the next few weeks.

There are not many people that I talk to that are aware of my interest in hunting. While I don't ever plan to hunt, the various aspects of it and the people who do it intrigue me. It's not often that I get to talk to someone on my level, as a non-hunter with a rather open mind, about hunting. Most people have already made their minds up about hunting.. and when the topic is bought up it turns into a debate usually ending with the other person and I agreeing to disagree.

I have found over the course of the last few years that a majority of people don't have the first clue about hunting. All they know is the hunter goes out in the wild, kills an animal, and then eats it. To the "normal" person that makes the hunter a near savage person.

Given the chance to talk to some hunters who are open minded and willing to talk about hunting rather then lecture or argue about it, I've discovered there is a whole lot more to the world of hunting.. and that if one listens to what is being said and gets to know them that they may just change their mind about hunting and hunters.

It wasn't long ago that I was much like the majority of people I run across now in regards to my views on hunting. It disgusted me and I didn't see the need for it. I labored under the idea that hunters killed out of the enjoyment of killing.

I'm trying to remember who among the hunters I talk to coined the phrase "bambiology". He used that phrase once when there was a discussion going on about how most people have seen Bambi and that's where their dislike of hunters starts. Poor Bambi is orphaned by the mean old hunters.. a friend pointed out today that in the book it's not hunters but rather poachers that kill Bambi's mom. I doubt that knowing that would make much of a difference in the average person's mindset... but there is a big difference between hunters and poachers.

A couple of non-hunters I talk to have saddened me recently.. one told me that hunters were one step below someone who murders a human.. and the other told me that hunters hated animals. Neither of these is true, and it bothers me because the hunters that I talk to are all wonderful people who care about animals and wouldn't hurt a human unless that human was hurting them or someone else.

Enough of an introduction on the topic eh? In the next few posts I will be discussing:
Why hunters hunt
How they got started hunting
What they hunt, how they hunt it, and where they hunt it
The weapons used in hunting
A few myths and truths about hunting
Controversial topics such as canned and high fence hunting, trophy hunters, and people who hunt just to kill.
Books, magazines, etc. that you can read to learn more on your own

If you ever had questions about hunting, feel free to send me an e-mail and I will do my best to get it answered.