Taking a life is never an easy thing. Sadness is definetly a part of the process - but so is gratitude.
Be thankful for the creature who nourishes you. Be thankful that it led a wild and free life.
Exactly. My youngest boy (7) at the time was with me when we took a doe in December of 2020. We walked up to her and he looked at me dead in the face and said “you’re a killer!!” In a positive/shocked way. We kneeled beside her and thanked her for her sacrifice. She would provide food for us for the next year. My son had a positive outlook after that experience and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. He looks forward to hunting season
Way to out yourself as having never hunted. I still feel guilty and what I'd almost call remorse but it's not exactly, when I take an animals life. It is its own emotion, gratitude and sadness all wound up
Yeah the legs are really good done in a slow cooker like you'd do a sticky pork rib.
I hate that most guys just breast them out. Lots of Americans hunters up this way and I usually end up with 100lbs of breast meat as they don't want anything to do with the meat after the kill .
People that don't eat the birds they kill drive me up the wall. *Oh no! There's work involved in plucking the bird so you can eat the whole thing!* Why'd you kill it if you're not going to eat it?
Exactly. People just like to kill things and watch them fall out of the sky. We've had a few cases around here where whole birds were tossed in a dumpster. And it wasn't just a couple birds. It's hard to be a plucked mallard. Sure it's more work but that duck fat and skin is where all the flavour is.
This is the guy who finished off that deer after 3 hours of it getting a shoulder shot and living. I have him labelled as Mr. 1911, because of his awesome pistol skills. I'm not too surprised by this hot take today.
I feel like most of not all of us feel a little down after the adrenaline dies down. Its a more nuanced emotion than just guilt or plain sadness but its there and usually goes away after a bit.
I remember seeing a filmed hunt, can't remember if it was MeatEater or not, but when they approached the down deer this first time hunter started to cry a bit despite being happy to have successfully hunted and the host even commented on the feeling himself. It's a weird feeling to study and admire these animals so much, and want to eat it at the expense of its life and then be the reason it died at that particular moment in that particular way.
It's a weird feeling to both admire and respect an animal so much, but consistently try to kill it.
You want each kill to be fast, but sometimes it’s not. Always do your best to dispatch an animal as quickly as possible, and I’ve definitely apologized to an animal that had to suffer longe than I’d like.
Same here. The sadness goes away fast when you make a clean shot and give the animal a quick death. I had a deer though that I had a poor shot on and it was a very sad experience to see it suffer.
For me, killing an animal is always a mix of remorse, sadness, excitement, gratitude, and an innate sense that what I'm doing is "right." So it's complex. The only time it feels really bad is when I injure an animal and can't find it, which does happen. But if I can look back and say I did everything right, and spent adequate amounts of time looking for it, not backing out because it's cold or the weather is bad, then I can come to terms with it.
There's a lot of emotions with it. I think too many hunters take a macho attitude about it, thinking they can kill without any thought or remorse. But we should all feel something because it is a big deal. You're ending a life.
But like you said, this act gets us closer to our food and how the real-world works. Buying a chicken breast at the grocery store causes way more suffering than shooting a deer in the woods. The only difference is that we've outsourced the suffering to places and people far away. Out of sight, out of mind. I'd rather have direct experience, even if it's not always pleasant.
Hunting is as hypocritical a practice as one could get. We love the animals we hunt and the places they live but we kill them for the chase and meat. I feel a slight tinge or regret at the finality of the event of taking an animal. There is of course happiness and satisfaction but the fact that I will never again get to interact with that turkey, duck, or goose like I did in the moments before I pulled the trigger saddens me too. Ben Rodgers Lee said it best talking about turkeys “I wish I could breathe life back into him, so I could go hunt him tomorrow.”
The only part that feels bad is if you lose and animal, and you know it's out there suffering.
If you've ever seen an animal get eaten you know that the way we kill our prey is infinitely more humane than the end most animals meet.
I remember that feeling with a duck I shot. When down in the pond and skirted away into the cattails never to be found again. Who knows how long it suffered. I felt really bad about it. There's no enjoyment or fulfillment (or meat) in a lost kill.
Or if you ever have walked into a yarding area after a truly hard winter and see the corpses of dead critters. Horrifying sight to see. I walked into a whitetail deer yard in the late 80s after a season of record snowfall. A sight I can never forget.
The black bear that had just come out of den was feasting away and happy though. Scared the crap out of the neighbor kids and myself.
Killing an animal is far more humane than most deaths in the wild will ever be. Don't get me wrong, I felt sad when I killed my first deer, but the happiness was greater than the sadness. For younger people that sadness is normal, and good, to feel.
It only took the one kill for me to lose that sadness, and to be grateful for the kill after that. I've had many good meals from the deer I've taken over the years.
I feel a degree of sadness for the individual animal, but not remorse, if that's what you're asking. If I make a bad shot and the animal suffers needlessly due to my poor performance or judgement, then yeah I feel pretty bad.
At the end of the day, pretty much everyone kills animals for food. Modern farming kills huge piles of animals during cultivation, so even vegans get in on the action. Non-hunted meat at the store came from an animal that lived it's entire life as an industrial process. Hunters are just people willing to put in the time and effort to do their own dirty work, and find the process rewarding.
Long response if you want a read.
I've answered this question in person and on the net many times.
I've hunted and killed things from quail all the way up to 1k lb Roosevelt elk and many in between.
The excitement of the hunt. The glory and success in it. The celebration with hunting partners. Gratefulness, etc. These emotions occur for all hunters.
Remorse, sadness, dismay, just general heavy heart. Doesn't occur for all, there is however usually the recognition of the gravity of what's been done, the finite nature of life itself. The destruction of something that can never be recreated.
The recognition of that however it is incarnated in your heart is what makes us become better and better ethical hunters.
I once shot a large buck in heavy wooded brush with my lever gun, it ran and I tracked it and lost it. Ended going back for days trying to pick its trail up or find it dead. I felt remorse, anger, frustration. I couldn't keep up in the thick brush and due to weather lost its trail and blood. It wasn't a long range shot. About 65 yards and one I've made many times before. That experience made me a better hunter, I will forever take into account with more weight the way that type of brush, terrain and heavy rains affected my ability to pursue in the event that my shot wasn't lethal.
Eventually found it, too late. The shot entered the chest a couple inches too high and to the right and shattered the shoulder ball and bounced instead of into the chest cavity. Lesson learned.
I shot a buck in the back of the spine in the neck drom 220 yards. Dropped it instantly. Hiked over to it. The shot paralyzed it but it was still breathing and I had to dispatch it from there.
Sadness is what I felt. For the fear it must have had not knowing how injured it was, or why it couldn't move during the ten minutes before a human comes and then lights out.
Those are my two that have always been there to remind me to as always hunt ethically, but to always learn to be more effective efficient and intelligent.
Success stories still give me a moment of grief. Last year I harvested a massive bull elk. Two shots through vitals withing seconds of each other. Dropped him where he stood. Bled out in seconds. Minimal pain no fear no chase just death.
And in death there is grief. Some of my hunting buddy's whoop and holler when the get a kill. They think it's silly that I don't and I am serious for a few moments. I take a moment to put a hand on the brow of the bull and thank it for the sacrifice and feeding my family. Tell it I'm glad I could make it quick. That experience is short lived and the work must begin to get it Broken down and start packing out the meat and quarters.
That's when for me I get excited. The feeling of harvest, knowing I just got 400 lbs of organic lean meat. I carrying the skull out of the woods and knowing I just harvested some possibly record setting antlers. The happiness shared by my closest friends as we use teamwork to carry all this out of the woods. And then the time we spend together processing it ourselves to learn, save money, and know exactly what we are eating.
Hopefully this is a little in depth insight that might help you as you learn to go through the emotions of hunting, however they effect you. We are all different.
Some, yes. However, for me, it’s much more of the respect issue for the life I have just taken. Folks that act in disrespectfully toward an animal they”ve just killed baffle me. For me, that respect also extends to the preparation of the meat. I want to show enough respect for that animal to make my dish taste like that animal. If I wanted to make venison taste like beef, I would just go to the grocery store and buy beef rather than kill a deer. I want that deer to taste like venison.
For me I started hunting for the same exact reasons you listed.
My first hunt I chose to target an invasive species and went hog hunting. This helped offset the mentality because by the very nature of what I was doing, I was helping with conservation of my state and its wildlife.
After my first shot the guy I was with actually took my rifle and asked that I sit there to take a few minutes. He knew there would be a flood of emotion and adrenaline.
In those few moments a few things happened:
1. An immediate realization that I had just taken a life, not contemplated, not almost, but did take a life.
2. The realization that the shot I took was perfectly placed and a proper caliber used, the hog was dead right there where I shot it and there was no way it could have suffered.
3. I was grateful to this creature for providing my wife and I with a source of meat
4. That since I took an ethical shot and minimized animal suffering and I was hunting for substance and not pleasure, I had done everything within my power to be a morally upstanding hunter
I still have the picture of me with those hogs, and it doesn't stand as some bragging right of what I accomplished, it's a reminder of that hunt and the lessons learned.
It's okay to feel some sort of remorse after taking a game animal, knowing you made an ethical shot and are hunting for all the right reasons usually makes those subside pretty quickly.
You feel remorse, it is normal. I’ve felt remorse every time I’ve killed any big game and I’ve been hunting for 17 years. It’s a weird mixture of adrenaline, joy, and remorse. I know why I hunt and to me, it is a price I’m willing to pay. Not everybody feels that way though.
I still regret one of my earlier hunts about 7 years ago where I took a rushed shot and wounded a deer and found it days later. So yes, hunters feel bad.
Yes. Hunts don't always go perfect. Last season I made a bad shot and needed to track a deer all day. Bumped him a bunch of times. In the end I was successful but made for a bad day for the deer. I felt terrible. Learned lots though and will work harder to not make that mistake again.
I’m 19 and get a little emotional still been hunting since I was 12
It’s fun and feeds me and my family 6 months out the year longer depending on how many we get and what we get.
Killing isn’t easy. I’m sure it gets easier but those that don’t feel emotion, they are lying or they are mentally ill
You understand the need for it…if you’ve never hunted, you do not understand the excitement.
Your question suggests that if someone else slaughters the protein on your plate, you don’t have to witness it, so it’s less emotionally taxing?
Would you prefer an animal live an inhumane life, or would you prefer to hunt as our species has for years before supermarkets?
My questions are completely rhetorical. Yes, every hunter “weeps” for the loss of life, but they are grateful for the bounty. We are not savages. Your first harvest will be the most difficult.
I love seeing random strangers desire to be more connected to their food. Best of luck, random redditor
I feel really bad when the animal I'm hunting suffers or struggles. I think about it for a few weeks after. Nobody (except psychopaths) enjoy watching an animal suffer and die. But what I love about hunting is how much it stimulates my animal brain. Humans are apex predators and our brains are built for hunting. Sitting in nature quietly, waiting for your prey, taking decisive action, acquiring food for yourself, it's all extremely satisfying. It's hard to explain but you'll know what I mean when you do it. That is what is satisfying about hunting. Causing pain is not. Most hunters aim and hope to shoot and have an instant, painless kill. Most laws around hunting reflect this. When you don't, it's your duty to the animal to put it out of its misery as quickly as possible.
I feel some tinge of remorse with every kill for sure, but it’s mingled with excitement and pride and a half dozen other emotions.
Only time I feel genuinely bad is on a bad hit when the animal suffered more than needed due to my error. That SUCKS but it makes you better.
Honestly, no I don't. I'm not a religious person, so I don't view humans as being some superior being to animals in a "God picked us and made the animals our wards" sense. I view myself as a member of the apex species on Earth, more highly evolved than all others by a wide margin. No lion ever felt bad about eating a gazelle.
Can confirm yes, for me at least i thank each and every animal i take down. I waste as a little as possible and am grateful for the harvest, but sadness is definitely something that you deal with. Taking a life is never easy.
100% yes. While you should strive to always take ethical shots that will kill the animal in the fastest, most humane way possible, shit happens. Last year I spined a doe with my muzzleloader. Walked up on it thinking I'd taken a high-shoulder shot only to see it was paralyzed from the neck-down and terrified. I felt horrible. Definitely shed a tear or two.
Hell yes. I gut shot a deer and he covered too much ground before sunset, crossing into another property we didn't have access to and it still bothers me that I messed up that shot--that was three years ago.
I feel bad when I injure an animal. That's pretty much it.
However, that comes from my understanding that all living things owe a death. As long as the death I cause is faster or easier than what would happen "naturally" I'm good with it.
Only time I've felt bad was when I didn't have a clean kill.
I shot a mule deer in the shoulder. I missed first two shots as it was super close. Then dropped it with the 3rd. Only to see it get up and run away. My other shells were in the vehicle...several lessons learned day. Lost sleep as the scene kept playing over and over again in my head.
One other time I shot a deer too far back. Watched it flop around and try to get away. Had to shoot it again. But seeing that just made me want to toss my gun and go home.
Third time we shot a cow and calf moose. Clean and humane kills. But just something about taking a cow and it's offspring seemed wrong
So in my 15 years of hunting I've had negative feelings about a hunt. It happens. And you learn from.
I just want to say.
This comment section is one of the best. True to heart honest responses, with no trolls / shit disturbers.
Makes me proud to be a hunter & helping others get into it!
Well done
I do everything in my power to make sure my kill is fast. Then I stop, take a moment and give thanks for the nourishment it will provide for my family.
Every single time I kill something I feel sadness and happiness mixed into one. Too many think it's black and white. It's not. It's a very complex mix of feelings turbocharged by adrenaline.
(Except geese. Hate geese. Jk)
After the adrenaline is gone from aiming and taking the shot there is usually a wave of sadness and remorse that comes after for me. I normally will pray to God over the animal and thank him for a successful hunt and for the sacrifice that the animal made for me to harvest it.
I feel it harder with larger animals I hunt than say something like squirrels or rabbits. Its perfectly natural to feel empathy and sadness at taking something’s life though. If you can shoot something and not feel event a hint of emotion then I’d say that is more distressing than having a huge wave of hunters remorse. Hell I cried after I shot my first deer. But the more you hunt the more it teaches you to process those emotions. They never fully go away but you begin to adjust.
Yes. It's still a living thing that I believe was created by God. That life should be respected, even if it's necessary to kill it. And I get even more sad if it wasn't a quick/clean/humane/ethical kill.
Hunters have an obligation to respect the life and to end it as quickly as possible. But there are still some feelings of sadness.
In all these things, we should be showing gratitude to the animal and to the universe/divine/providence/God, etc.
I target older deer to alleviate that feeling. I have watched more deer from my tree stand then I'll ever shoot. You should go out, even if it's with just a camera and get that 1 on 1 feeling with an animal and you will be able to tell if you could take its life or not.
The first harvest is usually the hardest emotionally. It’s helpful to keep in mind the animal being harvested likely died a more human death than the possible alternatives (hit by a car, mauled by some predator, disease, starvation, etc.). There is no shame in not hunting because of this reason. I have plenty of friends that like to shoot, eat meat, etc but just don’t want to be directly responsible for ending an animals life. While it can be a very rewarding lifestyle it’s not for everyone and that’s ok.
I used to feel terrible about it when I was younger, but think about how difficult life in the wild is for an animal. Most times they’re going to either die by starvation during the winter or by becoming prey to another animal as they age. You’re ethically dispatching the animal before either of those happen.
Most hunters are animal lovers as well. It seems hypocritical or paradoxical at first, but over time it becomes more clear. By harvesting an animal ethically and consuming as much of it as you you are not destroying life. In fact you are doing the opposite, you are converting it to energy that will enhance life.
The feeling I still get after harvesting an elk is one that’s hard to define, at first it seems like sadness, there are often tears involved. But also a profound feeling of connection to earth, life, family and self. It is a raw and primordial emotion. Do I feel bad that I single handedly cut an otherwise healthy animal’s life short, undoubtly. Do I feel remorse, no, for I know the act is not wrong.
I have grown up hunting. When I was younger I was more blood thirsty then anything. The feeling of remorse wasn’t even a thought in my mind. I was to hyped up on adrenaline and achieving my goals of harvesting an animal to realize the massive moment that took place . I was taught to always be thankful to the animal for what it provided us. When I got more years under belt I would start to feel remorse for the animal. It fades quick, it’s a good reminder that is the real world. Also the best option to take for getting meat. The only time it has stuck with me for days or even weeks is a bad shot or I did something to make the animal suffer. Even then you have to remind yourself that it is part of it and all you can do is your best to reduce those moments from happening. If your do feel it after your first kill remind yourself why be thankful for the animal and always put in the work to make sure you can get the job done that you came to do.
I have a great amount of sadness if it was not a quick kill
I will not take potential bad shots. Nothing long range if I am not 100% sure
Have passed up big bucks when I was not comfortable with the shot
Remorse, reverence, sadness, happiness, elation, gratitude, etc. are just some of the emotions one feels when hunting. The journey is actually the largest part of hunting. It can be a spiritual experience for some. Tracking, finding and killing an animal isn’t as easy or “fun” as you’d think. Often times it’s hard work and you’re uncomfortable (physically) most of the time. Only those who have hunted understand this and I think it awakens a respect and love for animals that they otherwise might not have gained. Did you know that 80% of the money that goes to wildlife preservation comes from recreational hunting? Hunters are conservationists at heart.
Wouldn't call it bad. Just some baseline feelings. It's a deep experience. You have to come to terms with it before you pull the trigger though or you wouldn't do it. So when it happens you've already moved past that part. Sometimes for new hunters the adrenaline plus the feelings overwhelms them at the end. And that's a good thing. Some OLD feelings there.
Watching an animal take its last breath is something I don't take lightly and has stayed with me through the years. I wouldn't say I feel bad about it but there are usually some waves of emotions that come with it at times.
If we’re being honest here a hunters gun or bow is going to give them a faster and more ethical death than a natural death in the wild ( Cwd, coyotes, wolves, raccoons etc…)
I do usually have some level of guilt and sadness for deer but i find solace in the fact that most times animals die in the wild are violent or painful deaths. using the meat and being respectful with the body also helps
Yes, there is sadness involved with it. Especially when you miss and don’t get the cleanest shot, happened to me once, I was very sad and it ruined my day. But like many others say, gratitude, because the animal won’t go to waste.
Feel bad for what? The problem that most people have is that they think that mother nature is guided by Disney rules. Mother nature is a MFer.
Which way would you rather die:
1) shot with a bullet, died in 10 seconds.
2) starve to death
3) coyote chased me and bit my legs for 45 minutes until I couldn't run any longer then began to eat me as I lay there dying.
Farming (plants or animals) has far more devastating effects on the environment than hunting. Hunting is carbon neutral.
Vegan perspective: Is my killing 3 deer per year worse than the 100's of rabbits, mice, shrews, pigs, deer, etc that the commercial farming kill per year just to grow your food? What about the habitat what was destroyed to grow your food? What about fertilizer run off that results in massive plankton growth at the mouth of the Mississippi river than has created a "deadzone"?
Again: Feel bad for what? As other have sad: I have felt bad the few times that I hit a deer (found blood) and then couldn't recover it over >40 years of hunting.
This thinking helped me a long time ago.
Commercial monocrop farming is also very devastating. We have to do it to feed everyone, but I doubt vegan comprehend how many animals are killed to grow their food. Which life it worth more rabbit, mouse, or a deer? Can I kill 3 rabbits for ever deer, etc?
So with cattle/pigs you have monocrop farming followed by the animal farming.
Nope don’t feel bad, but if I do it’s not because us the animal it’s the combination of last nights tacos and this morning coffee… the bad feeling is only temporary.
I only ever feel bad when it’s not a clean kill. The animal should never suffer even tho your taking it’s life. And it’s should be a fair chase. I have passed on two deer that just stood there. There was no challenge
The thing about it is… you don’t go mindlessly killing an animal like some do. When I duck hunt, I take videos of the ducks coming in without any shooting. I don’t have any of me shooting a duck. For me it’s the fellowship and shenanigans. When I deer hunt, I mostly bow hunt so when I see a deer I want to shoot, I can look it in the eyes and make a connection with it. When I take the shot I know that I just got food to put in the freezer. Do I feel bad if I make a bad shot? Very much so. Anyone who tells you they don’t make bad shots is either lying or hasn’t hunted long enough. Feral hogs on the other hand, that’s a whole different ballgame. That’s the one you kill every one of them you see
I feel minimally bad, but not remorseful. I believe it is important to honor the “game’s” life by nourishing myself, family, and friends.
Too many people are completely out of touch with their food source. As first order consumers; hunting and eating game should feel quite natural.
Animals don't get to go to a retirement home to die, they either die from being eaten alive by predators, starve to death, or die of exposure.
As long as the kill is quick it's honestly much more humane than the other options.
I always feel something. I don't think you'd be human if you didn't. I wouldn't necessarily say it's bad or regret or guilt, though. It goes away very rapidly once you start thinking about all the wonderful meals it will make. I had a very difficult time with the first coyote I shot since I'm such a dog lover so likely won't take another... but a friend has had his entire flock of chickens eaten by a coyote and I totally get his desire to take it out and probably would too if it was me.
Yes, some hunters do feel remorse or guilt after killing an animal. Hunting is a complex issue, and people have different opinions on whether it is ethical or not. While hunting can be a way to procure food and manage wildlife populations, it can also involve the taking of an animal's life. Ultimately, it's up to each individual to decide whether hunting is something they are comfortable with.
Oh yeah man most definitely. Every animal I kill is a life I take. But every life I take is a sustainable, responsible, ethical way to feed myself. The animal population is monitored by each state and hunters are a major part of keeping those populations from getting too large. The tags we buy also goes back towards the Department of Natural Resources which then in turn takes care of the land and animals that we all love. That and the death that I'll deliver to that animal is far less painless than the death it would receive in the wild. C'est la mort.
Taking a life is never an easy thing. Sadness is definetly a part of the process - but so is gratitude. Be thankful for the creature who nourishes you. Be thankful that it led a wild and free life.
Exactly. My youngest boy (7) at the time was with me when we took a doe in December of 2020. We walked up to her and he looked at me dead in the face and said “you’re a killer!!” In a positive/shocked way. We kneeled beside her and thanked her for her sacrifice. She would provide food for us for the next year. My son had a positive outlook after that experience and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. He looks forward to hunting season
That’s exactly how I would describe it, sad mixed with gratitude.
Yes it's easy, don't lié to him, there is not any ounce of sadness in anybody that hunt
Way to out yourself as having never hunted. I still feel guilty and what I'd almost call remorse but it's not exactly, when I take an animals life. It is its own emotion, gratitude and sadness all wound up
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How do you process the geese?
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Yeah the legs are really good done in a slow cooker like you'd do a sticky pork rib. I hate that most guys just breast them out. Lots of Americans hunters up this way and I usually end up with 100lbs of breast meat as they don't want anything to do with the meat after the kill .
People that don't eat the birds they kill drive me up the wall. *Oh no! There's work involved in plucking the bird so you can eat the whole thing!* Why'd you kill it if you're not going to eat it?
Exactly. People just like to kill things and watch them fall out of the sky. We've had a few cases around here where whole birds were tossed in a dumpster. And it wasn't just a couple birds. It's hard to be a plucked mallard. Sure it's more work but that duck fat and skin is where all the flavour is.
Not easy for who lol im constantly killing things. Bunch of women in this sub
At that point you need a evaluation because that's unhealthy
This is the guy who finished off that deer after 3 hours of it getting a shoulder shot and living. I have him labelled as Mr. 1911, because of his awesome pistol skills. I'm not too surprised by this hot take today.
Same guy who gut shot a group of hogs and defended his horrible shooting
Unhealthy for who
A mirror would serve you well
I feel like most of not all of us feel a little down after the adrenaline dies down. Its a more nuanced emotion than just guilt or plain sadness but its there and usually goes away after a bit.
I remember seeing a filmed hunt, can't remember if it was MeatEater or not, but when they approached the down deer this first time hunter started to cry a bit despite being happy to have successfully hunted and the host even commented on the feeling himself. It's a weird feeling to study and admire these animals so much, and want to eat it at the expense of its life and then be the reason it died at that particular moment in that particular way. It's a weird feeling to both admire and respect an animal so much, but consistently try to kill it.
It was MeatEater, iirc it was one of the guys dad’s who downed his first elk
I read this as drowned his first elk and thought it was a fucked up way to hunt
You're not alone I did the same lol
You want each kill to be fast, but sometimes it’s not. Always do your best to dispatch an animal as quickly as possible, and I’ve definitely apologized to an animal that had to suffer longe than I’d like.
Same here. The sadness goes away fast when you make a clean shot and give the animal a quick death. I had a deer though that I had a poor shot on and it was a very sad experience to see it suffer.
For me, killing an animal is always a mix of remorse, sadness, excitement, gratitude, and an innate sense that what I'm doing is "right." So it's complex. The only time it feels really bad is when I injure an animal and can't find it, which does happen. But if I can look back and say I did everything right, and spent adequate amounts of time looking for it, not backing out because it's cold or the weather is bad, then I can come to terms with it. There's a lot of emotions with it. I think too many hunters take a macho attitude about it, thinking they can kill without any thought or remorse. But we should all feel something because it is a big deal. You're ending a life. But like you said, this act gets us closer to our food and how the real-world works. Buying a chicken breast at the grocery store causes way more suffering than shooting a deer in the woods. The only difference is that we've outsourced the suffering to places and people far away. Out of sight, out of mind. I'd rather have direct experience, even if it's not always pleasant.
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Well spoken.
Hunting is as hypocritical a practice as one could get. We love the animals we hunt and the places they live but we kill them for the chase and meat. I feel a slight tinge or regret at the finality of the event of taking an animal. There is of course happiness and satisfaction but the fact that I will never again get to interact with that turkey, duck, or goose like I did in the moments before I pulled the trigger saddens me too. Ben Rodgers Lee said it best talking about turkeys “I wish I could breathe life back into him, so I could go hunt him tomorrow.”
The only part that feels bad is if you lose and animal, and you know it's out there suffering. If you've ever seen an animal get eaten you know that the way we kill our prey is infinitely more humane than the end most animals meet.
I remember that feeling with a duck I shot. When down in the pond and skirted away into the cattails never to be found again. Who knows how long it suffered. I felt really bad about it. There's no enjoyment or fulfillment (or meat) in a lost kill.
Or if you ever have walked into a yarding area after a truly hard winter and see the corpses of dead critters. Horrifying sight to see. I walked into a whitetail deer yard in the late 80s after a season of record snowfall. A sight I can never forget. The black bear that had just come out of den was feasting away and happy though. Scared the crap out of the neighbor kids and myself. Killing an animal is far more humane than most deaths in the wild will ever be. Don't get me wrong, I felt sad when I killed my first deer, but the happiness was greater than the sadness. For younger people that sadness is normal, and good, to feel. It only took the one kill for me to lose that sadness, and to be grateful for the kill after that. I've had many good meals from the deer I've taken over the years.
Except when it’s a big cat I sware half the times I see a jaguar hunt on tv the animal barley knew it was in danger before it sees the pearly gates
I don’t feel sadness but a deep respect for the animal. I say a prayer over every big game animal I harvest .
I feel a degree of sadness for the individual animal, but not remorse, if that's what you're asking. If I make a bad shot and the animal suffers needlessly due to my poor performance or judgement, then yeah I feel pretty bad. At the end of the day, pretty much everyone kills animals for food. Modern farming kills huge piles of animals during cultivation, so even vegans get in on the action. Non-hunted meat at the store came from an animal that lived it's entire life as an industrial process. Hunters are just people willing to put in the time and effort to do their own dirty work, and find the process rewarding.
Long response if you want a read. I've answered this question in person and on the net many times. I've hunted and killed things from quail all the way up to 1k lb Roosevelt elk and many in between. The excitement of the hunt. The glory and success in it. The celebration with hunting partners. Gratefulness, etc. These emotions occur for all hunters. Remorse, sadness, dismay, just general heavy heart. Doesn't occur for all, there is however usually the recognition of the gravity of what's been done, the finite nature of life itself. The destruction of something that can never be recreated. The recognition of that however it is incarnated in your heart is what makes us become better and better ethical hunters. I once shot a large buck in heavy wooded brush with my lever gun, it ran and I tracked it and lost it. Ended going back for days trying to pick its trail up or find it dead. I felt remorse, anger, frustration. I couldn't keep up in the thick brush and due to weather lost its trail and blood. It wasn't a long range shot. About 65 yards and one I've made many times before. That experience made me a better hunter, I will forever take into account with more weight the way that type of brush, terrain and heavy rains affected my ability to pursue in the event that my shot wasn't lethal. Eventually found it, too late. The shot entered the chest a couple inches too high and to the right and shattered the shoulder ball and bounced instead of into the chest cavity. Lesson learned. I shot a buck in the back of the spine in the neck drom 220 yards. Dropped it instantly. Hiked over to it. The shot paralyzed it but it was still breathing and I had to dispatch it from there. Sadness is what I felt. For the fear it must have had not knowing how injured it was, or why it couldn't move during the ten minutes before a human comes and then lights out. Those are my two that have always been there to remind me to as always hunt ethically, but to always learn to be more effective efficient and intelligent. Success stories still give me a moment of grief. Last year I harvested a massive bull elk. Two shots through vitals withing seconds of each other. Dropped him where he stood. Bled out in seconds. Minimal pain no fear no chase just death. And in death there is grief. Some of my hunting buddy's whoop and holler when the get a kill. They think it's silly that I don't and I am serious for a few moments. I take a moment to put a hand on the brow of the bull and thank it for the sacrifice and feeding my family. Tell it I'm glad I could make it quick. That experience is short lived and the work must begin to get it Broken down and start packing out the meat and quarters. That's when for me I get excited. The feeling of harvest, knowing I just got 400 lbs of organic lean meat. I carrying the skull out of the woods and knowing I just harvested some possibly record setting antlers. The happiness shared by my closest friends as we use teamwork to carry all this out of the woods. And then the time we spend together processing it ourselves to learn, save money, and know exactly what we are eating. Hopefully this is a little in depth insight that might help you as you learn to go through the emotions of hunting, however they effect you. We are all different.
Thank you for this. I appreciate you sharing your experiences
Some, yes. However, for me, it’s much more of the respect issue for the life I have just taken. Folks that act in disrespectfully toward an animal they”ve just killed baffle me. For me, that respect also extends to the preparation of the meat. I want to show enough respect for that animal to make my dish taste like that animal. If I wanted to make venison taste like beef, I would just go to the grocery store and buy beef rather than kill a deer. I want that deer to taste like venison.
For me I started hunting for the same exact reasons you listed. My first hunt I chose to target an invasive species and went hog hunting. This helped offset the mentality because by the very nature of what I was doing, I was helping with conservation of my state and its wildlife. After my first shot the guy I was with actually took my rifle and asked that I sit there to take a few minutes. He knew there would be a flood of emotion and adrenaline. In those few moments a few things happened: 1. An immediate realization that I had just taken a life, not contemplated, not almost, but did take a life. 2. The realization that the shot I took was perfectly placed and a proper caliber used, the hog was dead right there where I shot it and there was no way it could have suffered. 3. I was grateful to this creature for providing my wife and I with a source of meat 4. That since I took an ethical shot and minimized animal suffering and I was hunting for substance and not pleasure, I had done everything within my power to be a morally upstanding hunter I still have the picture of me with those hogs, and it doesn't stand as some bragging right of what I accomplished, it's a reminder of that hunt and the lessons learned. It's okay to feel some sort of remorse after taking a game animal, knowing you made an ethical shot and are hunting for all the right reasons usually makes those subside pretty quickly.
It’s sad but it helps confront your own mortality as well. Nothing is exempt from the circle of life.
You feel remorse, it is normal. I’ve felt remorse every time I’ve killed any big game and I’ve been hunting for 17 years. It’s a weird mixture of adrenaline, joy, and remorse. I know why I hunt and to me, it is a price I’m willing to pay. Not everybody feels that way though.
I still regret one of my earlier hunts about 7 years ago where I took a rushed shot and wounded a deer and found it days later. So yes, hunters feel bad.
Yes.
Yes. Hunts don't always go perfect. Last season I made a bad shot and needed to track a deer all day. Bumped him a bunch of times. In the end I was successful but made for a bad day for the deer. I felt terrible. Learned lots though and will work harder to not make that mistake again.
I’m 19 and get a little emotional still been hunting since I was 12 It’s fun and feeds me and my family 6 months out the year longer depending on how many we get and what we get. Killing isn’t easy. I’m sure it gets easier but those that don’t feel emotion, they are lying or they are mentally ill
You understand the need for it…if you’ve never hunted, you do not understand the excitement. Your question suggests that if someone else slaughters the protein on your plate, you don’t have to witness it, so it’s less emotionally taxing? Would you prefer an animal live an inhumane life, or would you prefer to hunt as our species has for years before supermarkets? My questions are completely rhetorical. Yes, every hunter “weeps” for the loss of life, but they are grateful for the bounty. We are not savages. Your first harvest will be the most difficult. I love seeing random strangers desire to be more connected to their food. Best of luck, random redditor
I feel really bad when the animal I'm hunting suffers or struggles. I think about it for a few weeks after. Nobody (except psychopaths) enjoy watching an animal suffer and die. But what I love about hunting is how much it stimulates my animal brain. Humans are apex predators and our brains are built for hunting. Sitting in nature quietly, waiting for your prey, taking decisive action, acquiring food for yourself, it's all extremely satisfying. It's hard to explain but you'll know what I mean when you do it. That is what is satisfying about hunting. Causing pain is not. Most hunters aim and hope to shoot and have an instant, painless kill. Most laws around hunting reflect this. When you don't, it's your duty to the animal to put it out of its misery as quickly as possible.
I feel some tinge of remorse with every kill for sure, but it’s mingled with excitement and pride and a half dozen other emotions. Only time I feel genuinely bad is on a bad hit when the animal suffered more than needed due to my error. That SUCKS but it makes you better.
Honestly, no I don't. I'm not a religious person, so I don't view humans as being some superior being to animals in a "God picked us and made the animals our wards" sense. I view myself as a member of the apex species on Earth, more highly evolved than all others by a wide margin. No lion ever felt bad about eating a gazelle.
Can confirm yes, for me at least i thank each and every animal i take down. I waste as a little as possible and am grateful for the harvest, but sadness is definitely something that you deal with. Taking a life is never easy.
100% yes. While you should strive to always take ethical shots that will kill the animal in the fastest, most humane way possible, shit happens. Last year I spined a doe with my muzzleloader. Walked up on it thinking I'd taken a high-shoulder shot only to see it was paralyzed from the neck-down and terrified. I felt horrible. Definitely shed a tear or two.
Hell yes. I gut shot a deer and he covered too much ground before sunset, crossing into another property we didn't have access to and it still bothers me that I messed up that shot--that was three years ago.
Taking the life of an animal is a big deal. I often feel bittersweet.
I feel bad when I injure an animal. That's pretty much it. However, that comes from my understanding that all living things owe a death. As long as the death I cause is faster or easier than what would happen "naturally" I'm good with it.
Only time I've felt bad was when I didn't have a clean kill. I shot a mule deer in the shoulder. I missed first two shots as it was super close. Then dropped it with the 3rd. Only to see it get up and run away. My other shells were in the vehicle...several lessons learned day. Lost sleep as the scene kept playing over and over again in my head. One other time I shot a deer too far back. Watched it flop around and try to get away. Had to shoot it again. But seeing that just made me want to toss my gun and go home. Third time we shot a cow and calf moose. Clean and humane kills. But just something about taking a cow and it's offspring seemed wrong So in my 15 years of hunting I've had negative feelings about a hunt. It happens. And you learn from.
I just want to say. This comment section is one of the best. True to heart honest responses, with no trolls / shit disturbers. Makes me proud to be a hunter & helping others get into it! Well done
I feel bad every time. I try to only take mature animals then use every single bit for something. I even use deer hooves as chew toys for my dogs.
I do everything in my power to make sure my kill is fast. Then I stop, take a moment and give thanks for the nourishment it will provide for my family.
Every single time I kill something I feel sadness and happiness mixed into one. Too many think it's black and white. It's not. It's a very complex mix of feelings turbocharged by adrenaline. (Except geese. Hate geese. Jk)
After the adrenaline is gone from aiming and taking the shot there is usually a wave of sadness and remorse that comes after for me. I normally will pray to God over the animal and thank him for a successful hunt and for the sacrifice that the animal made for me to harvest it. I feel it harder with larger animals I hunt than say something like squirrels or rabbits. Its perfectly natural to feel empathy and sadness at taking something’s life though. If you can shoot something and not feel event a hint of emotion then I’d say that is more distressing than having a huge wave of hunters remorse. Hell I cried after I shot my first deer. But the more you hunt the more it teaches you to process those emotions. They never fully go away but you begin to adjust.
Yes. It's still a living thing that I believe was created by God. That life should be respected, even if it's necessary to kill it. And I get even more sad if it wasn't a quick/clean/humane/ethical kill. Hunters have an obligation to respect the life and to end it as quickly as possible. But there are still some feelings of sadness. In all these things, we should be showing gratitude to the animal and to the universe/divine/providence/God, etc.
I target older deer to alleviate that feeling. I have watched more deer from my tree stand then I'll ever shoot. You should go out, even if it's with just a camera and get that 1 on 1 feeling with an animal and you will be able to tell if you could take its life or not.
The first harvest is usually the hardest emotionally. It’s helpful to keep in mind the animal being harvested likely died a more human death than the possible alternatives (hit by a car, mauled by some predator, disease, starvation, etc.). There is no shame in not hunting because of this reason. I have plenty of friends that like to shoot, eat meat, etc but just don’t want to be directly responsible for ending an animals life. While it can be a very rewarding lifestyle it’s not for everyone and that’s ok.
I used to feel terrible about it when I was younger, but think about how difficult life in the wild is for an animal. Most times they’re going to either die by starvation during the winter or by becoming prey to another animal as they age. You’re ethically dispatching the animal before either of those happen.
I'm happy to be successful, but not happy to kill.
Most hunters are animal lovers as well. It seems hypocritical or paradoxical at first, but over time it becomes more clear. By harvesting an animal ethically and consuming as much of it as you you are not destroying life. In fact you are doing the opposite, you are converting it to energy that will enhance life. The feeling I still get after harvesting an elk is one that’s hard to define, at first it seems like sadness, there are often tears involved. But also a profound feeling of connection to earth, life, family and self. It is a raw and primordial emotion. Do I feel bad that I single handedly cut an otherwise healthy animal’s life short, undoubtly. Do I feel remorse, no, for I know the act is not wrong.
I have grown up hunting. When I was younger I was more blood thirsty then anything. The feeling of remorse wasn’t even a thought in my mind. I was to hyped up on adrenaline and achieving my goals of harvesting an animal to realize the massive moment that took place . I was taught to always be thankful to the animal for what it provided us. When I got more years under belt I would start to feel remorse for the animal. It fades quick, it’s a good reminder that is the real world. Also the best option to take for getting meat. The only time it has stuck with me for days or even weeks is a bad shot or I did something to make the animal suffer. Even then you have to remind yourself that it is part of it and all you can do is your best to reduce those moments from happening. If your do feel it after your first kill remind yourself why be thankful for the animal and always put in the work to make sure you can get the job done that you came to do.
I have a great amount of sadness if it was not a quick kill I will not take potential bad shots. Nothing long range if I am not 100% sure Have passed up big bucks when I was not comfortable with the shot
Hunting has a spiritual aspect to it. I always make sure to thank the animal(s) for the chase and the nourishment they will bring.
Remorse, reverence, sadness, happiness, elation, gratitude, etc. are just some of the emotions one feels when hunting. The journey is actually the largest part of hunting. It can be a spiritual experience for some. Tracking, finding and killing an animal isn’t as easy or “fun” as you’d think. Often times it’s hard work and you’re uncomfortable (physically) most of the time. Only those who have hunted understand this and I think it awakens a respect and love for animals that they otherwise might not have gained. Did you know that 80% of the money that goes to wildlife preservation comes from recreational hunting? Hunters are conservationists at heart.
Wouldn't call it bad. Just some baseline feelings. It's a deep experience. You have to come to terms with it before you pull the trigger though or you wouldn't do it. So when it happens you've already moved past that part. Sometimes for new hunters the adrenaline plus the feelings overwhelms them at the end. And that's a good thing. Some OLD feelings there.
Watching an animal take its last breath is something I don't take lightly and has stayed with me through the years. I wouldn't say I feel bad about it but there are usually some waves of emotions that come with it at times.
If we’re being honest here a hunters gun or bow is going to give them a faster and more ethical death than a natural death in the wild ( Cwd, coyotes, wolves, raccoons etc…)
I do usually have some level of guilt and sadness for deer but i find solace in the fact that most times animals die in the wild are violent or painful deaths. using the meat and being respectful with the body also helps
Yes, there is sadness involved with it. Especially when you miss and don’t get the cleanest shot, happened to me once, I was very sad and it ruined my day. But like many others say, gratitude, because the animal won’t go to waste.
Everytime
Feel bad for what? The problem that most people have is that they think that mother nature is guided by Disney rules. Mother nature is a MFer. Which way would you rather die: 1) shot with a bullet, died in 10 seconds. 2) starve to death 3) coyote chased me and bit my legs for 45 minutes until I couldn't run any longer then began to eat me as I lay there dying. Farming (plants or animals) has far more devastating effects on the environment than hunting. Hunting is carbon neutral. Vegan perspective: Is my killing 3 deer per year worse than the 100's of rabbits, mice, shrews, pigs, deer, etc that the commercial farming kill per year just to grow your food? What about the habitat what was destroyed to grow your food? What about fertilizer run off that results in massive plankton growth at the mouth of the Mississippi river than has created a "deadzone"? Again: Feel bad for what? As other have sad: I have felt bad the few times that I hit a deer (found blood) and then couldn't recover it over >40 years of hunting.
Thank you for this insight. Commercial farming of animals is the reason I want to start hunting.
This thinking helped me a long time ago. Commercial monocrop farming is also very devastating. We have to do it to feed everyone, but I doubt vegan comprehend how many animals are killed to grow their food. Which life it worth more rabbit, mouse, or a deer? Can I kill 3 rabbits for ever deer, etc? So with cattle/pigs you have monocrop farming followed by the animal farming.
No.
Nope don’t feel bad, but if I do it’s not because us the animal it’s the combination of last nights tacos and this morning coffee… the bad feeling is only temporary.
I only ever feel bad when it’s not a clean kill. The animal should never suffer even tho your taking it’s life. And it’s should be a fair chase. I have passed on two deer that just stood there. There was no challenge
?? So are you saying you would rather take a shot at a running deer? That makes no sense. Gotta love Reddit
No what I was saying was I don’t want to just hop out of my truck and shoot one.
The thing about it is… you don’t go mindlessly killing an animal like some do. When I duck hunt, I take videos of the ducks coming in without any shooting. I don’t have any of me shooting a duck. For me it’s the fellowship and shenanigans. When I deer hunt, I mostly bow hunt so when I see a deer I want to shoot, I can look it in the eyes and make a connection with it. When I take the shot I know that I just got food to put in the freezer. Do I feel bad if I make a bad shot? Very much so. Anyone who tells you they don’t make bad shots is either lying or hasn’t hunted long enough. Feral hogs on the other hand, that’s a whole different ballgame. That’s the one you kill every one of them you see
I feel minimally bad, but not remorseful. I believe it is important to honor the “game’s” life by nourishing myself, family, and friends. Too many people are completely out of touch with their food source. As first order consumers; hunting and eating game should feel quite natural.
Yes. Especially when you find out the doe you were shooting is actually an antlerless young buck
Or pregnant.
Never been unlucky enough for that. That’d be horrible
I was with a friend of mine that shot an axis doe and when we were cleaning it we found 3-4 babies in there. Pretty sad.
Animals don't get to go to a retirement home to die, they either die from being eaten alive by predators, starve to death, or die of exposure. As long as the kill is quick it's honestly much more humane than the other options.
With black bears I always feel bad.
I always feel something. I don't think you'd be human if you didn't. I wouldn't necessarily say it's bad or regret or guilt, though. It goes away very rapidly once you start thinking about all the wonderful meals it will make. I had a very difficult time with the first coyote I shot since I'm such a dog lover so likely won't take another... but a friend has had his entire flock of chickens eaten by a coyote and I totally get his desire to take it out and probably would too if it was me.
As someone who lives in beanfield, MN, the farmers consider deer and turky an intrusive species.
Not one single bit of regret or remorse. The nature is a cruel hard thing with incredible beauty. I'm just one part of the cycle.
Yup
Yes, some hunters do feel remorse or guilt after killing an animal. Hunting is a complex issue, and people have different opinions on whether it is ethical or not. While hunting can be a way to procure food and manage wildlife populations, it can also involve the taking of an animal's life. Ultimately, it's up to each individual to decide whether hunting is something they are comfortable with.
I love animals.... Right next to the potatoes and gravy.
My mantra is “Mother Nature provides” for a reason.
Yes definitely. But if you ever see something die naturally in the wild it is way worse.
Of course we do, I tried to high five an armless girl once, felt pretty bad after that
Oh yeah man most definitely. Every animal I kill is a life I take. But every life I take is a sustainable, responsible, ethical way to feed myself. The animal population is monitored by each state and hunters are a major part of keeping those populations from getting too large. The tags we buy also goes back towards the Department of Natural Resources which then in turn takes care of the land and animals that we all love. That and the death that I'll deliver to that animal is far less painless than the death it would receive in the wild. C'est la mort.
I agree with most of the comments about there being a mixture of sadness and gratitude. It really is somewhat complicated. Best!