Why do some people who hunt take pictures with the animal.

I don't have a problem with people hunting if they eat what they kill.But I do think that taking pictures and holding up the animals head is just weird. I have a cousin who visited from Wisconsin this summer and he showed everyone pics of him beside the first turkey he ever killed. He had his head right next to the turkeys and was smiling. I just thought it was creepy. I just don't get why anyone would do that. Maybe it is just a hunting thing that I am not meant to get.

Pretty common for folks to show 'trophies' and they with them.

Whether it be bowling, hunting, fishing, etc.

I don't really see why you need to take pictures with something you kill.

A friend of mine is a hunting guide. Several people in my family hunt (I don't, do not even own a gun). I like to fish.

You spend hours out in the cold waiting for a deer (for example). Sometimes you may wait days to get the kill.

Freezing your ass off, sitting in a tree stand or tracking down something, and finally you get it. You want to remember that moment, it is something you will relate to others (it might be a whole year before you get the chance again, and you may not get anything next year).

My friend's website has pics of guys with waterfowl they have shot (and they eat them all, have some really good recipes for them).

It was not like a trip to Kroger where you buy something someone else slaughtered and packaged (which they do all day) and things are an assembly line. These guys went out, spent a day hunting, and finally got what they were after. And it might be a long time before they do again.

IE it is out of the ordinary, special to them. It was not just a 'kill' it was an adventure finding your own food.

Makes me think about how many times Indians probably sat around the fire telling tales of hunts, they had no pictures to share, but they had stories of the hunt.

I don't see it as weird, I see it as pretty normal.

You overcame the cold, hours hunting, etc and that means something to some people.

Thank you for providing a great answer. I still think it is a tad weird but your post makes sense.

I used to drive across country a few times a year. Was a big deal to me (still is when I get the chance). And pretty rare for me personally (on avg, when I was going a few times a year was not so big a deal).

I took rolls and rolls of pics.

Most people who hunt are out in the woods, and don't hunt everyday. Hunting is not like fishing, there are only certain times you can go and most only eek out a day or two. They go places they may have not been before, met people maybe they have not before, and want some way to remember that day like any of us would when we do something out of the norm.

My photos might be of pristine mountains (now a little tainted due to my car's emissions if you will), theirs is not of the place they were going but the object of the trip - much like if my object was the pacific ocean.

It is NOT about the killing, it is about the hunting and ending your quest.

Kind of like quests on computer games, trips (as I mentioned), finishing a big project etc.

The IDEA is the same, the vehicle differs.

And thanks for, as usual, a polite conversation about a sometimes flaming topic.

so, when friends are over I open up the freezer and show em.

Really hunt, not game farm hunt. Picture seems perfectly normal to me too, and I've never done anything more than ride in the car to camp and never will.

...if the deer has a gun, too.

Like a Deer knows what a gun is and how to load it.

...fail in comparison to the deer.

Ever been to St. George, UT, during deer season and watch the HUGE Cal RVs towing Hummers pull in? More beer in the ass end of the Hummers than in the state liguor store....well, until the asshole driving the rig gets to the back of the Hummer ~~ then all the beer is in him.

PS: ESAD, OK...:hi:

:hi:

...

In fact, my sister gets her pork from a guy who slops his hogs like Grandma did on the farm - they get to root around and be pigs for their entire lives.....small scale but not that expensive for the value - we are going in on a hog pretty soon. It'll be worth it to know I'm not getting pork that has been eating offal most of it's life.....

And the taste is right out of my childhood.....

Why would you think they taste horrible?

thank you for giving a good answer.

a LOT of people that goes way beyond any "thrill of the hunt"....

I had a couple pictures of what I'd killed for food but lost track of them over the years....As a kid it was disturbing to watch a creature give up it's life, but a venison roast shared with family - aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents around a sunday table was really something when my stepfather said - "Clifford, come cut this fine roast you provided for us."

The rest of my family life might have been completely fucked up, but for that ONE meal, I was the Hunter in that tribe. Everyone made me tell the story, the tale of the hunt and the picture was passed around with smiles and admiration from everyone.

It was fucking awesome.

I can't count how many times I had to pull out the fish pictures to prove that we caught 15 in one day or that the catfish was really that big.

It's not like we keep the carcasses around either. Oh, and mounting them means you don't get to eat 'em. :)

He is 6'3". It was h-u-g-e. We had it for my daughter's wedding reception.

That is incredible!

but then I'm a catch and release kinda guy

:popcorn:

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they "present" them at the front door. Of course, they ARE cats, with cat-sized brains. Kind of silly in humans. But, whatever blows their skirts up.

I think they are staging their kill until you let them in the house.

At least, my cat is always trying to bring their kill inside: birds, snakes, lizards,......

Yuck.

needless to say the birds saw a golden opportunity with the grass seed

and my kitty was like a ninja, mowing down the poor birds before they knew what hit them.....
I have to patch some bare spots once it starts to rain out here....but I don't want a repeat of rows of bird bodies on the lawn

plus squirrels, frogs, rabbits, rats and one red tailed hawk...which we have no idea how the hell he caught. Fortunately that one got loose once he got inside and we were able to grab it and set it free...

to feed the family.

Now I don't even need to be home when they get their trophy mice.

Only thing I can figure. Their pix say "Look! I slayed this!"

Or sometimes "This was the last hunting trip with dad before he passed away from cancer."

Bungalow Bill-ing is not my thing but I imagine the reasons that people photograph themselves next to kills (of all kinds, including fish) is probably for a mix of various reasons.

PB

Before they took pictures they used to make trophies out of teeth, the fur of the face, the feathers, etc.

How far can we go back?

pictures of themselves in threads!

:rofl: :rofl:

Memories.

:think:

......:rofl:

The older, slower, friends; the pal with the old football injury, well, you know, hey, sooner or later, wouldn't want them to starve or die from disease or overbreeding....



It was for their own good. Plus, they are tasty if prepared correctly.





Or so I've heard.

I don't get it either. But, to each their own!

more boring.

camera attached to the arrow so he could video the arrow going into the animal. Sick, sick fucks.

tied to it...

:shrug:

hunters sometimes had the head of the animal they had killed tied to the hood of their car for all to see. Not pretty at all.

It's the whole trophy/prize/look-at-what-I-caughtand-you-didn't hunting & fishing mentality. I don't get it either, but then again I don't get hunting/fishing for sport.

Humans used to take parts of the animal to consume in a ritual form as part of it, or to thank the gods for the bounty.

Humans today are not that far apart from those humans who hunted with a lance, sharpened with a stone knife and hardened over a fire. And who field dressed their animals with stone knives.

I wish people in the big cities got this.

By the way, I grew up in a city, but worked along side animals that provide food to get it.

In some ways you don't get it, nothing personal, since you get your food shrink wrapped. I do as well, but I am confident that if I had to get my own food, the old fashioned way... well I could field dress my food.

I just hope to have a nice sharp knife do do it with. We are way too separated from our ancestors to know how to produce those stone knives.

:-)

Also the things one learns from talking to traditional peoples and taking an anthro course or two, and realizing that at the very heart, you and I are not that separated from those people walking the Savannah over 20K years ago.

never had the urge to do it, but I don't think that's a big deal. It's like someone with takes pictures of anything else that's their hobby. Sports, knitting, scrapbooks, etc, etc..

When you win, its nice to have a trophy of some kind.

very difficult to kill a game animal or to catch a large fish. The preparation, the anticipation, the stalk, the chase, the wait, the missed shots, the days when there is not even a sign of the quarry, all are part of the investment made by the hunter/fisher. As has been explained by several posters the sense of accomplishment demands acknowledgment and documentation, so a photo is appropriate for that purpose.

Another element is that some quarry are exceptional and deserve to be remembered in a photo.

Why do we have photos made grinning in our caps and gowns when we graduate from high school or college? Validation. Pride. Ego. Lots of reasons.

What I have found over many years of fishing is that I rarely take pictures of my catch anymore. But when I catch an exceptional fish or there's a good story to go with it, I sometimes photograph it--and usually I'm in the pic with it. Mostly nowadays, I just give thanks to the creature who has provided me with such a thrill and that is about to provide me, my family, and friends with sustenance, and don't worry about a photo.

The other thing that you did not mention was the mounting of heads of deer, elk, etc. or the mounts of fish. This is done for much the same reason, except it's a much more visceral reminder of the moment. Also, seeing a mount of a beautiful animal or fish, even though it is now dead, is often a very useful reminder of how magnificent these creatures are.

soend a week in the woods and never get a chance to shoot anything. My hubby has been a hunter all his life and we survived eating the meat.

That's the only reason I can think of.

seems pretty straightforward.

Not mine but you get the point.
http://www.denverpost.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=2661139

http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_13457636

And held up a ribbon, trophy, certificate for the camera?

Same thing. You've accomplished something and proud of it.

"I once caught a fish THIS BIG!" Pics of other game just logically followed. It's basically a trophy. It's an answer to what to do with Kodak's new invention, the affordable Box Camera back in the 20s, and has progressed to the everyday photographs everybody has in their usually boring albums.

I agree. It is kind of morbid to take a shot of you standing there with a bloody moose with a broken neck.

For most people, it isn't any different than many other cliches of Kodak moments...
Nekkid pics of toddlers taking a bath. That will probably be on the wane, considering recent events.
Those pictures of your kid's reaction to his new Christmas present... which gets destroyed 3 months later.
Your ugly wife/mother in law/kid standing in front of one of the 7 wonders of the world, waving at you with a stupid grin on their face.
Your Kid's first day at school/last day/first date/prom/graduation/broken leg/little league loss/posted bail for destroying your camera
That shot of Bill Clinton. See him? He waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back there behind those 200 other people! Insert Mick Jagger, Donovan McNabb, Leonard Nimoy or Pauly Shore to suit interest.
That shot at Disneyland where Tigger and Winnie are trying to rip your arms apart. (I have one of those of me at 5 y/o)
The pretty flowers in your own damned yard.
Your high score on Donkey Kong.
That old piece of shit Camaro that was your first car, all polished up so the rust won't show as much.
The sky
Airplanes in the sky
Clouds in the sky
Storm clouds in the sky... Please tell me you didn't spend $1000 at take pictures of the sky.
A picture of you passed out drunk with some whipped cream nipples from your frat buddies.
A picture of you drunk where you lift your blouse and show a total stranger your tits on the beach.
That family picnic where you catch Aunt Mabel with a fork of potato salad in her mouth.
A great picture of your whole garage door, with your grand daughter posed very nicely in a small portion of it.

I love these! It means that professional photographers will never be out of business!:D

- and that's what bagging a first kill or large specimen is to most hunters. One person might want a photo of themselves winning a race, crossing the plate after a home run or holding their chess club trophy. For hunters, its a picture with their kill.

I would imagine they think much the same as they probably don't have any interest in the things you'd take pictures of, either.

It's just easier to snap a pic with your iPod than paint on a cave wall.

before slaughter.

their cats, dogs, kids, birds, cars, etc?

And some who DO hunt have these same pictures.

Maybe they just want to share the experience with the viewer.

Just like a lot of people already said. There are hunters in my family, they are not small-dicked sociopaths, no matter what some DUers think. We have deer steaks and roasts and burgers all year long. It keeps the surplus deer population down and keeps the grocery bill low all winter. I have done portraits of hunters with their quarry, too.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/schulerstudio/2810088202/in/set-72157607013783104/

:evilgrin:

during hunting season to show off how proud they were, stopping at the bars and all. I don't see that so much anymore.

Here in Wisconsin sensible people stay out of the woods during deer hunting season if they value their lives and safety. In rural northern WI people live in fear at that time of year because there are so many more hunters compared to police or sheriffs.

...smiling while I'm doing it. My Dad is a hunter and that was just something we did in our family. Maybe you do have to grow up with it to understand.

We ate the meat all winter; there were times that we needed it because my Dad was laid off. In PA, one buck allowed per year and so when Dad did come home with that one deer, we all got excited - it was an accomplishment. Dad is also a hunter safety instructor and taught me a lot about respecting nature.

Stage 1, being expected to hunt as a male child
Stage 2, being inept and not really enjoying it
Stage 3, pulling away quietly
Stage 4, rejecting the whole thing and being contemptuous about it
Stage 5, realizing that some very good people, including family members, are and always will be hunters
Stage 6, realizing that the tradition goes back to the earliest U.S. history and has been passed along without cease
Stage 7-- peaceful co-existence.

One exception: I do counsel children and sometimes realize that an individual kid basically wants out of the hunting world.
Giving some support for that seems reasonable.....

I don't kill animals anymore and haven't in many years

to prove it actually happened. Silly questions! :eyes:

:9

:rofl:

:hi:

No, we're taking over! :D

It's really just that simple...

:hi:

they do so to cherish the event. or just to be stupid. like at a party.

why does a hunting kill photo bother you?



gotta ask, bud. are you vegan?

if so i get it...

I have hunted for years and years. Mostly because we were poor growing up, and it was relativley free meat. As I grew older, the need probably was not there any longer, but it becomes a way of life.

Today, we live off the land more or less. A moose, a caribou, halibut, salmon, sometimes a deer or a grouse perhaps even a young bear if I feel like it. My wife was a non-hunter, but the first time she cooked some moose, and did not have to dump the grease prior to making a sauce, she became a believer.

As I told her "This animal, I know where it lived, I know what it ate, it drank fresh water and never had an injection of God-knows-what,I know how it was killed, and how it was taken care of after it died and arrived at the table (I butcher my own). Can you say the same for that package of beef?"

Everyone talks about the drunk RV driving, fat slob hunter. Here's a little inside information -- those guys don't kill much, they fill their beer tag but most often, not their bear tag. OH, they luck out every once in a while, but they are there to party, to get away from their nagging wives and whiny kids. Their camp is occupied late and they come in early. Hangovers are common. For me, hunting season starts in early summer. I work out religiously, putting a sixty pound pack on my back and spending hours hiking the neighborhood, the treadmill, whatever it take, I go in shape. I pratice at least once a week with my weapon. Make no mistake, this is a life I am taking, and I damned well know it. The animal deserves a quick death, and poor or sloppy marksmansship is not allowed. When season opens, I am not standing around a parking area, I have usually hiked in five or more miles and left the slobs behind. My camp is simple, and I may live here for ten or twelve days. My gear is well cared for, simple gear, but effective gear. There is no booze in my camp. I usually have a like minded friend or two with me. We don't talk much. Camp is usually a cold one, and everyone is tired at the end of the day.

When I kill an animal, the carcass is taken care of immediately. I gut, butcher, and bone the meat immediately. Sometimes I work until the ealry hours of the morning prepping my meat. This will be my food and it must be cared for accordingly. The pack back to the vehicle is back breaking labor. One piece at a time, mile after mile. The carcass is stored carefully, out of the sun and out of the public view. I know some people do not approve, and I see no reason to rub it in their face.

Yeah, I take a picture or two of the animal, but I also usually take a picture of my camp, the mountains I climbed, the otter I watched play for hours one night while he did not know I was there. These are memories of places I went and things I did. The animal I killed is part of the experience, but so is everything else.

There are more hunters like me than you know and realize. We are just quiet, you don't know we are there. Like any "sport" (if you can call killing something a sport -- I don't) there are always some idiots out there. Just don't believe all or even most hunters are like that, because we are not.