yeah, my daughter had her first go 'round the other day about racing. i think she was a bit surprised at what the guy said. i told her she better get used to it. it's funny, i've been a fan of racing for years and years, but only recently started into the gambling part. still a very tentative bettor. she didn't expect the automatic equation of horse racing meaning gambling-meaning sin! lol

and too true about getting one trip--at least, i guess that's all we get. altho i have said before that in my next life, i want to be a middle linebacker in the nfl.

i think folks who have never gone would be surprised at how it really is. i can't count how many days i've spent in the woods this year. get to see some awesome sights. lots of deer, squirrels, rabbits-and a beautiful red fox.
and i can count on one finger how many deer i brought back with me this year. i'd imagine people think there are bullets flying and deer dropping like flies.
one morning alone, in about three hours, my son and i got to see about two dozen deer, turkeys, raccoons and we had a hawk fly right by us. beautiful morning, and not a trigger pulled. we had a blast sitting and talking and just being outside.

I like being in the woods also, but preferrably running or biking on the trails. I dont have it in me to ever kill a beautiful deer. I dont think I'd have a problem shooting an intruder but an innocent deer? Nope.

innocent? you ought to see what that one did to my car! they're conniving i tell ya.

they are beautiful.

I have family that are so branwashed into hating guns. I tried to explain that it is actually more difficult to hunt with a hand gun than a shotgun. But was shouted down. so, I just smile and think.. family

My sister absolutely hated guns until I took her shooting. She had a blast
:rolleyes:
sorry
:o


btw most of my guns are not for hunting. The right to arm bears is not about hunting

I love horseracing and look forward to the card at gulfstream
even if it looks a little chalky. Last week was GREAT!

i don't have a problem with people disagreeing. different strokes for different folks. i understand it seems odd to you, but it doesn't seem odd to me...also wish that the difference could be left at that, and not degenerate into name calling by some.
we're different. doesn't make one of us wrong, or one of us right.

It's also possible that George Bush is an alien and Kerry is really Lurch reincarnated..."being possible" is hardly grounds for a guilty verdict. The problem with that case was the handling of the investigation by the LAPD from beginning to end. The LAPD has a terrible rep in minority community and this was certainly not their finest hour. The prosecution team was overmatched by OJ's "dream team"...that's sad but then, how many times is an innocent person convicted of a crime because they had to rely on a Public Defender who was either overworked, inept or simply not caring? It saddens me that the rich can buy their way out of trouble and that's another topic (remember me...the alleged communist/socialist/anarchist?) but here...Furman handled key evidence...are you sure he didn't tamper with or plant same? I'm not! There were unexplained problems with the prosecution's time line, a glove that didn't fit, lack of key evidence, sudden appearance of socks...on and on!

I know I don't personalize arguments....my issues aren't with hunters but with the mindset. In the past hunting was necessary, hell...even Wiccans pay homage to the hunt...our Lord/God often depicted with horns to signify the male role of provider (ie: hunter)...but today, the vast majority of folks don't have to hunt to avoid starving. As I've said before, you hunt to put food on your family's table....that's not only your right but your responsibility, but hunting as a sport??? Sorry, nothing spiritual about it unless you practice animal sacrifice as part of your religion.

no, i don't think you called anyone anything. i'm willing to discuss just about anything, i just don't like when people slap labels.

but then, i really wish this thread hadn't got into all this. not sure the connection between abuse and hunting. they don't go together. plenty of abusers out there who wouldn't know one end of a gun from the other.

ever grow a garden? raise chickens? pigs? go fishing? none of them are 'necessary'. personally, i think the fact that stores and all the goodies inside sanitized things too much. people see 'hamburger', not dead cow..or brisket, tenderloin, boneless breast instead of the chicken....neatly wrapped packages on display...all the dirty work done for you.

Big difference between putting tomato plants in the ground versus putting a 2 inch hole in bambi.

not really. it's all a part of being self-reliant, being part of nature.

hey, i'm not trying to convert anyone. just trying to put things in context a bit, and trying to let others know i'm not morally corrupt or lacking respect for life, which are some of the things i've read in this thread.

and bambi is a cartoon character. the proper term would be virginia whitetail...or Odocoileus virginianus.

and does this help at all??? please read it.

http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba/ba377/

In Mussolini's Italy, the trains ran on time! Again, hunters aren't the problem...hunting for sport is!

are we even talking about the same thing?

Sure we are....lots of folks who hunt are wonderful people, they do (and have done) many worthwhile things...no argument. My issue is with hunting and the mindset that somehow killing innocent animals with high powered weapons is sport. When you post a link that lists all the great things hunters have done, that's the same thing as saying "the trains run on time" giving the ruthless fascist dictatorship of Mussolini credit for doing something positive while ignoring the evil perpetrated.

so what is more detrimental, the hunter--who funds 90% of conservation efforts in this country?

or ban the hunter, and lose that funding? who will replace it? what would happen then? who would be the stewards then? the taxpayer?

what state would wildlife be if it hadn't been for those efforts? how many deer would there be? or turkey? would we have all the habitats, all the wetlands if hunters hadn't done so much over the last century? you did see the vast improvements made to the herds, right? elk were re-introduced to arkansas a few years ago, who paid for that? you didn't. i did.

and keep in mind, hunters have a book full of rules to follow, set forth by each states game and fish commission, and they change every year. herd #'s, overall health are constantly monitored. tags are limited each year. duck hunters are allowed so many shells on their person at a time(i believe its 15-doesn't last very long), and have to follow strict guidelines of how many of each species and sex allowed. they have to have a plug in their gun to limit how many shells it will hold.

So...if serial killers contributed millions to charity, we should allow them to go on killing?