Looking for some opinions on a "Hot" topic

[huskyarcher]

Ok i have to figure this out.

If you have been surfing the Powwow lately you have often seen remarks, for and against emotion, after a shot with a bow on an animal. Ive heard many times that it is "Disrespectful" and some have even said it was offensive to see emotion after a shot.

So my question is this: Do you show emotion after a shot on an animal, or when animal is recovered? If no,  please explain why or more importantly, Why would you find such emotion "offensive" or "vulgar"?

I know that IMHO, i work wayyy to hard not to show some emotion after it finally comes together with 2 sticks and a string. Ioccasionally whoop and hollar, and 9x out of 10 i will fist pump. Now i know "to each their own" but really, i would hate to offend my trad brothers by showing a little emotion after a shot? I would just like to hear some opinions on this suject.

This is is no way against anyone, i love all you guys i just would like an answer to this. It says on the opening page that debate is healthy, but if something seems personal ill be the first to ask the mods to delete it. Thanks!

Dalton

[Paul WA]

I think it is an age thing. I did get emotional when I was a kid but now that I am an old man I get more emotional when I miss and can't find my $10.00 carbon...PR

[Bjorn]

How you feel is how you feel-go with it.  And ask yourself-is that how I feel-or is that how I saw someone feel on TV?  
Personally I am too filled with awe and gratitude to break dance after taking a life; but that's just me.

[JamesKerr]

Originally posted by Bjorn:
How you feel is how you feel-go with it.  And ask yourself-is that how I feel-or is that how I saw someone feel on TV?  
Personally I am too filled with awe and gratitude to break dance after taking a life; but that's just me.

X2

[J. Holden]

Dalton,

I don't agree with all the whooping and hollering that we sometimes see on T.V.  I think it does get out of control.  Dare I say that even Mr. Eichler sometimes makes me uncomfortable.  But that's his personality from what I understand.

I don't celebrated that way though.  After a succesful shot I'm  overcome with a waterfall of emotions from disbelief that it finally came together to a sense of responsibilty to go and find the animal and finish the job.  I've very solemn and serious about what has just taken place.  My excitement comes out after the fact when I'm telling others of my success.

I don't think emotion is bad.  I'd even say if you can kill an animal and not show emotion, something is wrong inside your heart.

This is just my opinion though...

-Jeremy  

[Mark Baker]

We all hunt for our own reasons, and who has the right to tell anybody how they should react to a hard won goal?   That said, this is another reason that hunting is not a spectator sport....how we act after the shot affects different people in different ways.   I just had a discussion with a lady that I would not consider anti-hunting, but who really thinks that when hunters "hold up the head" to display antlers and such, it is a big disrespect to the animal....she is a close family friend, and this same woman will travel the world fly fishing (she is in her 70's, by the way) and think nothing of "displaying" a trout she hooked on a fly, and then releasing it, knowing that some studies show that released fish suffer as much as 50 percent mortality.....it's an emotional issue all around, I guess.   I just would'nt worry about it...and if you do, then don't show it to other people.  My 2 cents.

[Jon Stewart]

Getting excited before, during and after the shot is part of the hunt.  Two years ago I shot a deer with a wood arrow that I made out of a board and a flint head that I knapped. When my son found the deer I was beside myself with excitement.  We didn't hoot and hollor in the woods but I will never forget my young son patting me on my back and giving me a high five.

[JohnV]

I certainly feel a sense of accomplishment after a good shot and subsequent recovery. But it does not go beyond a broad smile and perhaps a backslap and handshake from a pal and some excited comments.

All the whooping and fist pumping I see on television is a major turnoff and is very disrespectful to the animal. An animal has just given its life to satisfy the needs of the hunter, which in most cases is for sport not food gathering. The hunter should be honoring the deceased animal in a respectful manner. Jumping around like an idiot yelling and screaming is not showing that animal honor. To be quite frank, I refuse to hunt with anyone who prances around like a wide receiver who just caught the winning touchdown at the Super Bowl.

[huskyarcher]

Thanks for the posts guys, Now i will clarify when i said that i occasionallly whoop and hollar and fist pump, i dont mean i pull out a boom box and get jiggy with it, i mean i just get excited. Sometimes i do whoop and hollar but sometimes im too shocked that it happened, sorta like a post above said but i just dont see how this should offend someone

[Biggie Hoffman]

I dunno....there's a difference between scoring a touchdown and killing an animal. The guys that don't see that aren't welcome in my camp.

As Mark Baker said, it's not a spectator sport and there-in lies the bulk of this discussion.

A little reverence please.......

[xtrema312]

Do what works for you, and I will do the same.  Just don't talk about it or show it in a video unless you want to get opinions ranging all over the place.  I do think some of the TV stuff gets overdone.

I get real pumped up after a shot.  I am fist pumping and hooting inside for a few seconds.  I don’t express it outwardly because something could be coming I want to shoot next, and all my attention is on what the animal does, where it goes, and what I hear.  After concentrating on that stuff until the animal is down or out of sight and ear shot, the bitter sweet part of the kill settles in, and I don’t feel like jumping up and down.

[Roninrus1]

Disrespect is bad enough but when they start laughing that just tears it!
I don't watch some of the hunting shows because of the way they act.
Ain't nothing funny about taking the animals life.
Save the laughing for when a terrorist gets wasted!

[emt137]

I have read some of the posts and I think where the problem comes up is everyone is going off of their own definition of what "hooting and hollering" is.  That by itself can lead to disagreement when it isn't need or even intended.

How I see it...

There is nothing wrong with being excited or "emotional" over a hunt, stalk, etc that was successful.  Most of you guys work very hard year round to make your hunting seasons successful.  Scouting, trail cams, land management, food plot upkeep, shooting, tuning, tweaking arrows, new bows, and the list can go on.  

There is a lot of work that goes into successfully hunting and when you do manage to  have everything come together it is validation and vindication for all that hard work and doing things properly.  

Is the antics of TV hunters disrespectful to the game they seek?  I believe most of them are.  Yet, I also believe you can be excited and proud of yourself while still paying proper respect to the animal you killed.  

But, like everyone said, it is ultimately everyone's own personal choice.  It is not anyone's place to cast a stone at another.  Whether you approve or disapprove.

Just my .02

Pat

[Shortlongbow]

I saw an episode of a hunting show recently where after the "hunters" had each taken a buck they went back to the woods to fill their "fun tickets" as they called their doe tags. The next five minutes was kill shot after kill shot on does with much laughing and joking around. Very disrespectful. Reminded me why I avoid outdoor TV these days. The essence of what bowhunting is all about seems lost to many folks.

[Dan Bonner]

To me this is an easy question. Your personal behavior is your business and yours alone. No one has the right to make that call for you. Enjoy your freedom to do whatever you want.

[2madjacks]

Originally posted by xtrema312:
Do what works for you, and I will do the same.  Just don't talk about it or show it in a video unless you want to get opinions ranging all over the place.  I do think some of the TV stuff gets overdone.

I get real pumped up after a shot.  I am fist pumping and hooting inside for a few seconds.  I don’t express it outwardly because something could be coming I want to shoot next, and all my attention is on what the animal does, where it goes, and what I hear.  After concentrating on that stuff until the animal is down or out of sight and ear shot, the bitter sweet part of the kill settles in, and I don’t feel like jumping up and down.

Exactly how I see it and react!

[straight_arrow]

I would echo Biggies comment.  Hunting is a privlidge, respect for the animals before and after the kill is equally important.  Most of the hunting shows rub me the wrong way for that reason.

[Burnsie]

What someone does out in the middle of the woods is their business I guess.  But if you are a hooper-hollerer, fist pumper and video tape it for others to view,  then you can probably expect some negative feedback.  If you do it alone then who's it hurting? If you do it around me, I'm not going to be offended, my feelings aren't hurt that easily.  I'll probably just roll my eyes and carry on with my way of doing things.

[Ric O'Shay]

After a bow kill and before I begin tracking, there is that quiet time I spend thinking about what just occurred and the life that I have just taken. My thoughts are reflective as to the recent event and all the preparation that went into it. My thoughts also are for the animal that I know is laying somewhere out in the woods waiting for me. There are different emotions that flow though my mind. Sadness for the death, happiness that I have been successful, a calmness knowing that a life has run its course and will soon provide food for family and friends, thankful that God has provided.
I've been with others when they have found their prize and offered hearty congratulations for I know too well what they have just accomplished. I guess this is about as celebratory as I get for I know the work is going to begin.

Danny

[Bladepeek]

Burnsie, well said. I quit watching many of the TV shows because that's just not what I want to see. I don't necessarily want to see the shows stopped. If you work hard for a kill, you're entitled to celebrate your way. Just don't expect me to join in the dance, and don't think I'm not excited when I make a good kill and would rather keep things inside me for a bit.