Is bowhunting a "sport"

[ChuckC]

We seem to be in discussion mode and actually I think we are doing it quite well, all in all.  That my friends is awesome.  I get to learn what others think about the same topic.

Keeping up the talk, and please, only civil discussion of what you think.

I read a lot of talk about bow hunting being a "sport", we hunt for sport.  What does that mean ?  Do I really have sport with this or am I fulfilling a need, a physical or mental need ?

I don't eat for sport, or drink for sport.  Even though I may keep remnants and reminders of my hunt and of my eating and drinking (photos, pieces of things like leaves, mugs, menus etc, hides, heads, whatever), is it really sport ?

Note. .  I don't video myself to share with others (or at all), I am usually alone when I hunt, I tend to pass up way more than I ever shoot, I tend to smile a lot when I am out there seeing things that I know others will never see, or understand if they did see it.  I also don't recall ever jumping up and down and screaming when I hit something.

Is it sport ?

ChuckC

[centaur]

Merriam/Webster says;
 a physical activity (such as hunting, fishing, running, swimming, etc.) that is done for enjoyment
Certainly, bowhunting definitely meets that definition.

[Marshallrobinson]

I see a lot of this and I think you have to look at it from the view of the one saying it.
You may view it being sport, if you do not have to do it. I look at sport hunting as hunting without need to hunt. If you dont eat what you kill then it's sport.
I could go further and say that if you see no financial benefit, then it is sport but I would have to contend with those who do not benefit financially but do see benefits via healthful eating of clean meat, as it were.

[monkeyball]

A "sport" would be an activity where you are competing either as a team or an individual against others.  I think in all reality bow "hunting" would not be a sport for most of us.

                                                                Good Shooting,
                                                                                  Craig

[GreyGoose]

Chuck, your question got me thinking. My feeling is that whenever we challenge ourselves, physically and mentally, to do something we don't HAVE to do, that's potentially  sport.  I may not ever race against other swimmers, but it's still sport to me to try to go farther than I have before.  Likewise, in the field, I compete against my own shortcomings and the vagaries of nature when I hunt.  If there were no challenge - shooting tame, fenced deer - or if I did it for material (rather than emotional profit), then it would not be sport anymore.  Which, come to think of it, describes a lot of pro sports.

[achigan]

"Sport" is the tag/name/designation some guides give to their clients.

[nineworlds9]

Goose I think is headed in a good direction with his thought.  If its a sport, then to me its a sport where you compete against yourself to better yourself.  Otherwise to me it is a skill and a hobby.

[J. Cook]

I do think of it as "sport."  I do think it's a challenge and you are competing against another competitor - nature.  Although I do eat what I kill, and venison is a major part of my family's diet - I am not dependent upon hunting for food.  To be honest I spend way more money for my hunting supplies than I would if I just went and bought meat.    

I think if we are honest with ourselves, none of us HAVE to hunt for food.  It's a supplemental, fulfilling, but optional method of providing for ones family.  We do it because we enjoy it - the preparation, the hunt itself, the time spent with others of like-mind, the memories, and yes - the meat and the trophies.  To me, that's a sport.  We don't HAVE to play football - we do it for the enjoyment, memories, time with others, and for the fulfillment of an underlying desire to compete.  

But as mentioned before, it really lies in how you individually define "sport."  I treat my adversary (the animal) with the utmost respect and eat whatever I kill.  I'm not a trophy hunter, although I enjoy the chance to chase a mature buck just like we all do.  

I enjoy all aspects of the hunt.  So, for me personally - I define it as a sport because I don't see "sport" as a negative word or a negative reflection of hunting.

[hogless]

I think of hunting more as a hobby same as growing a garden but think that archery in it's self is a sport

[ron w]

Hunting, Mountain Climbing, sailing, fishing, shooting and a bunch of other things are sports. Things that are considered sports today such as Baseball, Football, Basketball and a host of others are games. Archery and Bowhunting are a sport!  

[R. W. Mackey]

Bowhunting is not a sport my friend, it's A Way of Life. For those of us that have stood the test of time, it has consumed
Us, it is on our minds constantly, it is something we do in the best
Or worst of weather, it brings us great joy in way you can't put into words. It's not the killing although that is part of it, it's being one with nature, enjoying what God has given us, it's inner pease..... I could go on and on....

RW

[Don Stokes]

For me, hunting is a psychological necessity. I don't think that's true for everyone who hunts, so I think that definition only applies to those who could stop and not really miss it. I get great enjoyment from my archery, true, but I don't really feel that I have a choice. When humans were still primarily tribal in organization, apparently tasks were taken up by those with a propensity in that direction. Some people were healers, some were gardeners, some were babysitters, etc. My forebears were definitely the hunters. Paraphrasing John Lee Hooker, it's in me, and it's got to come out.

[Blueridge]

Its part of who I am. Roy and Don have described it as I see and live it.

In most sports there is a conquering the thrown aspect, a mock war game. In the Olympic sports there is less conquest, more of a test of abilities and skill.  We have inherited memory in our dna, it is all part of who and what we are. Sitting on the recliner, drinking beer and watching football is not a sport.  Today the modern man is all about being entertained, shooting a longbow and bow hunting is doing something. Perhaps it is very enjoyable, but it is not entertainment.  I do not think we need to think of bow hunting as a sport, an obsessive compulsive hobby perhaps.

[wetfeathers]

This a great thread.  I believe it is a sport.  I'm in better shape at the end of season than before it starts, so there is some physical requirements that allow us to do it well.  Also I believe the challenge that we impose on ourselves makes it much more a sport. We're not killing, we're hunting.  We don't consider 100 or more yards "close enough".  We put strategy into an unknown set of circumstances which may or may not play out, just like football or baseball.

[bowfanatik]

Bowhunting is killing(in hunt you must to take life ) animal .
Killing is not sport , so hunting is way of life .
Hunting is tradition , hunting is part of ours personality :-) ......

[Jon Stewart]

YES

[Mudd]

I don't know if it's a sport for me or not.

It fills a role in my life and who I am that can not be filled any other way.

I don't always fill my tags but it's not for lack of trying.

I may fail more often because it's my choice to keep the hunt simple and on the same ground as the animals I hunt.

I've made changes in the last 3 seasons in my hunting style because I prefer to have nothing between me and my quarry but air.

It's quite a challenge....and I love it!!!

God bless,Mudd

[FAV 52]

To me and most of my family hunting is not a sport ;it's more like a spiritual thing where you become one with the hunted . To think like ; to move like the hunted to harvest it . From a young age I was taught to have respect for the animals we took for there death give me or us life . When I was young half or more of the meat we ate was wild the rest was raised and processed at home ; something that is lacking in today's fast pace . There was no trophy hunting ; no outfitters ; just hunting for meat . The joy of the hunt didn't come from bagging a great trophy ; or who had the most and costly equipment ; but from when a young hunter could finally do it right ; I can still see the gleam in my father and grand fathers faces ; and now mine with my grand children . I no longer have to hunt for the meat of wild things [most of the time its cheaper to go buy meat] but its more like a seasonal bonding of nature and family . So NO its NOT a sport TO ME .

[monkeyball]

You go to a 3-D shoot and compete against your buddies for the high score, or you are in an indoor league for the winter, those are a sport. Competing against others, be it solo or on a team, that is a sport.

   When I get into the woods and try to outsmart a White-Tail.....that is an art. No scores involved , "points" maybe,but in a different meaning.

                                            Good Shooting,
                                                           Craig