I was raised as a hunter as a young boy. My father took me hunting with him long before I was old enough to carry a gun. I loved it as much as Christmas and seldom slept the night before opening day. When I was too small to jump over water filled ditches my father would pick me up and toss me across. When I grew bigger my father couldn't toss me across so I had to jump with an extra push from him. I remember one time when I backed off just as my father pushed and I went straight into the slough.

Hunting has been a life long existance with me and I've often been asked what makes a hunter. It must be something in bred because you can't make a person a hunter. They either love it or they don't. My son went hunting a few times with me and gave it up. It is the same story with other young men, but a few seem thrilled by the hunt and make it a life long career.

What is a hunter? He (or she) is a person who thrives on being the ultimate predator. In the army a sniper would make a good hunter, and a good hunter would make a good sniper. It is both mental and physical conditioning. A hunter needs to have the utmost patience and be willing to spend long hours on full concentration. A hunter moves with a purpose whether it is fast or slow. A hunter is totally aware of his surroundings and has complete confidence in his own abilities. A hunter can survive with the minimum of equipment, even in harsh surroundings and over night if necessary. Other predators such as cats, nasty dogs and large ferocious animals are instantly aware that a hunter is a potential threat and not to be tampered with. Most will back down from a hunter when they might attack a regular person. A hunter chooses his prey intentionally and is willing to spend whatever length of time and effort it takes to be successful. A true hunter is far different than someone who just buys a hunting license and goes off with the boys in hopes of getting a little venison. Most hunters are loners who are happy spending hours in the wilderness with nobody around for miles. They can spend weeks in a tent camp all by themselves in hopes of finding their prey. It is considered normal to camp far above the tree line with nothing more than a sheet of plastic for a shelter. And, being a hunter is something that lasts with you for a life time.

And, how does this relate to Thailand? Well it is an intangible thing that pervades the hunter. He never feels threatened in any way. He is confident with everything he does and that includes the ladies. I can walk at night in the roughest parts of town in any city in the world and never feel frightened. Other predators understand this air of competance and leave the hunter alone. Although chronologically I'm and old man at 70, but I don't feel that old and I don't portray a person that old. Other predators understand it and stay clear.

Here are just a few photos to explain a bit of what I mean.

has that winterboy jerk been bothering you?

I've done alot of pig hunting in Fiji, and some deer stalking in NZ. I can relate to what you say.

Those first two photos....I would have said it was Richard Branson!

Nice story and Photos …..I was handed a rifle at 7 and taught to shoot. By age 12 we hunted deer, squirrel and rabbit.

We brought home everything from the hunt and it found its way on to our dinner table.

Returning home from the hunt empty handed sometimes would lead to the inevitable question….

What did you kill today?? Only time we answered because many days we just wanted to get out of the

house and roam the 65 acre farm…..I think that restless appetite for adventure has never left me and

taken me around the planet and one lucky day to the land of smiles…sad I wasn't into photography

then.

Nice story and Photos …..I was handed a rifle at 7 and taught to shoot. By age 12 we hunted deer, squirrel and rabbit.

We brought home everything from the hunt and it found its way on to our dinner table.

Returning home from the hunt empty handed sometimes would lead to the inevitable question….

What did you kill today?? Only time we answered because many days we just wanted to get out of the

house and roam the 65 acre farm…..I think that restless appetite for adventure has never left me and

taken me around the planet and one lucky day to the land of smiles…sad I wasn't into photography

then.

Now folks here's a story 'bout a man named Jed, poor mountaineer but he kept his family fed....... Cook up them varmints for me granny.

(Or should that be "critters"? I don't speak Appalachian)

never did go hunting although I spent a lot of time in the Pacific NW...one day a pal from a riggin' crew I worked on in Oregon fried me up an elk steak that he had killed recently...couldn't believe it, tasted like the finest beef...

one day on the way up to the show the crummy stopped and the other crew members were peering out the windows and remarking on the elk herd that was within stones throw...me, bein' from southern CA I couldn't see nothin'...I said 'get outta here, you guys just wanna wind me up...'...they just kept lookin' and then I managed to see the herd just barely, there were about 10, perfect natural camouflage, looked as docile as cattle...

Hey Ian, I have some photos of deer I've shot.....prints. Is a normal office scanner ok to digitise them?

Nice story and Photos …..I was handed a rifle at 7 and taught to shoot. By age 12 we hunted deer, squirrel and rabbit.

We brought home everything from the hunt and it found its way on to our dinner table.

Returning home from the hunt empty handed sometimes would lead to the inevitable question….

What did you kill today?? Only time we answered because many days we just wanted to get out of the

house and roam the 65 acre farm…..I think that restless appetite for adventure has never left me and

taken me around the planet and one lucky day to the land of smiles…sad I wasn't into photography

then.

Now folks here's a story 'bout a man named Jed, poor mountaineer but he kept his family fed....... Cook up them varmints for me granny.

(Or should that be "critters"? I don't speak Appalachian)

We did indeed have a Cement Pond

Hey Ian, I have some photos of deer I've shot.....prints. Is a normal office scanner ok to digitise them?

If you have good camera with a close up lens you can just take a picture of a picture. I find that better than a flat scanner. Put the camera on a tripod and adjust the lighting so you don't get any glare. Don't use a flash or it will bounce off the print. I've done that with most of my old photos where I no longer have the negative. You will probably have to adjust the colour and tonal value later with Photoshop.

Hey Ian, I have some photos of deer I've shot.....prints. Is a normal office scanner ok to digitise them?

Standard flatbed office scanners work just fine for scanning photos. You can select whatever resolution you want.

Don't mean to disagree with you, Ian, but the result from a scanner should be far superior than taking a photo of a photo.

My father used to hunt, grew up hunting which, as a rather poor farm boy growing up during the Depression, was necessary. However, he reached a point in his life where he realized he didn't need to kill to eat and he didn't need to hunt to prove his manhood.

Hey Ian, I have some photos of deer I've shot.....prints. Is a normal office scanner ok to digitise them?

Standard flatbed office scanners work just fine for scanning photos. You can select whatever resolution you want.

Don't mean to disagree with you, Ian, but the result from a scanner should be far superior than taking a photo of a photo.

What I found with the scanners is they pick up every little bit of dust and scratch on the print. It takes a lot of work later with Photoshop to clean that up. Of course there are good programs for just that situation if you are familiar with them.

My father used to hunt, grew up hunting which, as a rather poor farm boy growing up during the Depression, was necessary. However, he reached a point in his life where he realized he didn't need to kill to eat and he didn't need to hunt to prove his manhood.

That is a typical reply from an anti-hunter. No hunter I ever knew was trying to prove his manhood. Hunters do it for the challenge of outwitting wild animals in the animal's native surroundings. And, hunters do it for being at one with nature. The meat you obtain is just a byproduct of the hunt. And, wild meat is much better for you than domestic stock raised for slaughter. It's no more trying to prove his manhood than a woman having babies is trying to prove her womenhood.

If your trying to prove your manhood theory was true then it would also be true for any sport or occupation that required a high degree of skill. I'm not talking about some guy who goes out on the weekend with his buddies on a hunters drinking party where there is a slight chance that someone might shoot something. That is an entirely different kettle of fish.

And, surprising as it may seem, most true hunters have a far greater love for wild animals than most everyone else.

And, surprising as it may seem, most true hunters have a far greater love for wild animals than most everyone else.

Crickey, Chingachgook still breathes

Guess Ian missed that bit about it being my dad? Who hunted? Maybe it wasn't clear enough that it wasn't my opinion? Maybe he just only reads what he wants to read??

Guess Ian missed

What! Ian missed? The Dear will be relieved

there are still folks that hunt to supplement their diets when they work seasonal jobs and expect to be out of work a few months of the year. In Oregon some of the guys I worked with in the woods were always out there first day of the hunting season looking to get them a deer, elk or whatever that they would butcher and freeze (everyone had a stand alone freezer) to supplement the unemployment payments, food stamps or 'surplus commodities' that they had to live on when outta work for 4-5 months of the year...they would also grow their own veges that the wives would 'put up' for later in the year...

it was a harsh life (too harsh for me, in the end) and working in the woods was hard, dangerous and poorly paid but some of these guys were 3rd generation loggers and wouldn't live any other way...

Animal populations are undergoing constant change­s. A centu­ry ago, the United States hosted about 500,000 deer; today, that number has jumped to at least 25 million.

The increase is dramatic -- but why does it matter? According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration there are about 1.5 million car accidents with deer

each year that result in $1 billion in vehicle damage, about 150 human fatalities, and over 10,000 personal injuries. Deer are a significant part of many forest ecosystems,

mostly because they eat huge amounts of foliage and can practically strip an area bare if their numbers grow too large. That's one of the big reasons why forest

and wildlife management organizations keep track of deer populations: If there are too many deer, they need to sell more hunting licenses to thin the herd so food sources don't dwindle.

Guess Ian missed that bit about it being my dad? Who hunted? Maybe it wasn't clear enough that it wasn't my opinion? Maybe he just only reads what he wants to read??

I didn't miss that at all, sbk. You didn't say whether you approved or disapproved of your father hunting. Many daughters are not close to their fathers. Many even resent them. What you DID say though, was men hunt to prove their manhood and I disagree with that statement. No true hunter I know even relates manliness with hunting. They just love it for what it is.

I WILL agree that some men like guns for the very reason you state... they somehow relate manliness with guns. Those same men/boys usually like big muscle cars or trucks with huge tires.

One thing I HAVE noticed is the daughters of hunters are more likely to take up hunting than women who haven't had fathers that hunt. In those cases it is usually daughters who are very close to their fathers and try to identify with him in any way they can. Neither my daughter nor my son hunt at all. My son did when he was younger, but not now. And, today he is married to a vegan which pretty much settles it.

It doesn't bother me that some people abhor hunting and the killing of animals. It is only natural. And everyone is entitled to their opinion. I just don't want to be FORCED into their way of thinking.

And what is the solution to Human expansion that does all of these things on a greater scale?

Selective murder, concentration camps?

That is a typical reply from an anti-hunter. No hunter I ever knew was trying to prove his manhood. Hunters do it for the challenge of outwitting wild animals in the animal's native surroundings. And, hunters do it for being at one with nature. The meat you obtain is just a byproduct of the hunt. And, wild meat is much better for you than domestic stock raised for slaughter. It's no more trying to prove his manhood than a woman having babies is trying to prove her womenhood.

Take the high powered rifle that is capable of killing the unsuspecting critter from 300+ metres away, out of the equation and let's see who outwits who.

That is a typical reply from an anti-hunter. No hunter I ever knew was trying to prove his manhood. Hunters do it for the challenge of outwitting wild animals in the animal's native surroundings. And, hunters do it for being at one with nature. The meat you obtain is just a byproduct of the hunt. And, wild meat is much better for you than domestic stock raised for slaughter. It's no more trying to prove his manhood than a woman having babies is trying to prove her womenhood.

Take the high powered rifle that is capable of killing the unsuspecting critter from 300+ metres away, out of the equation and let's see who outwits who.

I hunted wild pigs, tuskers, with only a .22. When I had no bullets, I hunted pig with a turtle spear.

Reminds of the story of the Canadian man living on the West Coast of the South Island, NZ. It's a tough place where men are men. He lived there for 10 years and was still considered an outsider, so one night in the pub, he asked how he could become a true West Coaster.

They told him he has to accomplish3 tasks: Skull 10 jugs of beer, kill a wild pig armed only with a knife, and have sex with a West Coast woman (a tough breed of woman), all before morning.

So he lined up the 10 jugs on the bar and drank them all. Pissed as a newt. Someone handed him a hunting knife and opened the back door which led to the bush.

Out he staggered into the wilds. He returned 2 hours later, dripping blood down the front of his shirt.

Brandishing the knife, he shouted, "Right! Where's this West Coast woman you want me to kill?"

And what is the solution to Human expansion that does all of these things on a greater scale?

Selective murder, concentration camps?

Eugenics.

I must admit I'm indifferent to hunting now. It was part of my life when I lived in the country but I was never part of the hunting fraternity that treated it as a sport or even a religion. I did enjoy coursing rabbits with my whippet but If I need wild meat for any reason I could never see the point of a lengthy stalk when the animal could be disposed of efficiently from several yards away while blinded by a spotlight.

Control of high animal populations is a reason for hunting often put forward by pro hunting groups who are usually responsible for the numbers by the elimination of natural predators. The return of wolves to Yellowstone Nation Park is an interesting experiment in deer population control and I'll watch to see how long it will be before hunters are demanding the right to "control" their numbers.

Eugenics.

Do you really believe that H'?

Eugenics.

Do you really believe that H'?

If you take out any religious or moral arguments, I believe that there are sound and practical reasonings for eugenics..... for the greater good.

The first question to answer, though, is, "Should religious or moral grounds be ignored?"

Sounds like a topic for OTB.

That is a typical reply from an anti-hunter. No hunter I ever knew was trying to prove his manhood. Hunters do it for the challenge of outwitting wild animals in the animal's native surroundings. And, hunters do it for being at one with nature. The meat you obtain is just a byproduct of the hunt. And, wild meat is much better for you than domestic stock raised for slaughter. It's no more trying to prove his manhood than a woman having babies is trying to prove her womenhood.

Take the high powered rifle that is capable of killing the unsuspecting critter from 300+ metres away, out of the equation and let's see who outwits who.

One exception to blinky's scenario that I have observed is the North American mountain sheep. Referring to rams as the ewes and babes know they are not on the hunters list as desirable. Nature is a beautiful and awe inspiring commodity which real sportsmen probably do more to protect than the tourist type who go to observe, their passage is noted via garbage etc left behind. As mentioned already, the real enjoyment is observing natures creatures with my personal exception including mossies, flies, sand flea etc. I was fortunate in that my son became a hunting/fishing companion when he was young (5 or 6) just as I was with my grandad and father. Those experiences as well as first kill blood and the other sights, shots, misses etc are memories for life.

Hunting and fishing rights are some of the special rights that Native Americans enjoy as a result of the treaties

signed between their tribes and the federal government. Historically, hunting and fishing were critically important

to Native American tribes. Fish and wildlife were a primary source of food and trade goods, and tribes based their

own seasonal movements on fish migrations. In addition, fish and wildlife played a central role in the spiritual and

cultural framework of Native American life. As the Court noted, access to fish and wildlife was "not much less

necessary to the existence of the Indians than the atmosphere they breathed"

Guess Ian missed that bit about it being my dad? Who hunted? Maybe it wasn't clear enough that it wasn't my opinion? Maybe he just only reads what he wants to read??

I didn't miss that at all, sbk. You didn't say whether you approved or disapproved of your father hunting. Many daughters are not close to their fathers. Many even resent them. What you DID say though, was men hunt to prove their manhood and I disagree with that statement. No true hunter I know even relates manliness with hunting. They just love it for what it is.

I WILL agree that some men like guns for the very reason you state... they somehow relate manliness with guns. Those same men/boys usually like big muscle cars or trucks with huge tires.

One thing I HAVE noticed is the daughters of hunters are more likely to take up hunting than women who haven't had fathers that hunt. In those cases it is usually daughters who are very close to their fathers and try to identify with him in any way they can. Neither my daughter nor my son hunt at all. My son did when he was younger, but not now. And, today he is married to a vegan which pretty much settles it.

It doesn't bother me that some people abhor hunting and the killing of animals. It is only natural. And everyone is entitled to their opinion. I just don't want to be FORCED into their way of thinking.

No, re-read my post yet again, thank you. I did not say anything about manhood, my father did. And before you try to psychoanalyze my relationship with my father, I suggest you look more closely at yourself. Cheers.

No, re-read my post yet again, thank you. I did not say anything about manhood, my father did. And before you try to psychoanalyze my relationship with my father, I suggest you look more closely at yourself. Cheers.

Point well taken, sbk. But, I suggest if that was your FATHER'S viewpoint that hunters were only trying to prove their manhood then your father was not a true hunter. He was only a person who supplemented his food supply with wild game. Like your father, I no longer hunt with a rifle much any more because, like your father, I no longer need the meat. Butchering an animal is a lot of work and I can buy what I need cheaper and easier at the super market. But, I still hunt, but most often it is with a camera now. And, to get a good photo of a wild animal with a camera it takes a lot more effort and the results are not as great. However, you STILL have to be a good hunter to get close enough for a good shot... with a camera. These pictures I took were all in hunting season where I could have shot the animal with a rifle instead of film. All would have made good hunting trophies. I can assure you that from where I took the photos it was a WHOLE LOT EASIER, carrying back just my camera than a packsack full of boned out meat.

If a true hunter is someone who stalks his prey for fun, then no, my father was not a true hunter. If, however, a hunter is someone who hunts to eat for survival, then yes. He was. He lost the enjoyment of killing and realized that there isn't much sport in hunting something that can't hunt you back.

Lewis Black addressed this in his inimitable style.