Why shoot certain species?

[ActionBob]

Yea Spike, I was not to keen on it but tried a bite, my wife is the adventurous one and wanted everything.... I was actually pretty content eating all the springbuck I could get......

Maybe I'll wait for the right moment and bring up your point and see if she turns a little pale... Before I tell her they are farmed for the restraurants.

 

[spike.t]

Yea Spike, I was not to keen on it but tried a bite, my wife is the adventurous one and wanted everything.... I was actually pretty content eating all the springbuck I could get......

Maybe I'll wait for the right moment and bring up your point and see if she turns a little pale... Before I tell her they are farmed for the restraurants.

let me know how that goes

 

[ScottG]

Sadly the loss of the animal populations will continue and will be blamed on the hunters. Human passion is blinding, it will not let them see the facts even if it means survival of a species.

 

[huntermn15]

I too have eaten Croc, but it was in Cambodia, I enjoyed it. I didn't put the the ole boy down, a local did.

 

[Velo Dog]

Potentially controversial thread...

How is that for a title? First, let me say that I AM NOT JUDGING ANYONE! I am a hunter; I love the bush and the experience of taking an animal. I love the taste of venison, and then mounting a trophy. That said, I don't ever see myself shooting an animal JUST for the trophy, or mount. Species like cats, elephant, etc. Why shoot those, unless you have to, such as self defense, or asked by a village to remove a problem animal. I would love to hear from some of you guys that hunt these animals, and why you do it.

My wife and I eat black bear meat quite often here in Alaska because lately their numbers are way up so, people who primarily want the skin and skull, are giving bear meat to us every year and it is delicious.
Also, my recreational cabin (not my home in town) has been broken into by a bear 3 times now and if I ever catch him, I will shoot him for sure and then I plan to eat him as well.
Does any of that count?

 

[ArmyGrunt]

maybe if you had chosen "meercat" instead of elephant?

Are you pointing your finger at me? ;-) In that case, the meerkat is solely for trophy means, but I plan to eat him as well

 

[ActionBob]

Hey Grunty, please get back to us and let us know how that tastes!

Did you'all see that little piece written in one of the hunting magazines about the hunter who's young son wanted to watch Bambi... So he gets the tape and sits down to watch it with him and when Bambi gets shot, looks over at his son who has a tear in the corner of his eye.... He quietly asks, "son, if you were hunting, would you shoot Bambi's mom?" The kid wipes his eyes and looks up at his dad, swallows hard, smiles and replies "No....... I would shoot Bambi."

 

[ArmyGrunt]

ActionBob, I shall. I'm guessing it'll be similar to squirrel, maybe rabbit, but anyone's guess could be right. I'll wager no one has tried it yet?

 

[ActionBob]

Looking forward to you trying it! Maybe they taste like chicken? Squirrels eat mostly nuts, right.. so herbivores?

What do meercats eat? Are they herbivores, omnivores or carnivores?

I would have guessed they would be closer to a cat, I think they have large sharp canine teeth like a predator? They are not a rodent are they?

I had a Texas guy tell me that prairie dogs should be called prairie squirrels so people would eat them, he says they are good. Survivalists claim porcupine is delirious, old time trappers used to eat beaver and raccoon. People eat possum... I would think possum and raccoon might be closer to a similar diet as meercat.

 

[Velo Dog]

Looking forward to you trying it! Maybe they taste like chicken? Squirrels eat mostly nuts, right.. so herbivores?

What do meercats eat? Are they herbivores, omnivores or carnivores?

I would have guessed they would be closer to a cat, I think they have large sharp canine teeth like a predator? They are not a rodent are they?

I had a Texas guy tell me that prairie dogs should be called prairie squirrels so people would eat them, he says they are good. Survivalists claim porcupine is delirious, old time trappers used to eat beaver and raccoon. People eat possum... I would think possum and raccoon might be closer to a similar diet as meercat.

Seems like I read that meerkat are members of the weasel family.
Also, seems like I read somewhere they eat primarily scorpions, large spiders, crickets and possibly ground nesting birds.

I have eaten prairie dog, also parky squirrel where I have lived for the past 32 years (smallish Alaskan "prairie dog").
They indeed taste like regular squirrels.
As well they should since they are in fact ground squirrels.
Likewise, I have eaten some of the other animals you mentioned above plus, some not mentioned.
None were bad except adult black tailed jack rabbit.
Not only very tough but quite strong flavor (like rutting mule deer, only more of it).

 

[enysse]

The porcupine I shot this last trip had A LOT of good meat on it! He should have too, because he was eating good on the agriculture fields of wheat and corn.

 

[Johnny7604]

I don't know about you guys but I'll take beaver any day.....

 

[bluey]

I don't know about you guys but I'll take beaver any day.....

now as spikey would say that could be taken a couple of ways johnny , please elaborate..../....

 

[Johnny7604]

now as spikey would say that could be taken a couple of ways johnny , please elaborate..../....

Indeed it can. Haven't you heard of the elusive Canadian Split Tail Beaver"???? A rare delicacy, especially a nice lean one. I'll take that any day. The old lady is not so fond of them and says they are bad for my heart so unfortunately she won't let me bring them in the house.

Whoops have I inadvertently derailed this thread. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

 

[spike.t]

now as spikey would say that could be taken a couple of ways johnny , please elaborate..../....

 

[Scott Slough]

In a effort to return the thread to the original topic ... with a slightly different focus. I had assumed that I was going to add at least two of three from warthog, impala, and blue wildebeast to my package once I finished the package. Once I started hunting, I saw multiple shooters of each animal every day and it felt like hunting one of them would have been essentially the same as hunting the angora goats on the property. Before I shot my first animal, I made the decision to add a second kudu because kudu hunting already felt like exactly what I had dreamed when I had dreamed about Africa.

I might feel differently about these species on the next hunt, but the quality of the hunt and the trophy (51 inch eastern cape kudu as my avatar) reinforced this as the right decision for me.

Any one else decide not to shoot a particular animal because there were so many that it felt like shooting fish on a barrel?

 

[ActionBob]

We never ran out of species but I did take 2 common and one black springbuck because they were challenging and fun. And after I shot a 46.5" cape kudu, we were always on the watch for a bigger one... Got glimpses of 5 but never a shot, tne tracker was sure one was 50 or better.... they are a great hunt!

I have something like 16 more animals on my list for that same outfitter plus a whole lot more he does not have. But I would likely take seconds and 3rds on many if they were better ones.Bushbuck, kudu, and gemsbuck all come mind right away but also more color phases of springbuck and if I get a chance at a bigger common I would take a 3rd pretty quickly.

 

[ActionBob]

Never felt like it was shooting fish in barrel... We did not hunt anthing high fenced and on some it felt luckier rather than easier.... Don't take this as a negative towrds high fence... I just have no experience with that. I'm assuming that with large enough property it feels the same.

 

[Scott Slough]

I don't think high fence had anything to do with it, I think it was mostly the species. The blue wildebeast didn't seem to be scared enough from us to run. they would just stand there. The impala would run 100yards or so and stop. And if you stood still long enough a warthog would run by ... very different than any animals I have ever encountered. I know a lot of hunters that want to shot one of everything ... i just enjoyed hunting kudu and bush buck so much that I didn't want to spend time hunting "easier" game.

I did not really expect that.

 

[ActionBob]

Yea I did not care for the impala at one place but in all fairness this was not one of the outfitters regular places. Those impala were more like the animals at a photo park. On the other hand, when I was stalking my red hartebeest, there was a herd of impala between us and hartebeest and we had to crouchand crawl as they knew something was up and were barking but did not seem to be sure what was going on. Isn't it something like see you twice, hear you three times but only smell you once?

My wife chased black wildebeest around all morning without a shot, then snuck up on a couple easily a couple days later... hunting, you never know.