Less Firing, More Range

how an article went from hunting to religion is beyond me. where i live is in the ozarks where deer season is almost considered a national event if not a holiday. people have been known to keep their kids out of school and it is expected to be an excused absence. i hunt simply for the meat to help suppliment my meger wages. i know people that hunt just so they have meat in the house. now i am totally against those that shoot a deer , or any other animal for that matter, just for bragging rights cut off the antlers or head and antlers and leave the rest. as for the fancy calls, urine bottles, anti scent stuff, decoys,and all that other stuff hunters buy to out smart wild animals, some works some don't,some is needed some is not i guess that depends on the person that is hunting. i will listen to anyone's opinion but i reserve the right to make up my own mind. one thing i will say is some of those dumb animals are smarter than i am . if an animal is harming my live stock i will stop it weather it be a possum , coon , bobcat , cyote, or wild dog ( that some lowlife kicked out of a car and left on it's own) i respect your opinion so you might respect mine

My husband. who enjoyed Colorado high country when he was younger, took along his viola since he was in the symphony. He would play his viola and scare away the hunters with the "wild sound" so he could enjoy the beauty in peace. When I married him I bought an electric piano I could plug into the cigarette lighter in our Bronco. We would play Bach sonatas for viola and piano, We heard a knock on the door when we were in the middle of Bach and a Ranger poked his head in saying, "I guess you're not hunters. I couldn't figure out what I was hearing when I came over the ridge. There's no hunting allowed in this part of the forest. Play away." We did with a bit of high tech in the piano but an old song in the air. Susan

Having been a resident and a hunter in Iowa and Missouri, I'd like to assure an earlier writer that the conservation/natural resources departments from these states are not farming moving targets. I consider myself a typical hunter whereby I eat what I shoot and I don't hunt for trophies. Both of these states limit the harvest (using your farming metaphor) to one buck, but allow for several does - depending on how deep your pockets are. I pay approximately $100 before I've taken my first shot for the license and tags and approximately $150 more to process about a hundred pounds of meat. I've also killed 3 deer with my cars over the past 3 years - which have cost me (and my insurance company) over $6,000 because of the overabundance of deer in southwest Iowa. I don't participate in bloodsport. I don't enjoy killing, and I am saddened by the characterization that I'm part of a "big lie" conspiracy. Have a great Thanksgiving - but consider the feelings, life, and whether the turkey you will probably enjoy tomorrow was also a moving target worthy of compassion and protection.

There's good reason that numbers of recreational wildlife killers are decreasing, and all the high tech toys in the world won't stop it. The world has moved away from hunters' retrograde view on animals as living targets,and nothing, thankfully, will turn back the clock. Shame on Newsweek for giving any coverage to what Tolstoy rightly called, " Evil legitimized."