[Shoe]

I did not read the replies in this thread, but here is my reply (sorry if I repeat anything).

First of all, hunting is not just about killing stuff, it is also about being in the great outdoors and just being able to get away from everything and be at one with nature.

Also, 99.9% of hunters despise those who are just out there for the kill. If you do not eat what you kill or donate the meat to charity, you are truely scum.

Also, have you talked to any biologists? If it were not for hunters, many more deer (or other animals) that we kill would die much more painful deaths throughout the winter as they starved to death. True, this problem has been brought upon ourselves to some degree, as most natural predators have already been elimintated by humans, but there is nothing we can do about that now (other than try to hunt to take their place), without completely changing how society operates (such as stopping all urban sprawl and rebuilding the wetlands and other wildlife refuges -- but we all know that will never happen, even though almost every hunter wishes it would).

Hunters and fisherman (in general) are probably the biggest conversationalists you will ever meet.