October 20, 2004

I think it's called buck fever everywhere, and I have indeed experienced it. When you're 14 and you've been getting up at 4:30 every Saturday for what seems like forever to freeze your ass off sitting in a tree all day, and then finally, FINALLY, a deer walks into your sights, adrenaline explodes through your system and makes it impossible to shoot like you were at the range. At least that was my experience taking my first shot at a deer. I think I had something of a similar experience, but to a lesser degree when I shot my first pheasant at the age of around 9.

I only shoot at animals, that I or someone esle can eat, period. I have killed many a deer, hog, and all kinds of birds. I eat them or give them to my friends for supper. I kill ducks, but I hate duck meat, it is very dark and greasy, very greasy, Catfish.

I love to fish, but for some reason I can't pull the trigger on an innocent mammal. A human gremlin, yes. No compunction.

Damn, I hate seeing that term "innocent" used to describe an animal. Look, if you've got a couple of dogs, and one is killing chickens, and the other one's staying on the porch, then yeah, one dog's "innocent" and the other one's guilty as hell.

For the vast majority of animals, though, "Innocent" means precisely jack shit. They're not making any moral choices in their entire lives that merit the term innocent. Sure, predators kill their prey, but they're just doing what they're designed to do. I don't consider a coyote a murderer for eating a lamb. Nor do I consider a deer "innocent" just because they have big liquid eyes and daintily nibble at the grass after frolicking in the meadow.
Deer, on a behavioral basis, are actually some uncaring thoughtless bastards, at least when compared to the behavior of the "evil" predators.

Quit using "innocent"!. All you do is reinforce the treehuggers and bunny-emancipators quest to have us all eating tofu by appealing to people's emotions when describing an animal.

Well, it's almost huntin' season. Time to go pronounce sentence on a few tasty deer that are guilty Guilty GUILTY!!!
They're gonna FRY! (in my cast-iron skillet after a coat of egg wash & some spicy flour... I love Whitetail McNuggets)

The only flinching I would do with a goblin in my sights, in my house, would be caused by a 45ACP round going off in my smallish bedroom while using no ear protection.

There is a reason there is an OW at the end of KA-POW! lol

I've shot (with gun and bow) many deer and haven't had buck fever since I was a teen. But I still get the adrenaline rush every time I bear down on one, especially a bigun. Catfish, I don't know how you're cooking your ducks, but they're pretty good if you know how to cook them. I usually make a nice duck and sausage gumbo. Don't give up on it yet.

I can think of a lot of people I would rather shoot than shoot a deer. I use to hunt before I went off to see Kerry in Viet-nam. I quit when I came back, not much fun if they can't shoot back.

Sure. But those bucks are strangers.

What about those goats w/ personalities you
were referring to above? Would you have a
problem w/ those?

OT: You can do a slow (pot-roast) style
thing w/ conch or octopus that makes it
much nicer. There are also some pretty great
things to do w/ duck that cut the grease
factor...

How about BC fever?

Speaking of Buck Feaver, if you ever get a chance to rent Escanaba in da Moonlight please do so.

You may find it as a rental somewhere.
It only played in Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin in November.

I went to a barbecue place this evening. Printed on the moist towellete package was "We like vegetarians--they make us laugh!"

Dropped my first walking venison steak when I was 12. 120 yard shot in wind.

Anyone who whines about "buck fever" needs a father who knows how to teach their kid to shoot something that moves.

I had buck-fever once. Her name was Jen and I couldn't force myself to talk to her. I'll never get over that day.

Never had it when I had a rifle in my hands.

Squirrel tastes good properly seasoned and cooked on the bone. My father can cook anything you can shoot. I don't know if he has a recipe for long pig, but he has one for everything else.
Not bad for an upstate NY yankee.