Should the US institute a ban on assault weapons.

Thirty Bills Unpaid

Yes

mcgruff10 said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

mcgruff10 said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

mcgruff10 said:

Meltdown99 said:

tbergs said:

Semi-auto rifles, yes.

Ban all semi-auto weapons...why stop at rifles...

Never gonna happen. 

Because the tail wags the dog, Scruffy!

You're probably right... and that's too bad.

It's a dumb statement del.  are we going to ban semi auto shotguns and .22's?  come on.

Why are semi automatic guns necessary for civilian use, Scruffy?

you have never hunted with a semi automatic shotgun or .22?  don't get soft on me bro. ar-15's i agree with but not all semi-auto's.

Lever action .22 and bolt action shotgun.

Don't get me wrong... this isn't the sticking point for me, but I don't feel semi automatic weapons are necessary. I could accept them though (not that my opinion means squat lol).

Meltdown99

Here we go ... we need our weapons to hunt, yeah right.   Use crossbows then? 

gimmesometruth27

Yes

Yes.

lastexitlondon

Yes

Why must anyone even hunt i do not understand? There must be other ways to spend your time that are creative rather than killing anything at all?
Im not from where you are but the love of nature and animals and people is universal i think.

tbergs

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

mcgruff10 said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

mcgruff10 said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

mcgruff10 said:

Meltdown99 said:

tbergs said:

Semi-auto rifles, yes.

Ban all semi-auto weapons...why stop at rifles...

Never gonna happen. 

Because the tail wags the dog, Scruffy!

You're probably right... and that's too bad.

It's a dumb statement del.  are we going to ban semi auto shotguns and .22's?  come on.

Why are semi automatic guns necessary for civilian use, Scruffy?

you have never hunted with a semi automatic shotgun or .22?  don't get soft on me bro. ar-15's i agree with but not all semi-auto's.

Lever action .22 and bolt action shotgun.

Don't get me wrong... this isn't the sticking point for me, but I don't feel semi automatic weapons are necessary. I could accept them though (not that my opinion means squat lol).

Truth. A pump action shotgun and my bolt action .22 were the bomb growing up for bird or small game. Not to mention my bolt action Winchester .270 I used for deer hunting. That gun was a beauty and accurate as hell. I don't get the "need" for semi auto rifles at all. Handguns come down to mag size. You're just not going to see them banned as a semi auto.

tbergs

lastexitlondon said:

Why must anyone even hunt i do not understand? There must be other ways to spend your time that are creative rather than killing anything at all?
Im not from where you are but the love of nature and animals and people is universal i think.

You have to understand that people hunt for their meat. Not everyone is vegetarian and it's much more healthy and environmentally friendly for a hunter to kill their own food than to support corporate farming.

brianlux

Yes

I'm with lastexit on the hunting issue.  I don't see any reason for it.  If you eat meat, there are alternatives that are not environmentally destructive, starting with vegetarian, of course.  But there are also low impact animal husbandry farms.  True, there aren't enough so that 7.6 billion people can gorge on meat the way Americans do, but in 2018, cutting down  or cutting out meat consumption makes the best sense. 

I've read plenty of articles that talk about hunting as a way to stabilize the overpopulation of deer  but that simply avoids the issue that deer are overpopulated because their natural predators have been killed of or driven off their habitat.  Hunting is an anthropocentric solution to a human caused problem.  The logical, natural, biocentric solution is to bring life back into balance by allowing ecosystems to restore to their natural balance.  In a balanced world, hunting might make sense for those who eat meat.  In the 2018 world, it's just another excuse for humans to see themselves as better or different than the rest of life which, I beg to argue, we are not.

Sorry, T, we agree on much, but I have to differ here.

Meltdown99

brianlux said:

I'm with lastexit on the hunting issue.  I don't see any reason for it.  If you eat meat, there are alternatives that are not environmentally destructive, starting with vegetarian, of course.  But there are also low impact animal husbandry farms.  True, there aren't enough so that 7.6 billion people can gorge on meat the way Americans do, but in 2018, cutting down  or cutting out meat consumption makes the best sense. 

I've read plenty of articles that talk about hunting as a way to stabilize the overpopulation of deer  but that simply avoids the issue that deer are overpopulated because their natural predators have been killed of or driven off their habitat.  Hunting is an anthropocentric solution to a human caused problem.  The logical, natural, biocentric solution is to bring life back into balance by allowing ecosystems to restore to their natural balance.  In a balanced world, hunting might make sense for those who eat meat.  In the 2018 world, it's just another excuse for humans to see themselves as better or different than the rest of life which, I beg to argue, we are not.

Sorry, T, we agree on much, but I have to differ here.

For the most part hunters are cowards ... you don’t need to apologize for your views...

Another thing about hunters ... sitting camaflouged in some sort of tree stand, ground cover, duck blind with a killing weapon does not make you anything but a coward ... and in many cases they have baited these areas to attract wildlife ... then BOOM, bye, bye wildlife.  Why don’t hunters take on a black bear with some good old fashion hand to bear paw combat...now that’s a sport I’d to see.

They don’t hunt for sustenance or health like they claim ... 

PJPOWER

other

You anti-hunter guys have obviously never had a bite of my awesome venison fajitas, lol.  Sure to make even the most avid vegan’s mouth water

Bentleyspop

Yes

Meltdown99 said:

brianlux said:

I'm with lastexit on the hunting issue.  I don't see any reason for it.  If you eat meat, there are alternatives that are not environmentally destructive, starting with vegetarian, of course.  But there are also low impact animal husbandry farms.  True, there aren't enough so that 7.6 billion people can gorge on meat the way Americans do, but in 2018, cutting down  or cutting out meat consumption makes the best sense. 

I've read plenty of articles that talk about hunting as a way to stabilize the overpopulation of deer  but that simply avoids the issue that deer are overpopulated because their natural predators have been killed of or driven off their habitat.  Hunting is an anthropocentric solution to a human caused problem.  The logical, natural, biocentric solution is to bring life back into balance by allowing ecosystems to restore to their natural balance.  In a balanced world, hunting might make sense for those who eat meat.  In the 2018 world, it's just another excuse for humans to see themselves as better or different than the rest of life which, I beg to argue, we are not.

Sorry, T, we agree on much, but I have to differ here.

For the most part hunters are cowards ... you don’t need to apologize for your views...

Another thing about hunters ... sitting camaflouged in some sort of tree stand, ground cover, duck blind with a killing weapon does not make you anything but a coward ... and in many cases they have baited these areas to attract wildlife ... then BOOM, bye, bye wildlife.  Why don’t hunters take on a black bear with some good old fashion hand to bear paw combat...now that’s a sport I’d to see.

They don’t hunt for sustenance or health like they claim ... 

Support the right to arm bears

Thirty Bills Unpaid

Yes

The attack on hunters is unwarranted in this context.

In the trophy hunting thread... I'd be arm in arm with you, but here it's not helpful.

Hunting for your own protein is more respectable than buying it from Costco. And to the vegetarian/naturalist types that flaunt their awesomeness... do you wear leather shoes? Do you drive your VW vans- smoke spewing from the tailpipes- to the logging protests? Do you have a dog or cat (Meltdown I see one in your avatar)? Do you feed them pet food? Do you know what's in pet food? Do you know how unethical the protein was raised in typical pet food? My point is: you're not as wholesome as you think and probably shouldn't flaunt yourself as the world's saviour.

tbergs

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

The attack on hunters is unwarranted in this context.

In the trophy hunting thread... I'd be arm in arm with you, but here it's not helpful.

Hunting for your own protein is more respectable than buying it from Costco. And to the vegetarian/naturalist types that flaunt their awesomeness... do you wear leather shoes? Do you drive your VW vans- smoke spewing from the tailpipes- to the logging protests? Do you have a dog or cat (Meltdown I see one in your avatar)? Do you feed them pet food? Do you know what's in pet food? Do you know how unethical the protein was raised in typical pet food? My point is: you're not as wholesome as you think and probably shouldn't flaunt yourself as the world's saviour.

I agree. Hunters are the least of my concerns when it comes to the shit that is destroying this world and our society. I don't agree with trophy hunting or hunters who do it just to shoot shit, but I think that's a small percentage of the overall hunting population.

Honestly though, if we ever get gun violence under control, when will we tackle the over population issue? 

brianlux

Yes

tbergs said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

The attack on hunters is unwarranted in this context.

In the trophy hunting thread... I'd be arm in arm with you, but here it's not helpful.

Hunting for your own protein is more respectable than buying it from Costco. And to the vegetarian/naturalist types that flaunt their awesomeness... do you wear leather shoes? Do you drive your VW vans- smoke spewing from the tailpipes- to the logging protests? Do you have a dog or cat (Meltdown I see one in your avatar)? Do you feed them pet food? Do you know what's in pet food? Do you know how unethical the protein was raised in typical pet food? My point is: you're not as wholesome as you think and probably shouldn't flaunt yourself as the world's saviour.

I agree. Hunters are the least of my concerns when it comes to the shit that is destroying this world and our society. I don't agree with trophy hunting or hunters who do it just to shoot shit, but I think that's a small percentage of the overall hunting population.

Honestly though, if we ever get gun violence under control, when will we tackle the over population issue? 

I have held (and still hold) that over-population is one one the biggest (maybe even THE biggest) catalyst to all the myriad problems that we face in the world.  If we used current technology and the lessons learned through history, and if the world population for the human species was stable at around 500 million instead of 7.6 billion people, everyone could have what we need to live comfortably and competition for resources (a major cause of war) would only create problems in a few small isolated places. 

I said something similar to this a few years ago and someone asked me how I expect our numbers to decrease that much.  My response was that it this will happen either way- either by choice, through massive war, or nature will reduce our numbers through a pandemic.  The ecological term is "carrying capacity".  When a species reaches that point, die-off follows.  We are there.

Thirty Bills Unpaid

Yes

We are certainly well past the critical threshold and are spiralling downwards.

It's going to sound callous, but if we solved world hunger and poverty... this world would implode really quickly.

Imagine even 3 billion more households consuming in developed world fashion.

mfc2006

Yes

I truly don’t understand how this is even a question at this point.

Meltdown99

Bentleyspop said:

Meltdown99 said:

brianlux said:

I'm with lastexit on the hunting issue.  I don't see any reason for it.  If you eat meat, there are alternatives that are not environmentally destructive, starting with vegetarian, of course.  But there are also low impact animal husbandry farms.  True, there aren't enough so that 7.6 billion people can gorge on meat the way Americans do, but in 2018, cutting down  or cutting out meat consumption makes the best sense. 

I've read plenty of articles that talk about hunting as a way to stabilize the overpopulation of deer  but that simply avoids the issue that deer are overpopulated because their natural predators have been killed of or driven off their habitat.  Hunting is an anthropocentric solution to a human caused problem.  The logical, natural, biocentric solution is to bring life back into balance by allowing ecosystems to restore to their natural balance.  In a balanced world, hunting might make sense for those who eat meat.  In the 2018 world, it's just another excuse for humans to see themselves as better or different than the rest of life which, I beg to argue, we are not.

Sorry, T, we agree on much, but I have to differ here.

For the most part hunters are cowards ... you don’t need to apologize for your views...

Another thing about hunters ... sitting camaflouged in some sort of tree stand, ground cover, duck blind with a killing weapon does not make you anything but a coward ... and in many cases they have baited these areas to attract wildlife ... then BOOM, bye, bye wildlife.  Why don’t hunters take on a black bear with some good old fashion hand to bear paw combat...now that’s a sport I’d to see.

They don’t hunt for sustenance or health like they claim ... 

Support the right to arm bears

Lol

Meltdown99

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

The attack on hunters is unwarranted in this context.

In the trophy hunting thread... I'd be arm in arm with you, but here it's not helpful.

Hunting for your own protein is more respectable than buying it from Costco. And to the vegetarian/naturalist types that flaunt their awesomeness... do you wear leather shoes? Do you drive your VW vans- smoke spewing from the tailpipes- to the logging protests? Do you have a dog or cat (Meltdown I see one in your avatar)? Do you feed them pet food? Do you know what's in pet food? Do you know how unethical the protein was raised in typical pet food? My point is: you're not as wholesome as you think and probably shouldn't flaunt yourself as the world's saviour.

Hunting is equally as unethical ...

CountingSteps

Yes

Seen from abroad, that's a no brainer. Should've been done a long time ago.

PJPOWER

other

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

The attack on hunters is unwarranted in this context.

In the trophy hunting thread... I'd be arm in arm with you, but here it's not helpful.

Hunting for your own protein is more respectable than buying it from Costco. And to the vegetarian/naturalist types that flaunt their awesomeness... do you wear leather shoes? Do you drive your VW vans- smoke spewing from the tailpipes- to the logging protests? Do you have a dog or cat (Meltdown I see one in your avatar)? Do you feed them pet food? Do you know what's in pet food? Do you know how unethical the protein was raised in typical pet food? My point is: you're not as wholesome as you think and probably shouldn't flaunt yourself as the world's saviour.

Totally agree as someone that does hunt, but does not hang skulls on my wall.  Taxidermy has never been my forte, but I have had some people tell me that they keep the “trophy” to remember the hunt (like taking a picture I guess). 
I simply prefer to know where the food that I feed my family comes from.  In my opinion, hunting for food is no less ethical than gardening for food.  And FYI to the anti-hunters, you are most definitely not going to pass any gun control efforts on the platform of “hunting is bad”.  

brianlux

Yes

PJPOWER said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

The attack on hunters is unwarranted in this context.

In the trophy hunting thread... I'd be arm in arm with you, but here it's not helpful.

Hunting for your own protein is more respectable than buying it from Costco. And to the vegetarian/naturalist types that flaunt their awesomeness... do you wear leather shoes? Do you drive your VW vans- smoke spewing from the tailpipes- to the logging protests? Do you have a dog or cat (Meltdown I see one in your avatar)? Do you feed them pet food? Do you know what's in pet food? Do you know how unethical the protein was raised in typical pet food? My point is: you're not as wholesome as you think and probably shouldn't flaunt yourself as the world's saviour.

Totally agree as someone that does hunt, but does not hang skulls on my wall.  Taxidermy has never been my forte, but I have had some people tell me that they keep the “trophy” to remember the hunt (like taking a picture I guess). 
I simply prefer to know where the food that I feed my family comes from.  In my opinion, hunting for food is no less ethical than gardening for food.  And FYI to the anti-hunters, you are most definitely not going to pass any gun control efforts on the platform of “hunting is bad”.  

The only way I can see gardening being as unethical as hunting is if it involves loss of species habitat.  Big agra mono-cropping with pesticides is definitely not earth friendly and thus could be called unethical.  Any farming that destroys species habitat is unhealthy for an ecosystem.  Companion planting and including flowering species that attract beneficial insects makes much more sense  which is why we support our local farmer's market.  With world population of 7.6 billion people and loss of habitat, hunting is not a logical or wise choice.  &.6 billion might be able to subsist on agriculture but on hunting?  No way.

FYI, I am not anti-hunter, I am anti-hunting.  Big difference.