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So what exactly is fair chase?

DeerCamp said:
I don't know... and I have no desire to make that decision for anyone else.

But predatory animals in the wild use baiting techniques to capture prey all the time. Are we going to try and make the argument that nature isn't fair chase?
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Wolves lick their own anus, boar bears eat their cubs so if you wanna lump yourself into that category so be it, but I'll never lick a butt or eat my kid.
With that said, my ethics evolve every year and become more and more defined. As the American population becomes more disconnected from the farm I feel like our ethics, as hunters/outdoorsmen, become more relevant.
 
tug said:
This is a deer oriented forum. But the topic is universal. Here is another example.

Quail. Do you shoot them on the ground?

Grouse. Do you shoot them out of a tree?

Ducks. Do you shoot them on the water?

All three examples are legal. Would you model to your child this sort of shooting? I would not. But hey, you do you.

The list goes on. Don't get trapped in the only deer context.
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Sorry but I just have to tell this humorous story. For several years I have tried duck hunting on the cheap without having a boat. I live on a lake and there are spots where the water is only Waist Deep 30 or 40 yards from shore. I set out decoys and sit on the shore in a chair surrounded by camo netting. One time two years ago I noticed a small flock of waterfowl swimming parallel to the shore and I knew they would encounter my decoys. They were not Ducks they were actually grebes and I was entertained to see them swimming among my decoys looking puzzled. One seemed to be lagging behind. As it got closer I realized it was not a grebe, it was a duck. I'm not sure what kind of duck it was, small with a brown head looking lonesome. It came up into my decoys. My plan was to jump up from behind my camo netting and shoot the duck when it flew. Well I did that but the duck refused to fly, it just kept swimming among my decoys. I couldn't bring myself to blast it. I just watched as it swam away. I don't feel bad about that at all.
 
rifle02 said:
Sorry but I just have to tell this humorous story. For several years I have tried duck hunting on the cheap without having a boat. I live on a lake and there are spots where the water is only Waist Deep 30 or 40 yards from shore. I set out decoys and sit on the shore in a chair surrounded by camo netting. One time two years ago I noticed a small flock of waterfowl swimming parallel to the shore and I knew they would encounter my decoys. They were not Ducks they were actually grebes and I was entertained to see them swimming among my decoys looking puzzled. One seemed to be lagging behind. As it got closer I realized it was not a grebe, it was a duck. I'm not sure what kind of duck it was, small with a brown head looking lonesome. It came up into my decoys. My plan was to jump up from behind my camo netting and shoot the duck when it flew. Well I did that but the duck refused to fly, it just kept swimming among my decoys. I couldn't bring myself to blast it. I just watched as it swam away. I don't feel bad about that at all.
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Smarrrrrrt Duck!
 
Spurhunter said:
This is a very interesting topic, but I see several mentions of what's legal. Allowing government to decide what is fair chase, or ethical, or moral is always a bad idea. Obviously we must follow the law, but that should be where we start, not where we end.
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Damned right!

The government is neither bound or constrained by law except in theory. In fact, all governments base their real authority on the premise that you can be killed for disobeying.
 
I do agree with fair chase, but I am many times conflicted between fair chase and opportunity. If I am hunting anything but predators it is for meat so when am opportunity arises I seize it. Doe, buck(small/ big), bird in a tree or on the ground, even a trout trapped in a little puddle. I think the animals will always have the advantage being what their senses are like and they live out there 24/7. My thought and what many have told me take that opportunity because it will not arise again. I hunt for meat because I prefer a leaner meat processed by me not because of any other reason. I do have many moments I want the challenge hence I have always bow hunted and prefer that, although for me it's hard to take a bow when rifle opens.

I think this is a personal matter, that each deals with very differently. Lots of interesting points here
 
RobDooley said:
we will always have an unfair advantage unless we hunt with a spear or slingshot.
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Following that line of thought, using our bare hands would be the only fair way.

Wild animals will always have an advantage over us if we hold to that restriction. They're faster, stronger, and have a far more developed sense of inherent wariness.

Unless we use our brains and opposable thumbs to make tools to even things up, we'd probably never kill them. The question to me would be, where do we draw the line on that?
 
rifle02 said:
Sorry but I just have to tell this humorous story. For several years I have tried duck hunting on the cheap without having a boat. I live on a lake and there are spots where the water is only Waist Deep 30 or 40 yards from shore. I set out decoys and sit on the shore in a chair surrounded by camo netting. One time two years ago I noticed a small flock of waterfowl swimming parallel to the shore and I knew they would encounter my decoys. They were not Ducks they were actually grebes and I was entertained to see them swimming among my decoys looking puzzled. One seemed to be lagging behind. As it got closer I realized it was not a grebe, it was a duck. I'm not sure what kind of duck it was, small with a brown head looking lonesome. It came up into my decoys. My plan was to jump up from behind my camo netting and shoot the duck when it flew. Well I did that but the duck refused to fly, it just kept swimming among my decoys. I couldn't bring myself to blast it. I just watched as it swam away. I don't feel bad about that at all.
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Teal are notorious for this. My experience (a while ago) as a falconer is that teal just won't fly if there's a threat in the area. With a falcon overhead, if you try to flush the ducks then go up a few feet and dump right back into the water as soon as they see the falcon. Sorry, a bit of a digression there.
 
If it's legal, and you're happy with it, that's all that matters to me. I don't need to be petted by anyone on any social platform, although I do like a good petting
 
Lost Lake said:
Following that line of thought, using our bare hands would be the only fair way.

Wild animals will always have an advantage over us if we hold to that restriction. They're faster, stronger, and have a far more developed sense of inherent wariness.

Unless we use our brains and opposable thumbs to make tools to even things up, we'd probably never kill them. The question to me would be, where do we draw the line on that?
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right, like the Indians. Jump out of tree on its back and cut its throat.
 
RobDooley said:
we will always have an unfair advantage unless we hunt with a spear or slingshot
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One could argue that a spear is an unfair advantage.

A wolf doesn't have a spear. A lion doesn't have a slingshot.

But we do have incisors like they do.
 
knightrider said:
Just for wandering minds, why is a buck worth more than a doe? Are they both not just deer?
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Bragging rights is all I can think of. And I'm not saying that's a bad thing.

I mean we all like big antlers. If we didn't, we wouldn't let a buck walk by thinking I'll let him grow another year. Or even better, you shoot what you think is a good buck and somebody makes a comment like you should of let him grow another year.
 

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