Welcome Home...THANK YOU FOR BEING A PART OF OUR COMMUNITY

iKnife Collector

The online community of knife collectors, A Knife Family Forged in Steel

Hunters Beware!

Thought my blog was the most appropriate place to post this.

First let me say that what happened to Cecil the lion was wrong. Bad hunt, sloppy kill, (took 40 hours), idiotic corrupt guides, pompous dumb ass hunter, etc, etc. However, I don't feel that dweeb dentist represents the average hunter, I think he's a disgrace, and not a responsible sportsman in any sense of the word. A responsible sportsman would never have put themselves in that position in the first place, but unfortunately what he did WILL affect the rest of us. I haven't hunted for years, but I'm well aware that hunters do more to support conservation than almost ANY other group of people, and that the general public isn't aware of where conservation funds come from, namely licensing fees paid by hunters/fishers. Hunting is about family, friends and tradition for most folks, and this guy, along with all such greed oriented low self esteem "trophy" hunters just poked us all in the eye with a big stick. Ok, that being said, read what happened to me today.

I was listening to a local AM radio call-in talk show today, and they had a PETA-type person on as an in-studio guest taking calls & talking about that unfortunate lion. Basically the discussion quickly degraded to the point where every single caller, and of course the PETA-person felt that ALL hunting in general was just plain evil and they said so repeatedly. Usually the host tries to get both sides of an issue out there, but today that didn't happen. It turned from the tragedy of an improperly hunted lion to a genuine hatred of all things hunting, and a despising of all hunters. I know the host personally, and have been a guest on his show in the past, so I wanted to call in to "balance" the discussion somewhat. Unfortunately I couldn't get to a phone in time. Instead I posted a message of support for "responsible" hunters on the show's FB page, and you would think I had skinned a kitten and ate it raw in Sunday School or something. For over four hours I've been getting hate responses to my single post. Hunters, (me included of course), are evil, flawed, awful, you name it. I tried to respond with science and facts, but no, they didn't want to hear that. Right now I'm getting hate responses every few minutes, just for trying to inform how hunting/fishing license fees provide such a major portion of conservation income for most states, but the fringe element isn't having any of it. How supposedly intelligent people form opinions based totally on emotion, misinformation and hatred is beyond me. I know what I know because I know the facts, and my opinions are based on those facts. What a sad thing it is that so many actually choose to live their lives in ignorance! Beware hunters, we have now become the prey!

3 members like this

Add a Comment

You need to be a member of iKnife Collector to add comments!

Join iKnife Collector

Featured Comment by Charles Sample on July 30, 2015 at 21:49: Syd, definitely give us the date and time. I do want to listen and will try to call in also.

Comment by Syd Carr on July 30, 2015 at 21:32: Thanks Charles, I need the support. However, I have some news to report on the situation.

The radio show host I mentioned earlier, Dave Congalton on radio station KVEC 920 AM in San Luis Obispo, CA, the one who yelled at me online, finally answered my calls and invited me onto his show next week. Of course I will then become even more of a target than I am already, but I am determined to get my informed opinion out there and defend my beliefs. I plan on asking a local fish & game official to come with me to help explain how conservation money is generated, or possibly some other like-minded person who is well versed in such manners. Hopefully I can spread a little truth after all, at least locally. When I get the date and time of that hour-long segment I'll post it here, (probably around 3 pm PST), as that station broadcasts live online as well as over the air. Any of you interested in the subject will be able to listen online in real time nationally; I hope many of you do just that. They also have a toll free telephone number, so you will have the opportunity to call in too. Finally some good news, hopefully I will have some callers who agree with me and I won't get beat up too much....please stay tuned!!

Featured Comment by Charles Sample on July 30, 2015 at 17:57: Syd, it is not you that is flawed. It is the anti gun people. They are totally irrational. They won't listen to the truth because they don't care about the truth. They have made up their minds and are not going to let you confuse them with the facts. They just know they hate guns.

As example of how they think, several years ago there was a schoolyard shooting spree in I believe Stockton California. Congress was holding their mandatory gun control hearings. An NRA official was testifying before a Senate committee. He said the NRA would not help to ban any guns but would do anything they could to help control crime. Senator Metzenbaum showed his true colors. He got mad and blurted out "We are not here to control crime. We are here to control guns!"

Comment by Syd Carr on July 30, 2015 at 14:29: Thanks for the kind words everyone. It's nice not to be called evil and flawed anymore. It's sickening to me that I'm viewed that way locally just because I know a little truth.

Comment by Syd Carr on July 30, 2015 at 14:16: Before all my guns were stolen I was an NRA member too. What struck me so hard was the downright willful ignorance and hateful venom I was hearing from supposedly otherwise intelligent people. I live on the edge of a National Marine Sanctuary, and right next to a National Wildlife Sanctuary, both of which would be non existent if not for monies obtained from hunting and fishing license fees. Both of those areas are visited and loved by hoards of tourists, and it's amazing that most of them have no idea that they are supported by hunting and fishing. The radio show host has refused to give equal time to pro hunting interests, even though we are acquainted and I asked him personally. I even know a game warden who would have been happy to go on his show to explain how it works. Even the fact that I am a former zookeeper didn't convince him that I know that of which I speak, or at least he didn't feel my opinion, or my knowledge counted enough to warrant a segment on his show. So much for fair and balanced media. He is usually very fair and open to differing opinions, but not this time.

I really didn't expect my name to be smeared so badly locally because of this ignorance and hatred, but what's done is done. Honestly I was quite shocked by the response I got. I sincerely hope it hasn't damaged the non profit I help run, which I am well known for locally. We give money to school children for summer educational activities every year, that would be sad, and it would be wholly wrong if it does.

Featured Comment by Charles Sample on July 30, 2015 at 13:54: I have been an NRA member for many years. I additionally have contributed to the NRA ILA several times. I have also decided to join GOA.

From all the statistics that I have read, there are at least 70,000,000 gun owners in this country. If half of them or even a fourth would join the NRA and vote as a block, we could control every election in this county. No politician that wanted to keep his job would vote against us. I have found that if they are right on guns, they are usually right on the rest.

Everybody that wants to keep their guns needs to join the NRA!

Comment by Jan Carter on July 30, 2015 at 13:37: Syd,

I am sorry the response to education has been so harsh for you. This response to all hunting was bound to happen based on this one moron. I am going to repeat something here I have said often, I do not hunt. Until we moved recently I did not own a gun, Donnie owned plenty and hunted for many, many years.

I do however believe that owning a gun is our right. Hunting is a privilege. Those that use the privilege correctly keep populations down, help feed families and as you said fund the conservation efforts. With that being said, those that abhor it will always abhor it. So here is our only hope, The NRA, The National Assoc. of Gun Rights, Gun owners of America. Support someone that is working to support you and your rights.

Featured Comment by Charles Sample on July 30, 2015 at 13:29: Good Syd. I would just add that hunters and fishermen provide more funds for conservation that any other group. In fact I have read in the past that they provide more than all other groups combined. There is not only the licenses and tags they buy from the states. There is also federal duck stamps and a federal excise tax on all fishing and shooting gear which btw was requested to be imposed by hunters and fishermen. The excise tax is then distributed to the state conservation departments.