Being a former Sniper I only thought it natural that I take up hunting.

I went out and bought a SWEET Winchester Model 70 Heavy Varmit with synhetic stock ect..

Got a Moose tag and off I went in to the deep bush of the North. I came across a HUGE Bull. I had an easy 200 yard shot. I lined him up in my cross hairs and I couldn't do it. It was WAY too easy. Then it struck me. If I were to kill this animal I would be the last person to ever experience it's beauty.

I traded in my my rifles (had to keep the pistols) and decided that I would still hunt wildlife, but now I use a Canon.


CLICK IMAGE

very cool post!there are lots of ways to hunt without the killing part ,cool! i love the woods and know tracking trapping and hunting ,heh i hunt ginseng ,and like my ancesters i only take what i need and i say a prayer over each plant i dig . in the deep woods is the only place i truely feel safe ,cause there are no people there ,

EXACTLY!

Working with my bees helps keep me even. In the winter (when they're not around), I like to draw.

awesome post onefastbike...thanks for sharing your wildlife pics. A much better way to hunt them, i definitely agree. Sometimes i go fishing in the northwoods of wisconsin, and the lakes, trees and wildlife there are breathtakingly amazing. theres something about fiishing in the same lakes that bald eagles fish (right next to me even!) that brings me an unmatchable peace in my soul. wish i could be out there every day. The only thing I'm working on is getting a nice clear picture of the eagles... they're tricky to get! maybe when i do i'll share as well

peace,
-cpt.

I think that spending time alone in nature is very important to the healing process. When you look around and see all the beauty, and how peacful life can be it helps you realize that monsters aren't lurking around ever corner.

I also discovered as I typed this post that ALL my greatest joys are solitary. (well except maybe sex..lol)

I love SCUBA (so peaceful) and I love riding my motorcycles. Noone can talk to you when you are under water or on your bike..

On an side note: here is a link to a photography site that I contribute to. These are some GREAT Bald Eagel pics.

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/500492

Beautiful pics.

Wow Ken, you have a gift. These are breathtaking pics. Guess that sniper training paid off.

I gave up hunting many years ago for pretty much the same reasons you did. I still love shooting though. I pretty much stuck to shotguns, although I love shooting rifles too. I always found it very relaxing, but I gave it up when I moved to the city.

I was invited to join a handgun club the other day so I might get back into the sport. Sounds like a good club, although I hear it's full of ex CF special forces so the competition will be tough.

OFB - Great pics! I envy your experiences with the wildlife. I used to live in Maine and miss that aspect of life. Thanks for the reminder of how beautiful a world we live in.
Paul

I hate hunters and too feel safe in woods.
There is beauty in every animal, especially
game birds.
Love the pics.

This is a group that I help maintain.

[url]http://flickr.com/groups/voices/[/url]






Beware of this wild critter!

Post deleted by jacobtk

i think humans need nature to really be happy, after all, that is where we come from. and we may live in big ugly cities now but nature and the earth are our natural homes. i love to be in the woods or out in the middle of nowhere, in a field, or the desert, anywhere really. i grew up playing in the woods and outside. it was the only place that was safe and it was "mine." i am miserable now that i cant get out into nature. fuck this city. i think everyone could use a good walk through the woods now and then, at the very least

I think the county, the woods bring us back as little boys.
The innocence and beauty of seeing birds and other wildlife
going about their somewhat uncomplicated lives.
Of course, that is not the case when we wipe out their food
chain by using pesticides etc.

Kill the bugs, which the birds feed on, we are killing off
nature, just as we kill ourselves in war.
When? Will they ever learn the true beauty of life, which is
there for all to see, if they only open their eyes,

ste

The photographs above are excellent and show the real beauty that can be found around us if only we look. Wish I had a dog like that one Ste, but I work shifts and it wouldn't be fair.

The references to nature remind me of when I used to visit my maternal grandparents as a child. They lived next to a wood (Brancepath Forest actually). I used to go for walks with my Grandfather / Uncle and others - there are many magical memories related to that time.

What I absolutely remember was standing outside of my Grandparents house in the Autumn, right next to the trees which just seemed to disappear into the sky. When the leaves were dry, and it blew a gale - the sound was absolutely awesome. I used to stand there, half terrified at the noise, but so in awe of it that I had to stand and listen. That's probably why I find it so easy to chill out now by listening to bands like Metallica and Motorhead. Powerful as those bands are (I've also seen both live), they will never match the power of the wind in those trees that I experienced as a child!

Being brought up in such natural surroundings has given me a positive memory bank that I can dip into at times when things are not so good.

Wish it had stayed like that, and that we never moved from that area!

Thanks to rock music, and all those that produce it - that's what kept me going over the years!

Best wishes ...Rik

I love bugs! Certain kinds, to be sure, but still!

well if we are posting pics of nature and stuff...

here is some pictures i took in new mexico. sorry for the bad quality, i only had a disposable camera. these were taken the last time that i was there, i hope to live there again one day, it is where i grew up.

Great photographs. I have to admit that said "Wow" to myself when I saw those.

My personal recourse to find sanity is to build high voltage gadgets. Getting online and surfing out intellectual curiosities brings peace, order, and joy to the world inside my head.

I like the pictures guys

John

I love nature AND the big city, I could live in either area, (as long as I could have high speed internet lol).

Last summer I was riding my bike along a lonely stretch of road and a HUGE wild turkey ran across the road in front of me. I could NEVER take pleasure in killing such a cool creature. Although I WOULD do it if I knew what I was doing was in harmony with nature, and that I actually ate the bird and didn't adversely effect it's population.

I guess what I'm getting at is that I think it's cool to hunt if you still respect nature, much as the Indians did, when they killed a buffalo, they used EVERY part of the creature and didn't take them for granted. They respected nature and I think it's cool how they lived here for thousands of years without making species going extinct like the westerners have done since coming here.

Hello!

Thanks for photos. They are really cool. I would like to be closer to the wild nature and see these birds and animals.

I also wanted to put my photo, even though it is more of town life.

[img]http://s135.photobucket.com/albums/q139/Alexeys_photos/?action=view¤t=IMG_05281.jpg[/img]

Alexey