Do I feel bad about shooting ducks?

No.


Kevin

 

If a pig loses is voice, is it now disgruntled...?

/Paul

 

With SRS "shooting" ATB's. And training videos going away from using the real thing. I got to thinking.

Are we digging our own grave? Should we feel bad about shooting flyers? Should we feel bad about throwing real ducks? Who watching would be offended by using the real thing? Is our attempt at "political correctness" actually going to be used against us to take away our future rights? Are we letting "Corporate America's" attempt to bring in a few more viewers cost us the very nature of the game we love? Will our duck hunting videos show a flock of "dokkens" coming into the deeks instead of mallards?

It's funny, I was actually thinking about this a few days ago. I tend to lean toward being ok with the idea that rubber ducks are a little easier for the general public to watch. I am not however, naive enough at all to believe that having people out with shotguns in a mock hunt can somehow keep the AR folks from being against it. So I think the average person that may not hunt but doesn't really have a huge opinion of it one way or another is the person that its really for. Think about it...some kid sitting in his living room watching because dogs are cool. City slicker mom walks by just as a live flyer is blasted with a couple of shots, only to land in the water still somewhat alive quacking and flopping its head in and out of the water. Not so sure thats good for the sport as a whole. :wink:

 

Friends,

I mean this with all sincerity --

It is the people who have a problem with us shooting ducks, that have the problem.

They are either ignorant or intellectually dishonest -- reasoning with their hearts, instead of their minds.

 

Sooner wisdom shines through again. I echo achiro in regard to the doggy games on TV.

But to answer the question, no, I don't feel bad about shooting ducks. I think they are needed in training and I enjoy seeing the dogs get ramped up for the real thing. In hunting, well, it just makes me happy. I love to shoot them, send the dogs, and then eat them after a short amount of time on the grill.

No bird dogs without birds regards

 

Do I feel bad about shooting ducks?

NO. I feel bad when I miss!!!!!!

 

Oh-this is a great question. I don't hunt as much as most of the folks on RTF, but I get out a few times in the fall & I always have that goosebump (no pun intended) feeling when the ducks are coming in and my dog is getting an opportunity to do what he/she is bred for & lives and breathes to do. So-no I don't feel badly shooting ducks.

I've live gunned at tests & trials & I try not to "look 'em in the eye" before bringing 'em down :wink: Still-there are things you just can't test for w/out live birds & any retriever worth his salt will show you what he's made of when he gets a cripple or shakes on line because he can't wait to have those feathers in his mouth. You can't duplicate that-even though you can test marking & blind work-with Dokkens.

I'd stop running if tests or trials didn't use real birds & just take my dog hunting.

M

 

It's just unfortunate when a topic like this comes up, especially titled as it is on a retriever training forum/bulletin board. No offense intended, sheriff....but the AR folks just LOVE when there's the perception of a ***** in the "armor" of a group whose foundation is based in hunting, which requires by its nature involves the harvesting of game.....aka, shooting ducks.

The easier it is for other groups, especially those with a TV presence, to use plastic birds/rubber/synthetic ducks in their games, the harder it will be for us to continue to justify the blood spilled in our pursuit of retriever perfection....even if the birds are raised with that specific end in mind.

If a pig loses is voice, is it now disgruntled...?

This phrase now hold the record for its place on the most threads.....why, I can only guess....

From the department of redundancy department regards,

kg

 

With SRS "shooting" ATB's......Are we digging our own grave?.....

Yes we are.

Hunting and retriever sports are not good spectator sports, period. If it was up to me they would all be off the TV, they do nothing absolutely nothing positive for the sport.

Throwing rubber ducks holds nothing but negative consequences for all sporting dogs.

 

Sorry guys, but I have voiced my opinion on this several times and I am sure I have very much offended the SRS and rubber duck crowd and was even asked to stop making the comments. I said it before and I will say it again, when you have a wildly popular venue, that is the only real venue to receive national television coverage, using rubber ducks it sets a very bad president for the other sports the prefer the use of real ducks. As Keith pointed out the very fact that you have a site devoted to retriever training, trialing, and testing that has members questioning the legitimacy of using real ducks you have a problem and the AR folks are having orgasms. This is a bad, bad thing. I like Justin and the others that are involved in SRS, but I truly believe that they have sold out our sport for their financial gain.
Do I have a problem with killing ducks be it for hunting or training…NO. That is what they are for in the case of training. They were hatched and raised to be sold for whatever purpose the buyer chooses. I don’t feel bad when I catch a pig and fatten it up before I BBQ it either, nor when I catch jacks, bonito, pilchards, or what have you for bait either.

 

If a pig loses is voice, is it now disgruntled...?

This phrase now hold the record for its place on the most threads.....why, I can only guess....

From the department of redundancy department regards,

kg

The phrase has become a symbol for my apathy towards questions that lead into a philosophical debate with no ending of value or noticeable purpose. I seem to find it applicable on her frequently.

/Paul

 

no

 

My wife heard at a hunt test a couple of weekends ago, " it is a shame to kill the ducks just so the dogs can fetch them". I couldn't believe it!! I thought that was why I was training the dog in the first place. I do not feel bad about shooting live flyers, I wish that I had a place to keep more of them so that we could train with them more often.

We may be hurting ourselves with the rubber ducks. At the same time, there are more people than ever interested in retrievers and their games. I would hope that the interest in retrievers equals an interest in the shooting sports. The wife would not touch a duck at first, now can ring a neck with the best of them. Why?, because she saw how much the dog loves to do its job.

 

If a pig loses is voice, is it now disgruntled...?

This phrase now hold the record for its place on the most threads.....why, I can only guess....

From the department of redundancy department regards,

kg

The phrase has become a symbol for my apathy towards questions that lead into a philosophical debate with no ending of value or noticeable purpose. I seem to find it applicable on her frequently.

/Paul

It figures that I thought it was a good question! I just took it literally-not as something w/ political ramifications.

M

 

Gotta agree with the Badbullgator on this one.

It is ridiculous to think we are appeasing the AR crowd by using rubber ducks. There base beliefs are against us from using dogs to do any work or hunt, they feel it is cruelty to the dogs. They have tried to ban hunting with dogs in many states for bear hunting, bird hunting would only be next. They are just chipping away at our rights and a few who cash in on these programs are facilitating it. Every time we give an inch they will ask for a foot more.

"Hiding" part of the sport for TV purposes is basically admitting that it is wrong.

 

My wife heard at a hunt test a couple of weekends ago, " it is a shame to kill the ducks just so the dogs can fetch them". I couldn't believe it!! I thought that was why I was training the dog in the first place. I do not feel bad about shooting live flyers, I wish that I had a place to keep more of them so that we could train with them more often.

We may be hurting ourselves with the rubber ducks. At the same time, there are more people than ever interested in retrievers and their games. I would hope that the interest in retrievers equals an interest in the shooting sports. The wife would not touch a duck at first, now can ring a neck with the best of them. Why?, because she saw how much the dog loves to do its job.

GA Belle (strange name for a guy)
So what if more people become interested in the sport if they want to play with rubber ducks? People will now point the finger and say “SRS can test dogs using rubber ducks, why does AKC or HRC have to use real ducks?” Most will never understand or care that the reason these dogs got to be as good as they are is because of a steady diet of real birds.
From everything I have seen there is no significant decline in numbers of people playing the games, in fact I see far more complaints about how many people are signing up for trials and the MN. Don’t get me wrong I have nothing against getting new blood into our sport, but not at the expense of adding fuel to the AR fire. Way, way more people (people that are not actually involved in dogs) lean toward the AR side of this argument than to ours.

 

Do I feel bad?

NO, I hunt 35-40 days a year.

First let me say that I do not believe that a piece of rubber even comes close to simulating the real thing and I train my dogs to be hunters, in the field, for the real thing. So not unless I plan on sitting outside of a plastics factory taking pop shots at incoming trucks do I feel that they truly represent what I intend for my dog to retrieve.
But ya know what does crack me up is the fact that when NAHRA said it was OK, the masses revolted and almost made the org go under. Although I think the reasons were different but the same. Now, because of Corporate sponsors ($), TV ($) and the notoriety associated with SRS ($) it's the most popular thing since sliced bread.

 

I am an avid waterfowler that hunts nearly every weekend of December and January. We kill lots of birds that are eventually consumed. Watching fliers shot in tests just doesn't bother me, BUT, to be honest, it does bother me (a bit) when I see piles of mallards in the sun covered in flies, knowing that they are going to be wasted. However, I myself have taken birds home for training. Soooo...

I have a gut feeling that we may(?) be headed in the direction of the "fakies". If it does happen. I bet the BIG boys, and the "R.O.Y.s" like myself, still show up.

I coach High School football/baseball down here in Texas and have seen TONS of rule changes that we DO NOT like, but we adapt, and the game goes on without a problem.

 

Kind of funny that most everyone here would throw a fit if the question asked was do we really need assault rifles? The overwhelming answer would be leave our guns alone. DM, your comments are just as dangerous as those that are playing with rubber ducks. It is a shame to see that we are not a united group on this topic. So what, I will still play Divide and concur… That is exactly what those who would like to see HT/FT stop using birds love to hear and it goes with my previous example that “if SRS can be successful…” Like a previous poster pointed out, first it will be the real birds, then it will be the e-collars, choke chains, pinch collars, heeling sticks……..and finally the poor dogs themselves.

 

I don't have a problem with killing ducks. I do have a problem with not treating them humanly while they are alive. They should be cared for and provided for, and then killed as quickly as possible.

/Paul

 

Sherff needs to go clean out a flight pen including scrubbing water containers and feed bins that service a couple of thousand birds.
:wink:

 

WOW!!! Comments about rubber ducks "dangerous"? Nobody is going to take our game away from us. I never said that I was against using birds. Heck, I played hundreds of games of "cup ball" as a kid when I didn't have the "real" thing; a baseball. It was still LOTS of fun!!!

BBG,
just an innocent YES or NO question; Would you quit playing the game if it were to come to competing with rubber ducks? Would you stomp your feet and QUIT, or keep playing??? You and I would both keep on playing!!!

 

With SRS "shooting" ATB's. And training videos going away from using the real thing. I got to thinking.

Are we digging our own grave? Should we feel bad about shooting flyers? Should we feel bad about throwing real ducks?

I Think about it...some kid sitting in his living room watching because dogs are cool. City slicker mom walks by just as a live flyer is blasted with a couple of shots, only to land in the water still somewhat alive quacking and flopping its head in and out of the water.

I guess you need to become a better shot. All mine fall dead and land on the little orange ribbon. :wink:

 

A few years ago I heard a FT would only send out the location/directions to those who have entered due to the meddling of the AR folks. Live or rubber ducks makes no difference to them, its like saying if we do (fill in the blank) the terrorist will hate us even more :roll:

 

The only time I feel bad about shooting ducks is when I miss.....so I guess my answer is ..... USUALLY I DO!!!