I only mentioned that the binocular was to be used for hunting in addition to birding. I didn't delve into the details of my hunting trips, or the animals I'd be targeting. I simply said the "H-word" so people would better understand my intentions.
Then another member came along and said something rude/petty (along the lines of "I was going to help you, but now I don't give a f***"). That spurred another member to pass comment on the practice of hunting, to which I gave a diplomatic reply (which again didn't involve any nitty gritty details). That member was fine with what I wrote, and we all moved on.
Later, another member provided a link to an article which was part of a hunting oriented website - but the article only discussed the merits of high magnification optics v.s low power optics. There were no graphic images on the page etc.
,
I acknowledge that there are rules on this forum which must be followed, and I'll take care to not mention the word 'hunting' ever again.
With that said - it's sad that some 'adults' cannot seem to grasp that they share this planet with people who hold different values to them, or have grown up in different circumstances to what they have. Diversity is both a blessing and a curse.
Truth bomb By virtue of living on this planet, we are ALL contributing to the loss of life. Whether you're a vegetarian or a meat eater; devout animal lover; blood thirsty killer; or anywhere in-between. You can either accept it or sink your head into the sand.
Everything's not so black and white. Many hunters I've met over the years were passionate wildlife photographers, birders, conservationists, practicing ecologists, farmers, vets...the list goes on.
Taking the life of an animal in order to
EAT it, is NOT an indicator of a person's affinity (or lack thereof) towards life on this planet. If anything, it fosters a grounded, real-life perspective on where food comes from and where we (humans) sit on the food chain in relation to all else.
I live in New Zealand. We've got a long tradition of hunting, and most of our country is covered in rugged wilderness which is absolutely crawling with deer, tahr, chamois, hares, pigs - you name it. If we don't control them, their numbers will sky rocket.
There are three options:
- Poison them and leave the carcasses to rot (cruel and a terrible waste of meat).
- Shoot them from helicopters (which often results in wounded animals) and, again, leave the carcasses to rot.
- OR, encourage people young and old to get out in the hills - where they'll get plenty of exercise and fresh air; forge friendships; be exposed to all manner of wild creatures (including birds) and ancient forests; and learn how to ethically harvest wild animals and make use of the meat.
^ All sorts of life skills are learnt in the process - from outdoor navigation, to survival skills, cooking skills, and interpersonal skills. As far as young people are concerned - it sure beats being stuck at home watching TV, browsing social media, or getting up to no good out on the streets.
Depression and juvenile delinquency has sky-rocketed in New Zealand over the past few decades - especially among males. Involvement in activities such as fishing and hunting have decreased as more and more people flock to cities. Is their a link?
I do NOT look down on people who choose not to hunt, or who don't support the practice. I come from a non-hunting family. I totally get it.
But I'd still share a beer with someone who wasn't enamored with the idea of hunting, as long as they didn't let their values interfere with the way they saw me as a person. It's okay to disagree with one another, is it not? Does disagreeing with somebody make them your enemy? I certainly don't think so.
en.wikipedia.org
: Someone dropped the idea in that thread of combining 7x42 binoculars for low light and viewing comfort with a 2x booster when in occasional need for more magnification when carrying a scope would be too heavy. I don’t remember who that was, but I am still curious about the experience of people having tried that out (for nature observation of course, mainly birds). It sounds like an interesting idea to me for when I cannot or don’t need to carry my scope (e.g. harder mountain hikes, or when I’ll mainly be in dense woods) but would like to have some higher magnification for that occasional more distant bird I cannot ID at 7-8x. Maybe the start of an interesting new thread... 
