Ok guys I'm interested to know why some hunters refer to the game they kill as harvests? In my honest opinion you kill animals and harvest plants, but I'd like to know what guys that actually refer to it as harvest think.
Seems like that phrase comes from game management. More PC than kill.
I think it's due to people trying to be politically correct or repeating what they hear.
I'm with you. I harvest my crops and kill my venison. I don't have to make excuses 4 calling it what it is or downplay the significance.
I kill a deer, but in years past, "harvesting" came in vogue when anti-hunting efforts really hit the things to do lists for numerous groups. It seems to be less objectionable in some discussions.
It don't really make any difference what you call it, it's a lot of fun.
I remember reading that in a hunting magazine when I was about 8 yrs old and asking my Dad why do they say "harvest"? I won't repeat his answer here.
Tedd
I kill.
I guess its the same lingo as" meander and perch" Here, i will use it in a sentence. I was able to harvest the buck as it meandered by my perch. WT!@#"
Always hated the term.
Lots of guys said it but Sam summed it up best
I'm glad I read this. I get irritated when someone tells me how they "harvested" an animal. Started thinking I was the nutty one.
To me it seems downright disrespectful to the game to try to sugarcoat it. I kill and butcher an animal. I don't "harvest" and "process" an animal.
So let me get this right.
A butcher knife is a processing blade?
A skinning knife would be an epidermal delaminater?
A ground blind would be a visually impaired terra firma place?
A bow and arrow must be a dispatching delivery system.
:laughing: :knothead:
I completely understand the PC aspect and anti-hunting argument, etc. However, I refuse to use terms to appease people who disagree with my position. In my mind this simply strengthens their position and weakens mine. If you are ok with that, that's fine. I don't understand why you would choose that language in this setting unless it's simply to "train" yourself to use the term?
I dont know I did enjoy when our special forces "Harvested" bin laden!!!!!
I didn't want to post on this but I'm going to give my view anyways. My Grandfather use to use the term "harvesting" or "harvest" a animal and like a like some of the people here, it bothered me. But then one day I asked him why does he use the term "harvest" when it comes to hunting? He took a long minute before answering my question, he said "killing" is something I did throughout France and Germany during WW2 so I can never find the enjoyment out of using the word "kill" into something that I enjoy so much as hunting. And I can ensure you that him using the term had nothing to do with the "anti-gun movement" or being "politically correct"..
And after serving in the United States Army for fourteen years ,(1988-96 and 2002-08),. and doing 4 tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, I can fully understand why my grandfather used the term and have empathy. I am not saying that everyone that uses the term has the same reasoning that I do for using the term. And yes, it may be some individuals way of being politically correct in today's world but it's not mine. Just sharing my experience and thanks for taking the time to read my view.
JMG
I "harvest" the meat.
Only good way I have found to do this is to kill the animal.
Quote from: SteveB on December 18, 2018, 07:55:55 AM
I "harvest" the meat.
Only good way I have found to do this is to kill the animal.
Very well said Steve! I totally agree with your statement.
Honestly Im so sick of all the PC crap we as a society tolerate! Also who made these PC rules that were supposed to adhere to always wondered how this came about? Oh well going to go carve on a bow Im trying to make!
My mother in-law always asks if I "caught" anything, drives me nuts hahaha I don't catch animal I kill them...
Kopper, I have known a number of people who asked if somebody caught a deer. Most of the people I have known who used that term were not outdoor people, and, as far as I know had no feelings for or against hunting. They ignorantly used it in the same sense that one would ask you if you caught any fish. Therefore, I don't take offense at the use of that one.
The word harvest conveys that you are eating the deer that you kill. To us, it's a given that anything killed is eaten, but to a person unfamiliar with hunting doesn't know we know eating our kills. Most people are fine with the idea of hunting for meat but have a problem with "trophy hunters". I've had to make this distinction many times to non hunters in my few 22 years and I think the word harvest has more to the imagery put into the mind of non hunting types and less about yet another overreach of the PC movement
Quote from: Kopper1013 on December 18, 2018, 09:36:21 AM
My mother in-law always asks if I "caught" anything, drives me nuts hahaha I don't catch animal I kill them...
Yep, did you "catch" a deer, hear that a lot, strange. I also hear cull a deer, don't use that either.
I have yet to enjoy a fine deer backstrap without killing it first. Probably would clean my clock if i tried it on the hoof.
The term really does rub me the wrong way. I grew up in farming country where farmers raised their own beef and pork. They harvested corn and beans but I never heard a farmer speak of "harvesting a beef". They killed and butchered it--same with hogs. We cannot make our activity so clean and neat that the antis will finally see the light. However, in his drama Romeo and Juliet, the bard has Juliet saying to Romeo, "That which we call a rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet." So, I guess whatever floats your boat. :goldtooth:
You will never hear me using the term harvest when referring to a kill.harvest should be something you plant , cultivate then Harvest. Honestly though the way some hunting operations raise deer and charge you to hunt them I can see where that could be a harvest. But not a term I will ever be associated with in hunting .
Using the term harvest in referring to the killing and the preparing an animal to be used doesn't bother me in the least. What I absolutely cannot stand is hearing someone say they "smoked" an animal.
Quote from: Phillip Fields on December 20, 2018, 12:34:58 PM
Using the term harvest in referring to the killing and the preparing an animal to be used doesn't bother me in the least. What I absolutely cannot stand is hearing someone say they "smoked" an animal.
Exactly.
The word "harvest" implies a utilization that "kill" does not.
The number one question that non-hunters ask me when I mention that I killed a deer is, "Do you eat it?" I always reply that I do and that I do not know anyone that doesn't. It is generally a surprise to them.
I don't use the harvest term, but given the way that a lot of folks are growing their own critters -- planting food plots, putting out minerals, baiting, selective culling/trophy mgmt. etc., critters have pretty much become a crop, and one generally harvests crops.
Just thought I'd liven up the debate a little. :goldtooth:
What's wrong with "I shot a deer"? I've used it for decades.
Quote from: reddogge on December 20, 2018, 03:37:00 PM
What's wrong with "I shot a deer"? I've used it for decades.
Absolutely nothing wrong with that. That's what I say...at least when I have shot a deer. :biglaugh:
Have to agree with the "catch" a deer phrase. Always, thought it was a Spanish to English thing. I really don't have a problem with the "harvest" term, crops and game are both renewable resources. :archer: :coffee: :archer2:
I tend to think of the deer "harvest" as a reference to the overall number of animals killed in a season. The same way we refer to the deer "herd" in our area. But I don't say that I harvested an individual animal. I typically shoot or kill or miss them! I agree I find harvest less offensive than guys who wack, smoke, or slam a buck.
I prefer the term Harvest personally. Not because its PC, or softer to the public. I just think it better describes what I am doing out in the field.
Killing the animal is the unavoidable truth about what we do as hunters. It should not be hidden, downplayed or discounted. We are absolutely out there trying to take the life of a creature.
However, all the 1,000's and 1,000's of hours spent practicing with my bow, building my equipment, researching tactics, preparing for the hunt, time spent in the field chasing game, field care after the kill, documentation of photographs after recovery, preparing the food for my table, sharing the nutrition with my family and friends... It just seems using the simple word "kill" to describe what I do is cheap.
Do I kill the animals I hunt? Absolutely. So do poachers / head hunters / ivory hunters.
I feel like I owe what we do as sportsman and bowhunters a better description, that encompasses killing the animal but also includes the other 98% of the process too.
My $0.02
Well stated Mr. Zirnsak :archer: :coffee: :archer2:
Probably going to step on some toes here but...."Harvest" is close kin with "cull buck". And then theres "meat" whatever like theres some embarassment about what you killed. All of these imply a Dominionist view of hunting instead of accepting that you are a part of nature and a part of the food chain. I'm pretty certain that if an animal can eat you it will be a kill and not a harvest. :biglaugh:
Harvest=plants
Kill=animals
Are you all referring to the term kill in the media?
I have never met a hunter in the woods use the word harvest. Actually no on even uses the word harvest when they are harvesting! The pick corn, cut hay, shell grain...etc.
I have no input with the cultivation of deer on public land in PA. (if I did we would have more deer). So how can I be harvesting? I'm lucky to "Kill" one.
har·vest
/ˈhärvəst/Submit
noun
1.
the process or period of gathering in crops.
"helping with the harvest"
synonyms: harvesting, reaping, picking, collecting
"we all helped with the harvest"
Those with a media position in the hunting world have no obligation to shield non hunters from the truth. We don't owe them anything. They only take from us. Did any one on here shield their own children from the word "kill"? Also non-hunters aren't watching a hunting show.
I'm someday hoping to have a chunk of private land to hunt. But I still wouldn't use the word harvest. I think private land hunting the way some people do it with hundreds of acres and a thick deer density where they pick and choose what buck to shoot is closer to harvest but still I don't think "harvest" applies to animals.
Tedd
From the Merriam Webster Dictionary:
transitive verb
1a : to gather in (a crop) : reap
//harvesting corn
b : to gather, catch, hunt, or kill (salmon, oysters, deer, etc.) for human use, sport, or population control
c : to remove or extract (something, such as living cells, tissues, or organs) from culture (see culture entry 1 sense 3) or from a living or recently deceased body especially for transplanting
This same topic was posted a large social media forum. I still feel the same way as I did when I saw that. I usually say that I "shot" something, but I am sure that I occasionally say theat I 'killed' or 'harvested' something. I don't care who likes or doesn't like it, and I won't change to appease someone else. Both terms are grammatically correct. I will no sooner be pressured to say 'harvested' to appease an anti- or non-hunter, than I will be to say 'killed' to appease a hunter. If you are truly bothered by either of these things, you might be, at least partially, influenced by your inner snowflake.
I've never used the word "harvest" in 52 years of hunting. I kill my deer and pick my tomatoes and peppers. To me it's one of those feel good words people use on the internet now.
Like a bunch here, I'm pretty old school because.....well to my grandchildren at least....I'm going that direction very quickly. :goldtooth:
As a retired wildlife biologist (11 years ago) I saw the term "harvest" become an alternative way to refer to filling a tag, bag, and yep, killed something. I agree that the term seemed to be born during the period of "Guns of Autumn" and other propaganda efforts by hunter-hater radicals. (BTW, they hate to be referred to as "radicals").
Sometimes I almost use the term harvest, but then stop short because I don't feel like I'm being "honest" enough. However, I can definitely support the use of the term "harvest" when it comes to hunting. As sportsmen and women we (our ancestors actually) demanded the abolishment of marketing shooting (some call it market hunting but I don't). This move didn't happen in time for a few species (bison, eastern elk, passenger pigeon, etc.), but it was soon enough to save(in most places) pronghorn, elk, mules, whitetail, sheep, turkey, and a few others.
Now, thank goodness, we manage the "taking" (another alternate to saying kill) of game species to make sure we don't erode brood stock to the point their populations can't be sustained. To me this is akin to harvest, we harvest a portion of the annual surplus of game animals. So, I don't think the folks who use the term "harvest" to describe the finality of their interaction with one of God's creatures, is a sissy, politically correct, or trying to hide from their act. I could argue they could possibly be deeper thinkers than some others.
I was also a forester. I have definitely killed some trees in my career. Some of those trees were harvested to be used by man. Some others weren't used. They were cut to make room for more preferred species or to release higher quality forest mates from competition.
Bottom line, no more than I will ever criticize a hunter for killing a 50 pound white-tail (if legal), would I think badly of them for their choice of words to describe their action.
Now, if I have a hot button, its the use of "stick or stuck one" by some who refer to a bowhunters attempt to kill an animal. When I worked in Kansas, a boss, who I liked very much was an avid bird hunter. He knew I was an archery-nut. He made the mistake of asking if I had "stuck one" when asking about my bowhunting success. I asked him if he had perforated or blasted any quail lately. He revered the bobwhite and understood my analogy.
I opened this hoping to read a good huntin' story. :dunno:
I agree the PC stuff is just foolish and frustrating. . . However- just consider you have a young woman in the news the last week with pics of her and her "trophy" from Scotland. Do you all realize- that because of the way she posted and spoke of her hunt the entire future of hunting there has been halted.
As a pre-60 yr old- my 33 yr old son reminds me we have an entire generation of hunters who are going to be harmed by our "I'll be damned to change the way I talk about it" attitude. There is an increasing number of a younger generation who are actually moving TOWARDS seeing the good of ethical hunting that leads to harvest of meat. Starbucks and other companies are actually joining conversations with the likes of Steve Rinella, Joe Rogen and others. In fact Rinella's program "Meateater" is one of the most viewed programs on Netflix now. I see a number of young 20-somethings come through my home who would typically be anti hunting. When they see my trad gear and see our butchering area in the garage they regularly tell me that they really like the idea of "harvesting" your own meat.
Its something to think about. . . .
Dan in KS
Totally skipping PC, much of the time it has to do with your background.
How were you raised? And where do you live?
Depending on your location, terminology is diffrent.
What do you call your father?
Dad, papa, paw, daddy, ........
Your grandmother?
Grandma, mamaw, nana, gram,........
I think many people don't consider this when seeing discussion that are online and cover the whole world.
Just in the USA, what is a carbonated beverage called?
I know of a few, a soda, a pop, soda pop, and some friends in Tennessee call all carbonated beverages a Coke. Doesn't matter the flavor.
So who is correct?
When I was a kid it was harvest Sunday. That ment I wasn't going to go hang out with my friends, I was going to butcher chickens with my dad.
But in my opinion about PC, that stands for pathetic childishness.
Killing is the manner of harvesting an animal!
doesnt matter what they say
the meat taste the same
:bigsmyl: