This file includes hunting and anti-hunting. I enjoy target shooting but never took to hunting. However, I am not opposed to it and have many friends and family members who enjoy hunting so I have things on both sides of the issue. Also see Guns.
Page Toppers
- Annie Oakley
- Big Game Hunter
- The Buck Stops Here
- Call of the Wild
- Did You Hear That?
- Go Ahead, Make My Day!
- Have Gun, Will Hunt
- Hunt to Live...Live to Hunt
- Huntin' Boots
- Huntin' Season
- Hunting Buddies
- A Hunting We Will Go
- I'd Rather Be Deer Hunting
- Marksmanship
- The Mighty Hunter
- Oh Deer!
- On the Hunt
- Perfect Aim
- Practice Makes Perfect
- Ready...Aim...
- Ready, Aim, Fire!
- Right on Target
- Quick Draw McGraw
- Sharpshooter
- Sure Shot
- Survival of the Fittest
- Target Practice
- The Thrill of the Hunt
- Top Gun
- Trail Blazers
- Will Hunt for Food
Hunting Quotes and Humor
- A good hunting partner is harder to find than a good friend. (Rick Ross)
- Hunters will do anything for a buck.
- I didn't fight my way to the top of the food chain to be a vegetarian.
- If we aren't meant to eat animals, then why are they made of meat?
- It's better to be at the top of the food chain.
- Old tanners never die, they just go into hiding.
- The sportsman lives his life vicariously. For he secretly yearns to have lived before, in a simpler time. A time when his love for the land, water, fish and wildlife would be more than just part of his life. It would be his state of mind. (Jim Slinsky)
- Vegetarian: old Native American word for lousy hunter.
- We interrupt this marriage for hunting season.
- Taxidermists really know their stuff.
Page Ideas
- Tear dark green, brown, gray, and dark blue paper into irregular oval or circle shapes and arrange them on the page like camouflage.
- Tear paper into tree or mountain shapes.
- Use natural or black pages rather than white.
- Good paper colors: browns, greens, red plaid, camouflage, bright orange.
Following Instructions
A couple of hunters were out in the woods when one of them fell to the ground clutching his chest. After struggling for a few seconds, he seemed to stop breathing. The other guy quickly pulls out his cell phone and dials 911. He gasps to the operator, "My friend is dead! What should I do?"
In a soothing voice, the operator says, "Try to remain calm, sir. I can help you. First, we need to make sure he's dead."
Immediately the operator heard a shot.
The frantic hunter comes back on the line and says, "Okay, now what?"
Where's Henry?
A group of dedicated deer hunters paired off in twos for the day. That night, one of the hunters returned alone, staggering under the weight of an eight-point buck.
"Where's Henry?" the others asked.
"Henry had a stroke of some kind. He's a couple of miles back up the trail," the successful hunter replied.
"You left Henry laying out there and carried the deer back?" they inquired.
"A tough call," nodded the hunter. "But I figured no one is going to steal Henry!"
Evolution
(Jim Slinsky)
The thinking deer hunter should mature through three phases during his hunting life. First phase, I need to kill a deer. Second phase, l want to harvest a nice deer. And last phase, we must manage this resource so our children and their children can experience the grand tradition of good deer hunting.
Link to Hunting Poems
Poems for Bow Hunters
Montana Grizzly Bear Notice
In light of the rising frequency of human/grizzly bear conflicts, the Montana Department of Fish and Game is advising hikers, hunters, and fishermen to take extra precautions and keep alert for bears while in the field.
We advise outdoorsmen to wear noisy little bells on their clothing so as not to startle bears and to carry pepper spray in case of an encounter with a bear. It is also a good idea to watch out for fresh signs of bear activity. Outdoorsmen should recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear poop. Black bear poop is smaller and contains lots of berries and squirrel fur. Grizzly bear poop has little bells in it and smells like pepper.
Songs about Hunting
- Big Game Hunter - Buck Owens (1974)
- Bird Dog Hunt-Off - Jerry Clower (1998)
- Crocodile Hunter - Gabe Iglesias (2008)
- Deer Hunter - Alert the Sky (2007)
- Deer Hunter's Wife - Justin Wilson (2008)
- Deer Hunting Time - Harold Layman (2006)
- Frog Hunt - Lloyd George (1962)
- Gonna Go Huntin' Tonight - Hank Williams, Jr. (1983)
- Good Job Huntin' and Fishin' - Dick Curless (1966)
- Grey Wolf Hunts Again, The - Craig Chaquico (1994)
- Hunter, The - Bobby Harrison (1986)
- Huntin' Boots - Chet Atkins (1968)
- Huntin' Season - Minnie Pearl (1955)
- Hunting Song - Tom Lehrer (1953)
- I Won't Go Huntin' with You, Jake - Jimmy Dean (1961)
- Milwaukee Hunter - The Link Quartet (2004)
- Squirrel Hunter - The Mike Snider String Band (2002)
- Squirrel Huntin' - Jerry Clower (1998)
- Waltz of the Hunter - Perry Botkin, Jr. (1960)
Songs about Arrows
- Arrow - Cheryl Wheeler (1992)
- Bow and Arrow - Swingin' Medallions (1967)
- Broken Arrow - Rod Stewart (1992)
- Cupid's Arrow - David Blue (1976)
- Little Arrows - Jimmy Osmond (1975)
- Me and My Arrow - Nilsson (1971)
- Straight Arrow - Spirit (1968)
- Straight as an Arrow - The Todds (1959)
Songs about Knives
- Back Stabbers - The O'Jays (1972)
- Barlow Knife - Down South (2007)
- Denim and Daggers - Amps II Eleven (2009)
- Mack the Knife - Bobby Darin (1959)
- Paradise Knife and Gun Club - Roy Clark (1982)
- Randall Knife - Guy Clark (1995)
- Saber and the Rose, The - Kris Kristofferson (1978)
- Sabre Dance - Woody Herman (1948)
- Sabres and Guns - Mary McCaslin (2006)
- Salute to a Switchblade - Tom T. Hall (1970)
- Switch-Blade Sam - Jeff Daniels (1959)
- Switchblade - Link Wray and the Raymen (1979)
- Switchblade 327 - Brian Setzer Orchestra (1998)
- Switchblades of Love - Steve Young (1993)
- Twist the Knife - Neko Case and Her Boyfriends (2000)
Songs about Guns and Ammo
- 32-20 Blues - Colin Hodgkinson (1999)
- .38 Pistol - Sleepy John Estes (1969)
- $2 Pistol - Houston Marchman (2002)
- All Right, Louis, Drop the Gun - Dick Baker (1947)
- Angels with Guns - John Stewart (1990)
- Ballad of Paladin - The Rebels (1962)
- Bang, Bang, Bang - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (1998)
- Bang Bang, My Baby Shot Me Down - Cher (1966)
- Beat You on the Draw - Mike Gibbins (2003)
- Beer, Bait and Ammo - Kevin Fowler (2000)
- Before the Bullets Fly - Gregg Allman (1990)
- Bible and a Gun, A - The Wages of Sin (2008)
- Big Iron - Michael Martin Murphey and Marty Robbins (1993)
- Bite the Bullet - Ian Gillan Band (1981)
- Black and Tan Gun - World Music (1998)
- Blue Steel .44 - Tim Rose (1997)
- Bubba Shot the Jukebox - Mark Chesnutt (1992)
- Bullet With Butterfly Wings - Smashing Pumpkins (2005)
- Bullets From a Gun - John Bunzow (2004)
- Bullseye - Len Barry (1965)
- Cannonball - Sky (1979)
- Caught in the Crossfire - John Wetton (1980)
- Colt .45 - Johnny Dowd (2000)
- Colt Thunder - George Fox (2005)
- Conversation with a Gun - Tex Ritter (1960)
- Cowboys Don't Shoot Straight Like They Used To - Tammy Wynette (1981)
- Crossfire - Double Trouble (1989)
- Daddy's Gun - Lisa Angelle (1999)
- Day of the Gun - Gordon Terry (1969)
- Deadly Weapon - Simon Crum (1951)
- Dodge the Bullet - Ken Holt (2007)
- Dodging Bullets - John Kay (2001)
- Dog and Gun - John Roberts and Tony Barrand (1991)
- Don't Pull the Trigger - Badger (1974)
- Don't Shoot, Baby - The Medallions (1955)
- Don't Shoot, Let's Talk - Blue Miller (2000)
- Don't Take Your Guns to Town - Johnny Cash (1959)
- Due to Gun Control - Willy DeVille (1987)
- Faster Gun - Great Plains (1992)
- Fastest Gun Alive - Tony Douglas (1967)
- Fetch Me Down My Trusty .45 - The Rooftop Singers (1950)
- Fiddle, a Rifle, an Axe and a Bible, A - Sons of the Pioneers (1958)
- Fire When Ready - Perfect Stranger (1997)
- Forty-Four - Howlin' Wolf (1954)
- Get a Gun - Touch (1969)
- Give Me a Straight-Shootin' Cowboy - Patsy Montana (1938)
- Give Me Back My Bullets - Lynyrd Skynyrd (1976)
- Give up Your Guns - Eddy Starr Orchestra (1982)
- Good Job Huntin' and Fishin' - Dick Curless (1966)
- Gun, The - Bob Luman (1963)
- Gun Metal Blue - Johnny Neel (2005)
- Gun Show - The Young Criminals Starvation League (2006)
- Gun-Totin' Critter Called Jack - The Hollywood Argyles (1960)
- Gunfighter, The - Tommy Roe (1965)
- Gunpowder and Lead - Miranda Lambert (2008)
- Gunracks and Pickup Trucks - The Hick Step Massive (2004)
- Guns - Ronnie Dove (1976)
- Guns, Guns, Guns - The Guess Who (1972)
- Guns of Navarone, The - Joe Reisman and His Orchestra (1961)
- Gunshot - The Fireballs (1961)
- Gunslinger - Mink DeVille (1977)
- Hired Gun - Robin and Linda Williams (1990)
- Hot-Rod Shotgun Boogie - Tillman Franks (1951)
- I Had to Shoot That Rabbit - Tom Paxton (1971)
- I Shot Mr. Lee - The Bobbettes (1960)
- I Shot the Sheriff - Eric Clapton (1974)
- I Tried to Dodge a Bullet - Stars Are Falling (2006)
- I'm Gonna Get Me a Gun - Cat Stevens (1967)
- If I Had a Great Long Pistol - Jerry Irby (1948)
- It's No Use Being a Fast Draw if You Can't Shoot Straight - McGhee (1997)
- Janie's Got a Gun - Aerosmith (1989)
- Johnny Get Your Gun - The New Lost City Ramblers (1959)
- Just the Right Bullets - Tom Waits (1993)
- Lay Down Your Guns - Greg Lake (1997)
- Loaded Gun - Bret Michaels (2003)
- Loaded Pistol - Rex Allen (1948)
- Loaded Pistols and Loaded Dice - Gene Autry (1948)
- Lock and Load - Bob Seger (1995)
- Love's a Loaded Gun - Alice Cooper (1991)
- Machine Gun - The Commodores (1974)
- Machine Gun Kelly - Blue Highway (2004)
- Mail-Order Gun - Brian Hyland (1970)
- Man, a Horse and a Gun, A - Henry Mancini Orchestra (1968)
- Man Behind the Gun, The - Ned Miller (1963)
- Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The - Gene Pitney (1962)
- Men With Guns - Robin and Linda Williams (1999)
- Moving Targets - Flo and Eddie (1976)
- Mr. Winchester's Gun - Hoyt Axton (1990)
- My Guns Are Loaded - Bonnie Tyler (1979)
- My Rifle, My Pony and Me - Dean Martin (1959)
- Paradise Knife and Gun Club - Roy Clark (1982)
- Pearl Handled Pistol - Jeffrey Foucault (2004)
- Pistol-Packin' Mama - The Goins Brothers (1995)
- Pistolero - Buddy Red Bow (1980)
- Pistols and Pickup Trucks - Face2Face (2007)
- Pistols of Power - Walter Egan (2000)
- Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition - Merry Macs (1942)
- Revolver - The Kursaal Flyers (1977)
- Ride, Gunman, Ride - Black Jack Wayne (1959)
- Rifle Belts and Bayonets - The Pebbles (1951)
- Roses and Revolvers - Tex Williams (1955)
- Russian Roulette - The Zanies (1963)
- Sabres and Guns - Mary McCaslin (2006)
- Saturday Night Shootout - Pirates (1978)
- Saturday Night Special - Lynyrd Skynyrd (1975)
- She's Out with a Gun - Johnny Van Zant (1997)
- Shoot 'Em Up, Baby - Andy Kim (1968)
- Shoot First, Ask Questions Later - James and Michael Younger (1983)
- Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory - Traffic (1973)
- Shot Down - Jody Reynolds (1999)
- Shot Down in Denver - Sha Na Na (1975)
- Shot from the Saddle - The Decoys (2002)
- Shot Gun Boogie - Tennessee Ernie Ford (1951)
- Shot in the Dark, A - Hurricane (1984)
- Shotgun - White Light Parade (2008)
- Shotgun and the Duck, The - Jackie Lee (1966)
- Shotgun Boogie - Pure Texas Band (1994)
- Shotgun Rider - The Country Gentleman (2006)
- Shotgun Slim - Dyke and the Blazers (1969)
- Side of a Bullet - Nickelback (2007)
- Six Gun - Steve Kuhn (1995)
- Sixteen Shells from a 30-6 - Bob Seger (1995)
- Slap Leather - James Taylor (1991)
- Smoking Gun - Mark Lindsay (1990)
- Something to Shoot - Chris Wall (1991)
- Straight-Shootin' Woman - Steppenwolf (1974)
- Suzie Found a Weapon - Randy Van Warmer (1981)
- Sweet Little Bullet From a Pretty Blue Gun, A - T. Waits (1978)
- Take the Gun - Billy Cowsill (1971)
- There's a Gun Still Smokin' in Nashville - V. Lawrence (1976)
- This Gun Don't Care - Wanda Jackson (1966)
- Trigger Fantasy - Tony Mottola Group (1950)
- Two-Gun Cowboy, The - Wilf Carter (1940)
- Under the Gun - Deep Purple (1984)
- Warning Shot - Si Zentner (1967)
- Watch My .38 - Billy C and the Sunshine (1976)
- White Shotgun - George Davis (1967)
- White Shotguns - Hank Penny (1951)
- Who Shot Sam? - George Jones (1959)
back to top of page
Quotes
- The creatures that want to live a life of their own we call wild. If wild, then no matter how harmless, we treat them as outlaws, and those of us who are especially well brought up shoot them for fun. (Clarence Day)
- Deer hunting would be fine sport...if only the deer had guns. (William S. Gilbert)
- Hunt each other--leave the animals alone.
- Hunting is not a sport. In a sport, both sides should know they're in the game. (Paul Rodriguez)
- The squirrel that you kill in jest, dies in earnest. (Henry David Thoreau)
A (Former) Hunter's Poem
A hunter shot a flock of geese
That flew within his reach.
Two were stopped in their rapid flight
And fell on the sandy beach.
The mail bird lay at the water's edge
And just before he died
He faintly called to his wounded mate
And she dragged herself to his side.
She bent her head and crooned to him
In a way distressed and wild
Caressing her one and only mate
as a mother would a child.
Then covering him with her broken wing
And gasping with failing breath
She laid her head against his breast
A feeble honk . . . then death.
This story is true though crudely told
I was the man in this case.
I stood knee-deep in the snow and cold
And the hot tears burned my face.
I buried the birds in the sand where they lay
Wrapped in my hunting coat.
And I threw my gun and belt in the bay
When I crossed in the open boat.
Hunters will call me a right poor sport
And scoff at the thing I did.
But that day something broke in my heart
And shoot again? God forbid!
Hunters of Dreams
(Sam Walter Foss)
The woods were made for the hunters of dreams,
The brooks for the fishers of song;
To the hunters who hunt for the gunless game
The streams and the woods belong.
Quail Season
(Rea Williams)
The sun is slowly dropping
In a serene and peaceful sky
When the serenity is rudely shattered
By a plaintive inquiring cry.
It's the poignant cry of a lonely quail
Seeking his summer's mate,
The mate that has fallen this lovely day
To a sad, ignoble fate.
A short time ago they built their nest
And reared their brood of ten,
Ten lively chicks like balls of fluff
Blown on the summer wind.
At the sound of a shot she came fluttering down
Broken and lifeless to earth,
The man with the gun gave a boisterous shout
And laughed in mindless mirth.
Now he's gone back to his home
To sit and boast to his friends
And I am left with that heart-break call
Drifting hauntingly across the wind.
Jeremy's First Hunt
(from "Through Many Windows" by Arthur Gordon)
His father said, "All set, boy?" and Jeremy nodded quickly, picking up his gun with awkward mittened-hands. His father pushed open the door and they went out into the freezing dawn together, leaving the snug security of the shack, the warmth of the kerosene stove, the companionable smell of bacon and coffee.
They stood for a moment in front of the shack, their breaths white in the icy air. Ahead of them was only the vast expanse of marsh and water and sky. Ordinarily Jeremy would have asked his father to wait while he fussed around with his camera, trying to record the bleak arrangements of black and gray and silver. But not this morning. This was the morning, solemn and sacred, when 14-year-old Jeremy was to be initiated into the mystic rites of duck shooting.
And he hated it, had hated the whole idea ever since his father had bought him a gun, had taught him to shoot clay pigeons, had promised him a trip to this island in the bay. But he was determined to go through with it. He loved his father, wanted more than anything in the world his approval. If only he could conduct himself properly this morning, he knew that he would get it.
They came to the blind, a narrow, camouflaged pit facing the bay. In it was a bench, a shelf for shotgun shells, nothing else. Jeremy sat down tensely, waited while his father waded out with an armful of decoys. Light was pouring into the sky now. Far down the bay a string of ducks went by, etched against the sunrise. Watching them, Jeremy felt his stomach contract.
To ease the sense of dread, he took a picture of his father silhouetted against the quicksilver water. Then he put the camera hastily on the shelf and picked up his gun.
His father came back and crouched beside him, boots dripping, hands blue with cold. "Better load up. Sometimes they're on top of you before you know it." He watched Jeremy break his gun, insert the shells, close it again. " I'll let you shoot first," he said. He loaded his own gun with a metallic snap. " You know," he said happily, "I've been waiting a long time for this day. Just the two of us . . . "
He broke off, leaning forward, eyes narrowed. "There's a small flight now, headed this way. Keep your head down; I'll give you the word."
Behind them the sun had cleared the horizon, flooding the marshes with tawny light. Jeremy could see everything with an almost unbearable clarity: his father's face, tense and eager, the faint white frost on the gun barrels. His heart was thudding wildly. No, he prayed, don't let them come. Make them stay away, please!
But they kept coming. "Four blacks," his father said. "One mallard."
High above, Jeremy heard the pulsing whistle of wings as the flight went over, swung wide, began to circle. "Get set," his father whispered.
In they came, gliding down the sunlit aisles of space, heads raised alertly, wings set in a proud curve. The mallard was leading; light flashed from iridescent feathers around his neck and glinted on his ruddy breast. Down dropped his bright orange feet, reaching for the steel colored water. Closer, closer . . .
"Now!" cried Jeremy's father in an explosive roar. He was on his feet, gun ready. "Take him!"
Jeremy felt his body obey. He stood up, leaned into the gun the way his father had taught him. He felt the stock cold against his cheek, saw the twin muzzles rise. Under his finger the trigger curved, smooth and final and deadly.
In the same instant, the ducks saw the gunners and flared wildly. Up went the mallard as if jerked by an invisible string. For a second he hung there, poised against the wind and sun, balanced between life and death. Shoot, said something sharply in Jeremy's brain. And he waited for the slam of the explosion.
But it didn't come. Up went the mallard higher still, until suddenly he tipped a wing, caught the full force of the wind and whirled away, out of range.
There was no sound except the faint rustle of the grasses. Jeremy stood there, gripping his gun.
"Well," his father said at last, "what happened?"
The boy did not answer. His lips were trembling.
His father asked, in the same controlled voice, "Why didn't you shoot?"
Jeremy thumbed back the safety catch. He stood the gun carefully in the corner of the blind. "Because they were so alive," he said, and burst into tears.
He sat on the rough bench, face buried in his hands, and wept. All hope of pleasing his father was gone. He had had his chance and he had failed.
For a long moment his father was silent. Then Jeremy felt him drop down beside him. "Here comes a single. Let's try again."
Jeremy did not lower his hands. "It's no use, Dad. I can't."
"Hurry," his father said roughly, "You'll miss him. Here.!"
Cold metal touched Jeremy. He looked up, unbelieving. His father was handing the camera to him. "Quick," he said softly. "He won't hang around all day!"
In swept a big pintail drake driving low across the water, skidding right into the decoys. Jeremy's father clapped his hands, a sound like a pistol shot. The splendid bird soared, feet retracted, hear raised, wings flailing, white breast gleaming. Then he was gone.
Jeremy lowered the camera. "I got him!" His face was radiant.
"Did you?" His father's hand touched the boy's shoulder briefly. "That's good." He looked at his son, and Jeremy saw that there was no disappointment in his eyes, only pride and sympathy and love. "It's okay, son. I'll always love shooting. But that doesn't mean you have to. Sometimes it takes as much courage not to do a thing as to do it."
He paused. "Think you could teach me how to work that camera?"
back to top of page