Negative Hunter Representation

   We all know that hunters generally get a bad rap for a number of things.  Like clockwork every season, hunters of all kinds come out of the woodwork and do stupid things that make news reporters savor at the delightful smell of hunting gone array.  I'm used to it, a little annoyed by it, but most of all, I've learned ways to prevent any dumb accident from occurring while a gun or bow is in my hand.  It only takes one person to give our community of hunters, fishers and outdoorsmen a bad name.

    I'm not one to point fingers or name names but in this case, I have to.

    DU's brother sent me the link below:

 SARAH "Life-Long-Hunter" PALIN ASKS IF .223 RIFLE WILL KICK THEN SHOOTS 5 TIMES AT A CARIBOU IN A FEEBLE ATTEMPT TO KILL IT

     Being the political savvy, complete non-hunter DU's brother is, he wanted to know what our opinion of the whole thing was. I appreciated that he wanted more information to fully understand what the artlce was talking about.

   PLEASE NOTE:   I'm not political nor do I pretend to be. Hence, I would feel the way I feel about this video no matter who was featured in it. 

                 Also, the kind of rifle she shot was pure estimation on the part of DU. 

                        Finally, I'm not an expert in hunting but I have been around guns and been hunting long enough to know a little about this passion of mine.

   I warn you, this article may infuriate you.  The comments featured at the end of the article may cause you to WANT to get your gun and shoot something but, dear reader, refrain.  Instead, filter your anger into writing and let the blogging world know what you think of this absolute catastrophe.

  For those of you who wondered how I responded to DU's brother's inquiry, here is what I wrote,

OH.MY.GOD. Where do I even start?

Well, I'm not an expert but I did notice some things that were a little off-putting about all this.

First off, I can't really understand people being upset that she went hunting if she's a "millionaire". There are a lot of people on outdoor TV shows that make a TON of money hunting and no one faults them for taking another trophy caribou. So, I can't fault her for hunting... or doing whatever it is that she's doing in that video.

But I have some problems.
1. Why can't she load her own gun? My guessing is she has no idea how to do it or doesn't want to break her nails in the process. Her dad doing it for her while standing and whispering really loudly is another problem. I think the first shot might have made the caribou deaf and made it so they could carry on the way they did.
2. Why did she ask if a rifle kicks? Rifles kick. You get bruises. I've hunted seriously for a couple years now and I know that. Hence a "lifelong" hunter should know that and show off the bruises given by such firearms. Also, bringing a vermin gun on a caribou hunt? That is a joke. No wonder it took 6 shots to kill the thing.
3. I have a problem with the shots she took. I'm not all about shooting while the animal is facing you. If you shoot and it runs forward, she could have been trampled (oh no!). Also, that is just a bad shot. Waiting till he's broadside (his entire side facing you) is the best and can kill quickly. This is just a personal thing, however.  
4. GET YOUR FINGER OFF OF THE TRIGGER, PALIN. You never want to have your finger on the trigger of ANY gun unless you are about to shoot.  I learned that in a New York State hunter safety course along with dozens of 8 year-old kids, so she should probably be aware.
5. Her clothing was a little off. First thing, too much skin and not enough camo for ground hunting. We sit in tree stands with everything covered just in case. Also, I just googled Caribou hunting regulations in Alaska and from what I've found, a hunter is required to wear at least 400 square inches of blaze orange during the hunt. If you're on private land, this is may be different but if she's been hunting all her life, she should know that blaze orange saves lives and should be worn (especially on TV if she's attempting to set a good example).
6. Something seems really fishy about her having to take cues from her Dad if she's been hunting all her life about when to shoot. I killed my first deer, FIRST with no cues from anyone. Also, it was weird that he had to tell her to confirm it was dead. Any wild thing with some sort of implement of destruction on its head should be checked for visible signs of life. 
7.  Finally, the article's ending is filled with ridiculous, non-informed perspectives. One supporter in the article said that Palin's dad took a tumble and the scope could have been knocked off.  If you fall over your gun, it falls, etc- don't use it!!! If the scope was off, it could have shot in another direction and wounded someone or the caribou.Wounding the caribou could have been bad simply because a rouge shot could have wounded the caribou just enough to run away and die in some remote part of the woods.  (The result is wasted meat- the "millionaire" objectors would have a field day with this) It would have been best to take the gun, go back to camp and sight it in rather than attempt to continue on with the hunt. Thinking would cause a hunter to pause but obviously, Palin is such a good hunter that she figured mulling anything over would be time wasted.

All in all, its really sad that this is the kind of representation the hunting community gets from one of its so-called supporters and participants.

However, the only redeeming quality for the entire thing is the arguments for Palin at the end of the article. I'm 99.9% sure that no one from the production crew would have messed with a gun to make her look bad. She was doing a fantastically tragic job of it on her own without the assistance of the TV crew.  If she was a "real" hunter, her gun would be with her at all times and she would have noticed someone messing with her scope.

Oh the beauty of political leaders showing their lives on TV. Such a waste of God-given space. 

  And if you're wondering what DU thought, here is how he responded:

   I thought it was a bunch of crap. I actually watched the episode last night to see what this sweet sweet new reality show would be like. Needless to say, if I am searching for a good laugh, I will tune in, otherwise, TLC can continue to air crap and I will continue to not watch. 
  I could not believe how unsafe they were during this entire hunt. One thing that really stuck out to me was that she was handed loaded guns, with safety off, only to immediately put her finger on the trigger. My dad would have killed me if he ever saw me do something like this, no matter how old I was. To me, this really seemed like a way to show the public that Palin was a hunter and she could "provide" for her family in the same ways many other Alaskan residents do. It was simply a hunting trip to bag some PR for a complete idiot loser who represents the hunting community in a horrible way. If she was the face of hunting, I would build model airplanes. I want nothing to do with anything she does and she should have her hunting license taken away for ever for being an idiot on national television with rifle in hand.
Onto topic #2.
Palin is an idiot because...
No orange! If you have a gun in hand while hunting, you need orange on you. It's for your own safety not some fashion statement. She's wearing $400 worth of brand new camo that has never left her closet sans a probable photoshoot, but can't wear one piece of orange? Its not like they were not wearing orange in order to not be seen by the animal, her dad and friend were wearing blue jeans and carrying camping backpacks, not trying too hard to stay hidden are you?!
All in all, Palin is as much of an idiot as I thought she was going to be on this show and can officially be lumped into the "I'm a rich, political, loser "outdoorsman"" category along with (I chop wood on my ranch and drill for oil) George Bush, and (I shoot my friends in the face) Dick Cheney. 


   Let it fly, readers- what to do you think?



Update: CNN featured this blog post (for an iota of a second but still, I'm excited) in a segment about Palin's PR hunt.