Is hunting an out of norm hobby? I’m no redneck but recently got into it over Quarantine as a fun new thing I’d never think is. It seems when someone asks what you did and I say hunting people get all weird. Why is that? Is it the notion of guns?

This just isn’t complicated.
hunting where you eat what you kill, use sensible caliber stuff, and spend time in nature (and hunt responsibly in line with local laws) is great - not my thing, but understand why people love it as well as the rich culture and tradition associated with it.

Hunting for sport without eating what you shoot, particularly using military-style weapons or other ridiculously unsporting stuff (Texas exotic game ranches where the animal is about as close to shooting fish in a barrel as you can get) is pretty sad pointless and suggests something about deep-set need to overcompensate for something.

I don’t think there’s much of a need for either side to chortle about hicks or urban libs - owning a gun doesn’t make you a “man” - nor is humanely and responsibly killing animals for food. The jerks who shoot endangered species, etc do deserve to go to jail, though.

Time to throw some more kindling on the fire and get excoriorated here. I enjoy trophy hunting deer. Note - I still eat them.

Going after the big guys takes skill, patience, woodcraft, and guile which makes it an interesting pursuit. If I wanted to just tag a deer, I could do so on opening day in about 15 min. But there is also the element of being in nature, observing game patterns, hiking, freezing your butt off, glassing, etc. that makes it interesting. And I've let plenty of big bucks go. The fun is being in nature and making it a challenge- something that I get a feeling most folks on FB wouldn't fully appreciate. When I'm bow hunting, the equation does change a bit as it is definitionally more challenging. Not to mention, taking down does (the baby makers) has a harder impact on population than hunting bucks.

Now, of course for elk (mythical creatures as they are in season), I'll take what I can get for the freezer.

But I'm amazed at what people think hunting is. I'll probably log 50+ miles of backcountry hiking in a given season. A little different than the perception of a Fudd road hunting in his pickup truck. And this is a rapidly growing segment of hunters (reference growth of brands catering to this segment, e.g., Sitka, Kuiu, First Lite, Kifaru, Stone Glacier, Exogear, Kryptek, et al).

Ps - sorry if double post, FB was acting up on phone.

It’s the notion that you kill other creatures for fun.

People here also seem to ignore the conservation benefits of hunting, many animal populations would be out of control and hurting the ecosystem if not for hunters

I'd definitely say it's a function of elitism that is so predominant in this profession (which is funny how that has progressed, since sport hunting used to be an aristocratic thing to do). As many have mentioned, reactions tend to vary wildly by geographic location and cohorts you raise this to. Veterans community (of which I'm a member) tends to be more receptive on average in my experience. There is some cognitive dissonance with people who buy meat/leather at stores, but can't stomach hunting. No way to get more free range, organic meat than harvesting it yourself. Good luck next season.

I’ve gone to a gun range for target practice but have never owned a gun, have no desire to own a gun, and have less than zero desire to ever go hunting.

As a woman, being with a man that has a gun makes me very uncomfortable.

Meh. My husband has been a consultant in DC for 15yrs. He hunts. He coaches rifle sports. He doesn’t hide it... no one who knows him seems upset by it. Maybe because we socialize with a largely ex military crowd.

And I know, for him, it’s more about a quiet half day in the woods away from his email than it is about killing that turkey.

Stop hunting rabbits and other cute animals please

I’m a vegetarian/mostly vegan. I have zero issue with people who like to go hunting. I’ve noticed that a lot of people who eat meat with abandon will get incredibly judgy about people who hunt for sport, and consider it cruel. That never made any sense to me. Girl, you think the factory that makes your chicken tenders is cruelty free?

Hunting just for sport (without eating the animal) is slightly iffy I guess, but the number of animals hunted for sport still absolutely pales in comparison just to the number of male chicks that are immediately decimated every day in meat factories for no practical purpose. So pragmatically I have no real bone to pick there.

Hunting is fun. So are guns. Weaklings will hate you for it though.

See a lot of comments about killing innocent animals. How do you know they are innocent?!?

Yes, it would look bad.

Mentioning that you kill other animals for sport is distasteful and insensible. (Specially large animals, not insects, etc.)

There May be regional or cultural differences, but I would be very aware of the risk before bringing it up.

If you enjoy it, the safest bet would be not to mention it unless the interviewers bring it up first.

As a hunter, I know how much meat I am going to eat before the next season. So if/when I limit, I still get all the meat processed by a butcher and because I have a butcher process it, I can take all the extra meat and donate it to local homeless shelters and battered women’s shelters.

Meat isn’t cheap. If I get a 160lb whitetail, I’m able to donate around 65lbs of venison, where I live that almost $1,200 worth of meat and nearly 200 meals. I also donate turkey, quail, pheasant, and mallards. Those equate to hundreds of meals for the shelters and its food that a lot of people wouldn’t be able to afford to enjoy.

I have no guilt about hunting. I also don’t sit in a tree stand all day with a feeder and pick off a deer that walks up.

I know it’s far from accurate, but my mind always associates hunters with gun loving Trump supporters 😬. I guess I just don’t know enough hunters who don’t fit this stereotype.

I'm pro hunting for food, but not for sport. Sounds like you have a normal hobby to me.

Moving to Texas soon. Can’t wait to hunt and fish every weekend and grill them up in the backyard!!

To get back to the original question, I think we can agree that in most major US cities, hunting is considered a strange activity, and looked down on. (In general).
The rights and wrongs of hunting are another topic. And I think many liberals don’t have carefully thought through positions, but instead a visceral reaction to the idea of “this guy likes killing things”. So intellectual debate isn’t really going to change that

I’m really into shooting sports (tactical carbine and pistol) and firearm collecting, but I don’t bring it up unless I know I’m on friendly turf. Kind of ironic since I’m a left-leaning Asian.

That said, it’s incredible clout on the client site in the industrial goods or public sector. One second, you’re a know-nothing elitist outsider here to cause headaches, the next you’re one of the team comparing AR builds.

I do sport shooting but never mention guns. hell, people get weird when I mention hiking. 
If you don’t spend your weekends binge drinking or wasting away in front of a TV then you’re weird