What is a clean kill?

    How important is a clean kill to you? Would a stone shot be considered the only clean kill with a fish, or do you have other guidelines? If the only clean kill was a stone shot then it doesn't seem all that important as most of us enjoy the fight with a big fish. I usually feel good about it if the shot was such that I knew there was no way for a fish to rip off, something like an angled shot through body and head.


    What about with other animals? As I explore my feelings I find that the common factor when I feel good about a kill is if there was no moment in the hunt where I worried the animal may be lost due to incompetence on my part.


    In nature there is no such thing as a clean kill, just whatever worked. Or the other way to look at it is that in nature any kill is a clean kill. If a clean kill is wholly dependent on how you feel about it, does it even really matter? If it doesn't matter then why does the concept of a clean kill exist?

    I don't like when a fish rips off and now due to my incompetence the fish may or may not survive and has to attempt to do so with serious injury. When I see hunting shows and they make poor shots and the animal has to bleed out while they follow it for hours, or days, that to me isn't a clean kill. A stone shot is the cleanest but I feel other shots are also made cleanly. Any shot that requires an animal to bleed out for hours isn't clean in my book.

    Minimize suffering to the animal. That is my goal


    Second to getting dinner


    I will never let an animal suffer for my amusement or prolong its passage. I try to use the word honorable instead of clean. Clean is like a sniper. Stoned


    I'm okay with an honorable kill

    i like to spear fish

    Clean kill = stone shot


    To me that is the only definition when it comes to spearfishing.


    As for other animals I would consider a clean kill a shot that either downs the animal where it was hit or less than 20 yards away.

    lol how existential mannnnn
    I only feel bad when i think i've correctly brained the fish, begin to gut it, and then it continues to flop. I try to say sorry.
    Having said that nonsense I think the the confidence you have when taking a shot defines how "clean" it is,,, but thats all in your head.

    Scupper Pro Gives You Wings!

    Edited once, last by sdeisen ().

    A poorly placed shot is often overcome by a knife to the brain, in spearfishing. The same with a second round to the head when hunting land animals.


    I agree with most of the comments that it is more about reducing the amount of time that an animal has to suffer.


    Honestly, I try to make a "clean shot" with everything I hunt more for the purpose of making retrieval easier. Tracking a wounded land animal through thick brush sucks, not to mention that the chances of retrieval drop drastically. In spearfishing, a poorly placed shot could mean the difference between life and death for the shooter.


    We will never make clean kill shots 100% of the time, but making an attempt will certainly put the animal in a state that a follow up shot or pithing will come sooner rather than later. When I miss or have a fish tear off, the greatest feeling I have is contempt. Contempt for myself for being incompetent in that moment.


    The point to all of this is to know your gun and your prey. Where are the "sweet spots" ? How does the gun shoot at various ranges? The answer to all of this is practice. And, not just in perfect conditions. How does wind, rain, temperature, currents, surge, etc.; affect how the gun shoots? PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!


    As far as feelings or emotions are concerned, I believe that we have become more sensative our feelings because animals for food are not often harvested through our own efforts. When we do hunt, we have made a conscious decision to interact with the animal. It's much easier to go the the local Winn Dixie and pick up a nicely packaged tenderloin and not have a care about it because we did not have to watch the animal die and then slaughter it ourselves.


    I recall shooting my first game animal and upon approaching the animal, the only thing I felt was liberation. I AM a hunter by nature.

    I agree; clean kill=stone shot and if I miss the stone shot I hit it with a knife to the brain as soon as I get to it to reduce suffering. It's like when I H&L fish I hate just tossing them into the cooler to slowly suffocate; seams cruel to me. I actually just got a kill spike (carried on a forearm strap) for this very reason and always kill them before the cooler when on H&L.


    Lunker, you beat me to the sniper reference. OSOK! lol :cool2:


    Id like to add that I am not sure fish feel pain as mammals do. Most studies in sharks and rays suggest that they do not feel pain as they lack the neurochemistry. I am not sure if this applies to fish or not but even lacking the sensation of pain it has been shown that fish do experience a (loosely defined) type of psychological trauma from being caught and this obviously would apply to a shaft through their side. But my reasons still apply for the quick death.

    DAN Is it a global reasoning or only in regard to fishing?, If I refer to the global war or other legitimate actions,
    the conviction of what we do is the main thing we have assumed the truth save the guilt,
    on the contrary if it is for fishing a predatory fish sentiment is stronger, that if no harm or prejudice
    the death of animal cruelty, if there is malice then we enter the cruelty of our actions
    no clean kill.


    <º)))><
    ¿Es un razonamiento global o solo en lo que respecta a la pesca?, si es global me refiero a la guerra u otras acciones legitimas,
    el convencimiento de lo que hacemos es lo principal de la verdad que tenemos asumida salva el sentido de culpa,
    por el contrario si es por la pesca de un pez el sentimiento depredador es mas fuerte, eso si sin hacer daño o perjudicar
    la muerte del animal con ensañamiento, si hay ensañamiento entonces entramos en la crueldad de nuestras acciones
    no hay muerte limpia.

    Fish-wise, my main concern is that I not maim or "waste" fish. I prefer the stone shot and probably miss at least my fair share as a result of going for head shots on a lot of fish. I do a lot of shooting with a sling and a poorly placed shot can easily result in a maimed fish or the ol' '$35 shot' w. a lost shaft.


    I don't worry a whole lot about "suffering" of the fish but do hate losing them. If I have a fish rock up or shake a shaft, I spend a lot looking for the fish. I have passed up lots of nice fish b/c I think it's bad juju to shoot a second fish before the first one is secured.

    IMO... a clean kill signifies the graceful end to a successful hunt.
    To each person, that end may come in different manners.
    For some, it's a secured fish.
    For some, it's a stoned fish.


    My personal definition of a clean kill is a brain shot.
    Shaft passing only through the head, not passing through any part of the body.
    No suffering and no damage to flesh.

    Up here in Norcal, most fish are rather sedentary... offering easy shot placements.
    As such, I further push myself to take brainshots at an angle that does not ruin cheek meat.
    Anything less, I take as a learning experience & analyze what I can do better next time.




    Just like many things in diving... it's largely personal to each individual diver.
    Kinda cool to see how others view the same subject. :)



    You are my hero

    i like to spear fish

    Is a very controversial subject. I feel bad, I´m such an hypocrite, but I seldom brain the fish I got. I go for the gills asap, and I bleed them out. It improves the quality of most fish meat. But I love the fish I prey on, and I respect them. I kill them, I bleed them, make them suffer and have mixed feelings of joy, pride and moral regrets. I´m such a hypocritical bastard I guess. But that´s the way it is.

    I'm a Speardiver, not a freediver

    In my opinion a clean kill has a lot to do with your mindset. If you go into hunting with the intent to harm and cause pain/kill a fish for the fun of killing an animal then no matter how quickly you kill it, it was still not clean. On the other hand if you respect your quarry and strive to make it as painless as possible than even if you dont get a stone shot it can still be a clean kill. I think it is very important that you eat what you kill or at least make sure someone else does. I hate when an animals life goes to waste.


    That being said I wish every shot was a stone shot and I certainly try for a stone shot whenever possible. However, on of the worst feelings is when a fish rips off and you know there is no way it will live very long. I have had a nice sized hog rip most of its face off to get off a spear. I feel sick when this happens and because of this there are times when I would rather take a shot that I know will hold than risk loosing the fish by trying to go for a quicker kill.

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