“If you shoot it, you eat it” is not a hunting requirement, but it is a saying that some hunters use. “If you shoot it—you gotta eat it” has been cited in print since at least 1974. Another 1974 article pointed out that some states make it illegal to discard the meat of game species, and “if you shoot it, you gotta eat it” applies to crow as well as quail.
4 December 1974, Atchison (KS) Globe, “Sports Roamer” by Mickey Parman, pg. 7, col. 1:
Some states find it unlawful to discard the meat of a game species. If you shoot it—you gotta eat it.
12 December 1974, Ames (IA) Daily Tribune, “Anyone for a crow cookout?” by John Madson, Outdoor Page, pg. 19, col. 3:
In many states it’s unlawful to discard the meat of a game species. If you shoot it, you gotta eat it, and that must apply to crow as well as quail.
8 March 1987, The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, CA), “The Hunt: The search is on for island prey,” pg. L5, col. 3:
As he gutted the ram, Washington said, “My father taught me, ‘If you shoot it, you eat it.’ I’m not the kind of guy who hunts for heads. I’m taking this meat home. He’s young, so he should be tender.”
Google Books
Stoneydale Press’ Field Care Handbook:
For the Hunter & Fisherman
By Bill Sager and Duncan Gilchrist
Stevensville, MT: Stoneydale Press Pub. Co.
1994
Pg. 7:
If you shoot it, you eat it.
This basic adage of hunters has changed over the years, as has hunting.
To the early subsistence hunter, it meant one had to be a successful hunter in order to eat.
Georgia Outdoor News Forum
Favorite or Best Hunting “1-Liners” or Quotes? ...Let’s Start with Michael Waddell’s
farm7729
01-13-2009, 12:40 AM
“you shoot it, you eat it”
every little boy hates those words, especially when theyre looking at that songbird the new BB gun just took care of
Google Books
African Safari:
Rifle and Bow and Arrow
By Ed Hale
Paistow, NH: eBookIt.com
2011
Pg. ?:
Dad’s general hunting rule, especially with game animals, was If you shoot it, you eat it.
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
Recent entries:
•“Never underestimate my desire at any given moment to go home” (4/23)
•“I’m a better person when I’m tan and holding a margarita” (4/23)
•“You ARE a good driver. That curb DOESN’T belong there” (4/23)
•“‘It’s been a long week.’—Me, in the middle of Tuesday” (4/23)
•“Buying frozen pizza is such a lie. ‘Oh I’ll save this for when I don’t feel like cooking’. Surprise, surprise. Day one” (4/22)
More new entries...
Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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