Hunters, Shooters and Sportsmen... John Harrigan is one of my favorite writers. Here's his latest take on part of the equation.
http://www.unionleader.com/columns.aspx/Opinion?channel=c385ca6f-fb9a-4c7b-9b39-899062752a63

John writes that he doesn't think of hunting as a sport. This creates a real problem for me. By his own words, he's a hunter and I need a special word for him, like sportsman, that allows me to describe him as better than average, in much the same manner that I would call him a gentleman or a scholar. Most of us know the difference between good, bad and evil. We need short, simple words that will allow us to easily communicate our impressions of actions observed. John is one of the good guys. He's a hunter and a sportsman. Live with it, John.

Now, shooters, and worse, far worse, killers, are a different story. John offers explanations, not judgments, about the shooters. I'm a gun owner, I've hunted in the past and would again if it was the difference between eating and not eating. I remember reading about a young boy who was forced by his father to eat an eagle that he'd shot, as a lesson learned. Sportsmen, and hunters, eat what they kill. Shooters? It's like taking your .22 to the dump in the old days to shoot rats. I can offer explanations and rationalize it, I won't pass judgment on it, but it does raise questions in my mind. With killers, those who enjoy killing, judgment is clear. I know it as evil...