Why do you hunt?

[Doc]

I noticed some comments on another thread that are kind of picking around the edges of why we hunt. So rather than pulling that thread farther off-topic, I thought I would start a new thread devoted to that question.

So I am curious, what drives each of us to head out each fall in pursuit of wild game? I suppose there will be the usual answers about all the nutricious meat, and that may be big in some people's minds, but isn't there something a little more basic that makes us feel the need to go out and get our own food or test our skills against a live animal? In some cases, the need centers more on the trophy aspect than the meat. I'll bet we don't all have the same reasons.

Doc

[Landowner]

I love the outdoors, quiet, getting closer to nature, excitment of have a deer getting with in bow range really gets my heart pumping. I do love the taste of wild game. I have been hunting for about 35 years since I was 10. My son loves it as I did.

[ny_deer_hunter]

I hunt for many reasons. First is the experience of being in the woods at daybreak. Listening to the woods wake up. Watching nature do its thing. Also for the tradition, the time with my father, and the fun of just getting away.  To be honest I could care less about getting a deer. I get more enjoyment watching a doe with a fawn/yearling than just blasting away at the first deer I see.  Grant it there is also the fact that I love venison and that saves money on food as well. But it is more about conservation and passing down the traditions for me at this point in my life.

[Landowner]

How are we doing so far?

[bkln]

When I hunt, I'm not in the office and that's a good thing :-)

Seriously, just being out there, battling the elements, getting back to old school nature, even if 9 out of 10 you come empty it is all about the hunt....

[Doc]

So far, there isn't a whole lot of reasons being given for carrying a rifle or bow rather than simply a camera or just a hiking stick.

What makes this question kind of relevant is that on more occasions than just a few, non-hunters have asked me this same question over the years. I too usually stumble around the answer, trying hard not to address the killing part of the activity. So I was curious as to just what it is that puts us afield with weapons instead of other non-lethal equipment or no equipment at all. It's not that easy a question to answer. Let's face it, if we didn't intend to kill, we wouldn't be carrying a gun or a bow. So there is a necessary element of killing involved. That's just the nature of the activity. The problem is figuring out a way to put that into perspective without sounding just plain "blood-thirsty".

I know there are all kinds of more palatable reasons for the killing aspect of hunting. We like to talk about population control and the thrill of the hunt, and all the surrounding experiences of just being out in nature, but there are some things that are way more basic than that for me and far more central to what we do and what we are.

For me there is an aspect of individualism and self reliance involved. Providing meat for myself and family by my own hand is part of it. Just knowing that I still can and that society has not wrung that ability out of me yet is some of it. There is also a piece of history, heritage and culture involved. A feeling of not having lost that last piece of rugged individualism that our ancestors had. I suppose if you want to dig deeply enough into the psyche of a hunter, you will also find connections with the natural predatory nature of humans, and a connection with the same things that caused man to pick up a rock and kill their first meal of meat. These are all the intangibles that photogrphic images or other non-consumptive pursuits of wild animals can't satisfy. I actually feel there is something honorable and natural in the whole thing. It has nothing to do with trophies and heads hanging on the wall, but rather simply an activity that celebrates what we are and where we came from in an honest fashion.

Yeah, there's a whole lot more to it than just enjoying a meal of venison once in a while or sitting in the woods listening to birds and watching and experiencing nature. Those things are important, but when we are hunting, there is something much more primal and much more connected with history and human DNA going on. That's why for some of us, hunting is not simply a choice. It is a lifelong need.

So these are all the things that inspired the question. I was just a bit curious as to how hunting may be viewed differently by other people.

Doc

[sits in trees]

used to be just to get a deer, any deer, now it's just being in the woods that i love...

[bkln]

I don't really care what kind of equipment I carry when I'm out there, whatever is allowed, NY State took that freedom away from me (bow/gun/ML or stick:-)). I'm trying to enjoy the outdoors and yes I do kill animals once in a while, so what? Why such a taboo about killing, we are at the top of a food chain after all, thinking otherwise would be foolish. I have bunch of friends who are against what I do, we just don't talk about it and we stay civil and continue to be friends. Personally, I try to not give a %#$$ what other people think because all that social correctness is big BS. I work for a global conglomerate where half of executives I know are avid bowhunters yet you can't use the credit card (issued by my company) to purchase any firearms, at the same time we have govt/military contracts to design devices dedicated to mass murder people...so you catch my drift...anyway, I like nature and outdoors and my hobby includes termination of some creatures existence, I'm not loosing sleep over it....What's next? ban fishing...??? LOL

[Doc]

I don't really care what kind of equipment I carry when I'm out there, whatever is allowed, NY State took that freedom away from me (bow/gun/ML or stick:-)). I'm trying to enjoy the outdoors and yes I do kill animals once in a while, so what? Why such a taboo about killing, we are at the top of a food chain after all, thinking otherwise would be foolish. I have bunch of friends who are against what I do, we just don't talk about it and we stay civil and continue to be friends. Personally, I try to not give a %#$$ what other people think because all that social correctness is big BS. I work for a global conglomerate where half of executives I know are avid bowhunters yet you can't use the credit card (issued by my company) to purchase any firearms, at the same time we have govt/military contracts to design devices dedicated to mass murder people...so you catch my drift...anyway, I like nature and outdoors and my hobby includes termination of some creatures existence, I'm not loosing sleep over it....What's next? ban fishing... ??? LOL

Don't misunderstand this question. I am not asking about excuses or apologies for why we hunt and I am not trying to sooth the feelings of any anti-hunters. I am simply trying to understand why we hunt. We spend a lot of time, effort and money on hunting as a recreation. I am among a segment of hunters that even gets down-right fanatic over the activity, and once begun, it seems like an activity that lasts a lifetime. It seems kind of interesting to me to understand just what it is that drives us to do it. Aside from natural curiosity, it is also useful to understand the reasons enough to be able to explain it when asked. Who knows, maybe we wouldn't be seeing our numbers deteriorating if we knew better how to explain what we do to new recruits and other non-hunters when they show an interest.

Doc

[guncrank]

It is part of my genetic make-up. I make no excuses for it,it is in all our genes to some degree.

[WNYBuckHunter]

I hunt for many reasons, but mostly because I love the outdoors. I love the sights, sounds and smells of the woods. I love the time to think about things and get my head clear that those countless hours in the woods afford me. I love to comradery of my friends that I hunt with. I love the challenge of getting close to animals, or fooling them in their own back yards. I do love the taste of wild game and the satisfaction of knowing that I brought that meat home, not just packaged in cling wrap and foam either.

[SteveB]

I like to pursue and kill animals for food and pest control.

My intent every time I go to the woods during hunting season is to kill an animal

meeting my standards. If it wasn't, I would carry a camera when I went.

[nyslowhand]

I've always been a NYS history buff. The iroquois and the colonilization of WNY were my favorite eras.

Even though my father got me started hunting at an early age, I still managed to go into the woods and daydream.

Lot of you know that hunting & the woods are also the ideal places to escape from any pressures of day-to-day life.

Especially in the spring & summer when all the flora and fauna are coming to life.

I love nature and observing it! Think I'd be happy with a walking stick across my lap instead of a weapon.

Ex.; Although I saw many deer yesterday, the best experience was watching 2 squirrels playing tag in the pines with a small hawk.

The game (for the squirrels) went on for ~1/2 hour and was pretty neat until the hawk got frustrated and flew away.

[bkln]

I also do it for the organic food, then the antis have nothing to say :-)

[sits in trees]

i will add this, i do love the equipment!!!

[Mr VJP]

  One of my favorite statements regarding this is as follows: "One does not hunt in order to kill, one kills in order to have hunted."  We hunt for the thrill of the chase, and the ecstatic peace that comes  with being out there trying to beat a wild animal at his own game.  It's a personal test of own own ability to do what is in us instinctively.

Hunters were always valued in primitive cultures.  They were needed for the survival of all the people.  They were respected and honored.  Why do we kill rather than buy meat? For the same reason many folks  grow vegetables in their back yards... for the same reason amateur  musicians play music rather than buying it... for the same reason folks  paint or draw pictures, rather than buying someone else's art... for  the same reason many enjoy photography rather than just buying a  picture book of photos... because of the pride that lies in doing it  ourselves.

"The desire to hunt is the modern vestige of an evolutionary trait of utmost adaptive significance to early man. Hunting is man's dominant occupation, having supported and literally shaped us for over ninety-nine percent of our existence, only very recently having been supplanted by agriculture."

"Though the urge to kill has in the past been reinforced by instinct, it is tempered in modern man by reason. This gives rise to the big conflict characteristic of sport hunting: the mixture of elation and remorse, of thrill and regret. It is instinct versus intellect. Here's an analogy to illustrate the relationship in hunting between need and desire:  'If scientists come up with test-tube babies tomorrow morning there will be just as much fornicating tomorrow night as there has always been.' The need may well be gone, but the desire, in many of us, remains strong."  "We have now reached the heart of the issue of the morality of hunting."

"Is it morally wrong to wish to hunt for sport and to take pleasure in the occasional kill?"

"The answer, it seems to me, is no. It is not morally wrong to take pleasure in killing game; nor is it morally right. It is simply not a moral issue at all, because the urge itself is an instinct, and instincts do not qualify for moral valuation, positive or negative.  Thus, the urge to kill for sport is  *amoral*, lying as it does outside the jurisdiction of morality."

Ann Causey    "On the Morality of Hunting". Environmental Ethics  Vol.11 Winter 1989. pp.327-343.

[Doc]

  One of my favorite statements regarding this is as follows: "One does not hunt in order to kill, one kills in order to have hunted."  We hunt for the thrill of the chase, and the ecstatic peace that comes  with being out there trying to beat a wild animal at his own game.  It's a personal test of own own ability to do what is in us instinctively.

Hunters were always valued in primitive cultures.  They were needed for the survival of all the people.  They were respected and honored.  Why do we kill rather than buy meat? For the same reason many folks  grow vegetables in their back yards... for the same reason amateur  musicians play music rather than buying it... for the same reason folks  paint or draw pictures, rather than buying someone else's art... for  the same reason many enjoy photography rather than just buying a  picture book of photos... because of the pride that lies in doing it  ourselves.

"The desire to hunt is the modern vestige of an evolutionary trait of utmost adaptive significance to early man. Hunting is man's dominant occupation, having supported and literally shaped us for over ninety-nine percent of our existence, only very recently having been supplanted by agriculture."

"Though the urge to kill has in the past been reinforced by instinct, it is tempered in modern man by reason. This gives rise to the big conflict characteristic of sport hunting: the mixture of elation and remorse, of thrill and regret. It is instinct versus intellect. Here's an analogy to illustrate the relationship in hunting between need and desire:  'If scientists come up with test-tube babies tomorrow morning there will be just as much fornicating tomorrow night as there has always been.' The need may well be gone, but the desire, in many of us, remains strong."  "We have now reached the heart of the issue of the morality of hunting."

"Is it morally wrong to wish to hunt for sport and to take pleasure in the occasional kill?"

"The answer, it seems to me, is no. It is not morally wrong to take pleasure in killing game; nor is it morally right. It is simply not a moral issue at all, because the urge itself is an instinct, and instincts do not qualify for moral valuation, positive or negative.  Thus, the urge to kill for sport is  *amoral*, lying as it does outside the jurisdiction of morality."

Ann Causey    "On the Morality of Hunting". Environmental Ethics  Vol.11 Winter 1989. pp.327-343.

There! Excellent reply. I think that gets closest to the real forces (instinct) behind hunting for most or perhaps even all of us, particularly the quote from Ann Causey.

Doc

[wztirem]

I would bet that Anne Causy is not on the top of HSUS' required reading list.

[Bleitten04]

My father brought me hunting as soon as he thought I would be able to keep quiet for a few hours in the woods.  As soon as I was old enough to get a license I did.  For a few years I thought hunting was all about killing.  I'm only 20 now but I see it is much more.  Sort of.  Its really tough to explain. LOL.  Its still about killing to me but killing has a different meaning to me now.  Before if I shot something the job was done and the animal was dead and the day was successfull.  I never used to think about the whole food thing.  Now a dead animal is food that I have succussfully harvested and butchered for myself and my family.  That is why I hunt now.  To put food on the table with my hands and the use of equipment that I have fine tuned to the best of my ability.  Everything else like the rush you get when a deer comes by and the birds and just nature itself is just icing on the cake.  Now what is my need for killing an animal for food when I can just go to the store and buy whatever I want?  I never thought of it being instinct.  However after reading past posts I do believe that could be right.  Its a great feeling to bring home fresh game and fish I harvested and then eat it!!!

[Mr VJP]

Ever wonder why we do not get tired of hunting, no matter how long we live or how often we hunt?

It's because we have made many special memories in the past while hunting and desire to make many more.  And hunting is also a skill.  A skill that gives us pleasure when we get better at it.  And that desire to excel at it will keep us hunting until the day we can no longer do it.

[Fantail]

Perhaps I am not understanding the question, 'why do you hunt?'

Why the &^$% wouldn't I?

[Geno C]

to me its being outdoors and taking in the sights and sounds that nature has to offer. Spending that time with friends and family. There so much more to the hunt then just taking an animal. i love to just have "ME" time and really just enjoy being out in nature.

the thrill of getting in the woods and seeing these animals out in nature really strikes a cord for me... and also the camaraderie of the camp.

all factors that makes me love this sport..

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Do I have to hunt to survive...no. but the previous post on the instinct of it are right on. I don't have to, but knowing I can do it is a measuring stick. I could put food on the table for my family. But to be honest the food value is secondary. I enjoy it. It is a thrill. The adrenaline rush as a huge buck comes in or a doe blows out of thick cover as you pass by. The way your heart reacts when a Tom explodes behind you when you didn't know he was coming in silent. I imagine it is like any other past time that is rush based.

It is also a tradition that I grew up around. I remember being very young and wanting to go with my father...but I was too young. 5 or 6 maybe. I remember my first BB gun at 7 and Dad couldn't keep me in BB's. The big day finally came and I was 8. I was going deer hunting. There were real winters back then. seemed like the snow was always knee deep and his only rule for me was."when I pick up my right foot and move it forward I want your right foot in my track I just left" He wanted me at arms length , always. I remember him taking me rabbit hunting and he saw tracks going under a snow covered 4' high pine...none coming out. I had no clue and he instructed me to go kick the tree. Well I walkd over and stuck my leg righ into the pine with a big stomping motion....I don't know who had the more surprised look the rabit or me after he ran a few laps around my foot.....I fell into the snow...the rabbit came out...Dad missed  due to very loud uncontrolled laughter.  These are the other reasons I hunt...the memories...and that is an ancient tradition too...the stories of the hunt around the camp fire.

More than anything it is time with my Father. He chest still puffs out with pride with every animal I take. He was there for my first fish, first squirrel, first grouse (after several boxes of shells...lol) my first doe and my first buck. There is something about this past time that has a bonding like no other.

I think that for me, and probably most of us, we have a respect and admiration for our quarry  that non hunters do not understand. We pursue, kill and eat them and we hold them in higher esteem than the animal rights group...They see them as weak and defensless and in need of protecting....almost a type of pity.....not the respect we hold. My wife is always saying to me, as I cross the white line staring at a doe in a field, "I can't believe you get so excited about seeing a doe". She just doesn't get that if I didn't get that excited....I would hang it up..

Why do I hunt....becasue it is in me, and always will be.

Thanks Dad

[Doewhacker]

Nice job summing it up there Culver, well said. The instincts and stories can be traced back to drawings on cave walls, I do think that part is in some of us genetically speaking. Some are predisposed to hunting and gathering...my self included.

[Caveman]

All the aforementioned reasons and one more.  For me the trophy aspect is big but not in the antlers sense.  I consider the meat a trophy if that makes sense.  It's an opportunity to hold my chin high and call myself a provider in the most basic, primitive way.  Couple that with my vegetable garden and I am damn-near self-sufficient.  That is what I am proud of more than even the biggest antlers on the wall and that's why I continue to freeze my cheeks off in the stand for countless hours every fall.