Why do you hunt?

[Doc]

This is a question we hunters get asked quite often. So what is your answer? what makes a person spend jillions of dollars and all kinds of hours out in the freezing cold with rain dripping of the end of your nose, or wallowing around in snow with half-numbed toes? Are you really that hungry?.......lol. No there is something more basic and deep in your make-up that drives you. What is it?

[Northcountryman]

I hunt because it reminds me of my Grandfather and all of the great times we spent together in the woods. When Im hunting I feel closer to him- nice feeling !!

[Cory]

I hunt because that’s the way I get up. Now that everyone has since gotten too old or has no interest anymore, just seeing deer and getting that shaky feeling. If that ever goes I would stop.

[CharlieNY]

[Doc]

I believe that there is something in our DNA that reminds us that our basic humanity is rooted in a predatory background. Yes, most humans tend to try to fight that basic built in factor of human existence, and some of us are a bit more honest about our need for the chase and the kill. We have always been meat eaters, and there is the need for the kill if you are going to eat meat. That is the result of a predatory existence. The need to hold a death-match with some other critters is written into our human genetics. We have a basic need to hunt that is much older than ourselves. There is a competitive aspect to hunting too as we set our efforts against prey animals. It is us versus the natural abilities that nature has given our prey. It's another thing that is written into our genetics.

Yes, I know that it makes some people uncomfortable to face human nature in this way, but I believe that this is the basic thing that motivates us even when we don't care to think about it in these terms.

[Northcountryman]

1 hour ago, CharlieNY said:

 

Awesome piece; whered you  get that? 

[CharlieNY]

22 minutes ago, Northcountryman said:

Awesome piece; whered you  get that? 

It was posted on Bushcraft USA forums.

[landtracdeerhunter]

Man has hunted for thousands of years. The driving source runs deep in the veins. It just comes naturally. 

[wolc123]

In a single word, MEAT.  I like eating it and I can’t think of a better way to get it than hunting.  It’s a lot more fun than raising domestic animals or shopping in a grocery store.  
 

It’s also cheaper, now that the local deer population has exploded,  NY state has loosened up on the antlerless tags, and hunter numbers have declined.  

A better question would be, Why don’t you hunt ?  It certainly doesn’t make sense to me why anyone wouldn’t.  

[First-light]

It burns in my soul to be out in the woods pursuing some time of game. I step into their world but it is my world also. We live long enough to learn, adapt and fulfill our ambitions. We also need to nurture that world som others can enjoy it. Do your part!

[Northcountryman]

Ted Nugent provided a great quote a number of years ago about why he hunts, saying it was all about the thrill of "the encounter" on the animal's turf and also, according to fair chase principles & ethics; the satisfaction one attains from a successful hunt, consequently, is immeasurable .

[Doc]

Those that want to test themselves a bit might consider building your own long bow, and arrows and knapped broadheads and then getting a deer with that kind of equipment. It is something I always wanted to do, but never got around to it. It is an interesting thought to do it the Indian way.

[grampy]

My grandmother was full blood Cherokee, raised on the reservation. From a very young age, I knew I had to hunt. It was something deep inside my soul, and still is. I would go with her every summer to visit our relatives down in NC. From my great uncles, and others, I learned some early skills. I never had a father that hunted. But the old farmer I worked for since age 12, at the end of our road did! He and his buddies took me under their wing, and got me started deer hunting. I'd already began small game hunting on my own. They were very successful hunters, and killed deer every year, back when deer numbers were nothing like today! I carry with me the traditions and memories from those younger days, each time I hunt. It's what made me who I am today. Now that I've put a half century of deer seasons behind me. I'm most proud of not the deer I've killed myself. But the many young hunters I've mentored, as I passed the torch that was given to me. So that one day they will pass it along as well. The fire from that torch, still burns hot within me. That completes the circle. 

[Doc]

13 hours ago, grampy said:

My grandmother was full blood Cherokee, raised on the reservation. From a very young age, I knew I had to hunt. It was something deep inside my soul, and still is. I would go with her every summer to visit our relatives down in NC. From my great uncles, and others, I learned some early skills. I never had a father that hunted. But the old farmer I worked for since age 12, at the end of our road did! He and his buddies took me under their wing, and got me started deer hunting. I'd already began small game hunting on my own. They were very successful hunters, and killed deer every year, back when deer numbers were nothing like today! I carry with me the traditions and memories from those younger days, each time I hunt. It's what made me who I am today. Now that I've put a half century of deer seasons behind me. I'm most proud of not the deer I've killed myself. But the many young hunters I've mentored, as I passed the torch that was given to me. So that one day they will pass it along as well. The fire from that torch, still burns hot within me. That completes the circle. 

So much of this thing that we all do has to do with heritage and things that pop up in our own history. We all have hunting in our blood if we look back far enough...........All of us.

[Northcountryman]

17 hours ago, grampy said:

They were very successful hunters, and killed deer every year, back when deer numbers were nothing like today!

 

Were they Still Hunters, Grampy? What methods were they using that lent to their success would you say?

[grampy]

2 hours ago, Northcountryman said:

Were they Still Hunters, Grampy? What methods were they using that lent to their success would you say?

Yes, because being it was usually too cold to sit for very long, they were mostly still hunters. I was told many times, "if you think you're going too slow. Go slower!! Keep your head up, and your eyes open! Look for movement, like an ear or tail twitch. You won't usually see a whole deer. Pick the woods apart before you move again!"

They wore no camo. Just the clothes they worked in. Mostly overalls with Long John's. Layers of flannel.  And always those thin green rubber boots!!

There were always folks dropping by to gab and admire the deer hung in an oak or maple tree in their front yards.

To this day I prefer a still hunt over sitting in a stand. But do both now depending on conditions. This was mostly done on large farm properties. Corn and hay fields, with many woodlots, sized from a few acres, to perhaps a couple hundred acres. With ridges and creek bottoms and some swamps for topography. 

Usually the last weekend of the season they would do still-drives. Which was when you walk very slowly, with the wind at your back, to poster's on the other end. The drivers would be staggered. Many times the drivers got deer that were circling back from a forward driver. This all was done with usually only 4 or 5 hunters.

Of course there were favorite sitting spots as well. Always in some form of funnel or pinch point. To this day we still hunt some of those spots. And still see deer more often than not from them.

One of the farmers had a son about my age. We rode the same school bus together. We have been lifelong friends. And together, own and hunt his family farm. We have around 750 acres available to us. And love to roam some of the same ground those old farmers did. Most of the farms are now gone. But we still have a few beef cattle and assorted other critters to take care of.

All the original farmers have long since passed on. We are now the old guy's. And we're proud to have kept, and passed along many of the old traditions and ways. We both have kids, and grandkids who hopefully will carry on from us.

[Northcountryman]

Awesome; thank you for sharing.  About how fast was your pacing when you still hunted would you say-roughly? Ive heard some advise that should take you an hour to cover, like, 75-100 yards, but that seems way too slow for me.

[Nytracker]

I hunt because  my family did.In the beginning it was to kill a deer for food. Then it was to kill a big buck. In my 20s and 30s it was to feed my kids . Now its about quiet time in the woods to reflect on my life. 

When I was young hunters were my heroes.My grandparents  were hunters as well as my uncles and aunts. We took pride in the accomplishments of shooting deer. There wasn't as many around and if you were lucky enough to get a party permit you shared the deer.

Today most of my heroes have past on. I have one son that goes out once or twice a year and seems he has always got some place else to be .  I know my grandsons will never hunt.

Now I hunt for me. If I get a deer great I will have some great food. If I don't get a deer great I still spent some time for me. I'm still closest to my heroes when I'm hunting.

[grampy]

45 minutes ago, Northcountryman said:

Awesome; thank you for sharing.  About how fast was your pacing when you still hunted would you say-roughly? Ive heard some advise that should take you an hour to cover, like, 75-100 yards, but that seems way too slow for me.

That's about right. But no set pace. Depends some on how far ahead you can see. Wind? Rain? Snow? Open hardwoods? Hemlocks? Swamp edges? You take in the conditions.  Remember.....if you think you're moving too slow. Move slower!!! That was the best advice I ever got. 

This is different from big woods tracking. Where you are on a track, and can move much faster at times. Still hunting is moving slowly through the woods,  trying to see deer that may or may not be there. And before they see you. You definitely get better with practice. The amount of tail flags you see, will be a gauge in how well you are doing.

Sorry to the OP. I didn't mean to get off topic.

[Doc]

13 hours ago, grampy said:

Sorry to the OP. I didn't mean to get off topic.

No problem. That was an interesting direction for the thread to go.

[GreeneHunter]

Quality time with Family and friends , Meat - Venison - that does not have Growth Hormones or is fed with Chemically Treated Feed !

[Doc]

So are there those among us that hunt for the "recognition"? Is it all about "bragging rights" for you? Do you see the activity as a competition with other hunters? Do you need the recognition from the rest of the hunting community? It seems to me that I see a lot of that sort of need for recognition with a lot of hunters. How many of you have that sort of thing as a part of your reason for hunting?

[Northcountryman]

0% for me 

[airedale]

4 hours ago, Doc said:

It seems to me that I see a lot of that sort of need for recognition with a lot of hunters.

The only recognition that counts for the hunting I do is from myself, if I think I did a good-skillful job I am happy. If I screw up there will be no bigger critic than myself. I do not give a Rat's ass what somebody else thinks of my kind of hunting and of any game I may or may not take and I certainly will not waste my time on a message board arguing about it.

Al

[Four Seasons]

1 hour ago, airedale said:

The only recognition that counts for the hunting I do is from myself, if I think I did a good-skillful job I am happy. If I screw up there will be no bigger critic than myself. I do not give a Rat's ass what somebody else thinks of my kind of hunting and of any game I may or may not take and I certainly will not waste my time on a message board arguing about it.

Al

Exactly. My recognition gets decided in the woods. I will only hunt the best of the best in my hunting areas and my recognition comes from if I succeed at that challenge or not.   Of course when one takes the top of the species they are going to get the congrats from friends and family but when one completes that feat on a regular basis they will receive the negative recognition from some hunters but we all know where that comes from. Comes with the territory.