Why do you hunt?

[Doc]

Ok, it's been a year or two since we trotted out this oldie but goodie, and we do have a crap-load of new members, so let's get updated.

 

Why do you hunt?

[MACHINIST]

1.The enjoyment of being in the woods to see everything it has to offer.When the woods wakes upand comes alive is one of the most enjoyable things in the world

 

2.The meat 

 

3.The kill.Yes I enjoy the kill.If you dont thats fine but its part of the hunt to me

[greensider]

cause i get hungry

[sweet old bill]

Well Doc at 73 years young I sure do not hunt as well as I did at 20 years young. But to me it never was how many deer you can take or how many points on a rack. I first started at 10 going with my Dad to hunt camp for the weekend prior to opening day of Monday. Several of the sons who were to young to hunt would be there to help setup the camp. We were shown how to see the deer trails, rubs and scraps. We would also that night hear the tales of hunts of the past.  I could not wait to be old enough to have my first tags and be able to go with my Dad and the other members of the hunt club. I was just 17 when I was able to take my first buck, it was a 5 point. I was to get the shot just at dark and only 30 yards away as he walked out of a swamp. The buck ran up the ridge and fell maybe 60 yards only from me. My Dad called to me and we then walked up to the buck and it was my first time to gut a deer as well.  There have been many deer taken in my life but that one will always be with me, as the skill I learned from my Dad and the other member of that hunt club. I find as I recall hunts now it is more of the people I hunted with, the weather of the hunt and not so much if game was taken. )Over the years we sure enjoyed getting a deer and making speedies meat and having them in the summer. I now am in my last stages of a hunter, have to many medical issue to hunt in the back woods, have to take a cell phone to call the wife when I get to were I will hunt for the day. I go just 100 yards or less off the road on public hunting ground in North Pharsalia NY. It has 7500 acreas of land that over the last 25 years I have hunted most of the places and have taken deer. I still shoot a few arrows most days when weather permits, I now am down to 54 lb compound bow setup with a d-loop, kisser button, single pin slider site in fiber optic, and a winn release. I use carbon arrows with 2 inch BH vanes and 100 gr muzzy 3 blade BH, that are old style but for me have taken so many deer that I just can not change for what has worked year in and out. If I hunt rifle I use my old 303 British Enfield in 303  cal. I now am just a sitter and do not walk to much and for sure no more tree stands. I deer now becomes 1 in 5 years at best, and I take no does and or young bucks. I tell the young hunter that in hunting you have a life long activity that will give you a great life in the outdoor. 

[wildcat junkie]

I have many reasons like those already cited. One of the major factors is the feeling of independence and self reliance. I grow a vegetable garden for the same reason.

I think hunting connects us to our hunter, gatherer roots.

Edited April 12, 2015 by wildcat junkie

[genesee_mohican]

I hunt because my father started taking me when I was at a very young age. He'd take me everywhere fishing, small game and deer hunting and I fell in love with the woods fields and streams, the deer and game animals. So, I became an outdoors man and have been that way since I can remember. Simply put, I just love being out there and it's great exercise too which I enjoy. I chose to live out in the country and I have loads of hunting and fishing opportunities close by and I get out there as much as I can, even in the off season so I can scout or just explore. I like to have a deer or two in the freezer for my table fare so taking at least one deer a year is important, it's part of the big picture, maybe a primal part that pushes me and success in a deer season is a celebration for sure. I like the challenge of being up against game animals, whether it's a grouse bursting out of a thicket, trying to figure out a big tom I've been after, or pursuing a smart buck and the does with year round scouting and hard hunting I just love being out there. It's just in my blood, a part of life...That's it. Now I'm getting ready to head outside to do some scouting for deer and turkey on what should be a long and enjoyable hike.

GM

[First-light]

Nothing like being in the woods and see it all happen around you. I become part of my hunting scene for 10 hours or so for a day. Hopefully I get a big part somewhere along the way and kill a deer. I lifts the weight off your shoulders from everyday life and puts meat on the table. So many memories with family and friends are made…that's why I hunt.

[Mr VJP]

My question is, why doesn't everyone hunt?  I cannot see living without doing it.  Everyone should be able to, and at least participate to a minimal extent.  I can't understand not wanting to at least try it.  

 

On the humorous side, this has some truth to it.

 

Edited April 12, 2015 by Mr VJP

[Red]

Ive loved the outdoors for as long as i can remember .im the oldest of 5 i few up in the city of buffalo but my grandmother lived in the country so when i was younger i would go out there fir weeks at a time for some peace and quiet away from my loud siblings. I would spend my time walking around the woods enjoying the sites and sounds.

Im the only one in my family that hunts. I like how relaxing sitting in the woods is and the challenge of getting my own food. My wife and kids also love venison. Even if i don't get anything just being in the woods is very rewarding and a great way to forget about any problems you might have.

Edited April 12, 2015 by Red

[NFA-ADK]

Hunting with friends is fun but as they seem to drop off and show less interest in hunting I still find myself drawn to the woods.

 

The challenge, tradition and experience of the hunt and love of nature and connecting with the spiritual side of hunting has become my passion.  Even though I would love to get a big buck every year, I find just being in the woods gives me great satisfaction.  Watching deer, tracking and trying to outsmart them on the ground presents the challenge I seek and brings me back to days when this was the only way to get food on the table. 

 

To me nothing seems as natural as hunting in deep woods and watching the sun rise and wake up the land and its critters.  It just feels right!

[G-Man]

I started hunting and the kill was the most important thing,my family ate the meat and it seemed to be a right of passage in my family.

Now 30 years into hunting, my enjoyment come form scouting and putting friends and family in the right spot,I get as much and truthfully more satisfaction when a spot I prepared produces for someone ,than when I shoot some thing myself.

The kill now is anti clamatic .although I still take multiple deer I do so to provide meat for my friends and family(those nephews eat my brother out of house and home)

Older deer and harder/ new methods of taking them are my personal challenge now.

[wolc123]

I am a natural born killer, and killing and providing meat for my family is the main reason I hunt and fish.   It doesn't hurt that it is lots of fun gathering meat that way.   Antlers don't mean too much to me. I do prefer killing deer that have them as they usually have less fat to trim away, they provide nice grab-handles for dragging, and nice reminders of past hunts when you hang them on the wall.  

[Borngeechee]

I hunt because it's incredibly fun to hunt and being out there is very relaxing. Scouting preseason feels like it's where I'm supposed to be. It's gotten to the point that I catch myself reading, googling, or thinking of hunting in some form every day.

[Doc]

To me there is a lot of heritage and history involved in hunting. There is kind of a celebration of old times when people were super-independent and able to subsist from only what they could get from the wild and natural surroundings around them. These were resourceful and skilled people that I have always admired. Although our modern day hunting doesn't look much like the pioneer days version of meat-gathering, the goals are kind of the same and the procedures are (very) roughly the same. It is a statement of independence and self-reliance and a celebration of the culture and heritage that we all came from.

 

And then there is the challenge of us against the critters. Yes, the prey is very good at what they do to avoid our dinner table. And there are damned few critters that I would say offer no challenge at all. So yes, challenge is a huge part of it all. Pitting my skill as a hunter against their skill at confounding my attempts, offers up a huge feeling of accomplishment and achievement when I win. Sometimes my choices in weapons and methods emphasizes the challenge aspect, sometimes it doesn't, but I have never gone afield thinking I was engaging in "sure thing" and I'm darned glad that I don't.

 

Third, there is some kind of therapeutic aspect to just hunkering down in the woods and becoming part of nature. Yes I could do that with a camera, but hunting allows me to become part of the ways of nature. It is a more active role than just sitting there recording what is happening around you. Hunting makes me a participant in the drama of nature. To me that seems like the way it was meant to be. Man was never intended to passively sit along the sidelines like a decoration. 

 

And last, it has to be noted that man has always been a predator. And like any predator, there is a love of the chase. Some may try to fool themselves into thinking we have evolved out of that. Others of us recognize and appreciate our predatory DNA and simply understand exactly what we are with celebration instead of apologies.

[phade]

I hunt because I want to. Not because I need to, but because I want to.

 

Pretty simple, and I don't waste any more time thinking about it.

[NYbuck50]

This is like asking why do i breathe

[grampy]

I do it just because I do. It's a part of what makes me,me.

[scolopaxmatt]

Though I had forgotten for some time, hunting is an essential part of our humanity.  Not to go all Leaves of Grass here, but we can learn a lot of great importance from the hunt; humility, patience, empathy and compassion (contradictory but true), and, best of all, how to shut the hell up and just be.

 

Oh yeah, and the animals we hunt have a tendency to be tasty.  

[Bone Seeker]

natural Instinct.

[GreeneHunter]

Hunting frees me to think about nothing but just being in the woods !

[ApexerER]

I love the woods, seeing the animals, being out in the fresh air etc. etc.....but the real reason I hunt is buck fever....I have raced motorcycles, dirt bikes, still race my car and nothing gives me an adrenaline rush like seeing the animal I am hunting whether it be Deer or Turkey. It doesn't matter to me what it is...I get just as excited seeing a Doe as I do a Buck. If I ever see a big boy it will be hard for me to keep my composure enough to get a shot off. That is why I get up at crazy hours, sit in the rain, sit in the cold. For those few minutes or seconds of the encounter.....

[bkln]

To get the heck out of the office and see NO people :-) Other than that just like many people said, nothing better to see day wake up, fresh air and nature...

[Terry]

Because I love to

[Doc]

As usual, this topic has brought a lot of thoughtful responses. It is interesting to see the variety of motives and analysis of what draws hunters into the activity. Perhaps if we understood this subject a bit more thoroughly, it might help establish meaningful tactics and techniques for re-populating the failing hunter numbers. Often there are some who don't want to think much about motives or examine what it is that attracts and keeps hunters in the sport. But as society evolves, it will be more important to understand these kinds of things more thoroughly in our campaigns to keep hunting as a viable activity off into the future.

 

Well anyway, I guess that is this year's installment .... lol. Maybe I will bring it back up in a year or two to see if there are any changes. As society evolves, and people's backgrounds, attitudes, and opportunities change, the results may very well show some differences.

[Nomad]

Years back there was some kind of "movement" where men went on some sort of retreat, banged on drums and talked about their issues and problems.

I always thought toss the drums buy a gun and go to deer camp.....