So what the heck are you doing out there?

[airedale]

One only has to look at the primitive human cultures that still exist in this world today in wild places to know that hunting is in our genes and we descend from and are natural born predators. Hunting fills a primal urge and need that is still present to varying degrees in humans today.

Humans are a lot like the hunting dog breeds they once bred to help them be successful hunters. Remove those breeds from the hunt for a few generations and their desire and ability begins to wane. Some hunting breeds taken over by the pet trade have lost almost all hunting ability and drive. Humans for the most part have suffered the same fate as they became removed from rural lifestyles and more urbanized they do not have to get their hands dirty for their sanitized food sources available at their nearest market.  

In a nutshell if a person is brought up in a hunting culture they are more apt to be involved, removed from such a culture over time most will quit participating. For me the natural born predator instinct and drive for the hunt still exists strong, a lot of it because of the way I was brought up which provided me opportunity.

Al

Edited December 26, 2016 by airedale

[ncountry]

Nobody in my family hunted, so I didn't grow up with a strong hunting background... I did occasionally  hunt small game when I was young with friends. 13-16 years old probably.. I never had any interest in shooting a deer.. I didn't think I had it in me to shoot such a beautiful animal..

A friend finally convinced me when I was around 20 to go deer hunting. That morning I shot my 1st deer with an old 32special.. While just like today I feel a little sad, I was absolutely hooked..

Deer hunting has evolved a lot for me. Being mentored by phenomenal hunters, albeit not always legal, I quickly learned the behavior of deer . Providing the lions share of the meat for our families.. I absolutely loved being in the woods , whether walking 10 miles in a day,sleeping in a mossy hollow in the warm fall sun, or sitting with my feet in the water on a hammock in the swamp.

When I started it was all about #s and the amount of meat. Now I spend most of my time trying for that big buck. Shooting a couple does that give me easy shots and drags while waiting for the big guy. It's funny, some of the best parts of hunting do not involve shooting a deer. I could go into the woods and watch the sun come up or squirrels scurrying around the woods , but rarely do if I'm not hunting.

Besides it's still cheaper than a therapist...lol

 

[nyantler]

 

4 hours ago, Doc said:

I think we all feel that way, but the question is, "Why"? What purpose does it all serve? Why do we feel compelled? What is the motivation that drives us to do something that, on the surface, seems to defy all logic?

For me it's about the ultimate competition... I have always been very competitive... sports, martial arts etc. The experience of testing myself against something or someone in a challenge of strength, wit, and skill. What better than the challenge of man vs. beast where the opponent has the home field advantage, is faster, stronger, has keener senses and is a master at surviving under extreme and dangerous conditions? Then throw in the experience of being out in nature and the serenity of the outdoors... and I'm thinking the better question is "Why not?"

[turkeyfeathers]

5 hours ago, Doc said:

I think we all feel that way, but the question is, "Why"? What purpose does it all serve? Why do we feel compelled? What is the motivation that drives us to do something that, on the surface, seems to defy all logic?

It's my place to get away from it all. To observe and learn, to see things I've never seen before and maybe never again. No one day is the same. It's a privilege that so many others aren't able to do or chose not to do. And I'm stubborn as all get out to actually call "uncle" to not go on any given day. Don't want to miss out on anything .

[Curmudgeon]

In my youth, it was an education. In my dotage, it is a time to reflect.

Edited December 26, 2016 by Curmudgeon
Typo

[Uptown Redneck]

On 12/25/2016 at 4:10 AM, Doc said:

shivering from the cold, Maybe rain slowly soaking through your clothes or snot dripping from your frozen nose, trying to ward off the creeping boredom, and having spent all kinds of money and time on expensive gear, just so you can kill something. What makes you do it? 

Not any more.

All of what you so correctly describe is the reason why I now only go out for a few hours for a few days during the season. And if it's brutally cold or raining, not at all.  The desire and passion is no longer there for me to subject myself to the conditions you speak of just so I might get the chance to shoot something. There is plenty of food in the house and many restaurants and supermarkets if I should need more, all heated and dry, are nearby.  

[fasteddie]

1 hour ago, Uptown Redneck said:

Not any more.

All of what you so correctly describe is the reason why I now only go out for a few hours for a few days during the season. And if it's brutally cold or raining, not at all.  The desire and passion is no longer there for me to subject myself to the conditions you speak of just so I might get the chance to shoot something. There is plenty of food in the house and many restaurants and supermarkets if I should need more, all heated and dry, are nearby.  

I guess in your situation , that is the way to go .

I hope I never lose the passion and desire to hunt ... no matter the weather conditions . When that happens I will probably be in a box being lowered into the ground . I have often wondered how many more years I can keep this up but each year I get back out there . Nothing like the adrenaline rush when a deer approaches and you might get a shot . When this stops I will probably give up my Blaze Orange Walker !

[Four Season Whitetail's]

16 minutes ago, fasteddie said:

I guess in your situation , that is the way to go .

I hope I never lose the passion and desire to hunt ... no matter the weather conditions . When that happens I will probably be in a box being lowered into the ground . I have often wondered how many more years I can keep this up but each year I get back out there . Nothing like the adrenaline rush when a deer approaches and you might get a shot . When this stops I will probably give up my Blaze Orange Walker !

So True...But its nice when one has the open time to pick and choose when to hunt. Although at some times of the year a buck may be more apt to show up then others for the most part if you pick the better days to hunt for you it will also be the best time for your game to be up moving.

Time comes with age in a hunters life and one must stay healthy and agile to make sure they can still get out and enjoy at an older age......

[Doc]

16 hours ago, fasteddie said:

I have often wondered how many more years I can keep this up but each year I get back out there .

I have been wondering the same thing I know we cannot go on forever, but every guess I have ever made as to what age I will have to give it up has come up short (thankfully). I wonder what the personal reaction will be when the day finally comes that I will have to call it quits? The motives and drives to hunt are so engrained from a lifetime of outdoor activities and what I call my natural instincts and born-in predatory needs, that it will not be a very good day when things finally give out and force me to hang up the bow and case my deer rifle for the last time. The fact that it will happen some day is what prompted me to ask the original question of this thread. What the heck kind of powerful internal forces are there that would make me endure the discomforts and hardships that hunting can throw at us?

[Merlot]

On 12/25/2016 at 4:10 AM, Doc said:

So there you are, sitting in the woods, shivering from the cold, Maybe rain slowly soaking through your clothes or snot dripping from your frozen nose, Playing all kinds of mind-games trying to ward off the creeping boredom, and having spent all kinds of money and time on expensive gear, just so you can kill something. What makes you do it? What's the addictive motivation for this illogical behavior? Why do you hunt?

My Uncle on the farm taught me to target shoot and then we went out hunting woodchucks. At that moment I was hooked on the experience of hunting. Hunted with Uncle, Dad and friends and enjoyed the camaraderie, friendship, camp experience.

Now those who shaped me are mostly gone now and i hunt on, not just in trying to harvest game, but to remember the good times spent out in the wilderness. My 63rd birthday is creeping up on me and I know I will be putting the Gun and Bow down for the last time in the not too distant future.

I'll keep on enjoying the hunt while I can. Happy New Year to all. 

 

[fasteddie]

58 minutes ago, Merlot said:

My 63rd birthday is creeping up on me and I know I will be putting the Gun and Bow down for the last time in the not too distant future.

I'll keep on enjoying the hunt while I can. Happy New Year to all. 

 

I have 12+ years on you so you still have plenty of time to keep at it Sonny .......

[Merlot]

1 hour ago, fasteddie said:

I have 12+ years on you so you still have plenty of time to keep at it Sonny .......

Thanks Dad...

[Doc]

2 hours ago, Merlot said:

My 63rd birthday is creeping up on me and I know I will be putting the Gun and Bow down for the last time in the not too distant future.

Yes, when they talk about the aging of the hunter population, they are not kidding. I am 72 and will be picking up another year January 3rd. It truly is a case of: "If I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself." I never spent more than a quarter of a second thinking about myself as being in my 70's, but here we are.

The one thing that is for sure is that no one will be able to predict exactly when that date will come that we are going to be forced to hang it all up. And when that day comes, I think it will be a hell of a shock. Something that was a large part of my life will come to an end, and there won't be any replacing it. And here I am today trying to figure out exactly why it is that I ever did it. So many possible answers, but none of them very definitive.

Edited December 27, 2016 by Doc

[Northsox65]

Its funny that someone brought this subject up, I have been thinking about this a lot lately, especially on the days I was sitting in my stand, cold, wind gusting 30mph, nothing moving asking myself "why"? Just on this Forum we have Deer Hunters from all walks of life, Rich/Poor, High school dropouts/College Graduates,   People who drive hours to chase the all mighty Whitetail. All for what? 50-60lbs of meat? For me its in my blood, I grew up in a Hunting Family back in a time when everyone hunted, now we live in a different time and we are definitely the minority. I am the only one in my family that still hunts, and like most of you I probably will till I die,,,,,,,,,,  

[Doc]

It could be that if we understood the motivations, both internal and external, we might stumble on to real effective programs that might developed to reverse the decline of hunter populations. At least it would give us some real ideas of what to work on.

[fasteddie]

Quite often I think there must be a fine line between sitting 15 feet in a stand in the cold freezing air calling it hunting or calling it stupid ! 

[Zem18]

My Dad stopped hunting last year at 78 years old. I was disappointed to say the least but I only got a chance to hunt with him about one weekend a year. Still the thought of him not going to camp with me sucked. It's not the same but I still get out and do it because he taught me how to do it and I enjoy it. Its been a part of my life since I was a small boy and we would go to his 33 acres he owned and pick apples, build a ground brush blind or me tagging along on a deer hunt. My love of the outdoors came from him so to see him hang it up was sad but I understood. His health and my Moms health aren't what they used to be and going to camp and leaving Mom alone is no longer a good idea. It will happen someday but no one knows when.

 Some of my other hunting buddies will not go out in the snow, sleet, rain, or wind but that is my favorite time to be out there. Why? Because all the fair weather hunters are inside or at the mall carrying their wives purses while they shop, and I get the woods to myself (Yeah I'm selfish) I see more game up and moving during the crappy weather than I do when it is comfy enough out to sit in a stand. Snow storms are my favorite time to hunt. (Not the lake effect crap you guys get dumped on with) But  a nice 3 to 10 inch average is incredible not to mention absolutely beautiful scenery. Getting a deer is a bonus in my opinion. I enjoy the outdoors because I am an outdoorsman and I Thank my Father for that.

[moog5050]

Because otherwise I would be way too productive from Oct - Dec.

[nyantler]

3 hours ago, Doc said:

It could be that if we understood the motivations, both internal and external, we might stumble on to real effective programs that might developed to reverse the decline of hunter populations. At least it would give us some real ideas of what to work on.

I have thought about this a lot and believe that as people get more and more embedded in an urban society, the less apt they are to get the younger generation involved in the outdoors... fast paced lives and computer technology has made it hard to grab the attention of the youngsters and I think they see themselves as having little room for hunting. Even those that were avid hunters and grew up in avid hunting families seem to make less and less time for a sit in the stand or a walk in the woods... so it stands to reason they won't be taking their kids hunting any time soon, and if they did... it wouldn't be like the ingrained traditional experience some of us had as a kid. I don't know about you, but opening day as a youngster was just like Christmas in my family... even mom, who didn't hunt, got up bright and early to make breakfast for us and joined in on the excitement of our anticipated hunt

[RobC]

Also one reason is, it's nice to know you CAN do it in case the day comes when you HAVE to do it. 

[Doc]

7 hours ago, RobC said:

Also one reason is, it's nice to know you CAN do it in case the day comes when you HAVE to do it. 

Yes there is a feeling of self-sufficiency and independence that gets into my blood during every hunt. But in reality, if I am to be honest, I and my family would surely starve to death if we were dependent on my hunting for sustenance.

[Doc]

15 hours ago, nyantler said:

I have thought about this a lot and believe that as people get more and more embedded in an urban society, the less apt they are to get the younger generation involved in the outdoors... fast paced lives and computer technology has made it hard to grab the attention of the youngsters and I think they see themselves as having little room for hunting. Even those that were avid hunters and grew up in avid hunting families seem to make less and less time for a sit in the stand or a walk in the woods... so it stands to reason they won't be taking their kids hunting any time soon, and if they did... it wouldn't be like the ingrained traditional experience some of us had as a kid. I don't know about you, but opening day as a youngster was just like Christmas in my family... even mom, who didn't hunt, got up bright and early to make breakfast for us and joined in on the excitement of our anticipated hunt

I was just thinking of much the same thing the other day as I glanced around the Christmas table and watched all the youngsters wearing their thumbs down feverishly pounding out messages. I even saw two of them that were sitting next to each other texting between themselves. And I was thinking to myself, "These are the kids we are supposed to interest in hunting? ...... It can't be done!" The harder we try to keep the activity alive, the more technological items that get invented to deflect new comers from hunting. That's why just dragging a kid out in the woods needs something new and untried to change the basic motivations. I thought this thread might uncover something, but I guess it is society that we would have to change. Sadly, it ain't going to happen.

[Jeremy K]

I ultimately believe in my heart ,my number one reason would be time spent with my dad . I'm really looking forward to introducing my son to hunting/fishing/being a sportsman. It sure will bring back fond memories of when I was the student and dad was the teacher.

[Salmon_Run]

I have been thinking about this over the holidays. There are so many subtle little things I enjoy about the hunting experience; from just being at camp with family and being by the fire at night. The smells and ability to cover such vast terrain in the Adirondacks right outside my front door. Crazy things like sitting in the outhouse on a brisk morning in total silence watching smoke curl from my chimney. Hunting in snow and listening to the snow fall on the evergreens while sitting in a swamp alone.

The more I thought of these subtle things I found the harvest of any animal was on the list but was removed from some of the greatest joys I experienced.

I still hunt in the rain at least one day every year just to ensure that I still don't like it !!!

Enjoy and hope all for a safe 2017!!!!

[Team Hoyt]

To get away from everyday stress, make memories, spend time with family/friends. To feed my family. It's my life.