Alsatian

This is absolutely a matter for each hunter to determine for themselves. Let me speak for myself. I am relatively new to big game hunting. I've hunted three deer seasons and one pronghorn antelope season. I think I would be disappointed if I went hunting and did not take an animal. On the other hand, I think after I have hunted longer that bagging an animal will be less important and the hunting process alone would be satisfaction enough. This is not to say I don't enjoy all aspects of the hunt while I am hunting and before I have bagged my animal, I just think I would be disappointed to go home empty handed.

I believe that the greatest pleasures and rewards in hunting for meare inthe activity of hunting itself. Being out an hour or hour and half before sunrise. Sitting in the calm woods with a fine rifle in my hands. The feeling of suspense waiting for the hunt to play out according to its peculiar destiny. The pleasure of doing things right -- finding my way to my choosen ambush spot in the dark, of concealing myself in a ground blind, controlling my motions and my sounds. Listening to the owls before day light. Eating a lunch in the woods. Seeing and hearing wildlife. All of this is what I love most about hunting, but alas I fear I am not mature enough of a hunter to be satisfied with this alone. At some point I imagine I will be.

In my particular case I am not a trophy hunter. I will readily take a doe and will not go out of my way to try to bag a trophy buck/bull. Partly this is because I don't need any extra challenge to enjoy hunting (granted, bagging a bragging sized buck increases the challenge level) and partly it is because chasing big racks involves some serious money for more expensive tags and for guides. In some cases, particularly pronghorns, outfitters have found the places where the big bucks hang out and have leased exclusive hunting rights for their clients. I don't have the money to play that game. Additionally, getting big horns may involve chasing limited entry tags and not hunting every year. I would rather hunt deer or cow elk than hunt limited entry tags. My home is not big enough to accommodate a bull elk head on the wall -- not without looking pretty damn silly! I like cooking and eating game, and does/cows probably generally taste better and more tender than bucks/bulls. Just my preferences. I don't disparage others who do trophy hunt.