GOOD post, Atlas.
I like Atlasman feel a sense of saddness when I first lay my hand on my animal. Mixed feelings pour over me, I'm elated, sorry, happy, sad, thankful, mornful, proud, humble...that's what makes me human.
Rob: That's well-put. hear! hear!
I have NOTHING but EXTREME respect and regards for the animals I hunt. I am not a highly (Openly)religious man.....but I'm most 'at-one" with MY God when I'm in his back yard. Do I enjoy killing? NO! Will I do it? YES! Will I gain any satisfaction from the actual "kill"? That's tough. The fact is.....the end result of a successful HARVEST is that an animal has lost its' life. I WILL NOT disrespect God OR that animal by making a mockery of the moment. I feel a DEEP connection with these animals we hunt. If you REALLY stop and think about it........what you've done is ended a being's LIFE. That's huge. Show some respect.
I watched a mountain goat hunt on TV, last year.....where Will Primos was trying to get one with a bow. They hiked ALL OVER that mountain range.....and he couldn't get into bow range. He finally took one with a rifle. When they got to the animal (quite a hike)......the guides (a family).....surprised me by joining hands (and Will did with NO hesitation) to say a prayer over the harvest. I don't mind telling you.....it was touching. It was befitting. It was a show I'll never forget. They got it right.
I took one shot with the bow, last year. It was a miss at a doe on the next to last day of the season. I did 2 things wrong on that day. I underestimated the yardage.....and I know I was aiming too low (now). THAT was a successful hunt. I had PLENTY of successful hunts, last year.....and I didn't harvest a deer. It set me up for this year. I had one morning in the stand, last year that started with a 1/2 rack 6-pointer (3 on one side) coming into my set.....and staying around for 30 minutes. I was in a stand less than 10 yds from an active scrape.....and he came in....went through the routine....andI could not have been more THRILLED and excited. I felt like I had witnessed something that VERY FEW people will ever get to......or even understand.What a thrill.....he was the first buck I'd EVER seen in the wild (I disposed of his carcass, this Spring.....He was hit by a car). He was followed by 4 does.......and I watched and listened to him grunt and chase those does EVERYWHERE! The fourth "doe" ended up being a little button buck. I watched HIM stand on his back legs to get to the licking branch (same scrape).....and then do his own rendition of scraping back the earth in the scrape. THAT is magical. I watched 2 other bucks work this same scrape that day......and left the woods TOTALLY exhausted. I had had a VERY full day. Was it a successful "hunt"? Oh yes.
When I was riding Harleys......there was a phrase that "bikers" used. A lot of people would put it on helmet stickers and t-shirts. This phrase also applies to hunting (I believe).
It reads:
"If I have to explain it......you wouldn't understand"
Jeff