Guys,

I hope each of you are well and Merry Christmas from Dixie to you and your families.

I was curious if any of you felt like I do in terms of deer hunting. I am an avid hunter and have been going since I was about 5 years old. Started out with Pops, sitting in the deer stand with him, and eventually grew to use a shotgun with him in the stand, a finally a rifle hunting alone when I was 13 or so. When I was growing up, we did not get to hunt all that often, so I grew to absolutely cherish it, each time we were able to go.

More than anything else, I treasured the time with my father and older brother and all th rest of our "hunting buddies" on that old Wilkinson County, Ga lease that we still enjoy today. Back then, the whitetail population down here was not what it is now, and it was a big deal when somebody got a deer, even if it was a spike buck. But honestly, more times than not, we left those weekends without a deer in tow, but we never left empty handed, for the memories made will last forever.

Each of those hunts and camping trips as a youngster implanted in me a true passion and love for the Southern outdoors that is still burning from within. And I am not what I would refer to as a "blood thirsty" hunter. I enjoy killing a good buck and I eat a lot of venison, so I will take a good doe every now and again. But I am not one of these hunters who sets out to the stand all in hopes of taking the life of a whitetail. It is difficult to explain to non-hunters, but I know the good folks on this board understand when I say that the toughest part of hunting for me is pulling the trigger. It is part of it, and while I may celebrate the harvest of a good buck or doe, I never take pleasure in ending the life of that animal. I have seen less than savory "hunters" that do and it bothers me greatly.

I am more of the frame of mind to say a quiet prayer of thanks when I retrieve the animal, first to thank the Good Lord for the opportunity to be in the woods, but also as an honor to the deer whose life I took.

And I am not sure why I get as much pleasure watching a few deer in the woods as I do harvesting a deer, maybe it is b/c I grew up in a time where we did not see too many of them to begin with. The point of my message today is to mention a "hunting" show I have seen some on a couple of times now. I have immediately changed the channel each time I have seen the intro, b/c I cannot, with a good conscience, watch the show. the reason why is b/c in the intro, it shows a clip of some guy saying, "Something's gonna die today!" or something similar.

Guys, a lot of hunting shows sicken me b/c they are canned hunts or whatever. But this show, for this jerk to come on the screen and announce that he is going to cause "something to die" to me is irreverant and disrespectful. I will not support it and I wanted to know if anyone else out there felt like this tried and true Southern deer hunter?

I talk a lot about "respect" and how I demand it. And I do. Awards, accolades, etc, etc. But to me, what matters more than anything is the respect that I show the animals that I hunt and even those that I don't. What matters is the respect I have for the land I walk on in pursuit of the elusive whitetail. The land I hunt on and the deer I pursue demand it - and I will give it with no hesitation.

Hope all of you have a blessed Christmas time, enjoyed with family and even a few friends.

TDWW