CAelknuts

Stealthy, the reasons I hunt are many. Mostly though, it is for the great memories of wildlife encounters and good times shared with friends. I hunt game large and small, as well as birds. I get as much enjoyment out of a simple deer hunt 30 minutes from my house, as I do from an adventure in Alaska or Africa. That said, some of the best moments I've enjoyed have been some of the more exotic. Hunting Cape Buffalo in thick cover is incredibly tense, and exciting. I wouldn't trade those memories for anything. Another memory that will remain vivid until the day I die is nearly being trampled by an enraged bull elephant that I shot at 10 yards as he was bearing down on me. On the other hand, I can also still recall the first duck my son ever killed, which was a hen woodie that he killed on opening day of the season when he was 9 years old. He also shot his first turkey that year, a jake that I called across a deep draw, got him to fly over to us and my son shot him when he landed and then strutted into our view. Those are some of the reasons I hunt. Heck, I can remember the first duck I ever killed, some 40 years ago. It was a drake green winged teal that I made a lucky shot on (I assure you, no skill was involved) out of a flock that was streaking by just above the water on my end of a sunken blind on a very foggy morning.

I get as much enjoyment out of watching a blacktail buck where I hunt near my home as I do watching a grizzly or dall sheep in Alaska, and have enjoyed both extremes plenty of times.

Other reasons include the chance to share days afield with good friends. I still remember some of the final duck hunts my father and I enjoyed before he died on Christmas eve of 1980. He was out in the blind the day before he passed, and died at our club's house. I'll never forget those memories, and they're a part of why I hunt. The very best memories I have of my father are those times we shared hunting together.

Another is the pleasure I've derived from taking many kids out for their first hunts. Whether it's been a kid shooting a mallard or wood duck for his first bird, or a Rio Grande gobbler, I've taken a few dozen kids out for their very first hunts, and I get more pleasure out of those hunts than most of those kids do. I always look forward to hunting in the marsh when the leaves are turning color, and the willows and cottonwoods are golden, with a breeze and birds in the air. I also enjoy those frigid, foggy days when everything on the marsh is gray, like you might see in a Chet Reneson watercolor. One of my most cherished duck hunting partners was a fellow who died a few years ago at 95 years old. The last time I took him out he was 92, and it didn't matter a whole lot what we killed or didn't on those trips. That we got to share days togehter on the marsh, watching the sun rise over the Sutter Buttes, did matter. Those are a few of the reasons I hunt.

I also hunt for the challenge of killing animals with large antlers. When I was younger, I used to hunt to kill something, and it didn't have to be large, as much as it had to present an opportunity to shoot it. These days, I don't worry to much about whether I kill something or not, buti if I do shoot something, chances are that most of the time it will be a mature animal that has lived most of its life. Those animals usually carry large horns or antlers. I'm not always that way, as the last elk I did kill a few yeas ago was a small 6 point that was probably only three or four years old. I'd decided before I left home that I was going to shoot the first 6 pt. bull I had a chance to take, regardless of his size, so when I got the chance I took him, even though he was a smaller bull than I'd normally draw my bow back to shoot. On the other hand, one of the last bulls I killed before him was a giant that was probably 10-13 years old. He'd definitely qualify for your term - horn porn. Does that make one better than the other, or worse? Not in my book. Both gave me great memories of enjoyable hunts, and both adorn the fireplace in my game room. If you were to view my game room (don't worry, you'll never visitit) you'd see a mix of animals that are large and small. Some probably don't qualify as trophies to many, but they're included because of special memories I have of them, or the hunt for them. Others are large, with Boone and Crockett, Pope and Young and Rowland Ward caliber animals displayed. None of them are entered into record books, nor will they likely ever be. I'm sure you'd find some of them offensive because they surely qualify as your term of horn porn.

The reasons I hunt are many and varied, as I suspect is the case with most people. I don't know why you hunt, don't really care. You asked the question, so you got an answer. I'll worry about my hunts, you worry about yours.