<center><u>Why Do I Hunt?</u></center>

Why do I hunt? A good question, a question which has forced me to sit and think about a sport I love. Why hunt when I can just go down to the supermarket and buy meat to feed my family? Why do I hunt in this age where others think it is their life’s mission to stop me? Why do I every year spend time in the forest waiting for something to walk by so I can shoot it? Why do I endure my wife’s complaints every year about going to the deer woods? The one little question conjures many more!

I am a hunter! Yet this is not enough to answer why I hunt. I hunt for many reasons some of which will be understood by all while others will not be understood by any except a hunter. I hunt because I enjoy it. Not only do I enjoy the harvesting of a deer but all that surrounds the act of hunting. I enjoy the time I spend in the woods sitting quietly waiting for that trophy deer. I enjoy the time spent with my son and daughter where we are alone with no others but the citizens of the forest. I enjoy the time I spend with individuals who are both friends and hunting partners. I enjoy observing nature in a way that no television can capture. I enjoy the smell of the campfire. I enjoy sitting before a camp fire on a chill night listening to a friend pick at his guitar envious that I do not posses that talent. I enjoy the smell and taste of camp food no matter how bad it looks. I enjoy hunting because it arouses feelings that only come alive during this time of the year.

I hunt with a rifle that belonged to my grandfather. I did not know my grandfather as he died before I was born. But I do know a little of him. He was born on a ranch in Idaho and did not know how old he was when he died. The rifle was bought by him when he was but a teenager and used like so many in those days to bring extra money, (from local shooting competitions), and meat, (from hunting), home. Since this rifle had been used for competition shooting it now has a trigger that is light to the pull. He prized this rifle all through his life and I know of relatives, (now gone), that have hunted with him while using this rife. I know that he would feel pride knowing that his grandson is still hunting with his rifle.

I feel pride when I’m in the forest with my son or daughter. I know that I am passing on knowledge and family traditions. Both have observed wildlife going about their daily business of life and both have been excited about what they have seen. My daughter has expressed a desire to become a veterinarian. I don’t know if this is because of our trips together, but I would like to think so. My son has followed me many a time and he too has learned some of the ways of the forest. I too have seen wildlife while awaiting the buck. I will be forever grateful for those sights which I have been allowed to observe. I am proud that I have been able to pass these things along and that they will last for another generation.

I hunt for many reasons of which I have only expressed but a few. I can never fully explain why I hunt nor will I ever be able to satisfy every individual who asks this question. No one but a fellow hunter will ever fully understand why I hunt.