The Importance of Tradition in hunting
 

Opening day of shotgun season has come to Western NY ..... I consider myself mainly a bowhunter, and would rather bowhunt to chase deer than any other method ....... however, there is a day that supercedes all of bowhunting FOR ME ..... due to the tradition that was started with my Grandfather and continued with my Dad ..... opening day of shotgun season! For the last 25 years, that day has been one of pre-hunt togetherness, talking over strategies, reminiscing of past successful opening day hunts, my Dad allowing me to take off school, as the opener was always on a Monday, Dad letting me drink some of his coffee from an old Stanley thermos .. dented from many trips afield, hearing Dad'sgun go off, walking to his spot,and then seeing him with his coat off and his red and black flannel shirt, sleeves rolled up, and knife in hand. Going to hisground blindto have lunch with him .... next thing we know, here comes a doe ..... I take out her heart and lungs with my hero standing next to me ..... he follows the blood trail and calls me over ... there she is .....

there are so many more, but the internet has only so much space ;)

So when some of you bowhunters say that it is so much more satisfying for you to take a deer with a bow ..... God bless you ......just know that it's ALL personal ....... I love shooting deer with a bow ...... but when I shot the 8 pointer this past Saturday's shotgun opener, I can tell you this ..... there was not one bow kill that could compare to shooting that buck, and ALL the tradition that has led up to it ........

I just wanted to share this with my friends in the bowhunting forum .... do any of you guys have similair thoughts?

RE: The Importance of Tradition in hunting
 

No I don't, Tony.....but I'll tell you this....

I ENVY your relationship with your dad......and all like yours. Never had that. I'm trying to start my own traditions......and "we're" doing OK (my son and I).

That has to be one of the most special feelings in the world.....and I'm happy for you. I don't have ANY regrets about my upbringing. None. I just never had that. My mom is the strongest, most resilientwoman in the world. I'll tell her that, AGAIN, tonight.

You can throw a lot of stuff out the window.......that means ABSOLUTELY nothing when it comes right down to the MOST important things in life. I'd give $10K to eat supper with my grandpa, tonight......just to show him how I turned out....and to introduce him to my family.

It's a LOT bigger than a hunting trip, Tony. But I guess that would be preaching to the........well, you know;)

RE: The Importance of Tradition in hunting
 

Good post, however I feel slightly different.

While I wouldn’t trade the memories made growing up and rifle hunting with family, I certainly wouldn’t continue with a “tradition” solely based on those memories.
Over the years I’ve come to have a different appreciation of hunting than that from which I started. I don’t think I could return to those past states of mind, and hunt that way in the present day. Although I will hold dear those roots that have made me into the person I am today.
I was fortunate to hunt a lot with my Dad. No other hunting partner will ever compare. He’s older and less inclined to head out these days so we don’t hunt together as much anymore. If/when we do get out together, I still hunt under my own convictions, or sometimes I am not even carrying a weapon, just there for the company and hopefully to be the workhorse during a drag. Traditions and old memories aren’t why I am out there, but sharing the present day moment is.

RE: The Importance of Tradition in hunting
 

Yeah I have similiar feelings PT and it's funny I spent this past Saturday shotgun hunting the openerwith my dad on our small farm and had a blast missing an oppurunity on a decent buck and catching a little flack for it. Why would I hunt this little farm with little to no agriculture and onlymoderate #'s of deer(at best) when I could be hunting in the heart of the Eastern Shore in anarea thick with farmland and rutting deer? Because we too have a lot of family tradition and fond memories on that little farm and I wouldn't of missed it. I am so thankful for him and my grandad for introducinghunting into my life and even though I approach hunting a lot differently than they did/do without them layingthe foundation I couldn't have become the hunter I am now.

RE: The Importance of Tradition in hunting
 

I guess I don't take deer hunting as seriously as some of you do ..... I love it, don't get me wrong, but if I had to choose hunting with all those other things previously mentioned, and the standards there in, against all this modern day, gotta get the biggest buck "conviction" that I see in deer hunting today, gimme those old paths ..... but that's me ....... back in the day, a good deer was measured by # of points and body size .... now we have grown our own and manipulate the geneticsso the deer fit into the mold we want them in ....... If that's how some of you like, I am glad that you can hunt that way ...... but there is something missing in all that IMO ...... simplicity ......

RE: The Importance of Tradition in hunting
 

That's what I'm talkin about NEW ....... I realize that some don't have that and just won't get it ..... there is no other feeling like it

Jeff ....I pray you will establish those traditions ...... I appreciate the fact that even though you never had it, you still want it for those in your life ..... it speaks to the man that you are ..... :)

RE: The Importance of Tradition in hunting
 

I think tradition, ESPECIALLY family tradition, plays a monstrous role in deer hunting. Opening day of the firearms season is always a time that families get together, and for some, it's the only time during the year they do so.

Family, and friend, deer camps are very much traditional. As has been eluded to, killing deer is only a small part of it. Reminiscing, catching up, planning hunts, sharing stories, talking strategy.......It's all part of the scene, and vital to the future of hunting.

But I think those same traditions can be played out regardless of the weapon used. I personally bow hunt only. I haven't taken a firearm deer hunting in 2 or 3 years. But just because I hunt w/ a bow doesn't mean deer camp isn't the same. The same stories are shared, the same strategy is discussed...And the same catching up w/ family and friends is done. The weapon of choice has nothing to do w/ it.

I can see, though....how for some the weapon would be part of that tradition. To them I say carry on!

RE: The Importance of Tradition in hunting
 

Some put tradition in dates, weapon, or an area. Like Tony posted more about the "hunt" than the weapon, more about family than anything else.
I sit with grandfather atleast once a year during gun season. I do not have a gun, so I sit with him. That is what really matters, we are together in the woods.

RE: The Importance of Tradition in hunting
 

tradition for me is kinda hard when it comes to deer hunting. my dad tried bow hunting 15-20 years ago and was never successful, so he hung up the bow. he tried again about 10 years ago or so with the muzzleloader, but again no success. while he does go hunting every year, it is usually only for a weekend and that is to do deer drives. i dont think that he really likes deer hunting but every year i try to get him out there.

i learned to hunt from my aunt and uncle, which i am very grateful for. if i still lived near them i would be hunting with them all the time. my dad had to move before the rest of the family when it was time for me to start deer hunting. he knew that my aunt and uncle would be great teachers and since he couldnt do it himself, he asked them to teach me everything they knew about hunting. they did a great job to say the least.

i do wish that my dad would go hunting a little bit more. i think that it is a great thing to be able to hunt right along side your father every once in awhile. since my dad hasnt really hunted with me much, i try to get friends and my brother to hunt with me as much as possible. trying to start new traditions i guess.

RE: The Importance of Tradition in hunting
 

PT
You mis-judged my meaning of conviction. While it is true that I wait on a big for my area buck before I will attempt to shoot it, my reference to conviction was more methodical than kill driven.

"HOW" I kill a deer matters to me more than "IF" I kill one. That's the reason I carried a longbow so many hunts this year. Its the reason, I will have a bow instead of a gun on monday. Its the reason I wait on a big buck, rather than just killing any one that comes by for the sake of doing so.