I want to know what YOU love about hunting and being out in the woods!
11-02-2012, 08:58 AM
#12
Spike
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 2
theres nothing better than hitting the woods just before sun up when the fog is rolling out and you see your next meal come walking through the brush. it brings you back to a time when things were simple and made sense it also tickles that primitave instinct we all have inside of us . theres not one hunter i know that wouldnt start a camp fire and cook their meat in the woods if possible.
11-03-2012, 11:31 AM
#15
Typical Buck
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Godfrey, Il.
Posts: 814
All the above, with one addition. I feel closer to God while in the woods than I ever did in church, not that church is a bad thing. I just prefer my new church, The Mossy Oak Baptist Revival. LOL. Good hunting to everyone.
11-03-2012, 12:01 PM
#16
Spike
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Dearing, Georgia
Posts: 14
Being in the solitude and peace of the outdoors, seeing life continue around you as if you aren't even there, family memories growing up and being taught by my father and my grandpa about the woods and how to respect it.
11-05-2012, 10:24 AM
#18
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location:
Posts: 6,357
Great question. I like the feeling of having prepared myself in many ways for being ready for going into the woods to hunt and then going into the woods. This includes physical training to be physically fit for the rigors of hunting as well as collecting the right gear over a long period of time and then packing up and traveling. I like walking away from my truck in the dark to my chosen hunting spot -- a clump of brush overlooking a trail, a hedge at the foot of a clear cut hill where deer will cross. I like sitting still in the dark waiting for the slow dawning of the day. I like hearing owls patiently calling to each other from out of the dark in their whisky-molasses voices. I like having the cares and worries of work and family life far away. I like experiencing my acute physical senses that are awakened and kindled by going into the woods to hunt. I like the smell of dirt and leaves and the pungent odor of cedar trees. I like seeing animals awaken and begin moving around in the early light. I like seeing the sunlight glinting off leaves and tree limbs and persimmons and little red clusters of berries down by a creek. I like walking through the woods looking for sign, imagining the lay of the land as the deer would see it. I like taking a lunch-time break and eating handfulls of granola, trailmix, and M&M candies I mix together and call "GORP." I like holding my deer rifle in my hands and feeling its solidity.
I like the sudden electric shock I feel when a deer first haltingly steps out of the brush into my field of vision. I like drawing my rifle down on the deer, seeing the cross-hairs steady, and pulling the trigger. I like the loud reverberation of my rifle echoing in the woods. I like to see my deer cleanly killed falling to earth. I like skillfully field dressing my deer and getting him out of the woods. I like the satisfaction I feel of a successful hunt well conducted. I like butchering the meat myself, packaging meal sized pieces of meat sized for my family. I like accumualting these packages of meat in the freezer. I like cooking these venison dinners myself and drinking well chosen wines with the meal. I like sharing this meal with family and friends. It is always a pleasant surprise how EVERYONE likes the venison (or more recently elk). There is a lot of variation in my family as to who likes to eat what. No variation on venison/elk/pronghorn -- EVERYONE loves them.
I don't know many things I like better than hunting. I have transitioned from being a deer hunter to an elk hunter in recent years. Elk hunting is just more of the same only more. I like the physical task of walking miles at 11000' to hunt my elk. I like the wild raucous bugle of a bull elk in the frosty morning. I like the wierd slippery sound of cow elk -- their strange "mewing" sound. I like sleeping in a canvas wall tent, buried in a sleeping bag, seeing the low dull red glow of the wood stove, hearing the snap and crackle of the wood fire, smelling a gentle hint of wood smoke, knowing that it is about 15 degrees outside and knowing that I'll be getting up in a few hours to hunt elk -- or even better, knowing that I have already bagged my elk and tomorrow I go out to pack my meat back to camp. I like the long drive up the mountain to elk camp. I like the long drive down the mountain with several ice chests loaded with elk quarters even more. I like the day long drive over the prairie to get to my elk hunting destination -- a long period of reflection and mounting excitement, a chance to redirect my thoughts to hunting. I like looking out over a wide sweep of mountains. I like seeing the elk stride out of the forest and choosing one of the elk to shoot. I guess I wouldn't exactly say I like carrying the elk out, but I like the state AFTER this difficult task is over, I like having CARRIED the elk out. I like the camraderie of the other elk hunters who share their elk camp with me.
I like the sudden electric shock I feel when a deer first haltingly steps out of the brush into my field of vision. I like drawing my rifle down on the deer, seeing the cross-hairs steady, and pulling the trigger. I like the loud reverberation of my rifle echoing in the woods. I like to see my deer cleanly killed falling to earth. I like skillfully field dressing my deer and getting him out of the woods. I like the satisfaction I feel of a successful hunt well conducted. I like butchering the meat myself, packaging meal sized pieces of meat sized for my family. I like accumualting these packages of meat in the freezer. I like cooking these venison dinners myself and drinking well chosen wines with the meal. I like sharing this meal with family and friends. It is always a pleasant surprise how EVERYONE likes the venison (or more recently elk). There is a lot of variation in my family as to who likes to eat what. No variation on venison/elk/pronghorn -- EVERYONE loves them.
I don't know many things I like better than hunting. I have transitioned from being a deer hunter to an elk hunter in recent years. Elk hunting is just more of the same only more. I like the physical task of walking miles at 11000' to hunt my elk. I like the wild raucous bugle of a bull elk in the frosty morning. I like the wierd slippery sound of cow elk -- their strange "mewing" sound. I like sleeping in a canvas wall tent, buried in a sleeping bag, seeing the low dull red glow of the wood stove, hearing the snap and crackle of the wood fire, smelling a gentle hint of wood smoke, knowing that it is about 15 degrees outside and knowing that I'll be getting up in a few hours to hunt elk -- or even better, knowing that I have already bagged my elk and tomorrow I go out to pack my meat back to camp. I like the long drive up the mountain to elk camp. I like the long drive down the mountain with several ice chests loaded with elk quarters even more. I like the day long drive over the prairie to get to my elk hunting destination -- a long period of reflection and mounting excitement, a chance to redirect my thoughts to hunting. I like looking out over a wide sweep of mountains. I like seeing the elk stride out of the forest and choosing one of the elk to shoot. I guess I wouldn't exactly say I like carrying the elk out, but I like the state AFTER this difficult task is over, I like having CARRIED the elk out. I like the camraderie of the other elk hunters who share their elk camp with me.
Last edited by Alsatian; 11-05-2012 at 10:51 AM.
