RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

All the above and one more: it's the right thing to do.

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

WHY DO I HUNT?...I could go on forever.Talk about the peace and quiet,the being one with nature,the things that I see that a non-hunter will NEVER see.The broterhood of being with others like myself,a chance to enjoy a sunrise and sunset the way that it's supposed to be enjoyed,and on and on and on.The bottom line is we were all born hunters,some retained it,others did not.I have 2 sons that have very little interest in hunting and neither does my wife.I don't try to force them to do something that they are not truly interested in.Do I wish they would join me?Of course,but it is their decision to make.One day,who knows,they may want to get involved,and if so,they will be welcomed with open arms.No questions asked.In the meantime,I don't try to mold them into copies of me,and they don't try to change me.Final thought...I HUNT BECAUSE I LOVE TO HUNT!!!

[Deleted]
 

[Deleted by Admins]

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

Why do I hunt?? Let me count the reasons. Firstly, why do I miss church on Sunday to sit in a deer stand? Because it lets me do more than just pray to God, when I am allowed to sit there in the cold, enduring the bitter winter, God rewards me, I see him, the world comes to life before my very eyes, several mornings I'll just sit for hours on end just watching, even if deer do come out, I'll just watch them in all of His glory. It gives me an inner peace like nothing else, I feel like everything is right in the world, at least for the moment.
Secondly, I am a natural predator, I'm going to use the abilities that God has blessed me with. It is a way to get back to nature, to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, to just be myself, to do what I love.
Thirdly, I hunt to preserve the balance of animal populations and protect the non-hunters. Whether it be protecting them from overrun deer populations, resulting in hundreds, if not thousands of car accidents in Kansas annually or emmense damage to farmers' crops, or from overrun coyote populations that carry away ranchers' young calves, or lambs, or ducks, or housepets.
Finally, I hunt because as Hank Williams Jr. put it, it's a "family tradition." My great grandfather took my grandfather who took my father who took me, leaving a connection through the generations. It doesn't matter if my father and I are mad as hornets with eachother, when we load up the dogs and hit the creek looking for ringtail bandits, we're just as close as ever. And to follow tradition, I will take my children hunting, and teach them to respect nature and the land the way I was taught by my father.

I'm doubtful that this is likely to be the one any of you vote for, but if it is, I'd be glad to have it published anywhere you want to put it, Dakota Base.

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

When does everyone want to start voting on a favorite? and should we do it on the same thread or move it to a different one?

"Nocked,cocked & ready to rock"

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

BOWFANATIC you may want to do the voting by email, just a suggestion, there are some good ones.

The Tazman

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

Why do I hunt?

Because I can.

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

bump

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

I hunt to be able to be out in the woods, or if you prefer, nature, to be by my self, to get away from day to day, and think about differnt things, its not only the hunt i enjoy, but just enjoying the differnt, things you see out there

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

I hunt to be able to be out in the woods, or if you prefer, nature, to be by my self, to get away from day to day, and think about differnt things, its not only the hunt i enjoy, but just enjoying the differnt, things you see out there

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

bump

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

So many of you have excellent accounts. A couple mentioned this post making them think, reading the responses caused me to think about the question again.

Why do I hunt?

Hunting comes natural to me. So much so that I've rarely questioned why? As I think about it, I realize the drive to hunt is natural for human kind.

Who among us doesn't "hunt" for something every day? We hunt for: truth, answers, objects, desires, and happiness every day that we are alive. Its not that we are neccessarily even aware of it, its our nature. Its simple really, we are driven to set goals, to learn more, to find and obtain what is elusive to us, and once accomplished, to do better.

Some will ask "how can you relate this to hunting animals?" and it is a very reasonable question, yet the answer is clear....People tend to seek out what they enjoy, they pour their energy into finding, learning, and obtaining knowledge of the things that matter most to them. Once a goal is reached, new goals are set and the process continues. Hunters of wild game are no different. We enjoy the quarry, the environment, the experience, and even the quest itself. To many of us their is simply no place that we'd rather be.

It occurs to me that some might confuse "the hunt" with the killing of an animal. Make no mistake, the goals set by the hunter, usually culminate in the killing of their quarry. Yet, its not the death of the animal that makes us rejoice, it IS the hunt. As hunters, we make no apologies for reaching our goal. Every hunt is an experience that we draw upon for the future.

We share our love of the hunt with our freinds and family, we hope that they may have the same appreciation we do for the woods, and the animals we hunt. We gain an understanding for the natural world, that many people only read about. We become a part of it, rather than merely an observer.

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

Why I hunt.
I hunt to keep my sanity.In a world like we live in it is wonderful to have time to share with nature and challenge ourselves one on one with the animals on this earth.I have seen so many things nature has to offer that had I not walked in woods,I feel my life would be different.I need that most valuble time just to reflect on what a great life we have.To sum it a up,Theres so much more than just a trophy on wall.As long as I am abble I will search for what mother nature has to offer me,one day at a time for the hunter is truly blessed.Oklahoma hunter with a passion for hunting and the great outdoors!

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

Hummm...Why do we hunt?? Well, as I read the posts I realized we do things for different reasons..I like all of you have been hit with this question on many occasions..

My past has put me in the surrondings of executives from corporations and a lot of anti-s...Most times the question is related to a general lack of understanding of the whole premise of hunting. You know what I mean, the folks that ask: "Did you catch anything"?? Oh, how I hate that..

I usually start by asking them what they see hunting as??

Most see it as a barbaric ACT not sport that is associated with drunken, half camo clad individuals with blaze orange hats...Thus, I relate stereo typical ideas to curb this stance...

I ask a sensitive question generally regarding something like: Yes, that is not a good picture of hunting, but would you associate racial issues to the actions of a few who make the news.???

Generally, they say no...Then I head this direction..

We as Americans are weak regarding death or blood or anything that is not anti-septic...Our food comes in packages, pre-cooked, etc... Many people, men and women alike, are unable to cook real food these days..

So, relating this fact, I pose this question:

What is it exactly that you are against regarding hunting?? Most say it is inhumane..To which I ask if they are familiar with slaughtering operations?? Of course most are not.. A brief description of how animals are dispatched, along with the idea that when an animal arrives it knows it's fate as it has senses that we have long since lost..They are able to detect death in the air...So, once they arrive they know their fate as it is inevitable..Chickens or cattle are treated much the same..You can relate this also...

Some say we only eat fish... So, I generally ask if they would put a plastic bag on an animals head to kill it??

"No, of course not, that would be terrible..." Then I add that a fish needs water to obtain oxygen and most are thrown into the hold into ice to die...

Many are caught off guard with this approach...Then I realate the fact that a deer or elk or whatever has a chance..As it can detect me using it's natural senses and go another direction..Unlike the animals in the pens at the slaughter house...

Many become intrigued by facts not my emotions...I now relate the traditional aspects that I grew up on a farm and started hunting as a young boy after school..

When other boys were getting in trouble I was walking in the woods, spending time with nature and my Springer Spaniel...

I learned many years later that what makes me hunt is the fact that in our lives we do many things that are structured and routine..Hunting is not.. Each encounter is different..Over the years I have made many kills, but these days I spend more time waiting during hunting...The kill is relatively unimportant... I will admit I am a trophy hunter these days...Does go in the freezer, and bone on my wall...

My mind wanders while out..I dump the office gossip and general back stabbing.. My brain cleanses and reverts to finding those senses long lost.. The movement of the wind before daylight..That moment of stillness just before the woods come alive..That stillness and the wandering of my mind tend to go hand in hand..As my senses adjust to each change my mind takes me to a time long past that allows me a primal relationship with nature..I think of my family and friends and how good it is to be alive...The added benefit is when all my actions were right and I am presented with the prey..Will I act right, not rush my actions, control my breathing, will the stand make noise.?? That is why I hunt...Thanks for the moment..

Oh, my wife was not a big hunter either, now she has watched me for many years and we now make trips which are mainly for us to spend some time out...

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

Yeah, my family hunts for the food. And because we know that God made the animals for us to watch, enjoy, and eat. It's just natual to hunt like Cardeer and Mark Whiz said. Why don't anti-hunters hunt?

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

Yeah, my family hunts for the food. And because we know that God made the animals for us to watch, enjoy, and eat. It's just natual to hunt like Cardeer and Mark Whiz said. Why don't anti-hunters hunt?

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

Greets,
Well, havent read all the posts yet, but my answer is simple.. kind of..
I really cant put into words the reason, I am drawn to hunting. I enjoy the satisfaction i get from a good hunt. I can name several seasons that felt more like work than fun, but I still go out... its just the "call of the wild" I guess. I will hunt so long as it is legal to do so, because in the end I enjoy it's rewards more than most other activities.

Just my uneducated opinion!
Terry

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

I hunt for several reasons.To get away from the everyday Rat Race. To be out with Mother Nature at her finest.To provide meat for the year.Even if nothing is harvested just being in God's country make it worthwhile.God made these animals for food and I love the challenge.Been hunting for many years and will as long as I'm able to.God and Government willing.Ruger Redhawk

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

Explaining why I like to hunt isn't the easiest thing to do. I guess it's because I love the challenge of chasing game. I love being in the outdoors, in untouched land the way God intended it. And I love the comradierie (i know it is spelled wrong) that goes along with being out with the guys hunting. But most of all, I love that moment of truth that happens right when you're pulling the trigger. There is absolutely nothing like it.

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

Why I hunt.....

Watching the woods come to life on crisp, fall mornings... Seeing a sleepy-eyed squirrel searching for breakfast at first light... My heart thumping in my chest as I hear footsteps falling, getting closer, closer and closer... The amazing echo of a tom turkey, gobbling like thunder... Watching the woods change into the wonderful colors of fall each day I'm in the woods... Disappearing into the foliage around you, so that no man or animal knows that you are there... Watching young fawns frolicing under the watchful eye of their mother...The friendships developed in the woods, and at camp...The awesome feeling of being the first to congratulate a hunting buddy on his first deer, and the memories of someone else doing the same for you...Watching the woods grow silent as dark aproaches...The telling of the days events to your hunting buddies...And yes, the harvest of game, reaping the rewards of minutes, hours, days, weeks, months spent in God's splendor.

That's why I hunt.

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

Why I hunt is simple. It strips the layer of urbanization and commercialization from me and lets me re-connect with the Earth, God and my own basic elements.

I step into the woods, my senses keen. I can feel the slightest breeze, smell the faint odor of leaves and dirt or catch a whiff of the rutting buck or doe upwind of me. I'm very aware of where my hands and feet are. I can track a dozen different crunches and pops from different directions.

Well maybe it's not so simple but it sure is basic.

Edited by - big buck brannigan on 03/05/2002 09:26:11

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

bump

"Nocked,cocked & ready to rock"

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

I have posted this article before written by an outdoor writer in the 'Houston Chronicle.' It is a must read. I think everyone here can feel the message in this article. Very nice piece of writing. One of the best that I have come across in terms of "Why do we hunt?" Enjoy.




One hunter's thoughts from a week in the woods
By SHANNON TOMPKINS
Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle

Wails and warbles and squalls cut through the fog of sleep, and I opened my eyes to a darkness so profound it took a few seconds to recognize I was conscious.

Alone inside the one-room shack, I groped for the little flashlight and checked the wind-up alarm clock -- 3:15 a.m.

I killed the light, slumped back onto the old bed and wiggled under the ancient quilt until reaching some equilibrium between its welcomed warmth and the refreshing chill of the November night.

The coyotes kept at it, their high-pitched calls seeming to come from every direction. One sounded as if it were nearly under the open window beside the bed.

I drifted back to sleep listening to the wild canines' songs, wondering what they were discussing and gratified they woke me to hear their conversation.

Moments such as that -- little episodes that bring comfort, enlightenment and wonder -- make deer hunting such a worthwhile experience.

Contrary to the slanderous stereotype, time spent afield in the professed pursuit of venison is not consumed in a saturnalia of alcohol or bacchanal of blood.

It is, for some of us at least, a ritual of the most serious sort -- a chance to be part of an experience that helps us learn and grow and perhaps become more aware of the world around us and our place in it.

It is not at all unlike going to church.

This past week, the deer lease provided some memorable moments and fresh insights into deer, deer hunting and the reasons most of us go afield.

A handful of them, in no particular order, were:

·A deer's sense of smell is unimaginable when held against our pitifully weak human olfactory ability.

This is no news to most deer hunters; we've all heard the alarm snorts from unseen deer that have "busted" us from 100 yards away using nothing more than their nose.

But an episode this past week reconfirmed deers' ability to sift scents.

An hour after dawn, a sleek doe appeared about 100 yards away in the hardwood bottom where I sat in a tripod stand.

The doe's actions were unusual. She stayed right in that spot, occasionally nosing the ground and poking and rubbing a patch of American beautyberry with her nose.

She'd take a couple of steps, then turn and retrace them.

The doe was atop a scrape, a pawed patch of ground a buck deer uses as a kind of trap line for does in estrus.

After nearly a half-hour, the doe wandered off, taking a random path through the woods.

That afternoon, more than nine hours after the doe's visit, a young buck appeared from nowhere. He walked straight to the scrape, nosed the ground, pawed the earth, rubbed his preorbital glands on the twigs over the scrape then scrunched up and urinated over his hocks, washing the musky scent from his tarsal glands onto the sandy ground.

He then put his nose to the "French mulberry" bush the doe had nudged and brushed.

Through 10x50 binoculars, I watched as he lifted his head, slightly opened his mouth, curled his upper lip and shoved out his tongue.

The buck was literally tasting the scent -- the estrogen and other pheromones -- left by the doe.

He put his nose to the ground and like some pointing dog on the trail of a running quail began tailing the long-gone doe.

The testosterone-charged buck never wavered from her long-cold, trackless path, using nothing but his nose to direct him.

Amazing!

·Deer know what to worry about.

I watched does and yearlings and bucks pay no attention to coyotes yipping in the distance or crows yammering right over their heads.

Deer never flinched at the crack of rifle shots in the distance or paid any mind to the rattle and hum of logging trucks and chainsaws.

But when the faintest sound of human voices drifted into the woods -- whether it was loggers or folks working in the pasture adjacent to our East Texas lease -- deer immediately went into serious survival mode.

Heads and ears popped up and focused on the direction of the faraway voices. They would stare toward the sound, move anxiously, then melt away.

Those wild deer almost certainly never have had a close encounter with a human. How they develop, almost from birth, this awareness that the two-legged creatures are their most serious predator speaks to the honest natural relationship between hunters and their prey.

·The theory that a scrape is the purview of one particular buck is bogus.

Truth is, during the rut several bucks may use a scrape as a check station in their single-minded efforts to locate receptive does and pass their genes to another generation.

How many bucks may visit a single scrape?

Depends on the place and the scrape, of course. But some information gleaned on our typical East Texas lease proved interesting.

A couple of weeks ago, my brother Les set up a "deer cam" -- a point-and-shoot camera housed in a weather-proof housing and using infrared or motion sensors to trip the camera's shutter -- on a tree adjacent to a particularly large scrape he located near one of his tripods.

Over the next few days, the camera recorded 13 individual deer visiting the scrape. Most of them were bucks.

The camera recorded eight different bucks, from a pencil-necked spike to a healthy 10-pointer, using that single scrape.

Some showed at midnight. Others in mid-afternoon. But most of the deer -- bucks and does -- made their stops at the scrape between dawn and mid-morning.

The lesson is that just because a hunter sees a year-and-a-half-old forkhorn working a scrape, it doesn't mean he's the bull of that particular piece of woods. The next visitor to the rutting season signpost could be his grandfather.

It's the kind of knowledge that breeds hope and patience, both of which are crucial to deer hunters.

·There is no doubt the recent explosion in the use of "deer cams" has helped hunters learn more about the animals they pursue and increase their chances of success.

The cameras can unblinkingly monitor a feeder or a trail or a scrape, yielding information on which deer use an area and even patterning their visits.

But does the use of these inanimate "scouts" steal an important part of deer hunting's essence?

No doubt the cameras are fascinating, useful tools. It's exciting to get the film processed and have it reveal the heretofore unknowable. It's thrilling to see a buck you've never seen, or marvel at a photo of a bobcat skulking along a trail.

But does that knowledge make us better hunters or just more efficient deer collectors.

Deer and deer hunting should be magic things, filled with surprise and wonder and the unexpected. And for hunting to be the consecrated, honest ritual it should, it must be an exercise in skill and woodsmanship that shows the hunter to be worthy of taking an animal.

Having a machine chronicle every deer on a tract of land is like running Christmas presents through an X-ray machine before opening them -- the magic and wonder are gone.

When you know too much -- when a human has too much control over the animals or too little of himself invested in the experience -- taking a deer can become the sterile, soulless act of engaging a target.

But how much is too much?

Do deer cams cross that line? How about corn feeders? Food plots? Scoped rifles? High fences? Guided hunts?

The answer is not as important as simply asking the question.

·The best time of the day for a deer hunter is the hour before dawn.

Whether it's spent huddled against a rock overlooking a Hill Country canyon, secluded in a towering box blind at the intersection of two senderos in South Texas, or perched in a wobbly tripod next to a big swamp chestnut oak in an East Texas creek bottom, that hour or so before dawn holds the heart of the hunt.

Waiting in the dark, watching shooting stars, listening to the tremolo of screech owls and warbling coyotes while sipping a warming cup of coffee, a hunter can feel truly a part of a place.

And in that space just before forms begin appearing in what was blackness and the first wheezing call of a thrush confirms the end of another night, the excitement and anticipation builds. Anything is possible. This could be the day. Magic could happen.

That's what deer hunting is. It's about everything leading up to the moment when the trigger is pulled, and the respect shown the animal should the trigger be pulled.

It's not, as most deer hunters understand and most non-hunters can't comprehend, about pulling that trigger.

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

I believe you can't make a non hunter understand, for the same reason I ask why do golf, why collect baseball cards, why watch these new stupid TV shows. These are our vises and if you don't care for them you don't get the enjoyment out of them. And no matter how much explaining is done, you won't understand. It is what makes our personalities isn't?

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

I HUNT THERE FOR I AM. Having a deer walk into my stand is the best rush I have ever had. Not just the first time but every time. The thrill of the hunt, the anticipation, and then the moment of truth. A great way to get in touch with nature and yourself. After all, you do not know who you really are until the first time you pull the trigger, and that feeling of satisfation sinks into your entire body and you truly feel that you are one with nature.

*Mark*

Edited by - BUCKMARK on 03/12/2002 04:56:48

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

Tazman, what a great writer.
I think hunters all have the same basic feelings as to why they hunt. Being at one with nature, escaping the ratrace that most of us are in, and the adrenaline that flows with the kill. Very satisfying!

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

in a magazine I was reading the other day, the author pointed out a fact: as humans, we are either predators or scavengers. If you got to the grocery store to buy your meat, you are a scavenger, if you go and kill your own, you are a predator. I'm a predator.

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

Why do I hunt? I hunt because of my love for the outdoors. I spend alot of time outdoors, weather I am hunting, hiking, camping, fishing, whatever, I just love the outdoors. I don't need to kill an animal to have a good day of hunting. I spend more time watching squirrels run around the tree tops, then I ever will shooting at them. I love the feeling of watching a herd of deer wandering around. I love watching a flock of geese coming in toward my blind. Hearing a grouse flush and having it scare you half to death is something you just can't explain. The feeling you get when you take your first deer is a memory you will never forget.

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

Here is my reply to a recent newspaper column:

I have lost many hours sleep thinking about the thoughtless way in which hunting has been portrayed. In the bible Genesis 9 Verse 3 God said to Noah "All moving things that liveth shall be meat for you." Genesis 27 Verse 3 "Now therefore take, I pray thee,thy weapons,THY QUIVER AND THY BOW,and go out to the field and take some venison." Man as hunted for survival since the dawn of time and that is the way God meant for it to be. The good Lord decided to bless this earth with both predators and prey. Humans were put here as predators.
There are two kinds of meat eaters on this planet, predators and scavengers. Predators kill there own food, scavengers eat because others kill. I choose to be a predator. The simple fact is that animals were put on the face of the earth to feed humans. I get beside myself when I see an animal rights hypocrite stand there and tell me how inhumane it is that I hunt and he is standing there in leather shoes with a leather wallet. My favorite is “there is no need to hunt today we can buy the food”. I must be confused because I assumed that someone had to kill the chicken or the cow before they got to the grocery store but some how that is all right. If you eat meat or use animal products then you are just as guilty of “animal murder” as the man at the slaughterhouse, because you ordered the “HIT”. If a human put an order out to kill another human then they would be just as guilty as the person that committed the murder. So why should you not be held responsible for ordering your chicken salad (chicken murder) or your “Nike” jogging shoes(cow murder).
Most of the hunters I know are kind, compassionate, careful and courteous. However, in hunting just like every other “walks of life” we have our bad apples that tend to make the rest of us look bad. But, I don’t judge you as a reckless driver because other people drive while intoxicated. It is time we disassociate the term “hunter” with the various negative connotations.
I have been hunting all my life and I am proud to say that I share my passion with some of the best people in the world. I absolutely detest people that are cruel to animals. I would not hesitate for one moment to turn a family member in that hit or mistreated his animals. However, deer hunting is not an inhumane activity. I would also like to point what a tremendous come back that almost all of our game species have made. We owe this to the concerned sportsman. You will never find anyone as interested in the preservation of our eco system as sportsmen are. With society spreading further and further and infringing on the animal’s habitat, it is the sportsman who have provided the monetary means necessary to secure both Federal and State wildlife sanctuaries for the animals. It is the sportsman that put millions of dollars every year toward restoration of habitat. I certainly respect any human’s decision not to hunt; however I wish others would respect my right to hunt. Without the hunter as a part of the eco system the entire system would break down. Without hunters game would over populate. Once the game began to overpopulate in breeding would occur. Once the animals began to inbreed they would progressively tend to produce more inferior genes. After the inferior genes began to permeate the species, diseases would start through the weakened animals and eventually the species would either cease to exist or face a major die-off. Personally the thought of a deer starving to death over a period of months sounds a lot less inhumane than the thought of one dying instantly without even knowing.

RE: EVERYONE PLEASE READ!
 

Everyone has pretty much said it all. All I can say is that it is our God given right, and it is a shame that we have to battle to keep that right. But as long as I am able I will fight to protect that right in any capacity that I can. Just remember there are men and women fighting every day for our rights. More so today than ever.

Might sound corny to some. but GOD BLESS THE USA.