Why do we Hunt?

[swamp buck]

I know we all do it for our own personal reasons, but why do you hunt Whitetail Deer every fall? I find that for most, it's not the actual "harvest", but the pursuit. I love setting up my stands in a hopeful spot, and just sucking up the fresh air and "becoming" part of the Woods!! And of course, the talk'ing at camp is a close second!!

[catman71]

she's not there.

[catman71]

just kidding (kind of) what else in life is important enough where your friends and family make it a priority just to hang out together? I'm guessing, if it wasn;t for hunting, I wouldn't go on many walks in the woods with my dad.

[toughguy]

catman, I agree with both of your posts. It's just great that the same group of guys get together the same week every year to talk about what happened 5, 10, 20 or more years ago to the day while enjoying a few barley pops (after hours) and shooting the sh!t. That and of course the primal feeling of hunting and the small chance that you'll get that dream buck this year. There a few (maybe 1 or 2) better things in life.

[catman71]

i like the evening hunt. get a nice shot, get back to the truck, get a few pals and a lantern and go find out if it was as big as it looked in the scope. and then tricking your brother-in-law into dragging it out for you. priceless....

[eye's111]

I find nothing more relaxing than sitting in the woods and watching nature come alive! To me, bagging a deer is just an added bonus of the hunt. I see deer hunting as an oppurtunity to become an audience to naute. I love it!

[Mr Special]

Yes, it is the hunt and not the harvest. Spendy time with the buds, some I don't see other then deer hunting. One of my favorite is watching the woods go from night to day.

Good luck everyone

[woodview]

Time in the woods with my dad and grandpa. Grandpa kicking my rear in crib every time. Hearing a deer come through the oak leaves. The tradition and the night going from dark to grey in the same tree I've been in for 15 years.

The dreams. Since I was 15, every night before a day in the deer woods have been filled with dreams of my dream buck ghosting through the woods - gun's on him and he suddenly senses something, stops, looks towards me and just before he starts to bolt.... beep, beep, beep.

Weird to still have that rookie sort of excitement. Hope it never stops!

This year's gonna be hard. It'll likely be my grandpa's last year walking the woods. This year we're putting him in a spot that will cut off 50%+ of my deer (to keep him close and it's a great spot). I hope he shoots every one of "my" deer - can't say how happy I'd be to go home empty handed for that reason.

Plus dragging my deer, my dad's deer and grandpa's - priveleges of being higher up the ancestral chain.

[DinnerPail]

It's tradition I guess. See friends that you don't get see much of during the year. Hearing the same stories and making new ones. I own what was my grand parents place and have friends that there families started coming there back in the thirties. We toast the ones that are no longer here and welcome the new. We all hunt hard and enjoy everyone's company. Time in the woods is what I look forward to and treasure. I am taking a full two weeks this year to spend at the cabin with my sons, one who lives there are goes to school in Grand Rapids and the other that will be there for the full second week. So good luck to everyone and enjoy!

[Stratosman]

To forget about all you worries for a few short days.

[WB make the CUT]

Its a medicine that makes me function the rest of the year.

[DigitalFisherman]

The best nap of the year... No kids, no wife, no dog, no phone, fresh air, swaying tree; absolute, uninterrupted bliss.

[Mr. B]

After my parents both hit deer with their cars this fall. I told them that I hunt to protect those members of society who can not hunt from the dangerous deer.

Got a laugh on that one. Just a way relax and get back to nature. And maybe a little competition between my brother and I.

[swamp buck]

Wow! All these posts are right on! The woods turning from pitch black to soft gray, then the birds chirping..the swaying of the tree..that first "crunch" in the leaves(squirel or deer?)..the sound of a distant shot, visualizing what that hunter just saw..my buck fever is setting in just thinking of these awesome pleasures that only we, as hunters get to cherish! Opening day of DEER season-anybody else besides me think it's better than sex?

[buzzsaw]

Take good pictures guys and post them under the Deer photo contest board....

[rocky]

good post! Its the exitement of the hunt, the relaxation, and watching deer. I only want one deer and if it is a buck it is a bonus.More than one would be to much meat for us. I also love the exitement my 2 & 4 year have when we bring a deer home.

[wyldewal]

Mr.B, I compleatly understand the compition with my brother. He usually wins just because he can spend more time in the woods.

It's also the feeling of being part of something bigger.Knowing for one breif moment you are part of nature, and experiencing the same sights and sounds your grandfather did, and his grandfather and his grandfather...

Methods may have changed but the feelings are the same.

[Guest]

I hunt for good food guys.

I do enjoy other aspects of the hunt.. time in the outdoors with friends and everything that comes with it... but that is just a bonus. It will mean more to me again when my son is old enough to hunt... I can only look forward to those days coming years ahead of now.