Why do you hunt?

[palisade1kid]

This came up at another site with the anti's chiming in.

I thought to start a thread here...

Here's a few things I'm thinking about why I hunt?

1st off being in the outdoors,clean air,great exercise.

The beauty of mother nature is second to none.

Some of the experiences of seeing so many species of animals in their habitat is awesome and sometimes mesmerising.

Watching the sunrises and sunsets is like being in an art gallery.So beautiful and peacefull.The tranquility I get after being neck deep in the hustle & bussle of our society is a great way to shed it all.

2ndly For generations my family has hunted.

With our busy lives to join together for the hunt allows us to relink to each other.To catch up on births/deaths of friends and family.To share the past years ups and downs.

To reminisce of years hunts gone by.To joke,laugh and sometimes cry.

It's a time to teach the young ones the ways of the wilderness and support the old ones reaffirming their rightful place in the great outdoor.

3rd Our family supplements our food source with clean low fat foods.

When you figure in many meals of venison,waterfowl,grouse,fish the food $$$$ going to the stores stays in our pockets which can then go to bettering our lives with other products we can not make.

4th The HUNT is forever an adrenaline boost.No drug can make me feel like I do when those flocks of geese or ducks that I've called and so painstakingly laid my decoy spread to entice them close enough set their wings for that final approach.

Watching that deer walk in after my rattle/grunt sequence has been preformed with the scents in the proper areas.

The satisfaction of seeing that all of my pre-scouting has now paid off.

Finally the kill has been made.

Now comes the tracking and retrieval of my game.

At days end my freezer is full and I'm content to know I'll be eating some very fine food that I worked for.

Nothing that comes is easy worth very much & after the work involved seeing my efforts repaid with some awesome food makes me very happy that I did it on my own.Being self sufficient ,not having to rely on others to put food on my table carries it's own level of satisfaction.

I am a predator,a conservationist,an ecologist.

[BobT]

#1 It's another source of food for my family. Why do they buy beef, chicken, pork, lamb, fish, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, carrots, beans, peas, etc?

#2 It's in my nature. I have been ordained to subdue the planet and all creatures are suitable for food, not just those that we put in a corral.

#3 I enjoy being outdoors, one with nature.

#4 I enjoy wildlife. No, I do not kill everything that moves when I'm out there. I probably see more wildlife in a given day than they do in a week.

#5 Because of hunting seasons, we gather together at the same time to pursue our passion. With that said, I enjoy the camaraderie.

#6 I enjoy the chase.

Bob

[troutmaster]

to put meat on the table.

[Big Pine Walleye]

I like the time that I am able to spend with my sons--whether it be at the local sport shop, building deer stands, clearing trails, and of course actually hunting together. It has become a year around activity that we all enjoy!!

[harvey lee]

The challenge of the hunt, the open area and fresh air. One cannot forget about the friendships made over the years.

Tradition.

[Shack]

I hunt, there for I am!

[Jameson]

Because overabundant starving deer is a terrible sight.

It is food.

Most of the roosters aren't going to live that long anyways.

Because doves [PoorWordUsage] on my truck.

It's good for the economy.

Their is so many rabbits in my woods they are chewing all the bark off the trees!

Got anything better to do?

[so haaad]

Last Sunday a watched a tiny little red squirrel chase a giant fox squirrel around a tree for five minutes straight. I had to chuckle watching the smaller squirrel prove that size doesn't always matter. Then both squirrels suddenly froze in their tracks, and I noticed that a very young coyote had snuck in to about 15 yards of me. Like a young child, he tripped and fell off of a log. Next he rummaged through the leaves like a pig, followed by a second attempt to climb up on the log. When he finally reached the highest point of the log, he posed there for all the world to see. It reminded me of when I was young, being back in elementary school playing "king of the snow hill". It was a great night out in the woods even though I didn't see a single deer. You ask why do I hunt? Because when I'm in the woods, life at that moment slows down. Life becomes simple again. I start seeing the little things again. And all is well in the world.

[Hitman54]

As I get older, I know now more than ever why I hunt. I hunt for the same reasons my Dad and Grandfather took me hunting when I was a kid. I understand the addage of "putting meat on the table". That is just part of it for me. I could save a hole lot of money if I just went to the store and bought meat instead of hunting and fishing for it. When you figure all the gadgets, gizmoes and upgrades the average hunter and fisherman makes the cost of that deer or walleye are more expensive than prime rib or Alaskan salmon! I hunt because it is a wonderful thing to share with my family. I got my wife into deer hunting about four years ago. I truely believe that I was more excited than her when she shot her first deer. It was at that moment that I realized how my dad felt when I shot my first deer so many years ago. I now have four kids who I also am teaching to hunt. My oldest will get to deer hunt with me this year. I know that I am more excited for him and the expierence than he is for himself! I can't wait for Nov.

[Bluegill1510]

Same reasons as you CK, and basically everyone else. I do it to get away from people and be in nature and see how animals act and respond to scents and sounds you create to attract them. Plus I enjoy the whole process of deer hunting...scouting, putting up a stand or stalking and then putting in the time to get a nice deer, then retrieving it, field dressing it, skin it and cut it up for the freezer and processing some of it up myself for eating! To me I get more satisfaction doing that than just going to the grocery store and buying meating or food that I dont know where it came from. Plus what else am I suppose to do with my time? Sit and watch Opera and get in touch with my inner feelings? Give me a break, then you wonder why this country is full of anti's.

LoL thats another reason why I hunt so I get away from people that are like that, so I don't have to deal with them on a daily basis.

[Shack]

I HUNT, THEREFORE I AM

by

Philip O'Neil

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I once read an anti-hunting article that said there is no place in modern society for hunting. This article like many of its kind portrayed all hunters as heartless, barbaric, bloodthirsty “rednecks”. Just to be accurate, we unfortunately do have those in our fraternity who fit this description and give all of us a bad name…. The good old boys who have no respect for animals, game laws and human decency are in the minority however. The rest of us that number in the millions in North America alone must then be somehow genetically flawed, misinformed, misguided and brainless (Contact Us Please) incapable of making informed decisions and following our natural instincts. How else could we explain our passion for hunting….Hmm!

Modern society is in such good shape that we should know better than to live a decent life that is closely and inexorably linked to nature, a life that gives us a deep appreciation for its beauty, and the real threats to life’s balance. Educated humans after all do such a wonderful job of looking after humans that animals should be afforded the same treatment…..there is no poverty, suffering, hatred and slaughtering of innocent humans is there? Sadly “modern” society is only more advanced in terms of technology, stressing us at a faster pace and developing every inch of earth into shopping malls. But does that equate to real progress for humans, ecosystems and animals? Oh, I almost forgot…experts living in concrete cities who have never spent real time with nature are the experts in making decisions on how to protect and proliferate wildlife. They instinctively know what is best for mother earth because the lost souls need a cause to give their own miserable lives meaning. We should listen to their propaganda and change our lifestyle to suit “modern standards”. If we lay down our guns and bows and stop paying attention to wildlife then maybe it will go away. I take solace and comfort in nature….people scare me.

Life is sometimes merely a game of numbers. The greater the majority the greater the chance you have of winning. Surely if you read in a newspaper that 80% of people surveyed believed that Saddam Hussein has no chemical/biological weapons then that must be true…right? Anti’s love to play the numbers game. They argue that most people never hunt and have no interest in killing animals….they just want to eat them off of Styrofoam! How is it that not everyone has the same instinct to hunt? That is a fair question. If, for example, 80% of the population has no interest in hunting then the rest of us must be fundamentally flawed. Have we not evolved at the same pace as the rest of humanity or is it that only 20% of the population has evolved despite the trappings of modern society? Who decided that all facets of modern life are improved and reflect the best direction for humans?

I was born a hunter. It was not a family thing, as my father did not hunt. He did fish and had a great love of the outdoors and that no doubt that had a positive impact on me. The awakening of these instincts in me happened at a very young age…..it was not a choice so much as a part of me. Hunting is not a sport, rather a way of life, a lifestyle and a way of being. I think and worry about wildlife all of the time, not just when it is convenient or I need a cause to hang my hat on to make me feel worthwhile. I am so glad that I have had the opportunity to hunt and develop an intimate knowledge of what really happens in nature’s daily struggle.

The ultimate survival of wildlife, habitat and common sense will rest with us it seems. We will have to be the stewards of the land and continue to follow our instincts. It is up to us to help create, or perhaps restore, the natural balance between humans and critters. We all have moments of doubt about what we do as hunters because there is so much complexity in the world around us. That is a normal human emotion but if we can get back to what is natural and instinctual both humans and animals will be the better for it.

Now that what I am talking about.

Good luck!

[Bluegill1510]

Thanks for posting that Shackbash, Paul O'neil took the words right out of my mouth. Thats what I'm talking about as well.

[palisade1kid]

Way to go SB!

Great read!

[jigging-matt]

1. Because I love being outdoors.

2. There is nothing better than sitting in your stand and hearing the woods come to life as the sun comes up.

3. There is nothing like watching the dogs work the birds.

4. The camaraderie.

[The Donk]

Wow. I wanted to get up and give a standing ovation after I read that.... Wow...chills

I hunt because its the only time I feel I can be true to myself, and feel as though I am part of a much bigger picture.

[bluebill]

about 10 years ago we talked about this in the duck blind on the last day of the season my buddy put it best "if you have to explain it to them they would never understand"

[analyzer]

I think I hunt, for the same reason I go to the BWCA every year. For those few days, I don't answer a cell phone, I don't have email, I don't sit in rush hour, I don't hear traffic, I don't sweat the mortgage, I don't worry about my childrens college fund, I don't have a honey-do list...

It is only about that moment. To sit there, and focus solely and intently on the crack of a stick, and trying to determine if the sound of those leaves, are that of a squirrel or a buck. You can hear and feel your own heart beat, as you watch those white tines, slowly creep through the brush... it is so intense.

And even if you don't see a single deer...

I love the smell of dirt.

I love the smell of wet musty leaves.

I love the smell of doe estrus.

I love watching a pheasant rooster, make his way across the cut corn field, wondering where the hell he was two weeks ago when I was Pheasant hunting.

I love going to my favorite woods, weeks before the hunt, merely to walk around and look for scrapes, and rubs, and [PoorWordUsage]... and it doesn't really matter if I'm successful, just being in the woods is so refreshing.

I like to look for sheds, at first snow melt, just so I can get excited 6 months early.

My father never took me hunting. I only got into it recently because my son wanted to learn.

Thank god, because now I'm hooked, and when all the pressures of this world build up, and some times I think about giving up, about quiting life...

it gives me one more reason to hang in there...

Cuz next month, is deer opener...

and I can't wait.

[palisade1kid]

This was an interesting read from the MN DNR.....

Dispelling some myths about hunting

By Tom Dickson, DNR information officer

Note: This article may be reprinted in newspapers, newsletters, and other publications.

If you don't hunt, you might wonder what's so appealing about this activity. Why, for example, would anyone sit for hours in a chilly duck blind? Or trudge mile after mile through soggy cattail sloughs? And what's the thrill in trying to kill an animal, anyway? If hunters want to be outdoors and see animals, can't they just watch wildlife without shooting them?

Hunting, with a half-million Minnesota participants, must certainly stir the curiosity of those who don't take part.

Why someone hunts is a personal matter. Many do it to spend time outdoors with friends or family. Others hunt to continue a tradition passed down from their parents and grandparents. Some go for the satisfaction of providing their own meat or the challenge of outwitting a wild animal. Many hunt simply because they feel an urge to do so. As environmentalist and hunter Aldo Leopold put it, "the instinct that finds delight in the sight and pursuit of game is bred into the very fiber of the race."

It's hard to generalize what hunters are doing when they go afield each fall. But it is possible to explain what hunters are not doing, and to shed light on some aspects of hunting that might puzzle those who don't participate. Hunters aren't killing animals needlessly.

People who say there's no need to kill animals for meat when it can be bought in a grocery store don't understand how food happens: Whether someone eats venison or beef, a big brown-eyed mammal has to die first. The animal doesn't care whether you pay someone else to kill it or you do it yourself.

Of course, vegetarians don't kill animals. Or do they? Most vegetable production is done at the expense of wild creatures, either by converting wildlife habitat to cropland or requiring the application of chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Soybeans and corn, for example, are often grown on wetlands that have been drained and plowed. Without a place to nest, a hen mallard doesn't die, but she doesn't raise any young, either.

1. Hunters aren't being cruel to wild animals.

Most wild animals don't pass away in comfort, sedated by veterinary medication. They usually die a violent, agonizing death. Though a hunter's bullet or arrow can cause a wild animal pain and trauma, such a death is no worse than the other ways wildlife perish. A deer not shot eventually will be killed by a car, predator, exposure, or starvation. An old, weakened pheasant doesn't die in its sleep. It gets caught by a hawk and eaten.

Of course, hunters don't do individual wild animals any favors by killing them, but they also don't do anything unnaturally cruel.

2. Hunters aren't dangerous, inept, or trigger-happy.

Hunting would seem more prone to accidents and fatalities than outdoor activities that don't use firearms. Not so. According to National Safety Council statistics, far more people per 100,000 participants are injured while bicycling or playing baseball than while hunting. And the Council's most recent statistics show that while roughly 100 people die nationwide in hunting accidents each year, more than 1,500 die in swimming-related incidents.

One reason for hunting's safety record: Most states require young hunters to pass a firearms safety course. In Minnesota alone, 4,000 volunteer instructors give firearms safety training to 20,000 young hunters each year.

Just as they handle their gun cautiously, so do most hunters strive to kill game as cleanly as possible. Hunters practice their marksmanship, study wildlife behavior and biology, and take pains to follow a wounded animal to ensure any suffering ends quickly.

As do all activities, hunting has its share of scofflaws. But most hunters obey the law and act ethically. To nab the wrongdoers among them, hunters created Turn In Poachers, a nonprofit organization that offers rewards for information leading to the arrest of fish and game law violators.

3. Hunters aren't harming wildlife populations.

Hunters see to that out of self-interest. That's why they support state and federal conservation agencies limiting seasons to just a few weeks or months a year, limiting the number of animals they kill, and placing restrictions on killing females of some species. These regulations help ensure that wildlife populations stay healthy. They also make the pursuit of game more difficult, requiring hunters to use their wits, patience, and hunting skills.

4. Hunters aren't using non-hunters? tax dollars.

Hunters pay their own way, and then some. Minnesota hunters fund almost all Department of Natural Resources habitat acquisition and wildlife research with their license fees and a federal excise tax on hunting equipment. In addition, their financial support pays to improve populations of non-game wildlife. Wetland destruction has wiped out the habitats of many bird species, causing their numbers to decline. Were it not for wetlands bought and improved with state and federal waterfowl stamp revenue and with the contributions of hunting conservation organizations, hunters and others who like to watch wildlife would today see fewer marsh wrens, pied-billed grebes, Forster's terns, and other wetland birds. These are some things that hunters aren't doing.

What I suspect most are doing--if they hunt for the reasons I do--is fulfilling a need to be part of the natural world that observation alone can't satisfy.

[gspman]

Because I enjoy it. It doesn't matter if I get anything or if I have fancy equipment. I just like being out there with my dog. If the dog does okay then I'm happy.

[MikeYager - Suzuki]

Instinct.