What I Love About Deer Hunting

[Getanet]

I've been reading too many QDM threads, where guys on both sides of the issue rant & rave (including me) for their position. Gets a little depressing to see us argue - and to hear about some of the poor hunting some people have to endure.

So I'm flipping it. What do you love about hunting? I'll start with two things:

1) How excited my Dad gets when I shoot a buck. I've been at it for 19 years and he still gets more excited than I do.

2) Our groups annual "Steak Night" tradition the 2nd weekend of the season

[BuckKiller]

lol... same here, it seems my dad gets more excited then I do.

I just enjoy being away from everything. sitting in the quiet woods, watching the animals, watching the sun rise and set... and watching my brother drag out my deer lol

[buckhunter21]

I dont think theres any part of deer hunting I dont like. From the scouting and planting food plots all the way up to when you get to eat your deer and everything in between I love it all. I also love the fact the i do have a chance to argue my views of QDM with other people, just think how lucky we are to have hunting the way we do in this country, we could be arguing about much worse things.

[Musky Buck]

Right on Buckhunter21, we are lucky we don't live in Texas, got $50,000-100,000$ laying around to buy into a high fenced members only lodge and those are only yearly dues. I don't love the actual hunting as much I love the night before opener. I wish time could stand still the night before, the anticipation, the hope, the stories, the beer, the stories, more beer and of course it is awesome when an elder tells one of those wild stories from the past, the past memories with the night before, even hearing the same story from year to year, but you do have to go hunt so you can have more memories and stories to share. In the end the deer is the cherry on top. * One last bit, it also allows me the time to remember my grandfather and uncle(s) who are no longer with us, I wear my uncles sorels in memory of his unfortunate passing. The night before season is what I love about deer season.

[mrklean]

I love being away from everything, granted when it was 20 degrees and the wind is tearing your face up and you dont see a thing all day its hard to love it but somehow i still love it all. makes me feel lucky that i have the chance to do things like that and not live in a place like New York where the only nature they see is a pidgen

[Rippinlip]

Pretty much everything,

If I had to narrow it down, is finding the ONE that I would like to harvest and the chase that insues..

The anticipation I think is the best.

The sleepless nights, when you can only think about where he might be the next day, the next move, did I do everything correct, am I ready to ............

Oh man ya got me going, thanks

[Coach1310]

WOW!! What a loaded question. What I love about deer hunting...

Deer camp...hanging out with folks you might only see once a year...hearing and telling the same stories over and over, but laughing like it was the first time...remembering this deer or that miss...taking a minute to take yourself back 5, 10, 20 years if only for a moment...hearing that twig "SNAP"...or having a "BOOM" from real close wake you up as you are dozing off...as it gets light each and every little clump of brush or high grass looks like a deer...catching movement and turning slowly only to see a squirrell.... this list could go on forever, but the real concept for me of spending time with special people, chasing a special animal, while being away from the rat race of life and walking in the shoes our fore fathers did many years ago about sums it up for me

[goblueM]

I love sitting all day and watching the area around me change from dawn until dusk, that pure connection and being in tune with nature

Also love that adrenaline pump you get when a deer turns up after sitting motionless for hours in the cold

And finally the stories that you swap with friends or even other strange hunters

[alwaysonthemove]

I love sitting in my bow stand 25 feet up listening to my neighbors talk about QDM and how they are all gonna drive this woods and that woods to get a trophy buck. I sit back and recollect WHAT HAPPENED TO DEERHUNTING SOMEHOW IT HAS BECOME A GREEDY SPORT ONLY SHOOT A MONSTER OR BE SHAMED OUT OF SIGHT.

I got nothing against trophy hunters I my self am one. I take them as I get them. I also take all the young deer I am allowed. I do not make a huge competion out of it.

I just simply enjoy being in my stand listening waiting and day dreaming the day away

[BuckKiller]

I love sitting in my bow stand 25 feet up listening to my neighbors talk about QDM and how they are all gonna drive this woods and that woods to get a trophy buck. I sit back and recollect WHAT HAPPENED TO DEERHUNTING SOMEHOW IT HAS BECOME A GREEDY SPORT ONLY SHOOT A MONSTER OR BE SHAMED OUT OF SIGHT.

I got nothing against trophy hunters I my self am one. I take them as I get them. I also take all the young deer I am allowed. I do not make a huge competion out of it.

I just simply enjoy being in my stand listening waiting and day dreaming the day away

yup yup thats what hunting should be

[PEATMOSS]

scouting our area with my kids...building,placing and repairing stands..greeting family and friends as they arrive, hearing about the miserable traffic they drove thru and feeling smug that I live here...everyone piling in one rig for a drive around the section at dusk the night before opener...bouncing on my bed and making noises like I'm getting busy with the wife while my friend is sleeping in the bedroom underneath us...when the swelling goes down and I can see out of my eye again...walking to my deerstand opening morning in the dark without a flashlight...watching and hearing the woods come alive in the morning....the sound of a single gunshot in the direction of my kid's deerstand...the lack of gunfire from the direction of my brothers stand...the first flit of movement coming thru the brush..the 998th flit of movement and the first to actually materialize into an adult deer...when that deer ,standing broadside, drops it's head or looks the other direction...the quick prayer of thanks as I kneel beside an animal that I made a quick clean kill on...the sound of a single gunshot from the direction of my other kid's stand...the continued silence in the direction of my brothers stand...walking back home with my gloves on...the gleam in my kid's eye as he trys to play it cool waiting for me to ask if he got anything...listening to the kid's story in excruciating detail....listening to my brother and friends bust on me for getting outhunted by my kid....casually removing my gloves to reveal my bloody hands...

the sound of my fat buddy wheezing as he takes his turn dragging my deer...the scrumptious meals my wife seems to only be able to cook when we have company....the warm goodbyes to friends and family... a photo or 2 of the kid's by the meatpole before we take them down...watching my 2 brats that are usually fighting with each other cheerfully working side by side as we process our deer together...cleaning the rifle and puttingit back up while all of the above goes thru my head....

[picksbigwagon]

aloha everyone, after the long flight yesterday, I find myself still stuck on MN time.....

there is a lot about deer hunting that I enjoy, but my absolute favorite time is the 15 minutes of magic that happens as the woods wakes up. from darkness to light, everything else is gravy.....

[UdeLakeTom]

My wife always tells me that she doesn't think I care about harvesting a deer, it is just being with my family and having fun. We tease about missed shots, forgeting to load the gun, leaving something at home. The way that natures urges come up more often with the moving from stand to camp and how the cold air effects your body. And that dang grouse that flushes in front of you when it is still dark and sends your heart rushing!

Ok...sundown was 20 minutes ago, why isn't everybody in camp yet??? are they dragging, gutting, lost. Oh...ok here they are now....you walk slower in the dark after a long day.

[lovebigbluegills]

The camraderie of old friends and relatives this time of year. When they all show up, it all gets picked back up like nobody left (stories, etc).

The beautiful sight of dawn breaking in the eastern skies.

The little chickadees that befriend me all day long.

The little weasel that lives in the pile of branches not far from my stand.

Having to put chest waders on to listen to the day's stories each night (the stuff gets pretty deep sometimes as you all know)

Telling and listening to stories from years back when my dad, uncle, friend, and brother were still alive.

Of course I love everything that leads up to deer season (scouting, food plots, trail-cutting in the spring, etc, etc), but there is something magical about the nine days of rifle season.

[96trigger]

At some point in time it changes. I now get more excited than my dad when he shoots a deer. My favorite is just the excitement of it all. Getting together with family and just getting out in the woods.

[Getanet]

Love listening to all the excuses the guys in my party make if they miss one.

[96trigger]

Which excuse has been your favorite. Mine, "he was just too big"

[tracker x-2]

what I like the most is early season scouting and sitting in the stand enjoying the solitude of blending in with the tree. Then as a added bonus a few deer will run by if all the conditions are right I will out smart that buck and get a shot at him. Finally if I get lucky there is the proud phone call I make to my dad to let him know all his hard work and devotion to teaching me has paid off.

[Powerstroke]

My favorite part about deer hunting is the sounds and sights of nature. Deer are included, but its so much fun to watch squirrels move, mice scurry and see numerous birds fly around you.

I love watching squirrels try to figure me out when I'm in their tree. I like seeing little birds land on my gun barrel or on my bow hanger.

Of course I love the excitement of drawing on a deer and waiting for the perfect shot. Sometimes it happens and sometimes I have to let down. Either way, my heart is pounding.

[koonie]

I like the feeling that I get, that comes from somewhere deep down, in some single strand of DNA, that ancient feeling that tells me I've seen this and done this before. Only it feels like it's coming from my ancestors, predecessors and what I'm feeling is a culmination of how they felt and what I feel intertwined into some mixture of mans drive to hunt, to survive and live and eat. I don't know if any of that, makes any sense, to anyone but me. Maybe it's a "hunter" gene.

[heat checker]

Following the blood trail of your sons first deer, sitting beside your 12 yr old daughter as she hopes one of the deer in the field will come close enough to loose an arrow, watching your 6 yr old smacking a target at 30 yds in preparation for the day he can loose his own arrow on a deer. For me, spending time with my kids in preparation and hunting with them trumps anything a trophy has to offer me.

[Cast A Way]

Everything is good about deer hunting. For me, I love when my boys would work hard and shoot a buck. Now my grandboys are doing the same. Anytime you can be outdoors having fun is a good day. Last year, in Wyoming my long time fishing and hunting partner and I stalked a deer for about 3/4 of a mile down into a field. He asked how far the buck was and I said 396 yards and instantly he shot. The buck dropped and I was very impressed. By the way my partner will be a young 78 this year. Cast A Way

[bigbucks]

Like everybody else, everything. Love bowhunting those last couple of days before gun season, especially when my brother-in-law's able to come & we bowhunt together. All the planning figuring out which stands to hunt based on the food, the wind, & what we've actually seen. Gun opener is great to, getting together for breakfast that first morning & just verifying where everybody's going to be, did anybody build a new stand we hadn't heard about. Telling about the deer we saw the last couple of days bowhunting & what the buck sign's looking like.

The prep building permanents, mowing trails, cutting shooting lanes is all a lot of fun, but when November 1 rolls around it really gets exciting.

[brassman]

I love everything about it! but the best is the solitary nature of it, time to reflect on yourself and day dream of things to come. I like it the best when it is just my father and I hunting, nobody else around on the weekdays. Two years ago him and I tag-teamed a buck that my father shot after I had pushed it to him 5 minutes into the hunt. we had not made it 150 yards from the truck. It was just one of those hunts that seemed magical almost. We then proceeded to go to our respective stands where 45 minutes later he shot a doe. This past fall my father and I were the only ones out there but it was my turn and I shot my buck 15 minutes into the day, its so much fun!

[Cast A Way]

More reasons to love deer hunting. These pics are from last January. Yes we feed the deer in our back 40 in the winter. Love watching them.