Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: kybownut on January 16, 2011, 01:58:00 PM
-
The folling is a excerpt from the book tracks by Donald c. Jackson.Not archery related but still a great read!(I dont hunt for sport.Rather i hunt because there is an acient urge within me which will not otherwise be addressed.Hunting is not fun.For me it runs deeper than that.Hunting is a response to an overwhelming calling and in hunting there is satisfaction and a confirmation of idenity.)Kinda how i feel.Why do you hunt???
-
The first deer I killed was when I was 45, with a compound bow - and it was one of the most surreal moments of my life... I was shaking like Barney Fife before the shot (the arrow was jiggling around on the rest!)... and I literally had to count the arrows left in my quiver to see if I really shot it... very hard to explain to non-hunters. I've tried to explain it like this... when I'm hiking in the outdoors, I feel like an observer of God's creation(and that's a good thing), but when I'm hunting, I become part of the outdoors - part of the "circle of life", if you will. Also in some ways... like the satisfaction obtained from growing one's own vegetable garden.
I heard a good quote... "I don't hunt to kill animals; but I kill animals because I hunt."
-
I hunt because it makes me feel more alive.
-
It is who I am.
-
I hunt because it is in our nature to be hunter's, only doing what's natural.
-
Because i'm not working or fishing?Is there something else we're supposed to be doing?Oh yeah goin to church.How'd i forget church.LOL.Great question.I bet this one goes on for a while.
-
I'm Hungry ! But it is truly part of my spirit to hunt.Without hunting I would be a freeken lunatic and committed to an institution for the mentally disturbed. :campfire:
-
Just had a conversation about this the other day when someone asked why I was just starting to hunt after never having done it in 35 years of my life. Simple answer, because I don't want my infant son growing up to believe that all food comes from McStore.
Whenever I finally retire and settle down in one spot for more than a few years, we'll probably have a small farm or at the very least a couple herd animals. Nothing quite like a farm to instill work ethic, I know it sure worked for me even if it took 20yrs to sink in.
-
The best way I can tell how I feel about hunting is:
Hunting is in My Heart & Soul, With out it I'm a Empty Shell.
I hunt to Live and Live to Hunt.
-
Every time I have tried to answer this question over the past 30 years, the answer has always seemed contrite and rehearsed as I don't think I will ever be able to accurately describe what drives to want to hunt.
It falls somewhere between something primal inside me , a desire for freedom to do things my way and the chance to become a part of something much greater than myself, and that is something only nature, and the hunt can provide.
-
I've been hunting since i was three killed my first deer at 8 just something i live for every year
-
Because it is instinctual and I need it for mental and physical health.
-
"Why Do I Hunt?"..... That's like asking me why my heart beats. Because for me it's as natural as passin' gas! IMHO, there may be some who hunt for a "trophy". These are the competitive type. (They) follow many sports, ie. football or baseball and "need" to be part (if only in their mind) of a team. I think, for the most part, we are a group of lone wolves not afraid to call a nice day afield, without a kill, a grand time in Gods world.
... mike ... :archer2: ...
-
I hunt because I enjoy the feeling of being joined to the wild. watching the woods come alive in the morning,the sights,sounds,and smells of it all. It is easy to drift away
to primortal times with a stick & string in
hand.
-
Because......(you can fill in all the reasons since the dawn of time)
-
Hunting is one of my most favorite things In Life. I love the venison ( antelope, elk, moose, deer, buffalo, bear ), to name a few I have taken and enjoyed. The year long preparation, the friends, my bows and equipment. Just being out in wild. Can't say it all
-
I stopped shooting animals a couple of years ago, tho I still hunt every season. I figure that I've gotten my share, and if I don't "need" the meat for myself or my family, why take a life. I know I can do it. . . just don't need to. If the day comes when I do need the meat, I'll go get it, but wanton killing just because you can isn't perfecting your skills, it's just greed.
I now hunt to out-smart them, keep my skills sharp, but don't need to kill. Ain't hungry enough.
-
somes it up. If I'm not hunting, I'm thinking about hunting,(except at work of course).
-
These days it's the only activity that makes me feel alive.
-
As a hunter I choose to be a part of nature rather than apart from it.
-
I like being in the woods. Sitting quietly watching waiting dreaming. It builds determination and that enhances character. Like tonight.... I've been shooting archery since the late 60's but only shot at two deer..... the first one around 1972 ...got that one... the second was tonight *#$&^&**$&$ I missed.
Please don't rescind my trad gang membership :-)
-
its in my DNA
-
Don't know how not to.
-
I am Jaguar Paw, son of Flint Sky. My Father hunted this forest before me. My name is Jaguar Paw. I am a hunter. This is my forest. And my sons will hunt it with their sons after I am gone.
i...am...a hunter.
-
Originally posted by joe ashton:
somes it up. If I'm not hunting, I'm thinking about hunting,(except at work of course).
That pretty much sums it up for me too, bowhunting is never vfar from the forefront of my mind.
I am the only one in both my wife's and my side of my family that hunts, I often wonder what would have happened if my uncle hadn't out of the blue started hunting when he was 22 and brought me along as a 12 year old. That was the start of my journey.......would I have ever hunted if he hadn't brought me that first time?
David
-
Why do I hunt ?....As many have said before me , it's something deep within . It feels right . I am at home in the woods . I enjoy the time spent with my sons and good friends , making memories , teaching and learning , putting my skills against my quarry's .
-
I do it because I love everything about it
-
i hunt only when i feel the need to Get some meat on the table Deer meat that is. and thats every 4to6 months im not a big hunter i just do it when i need to and i do love it other wise whats the point in having all this in front of you if ya aint going to use what God gave you.
-
Hunting is not a spiritual escape for me. I seek spiritual fulfillment in God, not in God's creation. But God did give man dominion over His creation, and I enjoy hunting as a way to relax, enjoy the outdoors, match wits with the wild, and bring home food to put on the table. I especially enjoy eating something I've harvested with my own hands. That being said, I'm not as successful as many, but I find that I enjoy the journey as much as I enjoy the end result!
-
a lot of great replies,just as i expected!
thanks guys
-
Because I enjoy it.
-
Started off as a small child hunting lizards, we called race horses, with my dog. Grew up hunting...don't know or want to know any other way.
-
i just love everything about it. the time spent with my family and friends, the woodsand seeing animals in the wild doing what they do. the alone time on the stand where you can just think and take everything in. i love venision and wild turkey and the feeling once you finally get the animal ou were after. i love that rush feeling when you here a bird gobble or a stick break close by and not knowing if its a deer or squirrel. just exciting. i can go on and on. i just love hunting and to me its more then just killing a animal.
-
If you never exspearanced It can't be exsplane to you.
-
Hunting was really never an option for me, it was what my family did and most of my earliest and favorite memories have something to do with it. It was a great release for me as a kid when my parents were going through a divorce. It was great to get away from the city, chores, my mother, hike around in a wild and beautiful place. To me archery hunting is a way to enjoy it even more, being quiet, taking time to look and be still...it makes hunting that much more enjoyable, brings me closer to God.
I was thinking the other day as I was out with my son carrying him through the brush, getting thorns and cactus all over me- For some reason, a cut, scrape, cactus thorn or twisted ankle doesn't seem to hurt the same when it happens while hunting. I told my son (as he watched me pulling cholla cactus from my leg) that it was a good hurt, someday he will understand.
-
I hunt because I like to be in the woods.I feel very lucky to be on this earth and to witness the way god made it for us all.It really helps me to slow down and remember that god made it this way for me to enjoy.I hunt because that's what i'm here for. :archer:
-
It gives me something to do while I am bird watching.
-
I have not hunted yet, but will start when I get better in the arm..
My reason is that it is the only economically affordable way to ensure that the animal I eat was treated with respect and suffered as little as possible.
It is also a skill that is needed, should anything go wrong with society, and brings a lot of other important skills with it! :)
-
Originally posted by Archie:
Hunting is not a spiritual escape for me. I seek spiritual fulfillment in God, not in God's creation. But God did give man dominion over His creation, and I enjoy hunting as a way to relax, enjoy the outdoors, match wits with the wild, and bring home food to put on the table. I especially enjoy eating something I've harvested with my own hands. That being said, I'm not as successful as many, but I find that I enjoy the journey as much as I enjoy the end result!
This is how I feel. Although, I might add that what drew me to hunting was the the adventure of it all. I guess that is why I love bear hunting so much. Plus hunting is FUN!
-
It's as natural as breathing,can't remember when I didn't.
-
I have to hunt and fish. No explanation in words will ever be sufficient to give the reason why.
I imagine your initial quote is as close as possible to the truth. It is a primal urge that some posess and others do not. It's the same reason I can't make myself stop watching the fields and woods when my wife is driving. Often, even when I am driving... :help:
I couldn't win the fight against my need to be in the woods and on the lakes.
-
I hunt for the enjoyment and it gives me a reason to make fun of all the sissy boys at work :)
-
I just hunt to let the deer have a good laugh! :banghead: I moved to western Kentucky to get a bigger audience. :goldtooth:
-
Why I HUNT..It"s the core of my being. My brother and I have been hunting together for 40-yrs, along with our dad. Dad"s gone now but we still get out with our sons. When you get caught up in this fast spinning world, get away, back where things make sense. Take a look at live from a tree stand. It will keep you focus
-
Trite, but it is who I am.
I learned from my father. He learned from his family. We have been in the US since 1643 and in Europe before that. We have hunted......
There is something primal about it. It strikes me everytime I kill an animal....
I have noticed in this thread that the majority of replys are new or infrequent posters.... Wondering why that is?
-
I hunt because, I am alive in the woods. I look around and I take in the things that my creator gave us and I can smile. I have experienced so much in the woods even without taking a shot. I have seen and smelled things in the woods that everyday life has no place or time to experience. The hunt is a place where I am alive. Watching the sun rise and set the smell of the dirt, the sound of the animals moving all around me. Hearing my own heartbeat before a shot. It's funny in a place where I feel like I am just a small part of everything, it is where I am alive.
-
To go into the woods and hunt animals I intend to eat is an expression of my freedom to make moral choices in life.
I was a Marine in Vietnam in the infantry, and for many years after I returned from Vietnam, I chose not to hunt, because I had difficulty reconciling the drive to kill an animal with a more powerful drive not to kill a human being except in self defense. Over time, I came to the understanding that killing an animal to eat is as justified morally as killing a human being in self defense. It took me some years of reflection to come to the realization that my drive to hunt was as honorable as my drive to become a Marine.
I don't regret the time it took me to come to this realization, because we have to be careful about our basic drives, as many of them may be morally wrong or self-destructive, and we have to learn to supress the destructive drives as much as we encourage the constructive ones.
So I chose to return to hunting because I decided it was a basic, healthy drive that wasn't going to go away, as opposed to a destructive or immoral drive that I needed to suppress.
-
thats me its always been me , to hunt!
-
I started hunting with my dad when I was about 5. And my son started hunting with me when he was about 5yrs old also.
I am 61yrs old now so you could say I have been in the woods almost all my life.
I find it's not about killing something, it's about just being in the woods. Enjoying Mother Nature and all She has to offer and seeing things that most people would pay to see, and some would not believe you.
-
David, I appreciate your response. Taking a life or watching a fellow Marine die are things that never go away completely. We have to re-group and move forward. I am glad you moved forward. Semper Fi
-
'Cause I feel it, it's a calling.
-
Vittles :-)
-
I've thought about this many times. When I explain it to myself, or others, it never really comes out the way I think it will. I suppose if one is asked "Why?" One would be inclined to come up with a reason. For me, well, I have so many reasons that there really is not one at all. Somewhere deep down inside its just part of me, it's natural. I believe the desire is natually occuring. I am blessed to have ready access to places to do it. Some may have "it", but do not have access to "it".
Why don't people hunt? I liken it to the fact that not all animals kill for food, therefore it would seem natural that not all humans would kill for food, or have the desire for meat for that matter.
So, why do I hunt? Ask me tomorrow and get a different answer :)
Regards,
Brian
-
I hunt to get away....out into creation. To take in the sights, smells, feelings of being in the trees, hills, bluffs of Wyoming. The smell of being in an aspen grove in the autumn is incredible. To feel the rain, snow, sleet on my face. To enjoy the company of the best of friends in camp.
If I happen to harvest an animal that's icing on the cake but it is not necessary for a successful experience. I love the outdoors.
-
Originally posted by *****:
I stopped shooting animals a couple of years ago, tho I still hunt every season. I figure that I've gotten my share, and if I don't "need" the meat for myself or my family, why take a life. I know I can do it. . . just don't need to. If the day comes when I do need the meat, I'll go get it, but wanton killing just because you can isn't perfecting your skills, it's just greed.
I now hunt to out-smart them, keep my skills sharp, but don't need to kill. Ain't hungry enough.
I mean no offense by what I'm about to say. It's just my opinion.
If you enjoy getting out in the woods that's great, but that is just not hunting, its observing. Hunting IS about killing. To say otherwise is just not honest and just not hunting. There is a huge difference physically and emotionally when you look at an animal you intend to kill. There is a personal responsibility that comes before and after the fingers release.
What is "needing" the meat? Unless you are a vegetarian, an animal died for that meat you bought at the store. Even if you are a vegetarian, something died so that veg could be planted. On the farm or in the wild, those chicken tenders came from a living, breathing creature whether you did the actual killing or not.
To say that you outsmarted an animal that you didn't shoot at is, in my opinion, just human arrogance. It is not giving the animal the credit it's earned. I have seen animals do amazing things between the time I release that arrow and when it sticks bloodless in the ground!
Why hunt? Today, there are some that may fall under the greed or ego banner, but for most it's just inside you, from way back when people just like you kept everyone else alive.
YMMV!
-
I hunt for food, I hunt to find myself, I hunt for friendship. I hunt to appreciate what the lord has given me, I hunt for a bond with nature, I hunt to keep traditons alive, I hunt for the animals, I hunt for the freedom, I hunt to know more than the city folk. I hunt to see from another man's eyes before my time. I hunt to look into an animals soul and see that it will feed me and not go to waste. I hunt.
-
Well said Molson, Thank you, I could not have said it any better myself
Regards.
Bert.
-
Great post trad gangers! Let me start out by saying that hunting must be an important part of all our lives on this forum for many reasons. I myself started chasing squirrels at the age of 5. Bowhunting came along at the age of 8, that is when the internal flame was lite. A flame than burns inside of me year round! This evening was our last evening for the Ky. deer season. Although that flame may decrease some what, similar to a pilot light on a furnace. I can assure you when the time comes to get started on next season that flame for the hunt will be just as intense. The loss of my father a few years ago to cancer has put me in a much different mindset when I go to the woods. My dad wasn't much of a bow hunter but he could see the passion I had for archery and although he never killed a deer with archery tackle, he would never deny me a chance to hunt. I hope to pass this on to my son for it is the youth that must carry on our blessed tradition of stick and string. It is what this country was founded on, our heritage and our lifestyle.
-
I grew up playing in the woods and hopefully.... I will grow old in the woods. Hunting takes me to the woods.
-
Wow, that is the question I have never tried to answer but I'll try anyway.
I believe the thing that got me started was all the articles I read in study hall (HS)about Howard Hill and Fred Bear and their hunting adventures. For some reason I remember the Hill stuff better. Thirty years later I can still vividly replay those amazing shots in my mind. I was deeply in love with the longbow and hopelessly stuck in High School.....agony!
As the years went on, I found myself pursuing the Whitetail almost exclusively...focused on the big bucks....a true to life "horn hunter"
Then, further on I evolved a bit and started to enjoy the friendship/fellowship aspect. Time at late dinners and around the evening campfire with the stories and laughs seemed to have become a close second to the hunt itself.
And finally, I think these days if I had a good opportunity for a shot, depending on the day, I may just sit and watch rather than going for the kill....
It is all good, every time...all of it!
-
I have experienced many emotions in my life. I have lived a very full life. I have witnessed joy, sorrow, accompishment, reflectivness, failure and success. From the time I first started hunting I felt the joy of the outdoors, the smell, the beauty , the unforgiveness of a harsh storm to the sun warming my face on a calm summer day. When I see an animal I intend to hunt. I respect it, am sometimes in awe of its beauty and power. When I kill an animal I feel accomplishment and sorrow. I have witnessed many things....but hunting gives me emotions I cannot describe, but it feels good, and feels right. I do not apologize for taking a life......it is part of life... Until I pass I will hunt. There are many people who do not understand hunting. This has happened by process. When you go and buy meat at the grocery store, many do not know or care how it got there. Many ignorant people criticize hunters but have not been educated or walked in their forefathers footsteps.
-
WOW ,some amazing answers.Although we hunt for different reasons i think it all boils down to that is who we are.As some as stated its something that cannot be explained to a non-hunter! Thank for all the great replies and GOD BLESS YOU ALL.