Favorite thing?

[Bowguy67]

What's you're favorite thing about harvesting a deer with traditional gear? Not so much a first deer but what keeps you going?
Me I like sticking a limb tip down and tracking spots of blood to a prize. I know it sounds crazy, but I love it. Maybe it's anticipation.
The smell of the fall woods, discolored leaves, to a white belly and hopefully horns. Nothing like it.
Good luck to all this year and don't forget the kids!!

[V I Archer]

I love still hunting.  I love that moment when you spot the animal you are going to stalk and you enter an entirely different world.  Auto-pilot takes over, tunnel vision kicks in and all there is, is that animal and the distance between you.  He drops his head, you step forward, he raises his head and you freeze...  

Right at the shot, whenever I approach anchor, I can usually hear myself debate, should I or should I let him walk.  Before the debate is fully played out the string is dropped, the arrow gone and the shakes take over.  Nerves of steel up to that point, but totally gotta sit down after the shot.

[DanielB89]

I have learned that I love the journey just as much or more than the kill.  But, the kill is definitely a part of it.  

I love all the practice that leads up to confidence in your equipment.  

The scouting that gives you confidence in your stand locations.

Watching the animal take the exact route you thought they would.  

Executing a perfect shot.

Sitting down and relaxing after the shot hoping you did your job as good as you think you did.  

Getting down to go get your tracking dog.

Coming back and watch her trail the deer you shot well.  

The drag out.

The skinning of the animal while reminiscing on how it all played out.  

Telling buddies about it.

Icing the meat for a week or so.  

Processing the meat.

Eating the meat.  

Kind of got me pumped up while typing that! haha

[olddogrib]

With due apologies to Julie Andrews (you old geezers know what I mean)

Autumn's bright colors and crisp, clear fall mornings......
Bucks that appear without giving a warning....
Sharpening broadheads and making new strings...
These are a few of my favorite things.

Backstraps in cast iron and onions with liver...
Taking a bath in a cold mountain river...
Waiting on dawn and the promise it brings...
These are a few of my favorite things.

(refrain)
When the deer ducks...
When his flags waves...
and I'm really pissed....
I simply remember I could be at work....
And then I don't mind...I missed!

[mark Willoughby]

For me just being in the stand when the mist starts to rise all the sounds and smells of fall come together and it's just magic watching all the wildlife and as stated above I love it when a deer just appears out of nowhere that is the coolest thing it's almost like God put it there for you

[MCNSC]

I like hunting evenings. And part of the reason is just watching the darkness come.  And the walk out in the dark has a strange appeal to me. Also the smell of the fall woods and fields and the smell and feel of a wool jacket ar vest.

[Al Dente]

For me, getting really up close and personal, and beating everything that God gave that creature to survive.  But that is just a small part of it.  Just being out in God's green Earth, and enjoying all of it is my way to decompress from the daily grind.  If I see and animal good, if I happen to kill one, even better to provide for my family, but if nothing, it is still better than schelping to work and the rat race.

[Bowguy67]

Don't get me wrong I love it all, from prep to the actual hunt. It'd mimic what many said.
i just love that limb tip being used for a pointer.
2nd favorite part is prob the prep. Again I guess it's the anticipation, sharpening blades by hand, splicing feathers to make arrows. Filling a quiver.
The practice, scouting. Hearing a nut fall, seeing the leaves change, all awesome

[woodchucker]

I love sitting on the mountainside. Butt on a piece of chunk wood, back against a Hemlock tree. Taking a nap, awakening to the sound of hoof beats on the woodroad in front of me. Opening my eyes & seeing how close he came, because I was sitting SO STILL!!! Lol

[Roadkill]

The dawn-colder than when you hiked in. Shiver from cold or anticipation?  Following the sun light across an opposite hillside hoping on seein that rump of a mulie or desert tan of an elk.  Watching coyotes skirt sage hill sides, waiting for the to strike.  Blue grouse calling in the aspens below. Felling the air currents shift 90 degrees when the sun hits the valley you are watching. Sage odor, mule's eye  rattle as you try to sneak thru it and looking around to see thousands of acres with no human structures in view,and feeling freedom.

[Sam McMichael]

There is a certain smell in the fall woods that I don't notice the rest of the year. To me, it is very special.

[Gdpolk]

The solitude and opportunity to listen to God's responses to my prayers as life slows down for a change.

[Bowwild]

Hearing a deer walking towards me before I see it.  That's getting more rare as I age and my hearing has declined some.

[Captain*Kirk]

Originally posted by olddogrib:
With due apologies to Julie Andrews (you old geezers know what I mean)

Autumn's bright colors and crisp, clear fall mornings......
Bucks that appear without giving a warning....
Sharpening broadheads and making new strings...
These are a few of my favorite things.

Backstraps in cast iron and onions with liver...
Taking a bath in a cold mountain river...
Waiting on dawn and the promise it brings...
These are a few of my favorite things.

(refrain)
When the deer ducks...
When his flags waves...
and I'm really pissed....
I simply remember I could be at work....
And then I don't mind...I missed!

I seriously LOL at this...everyone is giving me strange looks! Did you write this, and if so, brilliant!

[olddogrib]

Capt. yes, I'm afraid so....a mind really is a terrible thing!  The sad thing is I expect that the inside joke is lost on most here.  The world was a much better place growing up in the fifties and sixties.  Now they've got kindergartners worried about what gender they're supposed to become! I wouldn't want to be a kid today for all the X-Boxes in the world!

[Captain*Kirk]

I know what you mean...I can actually hear Julie Andrews singing with your words. Kinda scary. And as for kids these days...I honestly pray for their future.

[TooManyHobbies]

Cool mornings.
The woods coming alive at dawn.
Geese honking overhead.
The snap of a twig.
The flick of a tail.
Wood smoke hanging in the air.
Missing a ten point at 8 yards, high.
  No, no. Not that one, I didn't like that one at all.

[Jessebeaux]

Ducks whistling over.... I know that's sounds crazy but it always causes me to jerk my head and smile! Ha... Also another favorite thing would be no phone service. Lastly, I would have to say that I love watching a doe and her fawns graze by me...

[NBK]

I relish every aspect but the one thing that really trips my trigger is the pulse in your hand as you drop the string.  That mild push as the arrows cast giving a fleeting connection between you and the game. It's that quiet thump that I crave.

[Rough Run]

I love to hunt the mornings, because I love the break of day.  I love watching the forest take shape, just sort of materialize, as I sit quietly and unmoving.  Birds, squirrels, deer if I'm lucky, all starting another day as if I wasn't there.  Makes me feel like I'm "peaking behind the curtain."  And it makes me appreciate the greatest gift my father ever gave me - a love and appreciation of the outdoors.