this is why we hunt

[VinnieB]

http://s240.photobucket.com/albums/ff163/vinniebow/?action=view¤t=112407_06541.jpg

view from my blind this past saturday right before the chaos of opening day of gun season

[adkmountainken]

you got that right, that is what i call a good hunt, deer or no deer! thanks for sharing.

[Shawn Leonard]

Not me, I am sorry I hunt to kill game, I love the other parts of the hunt as well, but scenery and nature are all secondary. Shawn

[dino]

Vinnie,

Your exactly right.  I hunt for the solitude and being in nature.  I love the scenary, sounds, and the variety of wildlife seen.  Taking home game make the hunt that much more special, but does not necessarily make or break a hunt. dino

[Killdeer]

Shawn, you are SO goal-oriented.   :rolleyes:  
Seeing as I usually eat tag soup, (beats nail soup all hollow!) I am glad that a beautiful moment in the life of a landscape can fill my innards with warm satisfaction.

Killdeer

[adkmountainken]

Shawn,
      i respect you for the hunter that you are but man we are definitly 2 different critters. if i never take another deer i would still cherish every hunt. life is short and ya just never know. its the little things that you remeber the most. yeah i shot a 171 1/8 Boone&Crockett buck but its pales in comparison to some of the beautiful sights i have saw in the woods. i remember going underneath a porcupine that was sleeping on a branch overhanging the path iwas walking with a friend,it was one of the best things i have ever saw in the woods. so peaceful, so honest. i would trade a sight like that any day over a P&Y buck. life is short brother, life is short.

[lilbobby]

So true VinneB, so true. L.B.

[pine nut]

Since I've had a light game bag so far this season, I find myself reflecting more on thoughts about THE SCENERY. It has been a beautiful fall where I hunted.  I have to confess that I hunt to take game for the table but I do understand those beautiful sunrises that the rest of the world doesn't even see. I understand the squirrels playing all around you. I understand the magnificent colors of the leaves as they surrender to the winter's chill. I thank God for them all, but I also agree with Shawn above, that I hunt for the hunt itself. Each part compliments the others and adds to the whole experience, I agree actually with each of these views, and don't find them contradictory in the least.  dino, ken and vinnie are out there to take game and would if they saw it and had the right shot, but it could still be a good hunt without a shot being taken.  
I can keep going if I haven't confused everyone enough. Just my $0.02

[adkmountainken]

pine nut,
       well said. yes i will definitly take the shot if it feels good and right. i LOVE venision!! i hunt  to feed my soul so i will not die inside, it matters not if i kill. if i do kill i cherish the gift and eat well!

[vermonster13]

I hunt because it is a large part of who I am and to not hunt would be so untrue to myself as to be living a lie.

[Gordon martiniuk]

I also hunt to Kill game if I outsmart a Deer or Moose and harvest it with a bow that is a thrill that you cannot get watching TV oh yes I also like the great outdoors but If I ever loose that feeling of the hunt and the Kill I will Quit Hunting  

[Ian johnson]

my mom did not get it when I said any hunt is a good hunt, even if I dont kill anything

[GingivitisKahn]

I've been thinking quite a bit lately about what makes a "successful" hunt.  Obviously meat in the freezer is nice, but honestly, I can get that from the store every single time I try.

On the other hand, being buzzed by an owl, being stepped on by a chipmonk, getting to within touching distance (almost - heh) of a whitetail - these are things that I will remember until my dying day.

[mmgrode]

There are many different aspects of the hunt that I find necessary for my own experience.

 The "scenery" is nice by itself, but if that's the only reason I was out there I'd bring a camera and leave the bow.  

There is no feeling I've experienced like that after a close encounter with or kill of a deer.  The shakes, the adrenaline, the heart racing...man, that's hard to beat with scenery if you ask me.  

Now when we bring the scenery together with this encounter, it makes for a great hunt in my opinion.  

I also derive much pleasure from the taking of a deer after large amounts of effort and planning have been put into it.  When it all comes together; the scouting, the planning, the hours of hunting, it brings me much satisfaction to have to drag a deer out that I shot. On the other hand, no amount of scenery is going to make up for not seeing animals...that just plain sucks in my opinion!

Now with the above said, for me, the kill in the hunt is important, but when I find that this is the end all be all I lose much of the enjoyment of it. I have found also that I am enjoying more and more seeing the success of those I care about more than my own and really love to hear they got something and congratulate them.  

So here we have the dichotomy of the kill and the scenery.  Some like one or the other, but give me both!!!!

[BamBooBender]

I used to measure the quality of hunt based on the amount of game taken, as well as the fellowship, natural beauty, etc(in that order). Nowadays, the list has pretty much reversed. Somehow I seem to have skipped over the trophy hunting phase, maybe it's because I watched a few friends go through it, I dunno. Anyway,I still try to hunt places where I have a good chance to get whatever it is I'm after, and I still get the same feelings of elation and awe, mixed with a touch of remorse, when I do take an animal. It's just that the little things I come across when hunting mean as much (if not more) these days. This year so far I have watched a turkey fly up to roost, spotted a bald eagle sitting in a tree, watched several ruffed grouse strutting out their timeless mating ritual, listened to wolves howl and coyotes cry, watched a crow chase off a hawk, been griped at by several squirrels, watched a woodpecker work over a tree not five feet away, and have been at eye level with deer as close as ten yards with no chance to draw. All in all it's been a good year.  

[ks8674]

adkmountainken you are right on with take on the sights in the woods!! Hunting is all about the experience with nature not just the killing experience. I see you are a fellow New Yorker we should go out hunting sometime! I have a place on Stillwater Res. how far are you from there?

[allanburden]

If it was about the taking of game it would be called Killing, not hunting.  Hunting is a process.  It is a process through which a predator evaluates a selected prey species and the area in which said species inhabits.  The predator uses all the tools it has at it's disposal, most importantly the mind, in an attempt at taking game.  The difference in humans and every other predator is that we do not have to kill to recieve nourishment.  We can go to the store to purchase our meat.  That being said, for me it is all about the process and yes the beautiful scenery the great creator has given us.  I love checking my gear and packing my bag for the hunt.  I love going out in August when it is 110 degrees and scouting.  I love everything about the hunt, except for the kill.  I am saddend every time I take a life.  I always make sure to leave an offering for the animal that I have taken to feed my family.  I find no joy in the killing of an animal anymore.  To me it is a necessary evil in order to fill my freezer with the venison that I prefer to feed my family.  Yes, the scenery is whats important, because if that is what one derives enjoyment from then it is what it is.

[loco_cacahuate]

I read somewhere once that if we are out hiking or taking pics, we are just observing nature. When we hunt, we become part of it.

[Danny Rowan]

I hunt to fill my freezer with tasty vittals. Yes, it clenses my soul to be out in nature, but I am there for the hunt, not the scenery.

Danny

[Biggie Hoffman]

I hunt to accomplish a goal as well. That's to kill critters with bow and arrow. We all know we wouldn't fish very long with no hook on the end of the line cause we're there to catch fish.

While I deeply appreciate the scenery and being outdoors and all the other aspects of it, I can do and see all that without "hunting".