the older the softer?

[hydrasport205]

first let me say I LOVE bowhunting!!. i started hunting when i was around 10 years first hunting squirrels and rabbits then in my early 20s i started hunting deer with a bow. I was into the compounds for many years but about 6 years ago i started shooting a recurve for kicks and then picked up a longbow or two and made the switch and have never looked back. But it seems the older i get the softer my heart becomes.. I am 41 years old now but still love trad hunting but I find myself passing does and just watching them also not into shooting squirrels or rabbits while in my stand rather  I just watch and admire wildlife..  But dont get me wrong I most definently would fling an aroow at the buck that I am hunting that year.. and If I am lucky enough to harvest that deer there is still a sad moment when you walk up to a creature that God made for us to enjoy as well as eat. The hunt is over and the creature is dead.Anyway i just wanted to know if anyone else goes through this?? watching Jim shockey kill a elephant knowing that he will not eat the meat to me is ....  Well enough said I still love hunting

[ron w]

Well first off..41 ain't old. That being said, I find myself not killing much because I don't see as much as I once did. I will take a doe, but its not like the world is gonna stop if I don't. If your enjoy your time afeild the way your doing it, then that is what you should do. I to feel a moment of sadness when a kill is made, I then say a little prayer and finish the rest of the feild work. As far as the TV shows... they are what they are and most of the time you can't take to much from them.

[hydrasport205]

thanks for the post Ron glad to see that someone answered my post. I guess that why God made us the ultimate predator  because we are the only predator with a concious..  thanks

[koger]

Trad bow hunting makes every harvest a trophy, squirrel or deer, makes me enjoy the hunt that much more. I dont trophy hunt any more as  I near 50, but definitely meat hunt and between the wife and I we fill the freezer each fall, usually harvesting 6 deer. They  are all gone by next summer. I guess I am just the opposite of what you describe, I had to hunt like a job when I was younger, fewer deer, less time, now I slow down, enjoy the hunt and any kill, just pleasing myself, and enjoying time afield with the wife and great friends. I also enjoy sharing properly prepared wild game with people who are skeptical of how good it can be, have gotten several people into hunting that way, even a co-worker who was an outspoken anti-hunter. We worked together to get him his first deer, I processed it for him and showed him how not to waste anything, helped change his outlook completley.

[rtherber]

hydrasport205, its sort of like when I joined the police department.My fellow rookie graduates would question me about why they didn't see me in court much. They were making minor arrests and I was interested in catching the truly bad guys,armed robbery and burglary suspects so I stayed on the streets instead of running downtown with  minor offenders. We all just have different personal goals.  I always said I hoped I would kill my quarry the last day of my hunt so I could enjoy the maximum time in the field. Others seem to want to "kill out" and go to the house as quickly as possible. Nothing wrong with that but it makes me wonder if they really and truthfully love the outdoors or is it just  another competition like golf.

[GRINCH]

First at 41 your still a pup,It doesn't matter if you kill anything as long as your enjoying yourself,the fact that you respect the game your hunting and enjoy the experience is more than most,just do what makes you happy,Larry.

[wollelybugger]

I know exactly what you are saying, I shot a racoon last year and felt terrible. He was with another little coon and it was not a good memory. I seem to see life differently as I get older. I was a very good hunter and took a lot of game when I was young, a good shot with rifle shotgun and bow.
  I always wondered why the older fellows would go to hunting camp and cook and hang out and never went hunting. I can understand now.          

[Mo. Huntin]

I'm 31 and I hear people say all the time that they feel a touch of sadness when they kill.  Maybe there is something wrong with my thoughts but I never feel bad about taking a doe unless it has yearlings with it.  I definitly fealt sad a couple of times when we fished some fishing tournaments and several 5 pound bass did not make it back to the pond just fealt like a waste even though we ate them.  I also feel a little sad if I kill a big buck just because they are so hard to come by.  One time my father in law knew I went bowfishing and said he had 2 huge carp in his pond and I could shoot them but for some reason they were just so big and only 2 of them I just watched them.  I am not saying there is anything wrong with any of the stuff above and you can bet your butt I will shoot the big buck and any carp on a big lake.  Before you wrote this and I started thinking about it, it used to bother me a little when people said they felt sad when they accomplished their goal, (I mean you are out there with a bow to kill something) but after thinking about it I see their point. Good post

[waknstak IL]

I am 43 and there is something about getting older that changed my thinking as well. I do harvest the does I need to fill the freezer and will shoot one for family or a friend who would wants the meat, but I also pass up a lot of deer simply cause their is no reason to shoot them. I used to worry bout filling tags. Now I just hunt to enjoy the outdoors and I enjoy my hunting more than ever. One other thing I've noticed as I've gotten older is I tend to shoot less the farther away I am from my truck.  

[Shawn Leonard]

Sorry but ya hunt to kill things, take a camera instead. It is ok to enjoy nature and such but the definition of hunting to go out and kill something. Shawn

[jhg]

I think the definition of hunting is a lot more for a lot of us than going out to "kill something".

A hunter having some sort of understanding as to what that killing means only underscores a larger perspective that includes  compassion.

I will always hunt. I will always have respect for the animals I kill. I can't imagine the day when the prey has so little (spiritual) value that they receive no consideration.

Joshua

[bowmaster12]

the hunt is a very individual thing it means different things to everyone that does it.  As long as you are doing things legally and you are enjoying yoru time spent afield yoru doign it right!
as far as the elephant that meat is not wasted it goes to the surronding villages for people that are in great need of protien in heir diets.  Its my understanding that most african hunts the hunter keeps some meat to have at the lodge while the rest goes to the village just because a hunter takes game and shares it and may not eat any of it doesnt mean they dont have respect for that animal.

[hydrasport205]

I think maybe you got the wrong idea Shawn. when i pick up the bow and head for the woods Im not out there to just sit and watch. I know that I have the ability the tools and the god given right to hunt. I have however become  more selective in my hunting.I just enjoy watching nature more and more while in the stand. watching fawns nurse the doe right under my stand is a memory that ill never forget as long as i live. I didnt mean to ruffle any feathers just wanted to know if other hunters ever feel the sameway.

[trapperDave]

for the record, though Shockey might not have eaten that elephant, I'm sure a whole village or two ate well off it.    like our native americans, they waste nothing

[John3]

I understand as well. Other than "pest" squirrel's eating up all of my black oil sunflower seed that I put out for my birds, the only killing I do is big game. Deer (any legal deer) and or whatever big game I am hunting. I actually hunt does harder than the bucks. I am pleased when I get a old doe killed. A five or six year old doe is hard to get killed with my longbow. Wise and "smart" are an understatement. I've always said that anyone who enjoys killing is a bit sick. Killing is a necessary part of bowhunting. I always reflect that we are predators doing what predators do... The Lord gave us binocular vision, a big brain and K-9 teeth. Yes we are predators; the best ever put on Earth...
Kill only what will be put to use and never any more.

John III

[rtherber]

I think they call it "maturity" or mellowing with age. Are grandparents as tough on the grandkids as they were on their own children growing up? Most aren't that I know of. I personally  know I wouldn't have near as much anticipation for my outdoor adventures if the possibility of using my recurve wasn't an option. I would not put near the effort into the trips afield nor be like a kid on Christmas morning if there were no warm wooden handled bow in my hand....

[GMMAT]

I've taken 22 big game animals in the last 3 seasons, and I've felt my share of remorse at times.  Never regret.....but remorse, yes (a manageable twinge).

I CERTAINLY do not hunt just to kill something, though...and I certainly don't think (by ANY stretch) that I need to hunt with a camera, only.  That's ridiculous.  The killing, in fact, is my least favorite part of the hunt.....although I realize it's inevitable in an ultimately successful hunt.  An animal's gonna die if everything works out right and you do your job.

I'm OK with that.

[Bonebuster]

hydrasport205; True hunters have reverence for all life.  

As hunters, we know, we are not above the cycle of life...we are part of it. For us to live, something must die. "All things are connected".

As I get older (43 now) I have put less importance on a kill than I did when I was younger. I ALWAYS go hunting with the intent to kill, but never need a kill to enjoy the hunt.

When I kill an animal, the feeling I get would be described more as humbling that it would remorse.
I am gratefull, and thankfull as if I was given an expensive gift.

There is an expression I have seen on a bumper sticker..."hunt hard, kill clean, and apologize to no one". It makes good sense.

Hunt the way you want, and pass any animal you wish. Kill when you are ready, but always remember, that when you do kill a buck, you have done NOTHING wrong.

By all means, have a soft heart, but never feel as if you have done something wrong.  :D

[ron w]

Bonebuster.....well said! >>>------> ron w

[slabsides]

I think it was Ortega y Gassett that said, 'We do not hunt to kill; we kill to have hunted.'
It's our instinct to hunt. As kids, we all are bloodthirsty. At 8 or 9, no sparrow was safe from my lemonwood longbow.
Now, at 74, I feel sad to see the death of a beautiful animal. Unless they are vermin or food, there's no justification for killing them.
I feel the same way about hunters like Shockey. They travel all over the world, just to garner 'trophies'. Maybe someone eats the meat they make, and maybe not, you seldom see the hunters on TV packing out the meat, do you?
I make no apologies for feeling the way I do. I can't hunt any more...so I won't kill. My bows are target weapons now, and my rifles are for the most part silent. I'm content with that.