why do you hunt

It is all about the full freezers, to me. Antlers mean nothing. I fill freezers for myself and several other people and that is what keeps me going.

For me the least enjoyable part of the hunt is the kill. Not that I don’t enjoy the kill, but I enjoy being outdoors, outsmarting a wild animal, the comaraderie with friends. Heck also just getting out of the house. I love eating wild game, that’s more organic than any crap you buy in the grocery store. In this day in age, when I’m out in the woods it’s about the only time the world makes sense anymore.

Hunting, the entire process from practicing and scouting to actually being on stand, is a big stress reliever for me and helps keep me centered. That's probably the biggest reason why I do it. Camaraderie, great food, getting outside are all enjoyable byproducts as well. Nothing comes remotely close to hearing the woods wake up while I'm on stand with a bow in my hand.

lopechaser--"apex predator"--never more true than when hunting the white and brown bear in Alaska and Canada or the dangerous 7 in Africa--great point!

olefish2--as a wife, mother, business partner, I never faced the adversity that you faced and my hats off to you sir, you meet it head on and won, congratulations

rtraverdavis--thank you sir for the very kind words, appreciated

Get-A-birdy--Love Sweden! The first time they ask me to go Capercaillie hunting--I said, what in the h--- is that (-:

Everybody, what wonderful, thoughtful, introspective posts--Thank you for taking the time to reflect and share. These are great replies and I will us each of them in the future, when speaking ti the anti hunters. thank you!

Many, like myself, just enjoy, "being there". From that first cup of coffee before daybreak, sometimes way before daybreak to the cup of scotch with dinner--the entire day was perfect!

I enjoyed your stories of how relatives or friends got you started--exploring, fishing, hunting, gardening and your still doing it today. My thought when reading those stories was, please, pass it on and I am sure you each will

Anyway--Thank you gentlemen and Hunting Wife for you replies.

p.s. Scary, I dont know how to do that. I dont have any social media accounts like Facebook----I know, I know--I am old (-:

also--oleefish2--I forgot. Your post also reminded me that in our little country school house, rifles were brought to school and put in the closet. After school if we were lucky we might bring a rabbit home for dinner. Also getting up and doing chores ( milking, feeding etc ) BEFORE breakfast and then go to school, might be foreign to some children today LOL

I think it would be easier for me to say why I breathe or why my heart beats. Hunting is what I am and its what I live for. I think about hunting 365 days a year and I'm not proud at the amount of money I've thrown away because of the live style I live. I wasn't allowed to go hunting until I was 12 and I wasn't allowed to carry a gun until I was 15, that was what my dad wanted and he was a big hunter and I don't recall hunting unless it was with me. Growing up my Grandfather owned land in the mountains of Virginia and I longed for the summer time for him to take me up there and I would help cut the grass and we would fish. With all that being said I don't recall that moment when I wanted to hunt, it was just something that happened when I turned 12. My dad was a piss poor hunter and the only thing we killed was time and it wasn't till I turned 16 that I killed my first deer, but it was never about the kill and its still not about the kill. I feel the best when I am alone with no one around soaking in all the glory that God has put on this earth.

Why I hunt. Originated as a time to spend with friends - comaraderie. Wall tents, hard hunts, joy of successful harvest, the game packouts, sitting around the camp fire, and processing the meat.
Now? It's turned goal oriented. The past ten years have found many challenges and a new frontier...
Hunting partner(s) are retiring from the backcountry hunts and borderline retiring from hunting entirely. Age, downtrend of harvests, the perfect storm, so to say.
The disappointments over wolves blowing out our three long term developed hunt locations for archery and rifle over the past 5-6 years has not helped my partners drive to continue.
We're not fans of wolves though not the, "smoke a pack a day" type hunters either.
We've returned to our areas to see if wolves have moved on only to call in wolves again versus the days of hearing bugles while sitting around camp. Wolves have transformed hunting overall.

Think my future hunting is leading more solo, so my "why I hunt" is transitioning. Kinda rolling with it. Learning as much as I can about wolves. Not a fan of hunting them as there is no meat to fill the freezer from canines though more "why I hunt" now is a bit of respect for their Apex style and worth a portion of the annual leave to focus on them meanwhile focused on locating new resident elk locations.

That is NW Montana hunting though... Adapt or quit. Why I hunt now has not been defined, yet. I'll get back with you when I figure where my hunt(s) take me.

Great topic! Triggered reflection on my past, present and my new 3, 7 and 10 year objectives. Enjoyable and impressionable reading everyone's reasoning for, "why you hunt".

I, like others, can not articulate why I do it. I feel like it is just apart of who I am. The video below portrays the message better than I ever could.

https://youtu.be/fL3gCr2Jr0U

Not hunting has never been an option. Just something every man did. My dad had me tagging along at age 5 when my brother finally got over a fear of guns at age 11. At age 6 I was hunting. My Dad gave me every opportunity that he could so much that hunting was also a way of not having to go to the barn. It wasn't until age 18 that I began learning how to hunt on public land instead of watching a food plot or right of way. This is where I have really loved hunting.

Today I find myself constantly think about it and counting down the days to the weekend. Constantly planning when the next hunt will be and what will I do. I love being on public land and experiencing new places. I see the stories and pictures people share here and want to see those places as well. I love the connection I have with the land and the food.
Hunting was always "you eat what you kill", but the past couple years the food value has really increased. I still eat meat from restaurants (trying to limit this) and I don't turn my nose up to someone that offers it to me, but I do have a growing distaste for meat bought from the store especially if on sale. I have a big issue with people that eat meat, but don't want blood on their hands. Have a lot more respect for vegetarians and vegans than those people. If something is going to die for me to eat then I feel that I should have a responsibility to take part in that process. I like knowing where the food comes from and what it took to get it on my table.

I kill animals for food, which is pretty important to me. I don't buy any red meat or fish from the grocery store and I don't hunt animals that I will not eat.

I also hunt because of time spent with others: friends, family, especially my dad. I have memories of those experiences that I will never forget and the bonds you create are strong, especially during times of hardship, when the conditions sucked. I'll never forget one opening weekend of fishing, dad and I woke up to and the tent was covered in snow. It was cold and windy, we didn't catch crap, but I will never forget that trip. The moment I shot my first deer at my grandpa's hunting camp is also forever etched in my memory.

More than anything, however, I hunt for the connection to the natural world and to place. My family took me camping when I was a baby in the Northwoods of Wisconsin and the UP of Michigan. I've been tromping around those places ever since. I have such a connection to those places-I couldn't live without them. Hunting and fishing allow you to connect to the natural world more so than hiking or kayaking-although I enjoy those activities too. You learn so much more about a place by hunting or fishing. I know every stretch of certain trout steams and the places where a trout always is. I know the spots where the panfish will be during late ice season. I know the specific places on certain lakes where ducks and geese are more comfortable to land. I know where deer will be based on the food sources for that year. Through hunting and fishing, you gain a deeper knowledge of the land and how things work, creating a strong connection to the natural world

Same reason I fish...It's an excuse to be outside in a beautiful place. The meat is nice too

Europe as always a great question.

I hunt mostly to enjoy my family. Late onset hunter (hate that term); started hunting with my brother at 18 or 19. I hunt to enjoy my family. Hunted mostly with my brother ( my mentor ). Enjoy the comradery, we have hunted for 40 plus years together. I also have hunted with my wife and daughter. Lot of precious memories. My nephew in law is one of my favorites. Is a stud hunter and we have hunted barbary and elk and oryx together.

I like the meat. Oryx is by far my favorite. Do not hunt to fill freezer; give most to others.

I like the feeling of being on a mountain by myself. Wonderful feeling.

Sometimes, I have had a great feeling with a kill shot. I love a great shot and I have a had a few. Killed some that made me feel horrible. Beautiful young buck and a yearling on a population control hunt. The young buck was my best shot and worst feeling.

Why I hunt? I honestly don't know, but would say it is part of who I am and has always been a part of my life as far as I can remember back. My grandfather and father hunted. I tagged along when I was small and loved being apart of it. I compare hunting to my love for baseball. As far back as I can remember, I was drawn to a ball and glove. I loved the game and was pretty good at it. Playing the game came easy and was a major part of my life. Hunting is also a major part of my life and is an extension of who I am and what I do. I cannot imagine my life not hunting.

This is like asking me, why do you breath?

These are all great responses. And I agree with so many of them.

I think I have always enjoyed being out in the mysteries of nature, but I didn't really come to hunting for real until after I graduated from college. I started as a pheasant hunter and have expanded my knowledge of hunting as well as my own personal ethos about hunting. I only hunt things I enjoy eating. And I don't get too hung up on the trophy aspect of hunting. I make an effort to save the trophies, but that is not my driving force.

But that is all about the why of killing an animal. And it is tied into wanting to know where the food I eat comes from. I garden and I grow raspberries and grapes. I make my own wine. I make beer. I buy beef from my uncle's farm. I have a buddy who is going to raise a piglet up to slaughter weight for me. It's all a part of knowing where your food comes from.

But why do I go hunting? Why do I put on 40 pounds of clothing and gear so I can sit outside in 10 degree weather and not see a single animal for 6-7 hours? That's got a lot to do with the fact that I might see an animal if I do those things. I definitely won't if I stay in bed.

To me, being outside like that is like being in church for someone who really likes going to church. It's where I can connect with my inner thoughts and I can observe the way the world works in a way that is almost completely gone from the modern man-made world.

Some day (hopefully soon) I can buy a little piece of ground so that I have an excuse to be outside when it is not hunting season. I can plant trees and cut paths and all sorts of things like that. But whether I ever own land, I can always go out hunting a feel that real connection to the cycle of life. I'd like to pass this on to my daughters and to get my wife involved in hunting, because it is a wonderful thing and sharing a wonderful thing just multiplies it's value in my mind.