Why do you hunt?

[archeranthony]

I sit here and i think of my hunting life and why do i hunt and how much the answer to that question has changed throughout my life. I started hunting when i was 12 years old and my stepfather is the person that got me into hunting and bought me my first shotgun. I had to wait until i was 12 years old to hunt because i grew up in PA and you cant hunt until you are 12 years old. If you asked me when i was 12 years old why do i hunt i would have told you because i like to kill things and then eat it. I grew up doing deer drives on public land in PA and farms that we had permission to hunt. I always looked up to my stepdad because he taught me a lot about being an outdoors man and the animals and shooting and surviving and i could go on for days. I owe that man alot for who i am today. I moved to Texas when i was 16 years old to live with my Dad. The day i left PA was the first day i saw my Step Father cry. That day opened up my eyes to how much i meant to him. So my Dad was also my idol growing up. I only got to see him in the summers so you can only imagine how i could want to move and try living with him too. My Dad took me hunting in Texas and it was totally different than what i was ever used to. One reason is baiting is illegal in PA and TX it is not. So we sit in stands and shoot deer under a corn feeder. "This is different". So you ask me when i'm 16 why do you hunt i would tell you i hunt for the sport and to shoot a mature deer and eat it and manage the deer population. Fast forward 15 years. I am now 31 and have 19 years of hunting experience and 90% of it is Whitetail hunting. Hunting good whitetail and not wanting to empty your bank account in my part of Texas dont go together. Dont get me wrong there is public land but we all know how that goes. I find myself wanting to hunt big game and public land DIY hunts. This has brought out the excitement in hunting that i haven't had since i was a young teen hunting with my Step Dad waiting for the first monday after thanksgiving to load up the slug gun and go hunt. My appreciation for the land and the animal have changed alot since my last why do i hunt question. So, now today im 31 and you ask me why do i hunt. I will tell you i hunt to get to spend time with those family and friends you only get to see once or twice a year because you live in Texas and they live in Pennsylvania (my step dad and i plan hunts together so we can get time together), Or that i love going out to the untouched land of man that hasnt been paved or bulldozed. I love watching the animals and learning and if i dont harvest one its not the end of the world. Because i was out doing what i love. Its my escape from the every day city hustle bustle. So thats why i hunt.


So..... Why do you hunt?

[kidoggy]

there are two reasons to kill. self preservation and to eat!

that is why I hunt.

[dirtclod Az.]

For love of he outdoor and procure meat.

[mallardsx2]

Because everything except hunting involves some form nickleback song, or skinny jeans....



Serious though, I hunt because I like the thrill of the chase and the thrill of calling in or just outsmarting the animal on its own ground. Its that simple. I dont really like the killing part as much as most people do. Some of my best hunts I came home empty handed.

[Colorado Cowboy]

I'm 77 and the reasons on why I hunt have changed over the last 70 years. Started hunting (Doves, upland game & waterfowl) when I was 7 years old. Over the years I've hunted Mexico, Canada and most of the western states.

When I was young it was all about how much I could kill and bring home to eat. I've shot 100's of big game animals and a lot more birds. As I have aged, it is harder to get to the top of the mountain, pack out animals and find hunting partners my age. Now just getting out and experiencing the hunt has really taken over. I don't need to fill my tags to say that the hunt (s) was successful. I have done around 30 backcountry wilderness horseback hunts. For my 70th birthday I did a hunt to Thorofare in the Teton Wilderness of Wyoming. #34 mile, 9 1/2 hour horseback ride to camp. A wonderful experience. I am still planning on a couple more of them, just a little shorter ride.

I love sitting in a goose or duck blind with my Lab and watching the sun rise, fishing a backcountry lake or stream and hunting animals in their element. I isn't necessary to bring something home, just being there is what it's all about for me now. I do eat everything I shoot....varmints excepted!LOL

[BKC]

A great book to read on this is "Bloodties" by Ted Kerasote. He explores varying reasons why and goes on hunts with others and then hunts himself. Very worth while read.

[hunter25]

The challenge and the adventure. Usually with my son making memories. I'm blessed with the many places I've been to hunting or fishing.
I don't waste a scrap of meat but donate 90% these days to people who need it.

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[mustang8]

Relaxation and food!!!!

[Timberstalker]

Hunting is the only thing that lets me completely let go of life as I know it on a daily basis. I have a wonderful wife and great kids, we share that time together and often I go solo. When I’m hunting nothing enters my mind but the hunt. I see things most people don’t often there’s no one in the world who knows where I’m at but me. I like that feeling, it makes me feel alive.

[JimP]

I quit hunting for food a long time ago, I do it for the enjoyment of it.

If I don't give it away a elk will last me 3-4 years and a deer about 1/2 that. I now hunt for horns, unless I want some meat then any animal that is legal is fair game.