Why do you hunt?

conibear

conibear

Active Member
Oct 15, 2017
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Archeranthony you owe it to yourself to read Jose Ortega y Gasset. Here's a quote, "?Natural? man is always there, under the changeable historical man. We call him and he comes?a little sleepy, benumbed, without his lost form of instinctive hunter, but, after all, still alive. Natural man is first prehistoric man?the hunter."
 
Prerylyon

Prerylyon

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Apr 25, 2016
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Cedar Rapids, IA
I came to hunting un-naturally; growing up in the suburbs of Washington DC as part of a mixed race 1st generation immigrant family.

The hunting magazines, in the barbershop my dad took us to on Saturdays as kids in the 1970s and 80s, sparked a fire: the photos, the stories, the ads for the guns, and yes, the Marlboro man-riding his horse in the snow, carrying a calf to safety in a mountain blizzard! I wanted to be him-well sorta!

That fire was fully doused in gasoline when I took a trip to my family's ranch in Chilean Patagonia in 1981: trout fishing all day long, riding horses, getting thrown from horses, hunting perdiz and hares with my uncles, target shooting...

The fire never quenched. Every rabbit, every grouse, every doe is a trophy. Each one is nourishing food. Each one is a reward and a memory of time spent existing, living: as nature intended.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk
 
Winchester

Winchester

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Mar 27, 2014
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Woodland Park, Colorado
I grew up hunting with my Dad and Grandfather and it was great just being with them all day in the field.
But back then it was also important to me that I kill something each time ... not so anymore.

Now they are gone and I just enjoy being out in nature, enjoying the solitude and the beauty.
I also enjoy matching wits with the animals I hunt and enjoy outsmarting them (sometimes).
I really don't enjoy the killing part, but I do enjoy the meat so it must be done.
 
8

88man

Active Member
Feb 20, 2014
238
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Pa
I live to hunt. I think its instinctual in some folks. Can't image not being able to hunt.
 
Hilltop

Hilltop

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Feb 25, 2014
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Eastern Nebraska
My family hunts for food. We very rarely buy red meat from the store. It is more expensive but the meat I bring home from a mountain in Wyoming isn't available any other way. That said, I absolutely love the chase. I believe it is instinct and all of the awesome senses and feelings that come out during a hunting trip are seldom encountered in every day life. I cherish the camaraderie I share with the people I choose to spend time in the field with. Aside from my close family time at home, nothing makes me happier than being in the field pursuing whatever I happen to have a tag for at the time with a close friend or two.
 
M

Mule3006Elk

Active Member
Jul 3, 2013
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I find it very challenging, the outdoors is where I find peace, and I really look forward to the meat. My kids now hunt with me. I love how they randomly bring up their hunting/outdoor adventures. The memories are imprinted forever!
 
S

swampokie

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Jul 29, 2013
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Haworth Oklahoma
I love sharing the outdoors with family and all that stuff but when it comes down to it I usually hunt alone. I hunt to harvest an animal first and foremost. Everything else is just icing on the cake.
 
Never in Doubt

Never in Doubt

Active Member
Jul 9, 2012
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It has changed over time. Early on I hunted for the excitement, the thrill and the challenge. If it was easy it wouldn't have hooked me like it has. Slowly it morphed into hunting for the solitude, the quietness and disconnect from technology and everyday life. I still have the excitement and the desire for adventure and to challenge myself. But now it's so much more.
It's really not something that can be put into words so that I can sit back and think, "yeah, that's exactly why I hunt". It's a complex mix of feelings. Excitement and sadness, rush of adrenaline and overwhelming exhaustion. Facing fears and the unknown. Going back to wild places that hold good memories. Proving myself, to myself. Go into the forest not knowing how the day will unfold and what I'll see, hear and smell. Bringing home meat to share with friends and family. Hunting makes me feel alive in a unique way that nothing else does.

Hard to explain to such a degree to someone that doesn't hunt that they will fully understand it. It has to be experienced and felt.
 
conibear

conibear

Active Member
Oct 15, 2017
210
81
Never in Doubt said:
It has changed over time. Early on I hunted for the excitement, the thrill and the challenge. If it was easy it wouldn't have hooked me like it has. Slowly it morphed into hunting for the solitude, the quietness and disconnect from technology and everyday life. I still have the excitement and the desire for adventure and to challenge myself. But now it's so much more.
It's really not something that can be put into words so that I can sit back and think, "yeah, that's exactly why I hunt". It's a complex mix of feelings. Excitement and sadness, rush of adrenaline and overwhelming exhaustion. Facing fears and the unknown. Going back to wild places that hold good memories. Proving myself, to myself. Go into the forest not knowing how the day will unfold and what I'll see, hear and smell. Bringing home meat to share with friends and family. Hunting makes me feel alive in a unique way that nothing else does.

Hard to explain to such a degree to someone that doesn't hunt that they will fully understand it. It has to be experienced and felt.
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That "disconnect from technology and everyday life" is nothing short of an intervention and at the same time a home-coming. You're going back to your uncorrupted state, stripping away the electronic hallucinations that we are immersed in and re-claiming your life.
 
kidoggy

kidoggy

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Apr 23, 2016
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idaho
funny how todays hunters are leaning back into connecting with technology, instead of disconnecting.

GPS and onx maps come to mind. cell phones ,radios...... I often wonder if most hunters could even look at the sun and tell which direction is north and which is south????
 
conibear

conibear

Active Member
Oct 15, 2017
210
81
kidoggy said:
funny how todays hunters are leaning back into connecting with technology, instead of disconnecting.

GPS and onx maps come to mind. cell phones ,radios...... I often wonder if most hunters could even look at the sun and tell which direction is north and which is south????
Click to expand...
It's ironic that recruitment for such a "primitive" activity as hunting has become so dependent on technology. Not having to have a father that hunts, learn how to read a compass, estimate range or sharpen a knife lowers the barrier to entry for new hunters and mitigates their fears. It gets them under the tent and engage in this, and in the grand scheme of things that's all that matters.
 
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