A Poll - Why Do You Hunt?

[jwdizney]

Because it is easier to tell people "I'm going deer hunting." than to say "I'm going to wake up in the middle of the night, drive 70 miles, walk into the woods, hike up a ridge, climb 20 feet up a tree and sit there for hours."

Hunting is a a good way to stay grounded, for me at least. A reminder that meat is not an isle at the grocery store, and we are not the title on our tax returns.

I enjoy being alone, and hunt by myself often. I love everything about it, from smelling the scent of rotting leaves as I lock the gate behind me an hour before the sun comes up on a weekday, and the anticipation that comes with knowing I have the entire place to myself that day.

I hunt for deer camp. 24-30 nights in my tent every season, at the same camp I grew up hanging around, with the same guys. Staring at the fire after a long day, completely exhausted and fighting to keep your eyes open at 7 in the evening as deer chili simmers on the Coleman stove.

I love everything about it. I would be a different person if not for deer hunting. There is not a day that goes by my thoughts don't drift to to a white oak tree on a ridge somewhere. I hunt because I am a hunter.

Well said, Ridge...

 

[dennishoddy]

I hunt because I can. Its a freedom that most people in the world don't have.
I love the crack of dawn when all of the world is waking up.
I love the sound of an animal walking up behind me in the leaves, and not knowing until they get in sight what they are.
I love taking different weapons into the field and taking game with them.
I love the time by myself where I can solve all of the worlds problems in my own mind.
I love the scouting, stand preperation, the anticipation of the upcoming season.
I love the adrenalin shot when an animal comes around and I've done my homework, and they don't know anybody is around.
I love to watch the other critters in the woods go about their everyday duties, gathering food, and materials for shelters.
Best of all, I love watching the Game Ranger ticket and arrest poachers that I have spotted sneaking into my hunting area.

 

[cvrx4]

I hunt for a number of reasons as the others have stated. I love being in the outdoors whether its a cool crisp November morning or a bitter, windy, rainy December day. I look forward to all of my hunts because I know it is the one thing in my and my family's busy lives that we will make time for. We miss other things (whether right or wrong) to other obligations....but we never miss the opening of a hunting season.

 

[willystruck]

I had to vote other because there wasn't an "all of the above" I grew up hunting and eating what I harvested so will continue for all of the stated reasons.

 

[J.T.]

I checked them all including other, any more I enjoy the time with my son more than anything else and in the past when I hunted alone I had some of my best prayer time while sitting in a deer stand or waiting on a turkey to show up.

 

[twocan]

Its the "killing" part i like...

 

[imhntn]

I checked them all too. I just like it for all the reasons stated and just because I have had a passion for it for as long as I can remember. I used to lay awake all night the night before a hunt when I was a kid because I just could not wait to get out there. I love the guns and the bows. I love making a 400+ yrd shot with a good rifle and sneaking to within 10 yrds of an animal with a bow. I love talking to the animals and fooling them with a turkey call or a predator call or elk call, etc. I love hunting in new places that I have never been and seeing animals that I have never seen. I love the time alone but I also love the time spent with family and good friends. I just love it.

 

[V@rmint]

My kids make fun of me because my favorite part of hunting is an afternoon nap in the woodslol. I enjoy everything about hunting, but really don't care if I kill anything. I just love being out and enjoying what God has created.

 

[Oklahomabassin]

I checked all but the go boom part. As far as the other reason. Wildlife Management is the biggest key to other.

I like some of the short stories, especially Ridgehunter, but its too late for me to go into much detail right now.

 

[ewheeley]

I love the smell of gunpowder. It's invigorating.

I could never list all the reasons why I love hunting. The adrenaline rush when you spot that little bit of fur. Honing your senses to distinguish between the wind causing two branches to scrape each other and a squirrel chewing on a nut. Hearing a bird and instantly being able to know what species it is and pinpoint its location.

I just love feeling closer to nature.