Why do you hunt

[Chef]

I know we have discussed similar topics in the past but figured today was a good day to get this going here. so I will ask, why do you hunt, what is your motivation for the long hours in the rain wind and cold. 
 

for me it started as a desire for the meat, and moving towards living a lifestyle where I disconnect as much from the food supply chain as possible. ( fyi I sell wholesale food for a living)

 

It has turned into so much more. It’s my time to disconnect from the world, clear my head, get away from people. Some people have a shrink, some people go to church, me I go to my stand.

 

also over the years I have gained a huge respect for the deer we hunt, I enjoy watching them, seeing how they behave, how they interact with each other, how they go about their lives so cautiously in everything they do. 
 

so why? Why do you do it 

[solon]

i started when i was a kid, and then it grew into a passion.  I enjoy the meat, but after ~40 years of doing this hunting is my escape from all the crap in the world. It's just me and mother nature when i'm in the woods.  A lot of the time i hunt in an area where my cell phone doesn't work and that let's me completely disconnect.

[GreeneHunter]

Quality Time with Family ! And yeah the Venison !

[cervidchasers]

Meat.. I dont shoot what I dont eat unless its killing what I eat.

[mowin]

It's my destressing time. Don't think about daily BS and too enjoy things on a much simpler scale.  

Hunting isn't rocket science, although with all the gadgets out there it's close. 

More times than not, I'm content to watch the deer then to harvest one.  

I think about mom, dad, two nephews and several friends that loved to hunt, but are no longer with us.  

[cdbing]

I started hunting in my mid 30's having come from a culture where there wasn't much hunting. However, I think the desire to hunt is in my DNA.  I enjoy the pursuit, being outdoors, seeing and being close to wild critters.  In short, I hunt because I enjoy it, and it feels natural that I should enjoy it.

Edited November 12, 2022 by cdbing
Extra word

[Bucksnbows]

Hunting and fishing for me began when I was 4 years old and were both instantly ingrained in my soul. My first “hunting trip” was with my dad and two uncles, all of whom are long gone now. My dad liked to carve wood, and he made me a flintlock rifle he let me carry with him and my uncles. In my mind, we were mule deer hunting. I later in life was told they were  squirrel hunting.  I grew up in California, but moved East six or so months later. 
 

I got my hunting license when I was 10 here in NJ and have hunted most critters we have running or flying for the last 47 years since.  Hunting and my love for fishing, especially fly fishing for wild trout led me to leave corporate America and go into natural resources restoration. I own a river restoration business which also does ponds and wetlands creation. I am basically in the outdoors for a living. 

[Chef]

11 minutes ago, Bucksnbows said:

Hunting and fishing for me began when I was 4 years old and were both instantly ingrained in my soul. My first “hunting trip” was with my dad and two uncles, all of whom are long gone now. My dad liked to carve wood, and he made me a flintlock rifle he let me carry with him and my uncles. In my mind, we were mule deer hunting. I later in life was told they were  squirrel hunting.  I grew up in California, but moved East six or so months later. 
 

I got my hunting license when I was 10 here in NJ and have hunted most critters we have running or flying for the last 47 years since.  Hunting and my love for fishing, especially fly fishing for wild trout led me to leave corporate America and go into natural resources restoration. I own a river restoration business which also does ponds and wetlands creation. I am basically in the outdoors for a living. 

Wild Trout… do you fish the west branch of the Delaware at all?

 

also looping in your new best friend @The_Real_TCIII

[Bucksnbows]

6 minutes ago, Chef said:

Wild Trout… do you fish the west branch of the Delaware at all?

 

also looping in your new best friend @The_Real_TCIII

I’m a little bit of a West Branch junkie. 

[Ncountry]

47 minutes ago, Bucksnbows said:

Hunting and fishing for me began when I was 4 years old and were both instantly ingrained in my soul. My first “hunting trip” was with my dad and two uncles, all of whom are long gone now. My dad liked to carve wood, and he made me a flintlock rifle he let me carry with him and my uncles. In my mind, we were mule deer hunting. I later in life was told they were  squirrel hunting.  I grew up in California, but moved East six or so months later. 
 

I got my hunting license when I was 10 here in NJ and have hunted most critters we have running or flying for the last 47 years since.  Hunting and my love for fishing, especially fly fishing for wild trout led me to leave corporate America and go into natural resources restoration. I own a river restoration business which also does ponds and wetlands creation. I am basically in the outdoors for a living. 

Wild trout reminds me of my trip to Colorado this year. 2.5 miles in I stepped ,not jumped, across this tiny mountain stream. It was loaded with trout. Without a fishing pole , I contemplated using my tent as a net and getting dinner.. I have no idea how they  survive the winter.  Must be a deep pool somewhere.

[Ncountry]

I hunt for most of the reasons everyone mentioned so far.  It's cheaper than a shrink. Sitting outside alone in the woods you will see things a nonhunter rarely will see. The challenge. 2 straight weeks at camp with 3 friends that have known each other for 45-50 years of our 51,52 year old lives. And I love venison..

[ATbuckhunter]

I hunt because my grandfather took me as a kid and I loved it. I always loved being in the outdoors and fell in love with it. Yes, I love the meat, but I would still be hunting if I didnt. Its just something i cant live with out at this point

[Doebuck1234]

Started at age 5 with family and although my main teachers have passed on i haven't stopped sence.Definetly my pieceful place,love venison,enjoy watching the woods wake up.

[Moho81]

For some reason I just have to. I have no idea why. It’s the dumbest way to spend time and money. If one where to add up everything it costs to hunt and divide that by how much meat you get venison is probably the most expensive meat you can buy. 
 

But I have to do it and I’ll be out in the woods again in just a few hours… because I have to be. Something tells me to be. 

[Robhuntandfish]

I always liked these two quotes put into words far better than I ever could.  Both also apply to hunting.

 

I fish because I love to. Because I love the environs where trout are found, which are invariably beautiful, and hate the environs where crowds of people are found, which are invariably ugly. Because of all the television commercials, cocktail parties, and assorted social posturing I thus escape. Because in a world where most men seem to spend their lives doing what they hate, my fishing is at once an endless source of delight and an act of small rebellion. Because trout do not lie or cheat and cannot be bought or bribed, or impressed by power, but respond only to quietude and humility, and endless patience. Because I suspect that men are going this way for the last time and I for one don't want to waste the trip. Because mercifully there are no telephones on trout waters. Because in the woods I can find solitude without loneliness. ... And finally, not because I regard fishing as being so terribly important, but because I suspect that so many of the other concerns of men are equally unimportant and not nearly so much fun. -Robert Traver. 

 

 

 

Edited November 12, 2022 by Robhuntandfish