why do we hunt?

[blkdeath]

I am new to these forums. I was told by a friend to check MonsterMuleys out and finally decided on joining in.

I can feel the tension when I read the forums about the spider bull and about finders fees. I wonder why do we hunt and I know there are many answers: trophy, meat, memories, recognition, make a living, etc.

I love to hunt and it is my passion in life. I typically use two of my weeks of vacation hunting and the other two with my family. There is something about being out in the hills that is like no place on earth. I hunt because I was fortunate enough to have a father and a grandfather that took the time to teach me. Now that I am a father I realize the bond that you make with your children while taking them outdoors. I have three daughters and can't wait until the day I see them sitting next to a buck, elk, sheep, whatever. Those moments are absolutely priceless.

There just seems to be so much anger this year regarding these topics.


So why do we hunt?

 

[Hntn4em]

I think that a lot of the anger is directed to why the majority of people hunt in the first place. It is the same reason that people get angry when people get together and talk about anything they are passionate about.

For some people that is how they get close to the divine....
For others it is how they can forget about everything else and get back to a simpler time, run, find, kill, eat.......

Personally, I think it is about having fun, and spending time with people that you care about, and finding some of the coolest creations that have been put here. Having a father who would take me out on a hill, drop me off on the top, and then drive around to the bottom, I learned that my dad doesn't really like to hunt. But, he went because I wanted to, and because he had fun taking me and seeing my excitement. That is why I am so much more excited to take my wife out anymore than just going out myself.

Just my two cents. Take em or leave em

 

[piper]

The reason you detect anger is because of the changes many of us see in the sport,a lot of it to me is about nature and the wild country that supports wildlife, of the 13 animals in my trophy room, 5 of them I took while hunting alone and the other 8 when I was on the trip with 1 other person, this year I helped my wife get a cow elk and my 13 year old nephew get a couple doe antelope both those hunts were great, I also notice as I get older I hunt alone less often it seems to be more about family and friends these days

 

[krp]

blkdeath, good post, there's as many reasons we hunt as there are hunters in the field.

For myself, on my personal hunts, I will have a few solo hunts or just with the wife to refresh myself from the daily grind. My coues hunt is always a backpack hunt.

The majority of the trips I go on are other's hunts, family, old friends, and usually a few with someone I've never met before that become new friends. So there's really almost a different reason for every hunt I go on. Though they all involve the passion I've had for hunting since my earliest memories as a child bird dogging doves for my dad.

As for the threads you are talking about, I was a paticipant, and this is my opinion. Everyone involved is passionate about hunting and the views they have on those issues. It seems as if those kind of threads start out with alot of emotion, a few personal attacts, we can all get a little carried away sometimes, but that never hurt anyone. In the middle most start reading what the other guy is really saying and try to write a reasonable responce to address the issue. I thought at the end there was some very good responces and points made on both sides as we tried to help the other guy understand our view and not just yell at him. If everybody but me wasn't so stubborn I wouldn't have to reword the same thing 15 times. The tone, which is the important thing seemed to change for the better. This happens in family life all the time dosen't mean we don't care about each other. I could be wrong but I think most of us feel this way.

I know for me, that with every person that was on those threads that if we went hunting tomorrow we would have a ton of laughs and a great time. I can't speak for them on if they would want to hunt with me.

Kent

 

[Ropinfool]

LAST EDITED ON Nov-20-08 AT 09:40AM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Nov-20-08 AT 09:05?AM (MST)

I pretty much hunt for the same reasons as you. A few people here though make money off of hunting. If they think you are trying to impact their pocket book in any way or not pating them on the back, they get upset.

I think that if you take something that you have fun doing and turn it into a business, then you take all the fun out of it.

 

[sageadvice]

Going back to the mid 1800's, both sides of my families were always into the outdoors, camping, hunting, fishing...grew up from a toddler that way and took to it naturally. I have been hunting and fishing for all kinds of game so long, so often, that you might as well ask me why i breathe. It's my life, that's the truth, and even though it may seem a bit extreem, i wouldn't have it any other way.

Joey

 

[Ticks N Tines]

-The opportunity to explore nature and it's creations.
-The challenge of competing with a species that is smarter than I am.
-Getting away from the stress of the "World", and entering a state of solitude and peace.
-Providing food for my family.
-Sharing unforgettable experiences with friends and family.

That's why I hunt

The hardest thing in the world for me, is trying to explain to a "Non-Hunter" in words, Why I hunt. All they see are people killing animals.

 

[MJRELKFREAK]

hunting is life. everything else is just details. the drama we choose into is just moore details. hunting is moment to moment living. every thing i do maters in nature. it sure doesnt in the circus. now as i pass on the gifts to my son. i feal less pulled to my passion of being alone in nature. moore toward being with him in the moment to moment. all to soon his inner child will draw him to be alone in the woods as he feals his connection to the wild. with each passing of the skills hunting gets takin to the next level.

 

[u0143779]

Matt,

You nailed it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kelly

 

[Cam@strawberry]

LAST EDITED ON Nov-20-08 AT 02:36PM (MST)[p]I do it just to kill stuff!!!! ;-) lol not really, just like HJB i struggle for the words to describe why it is that i spend three to four months beating my body and mind into submission, all for an animal.

For me its that utter silence and peace in a mountain valley surrounded by quakies at about 8000 feet in the air, or that first bugle of the morning while your breath rises in front of you. Its the excitement of accomplishment when you do take and animal. All of the time and work culminating in one moment, is just an awesome feeling, better than winning a championship or event. Its the night before, unable to sleep knowing that your buck or bull is out there waiting for you. Its the time and memories made with family, the reprieve from the daily grind of life. Its that one escape that no one and nothing can destroy.

This is one of very few things that is always the same but never repetitive. There are no words to adequately describe the feelings only one who as experienced the same situations knows exactly what that emotion is.

That fellas is why i hunt.

Wildlife population control specialist

 

[rodsroost]

I was introduced to hunting at an early age.I killed my first mule deer at the age of 8.I was taught about firearms and the safety aspects that go along with them by my grandfather and father.I reflect back at the many deer hunts as well as bird hunts I enjoyed with family while growing up.The memories are priceless.I am fortunate to have a son and 2 daughters that followed in my footsteps when it comes to hunting and wanting to be with mother nature.My wife and I would take the kids with us hunting from the time they were todlers.Taking them walking with me was quite a sight.The questions they would ask:what kind of tracks are these dad?What are these flowers?What kind of bird is that dad.These are the things that will be with me forever.Teaching them survival skills as well.Now that I am a grandpa to 1 grandson and 7 granddaughters,I am getting the chance to do it all over again.The memories that I make are forever.Its not always about killing a trophey animal.Thats just the iceing on the cake.For me to be able to spend the time with my family doing something that we all love to do is why I hunt.Sorry if I rambled on.RR

 

[LESGO54]

i hunt for the same reasons u do

 

[BigFin]

Why do I hunt?

BECAUSE I AM A HUNTER! No more complex than that.

Until the non-hunters start spending money on tags, excise taxes, conservation groups, and starts volunteering their time and political effort to the benefit of wildlife, I don't owe them any explanations. I hunt because I am a hunter. Plain and simple.

"Hunt when you can - You're gonna' run out of health before you run out of money!"

 

[huntingjlc]

I hunt because it is a passion that was handed down to me by my father. We hunted everything that moved and was legal to shoot. Then my dad started to drag my little sisters with. I thought it was a pain in the behind but now I am glad he did and showed me patience since now I have four girls of my own to take (plus the wife who thinks she can out shoot me!) I go now to spend time with my dad with hopes that we might get something worthy of hanging on the wall, but knowing the memories and time spent together are more important than the trophy.
Thanks to my old man for taking me all those years ago, rodsroost.

 

[swbuckmaster]

Here is the biological reason I hunt
I read somewhere that all predators? eyes face forward. The last time I looked in the mirror my eyes were on the front of my face. So I guess it is an instinctive in me to want to eat meat.

Here is the social reason I hunt.
I want to be with friends, family. I also want to get out in the woods and away from every day life.

Here is the competitive reason I hunt.
I want to go mono e mono with something wild and come out on top.

Here is the simple reason I hunt
I am a PREDITOR!!!!

 

[proutdoors]

I was born a hunter. Simple as that, it is who/what I am to the core.

PRO

Define, develop, and sustain BOTH trophy and opportunity hunts throughout the state of Utah.

 

[ARCHERYBUG]

GOOD QUESTION blkdeath,
VERY GOOD REPLYS, krp, HJB, berryblaster, swbuckmaster, IT'S ABOUT GETTING OUT AND ENJOYING THE OUTDOORS WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS OR THE SOLITUDE OF BEING BY YOURSELF WITH MOTHER NATURE. IF YOU HARVEST SOMETHING, SO MUCH THE BETTER !!!!!!!PLUS, YOU CAN'T BEAT A GOOD BACKSTRAP !!!!!!!!!!! ;-)

 

[NeverStopHuntin]

Why do we hunt?

Because hugging trees would get boring

 

[AWHOLELOTTABULL]

"Why I Hunt" has changed over the years. As a teenager I hunted because it was fun to get out with my Dad and sometimes my buddies and just kill stuff. I didn't really understand the whole biology behind the madness. Over the years my reasoning has evolved into something that words have a difficult time expressing. Without hunting I am not the person I am today. Without the friends I've made, the experiences I've had and the memories embedded in my mind I would not be the person I am. I hunt for several reasons now, the most important of which is to spend more "QUALITY TIME" with my girls teaching them to respect the outdoors and the animals and plants that live and breathe there. It is also the only place I have found that for every dead animal I kneel over, with every time I saddle up, with every cool experience I have my Grandpa is right beside me every step of the way. Great topic and one I think about almost every time I hit the woods.

It's always an adventure!!!
www.awholelottabull.com

 

[LowCountryElk]

AWLB,
Right on. It morphs through the years and becomes more and more spiritual and if you really think about it, it relates to the bonding experience; with family, friends, animals and the wonderful places the good Lord created with which we get to be a part of if only for a while. Its part of who I am and I'm sure it is at its base chromosomal cause not everyone shares this "feeling". Of all the stong memories, good ones at least, which I have in my life, a disproportionate number of them are related to hunting. And I was lucky enough to make some more of that this year....thank You Lord!!

 

[BuckSeeker79]

You know that's a great question. I like what everyone is saying on this thread. I too was raised where the outdoors was life. I've got the passion that some of you have said you have. It's something that runs through my veins and I can't wait till next year.

I think the point about anger is interesting. There's alot of things that have changed, it's a rich man's game. We average Joe's can't compete with the big money. I've been to banquets were the auctioning of tags gets to numbers that are beyond my imagination. If you dont have the cash, you can't play the game. That's disheartening.

To me, and for what it's worth. I hunt to create memories with my family. Im a father to a 6 yr old girl, 3 yr old girl and a 6 month old boy. They all talk about the day that daddy takes them hunting. That's what it's about! No score, No spread, no amount of points makes up for the memories in my book. I think it's about building relationships and enjoying God's country.

That's my opinion for what it's worth.

 

[antlerrick]

Wow, so many reasons stated and all excellent reasons that I can apply to "why I hunt" for the same reasons.
To me it is mostly about the experience. My few precious memories of my father and our experiences together keep me going back. The memories of helping my kids learn to hunt and to respect the animals and the places they live, keep bringing me back.
Where else can you find higher highs, or lower lows? You can run these emotions from pure simple joyful highs, to gut wrenching, humbling lows. Whether you experience the highs or the lows, you always remember them, and those memories keep me going back.
I love to be out in the clean, crisp morning air and hear the sounds of nature in their own setting. I love watching the animals as they try to live out their lives in the good times of spring, summer, and fall, and the tough times of winter.
I love the rush of adreniline when the game you are hunting is spotted, and the decisions that must be quickly made as to whether you want to harvest, or enjoy.
I don't think there is enough time or words to cleary state the many reasons I hunt, but whatever the reason, I'm glad we live where we have the opportunity and freedom to hunt!

 

[blkdeath]

Wow! I really didn't expect so many responses. Thanks for all the good reading. It truly is amazing the impact that hunting has on the lives of people.

I got an email today that I had to post. Can you imagine the happiness this dad went through when his daughter put this big Montana bull down. Not to mention the bull the dad ended up with.

I know some will want to know the measurements.
Dads bull was 390
Daughters bull was an amazing 415 13" bases, 62" main and 53" wide. WOW!

Some of you Montana hunters probably know more. Please fill us in. What a great story.