100% serious. When someone comes out and says they shot a great buck......are sure the hit was lehal but they never found him why doesn't everyone say congrats and celebrate?? If "the kill" is where all the "thrill" comes from then mission accomplished........he killed it....ergo, he and everyone else should be "thrilled".
So, the "kill" doesn't include recovery for you Atlas? I had the above said experience for the first time this season. (Feeling pretty confident I killed a buck, but never recovered him) I don't chaulk that as a "kill" as there was no closure and I don't know for 100% that I did in fact kill him as I never put my hands on him.
Again, you keep clinging to the arguement that someone is claiming everything is about the kill. No one has said that, seriously you can give that one up. People who loose a deer aren't elated because that kill went to waste. That animal suffered because I made a poor shot. It should have died in less than 15 seconds, but instead it took no telling how long after my bad shot. That animal died with the perfectly good meat went to waste. There wasnt really purpose to it, no substance behind it. I have been lucky enough to not loose a deer yet, but I am not naive enough to think it will never happen.. I greatly enjoy the kill of a hunt, yet I dread the day I loose an animal because I messed up. Seriously, if we are going to go with ridiculous extremes in making points, I will go ahead and say If "the kill" is where you get absolutely no "thrill" for the mission accomplished....you killed it, for what?...ergo, you shouldn't have killed it in the first place since you weren't "thrilled". Hunt with a camera, and eliminate your "least favorite" part of the hunt, should make it more enjoyable in that case. Seriously though Atlas, answer my question from earlier and Ill leave it be. A buck comes by at 20 yards but you dont get a shot off because it never stops trotting. Same situation, only this buck now stops and you drill him right through the boiler room and watch him go down in less than 30 yards. Which drive home are you more happy with/excited about? What was the only difference in the two situations? The Kill.
Of course it does.........as well as a ton of other stuff. That's the whole point. Seriously Ben.......tell me you wouldn't think it was a bit strange if you met someone and started talking bowhunting.......say on the line at the range. You start off with "Man I LOVE bowhunting....the up close, atention to detail, making and executing a plan, trying to sneak into a deer's home turf undetected and make a well placed lethal shot from a 2x2 platform 25 feet up a tree. and the reply you get is........"Yea, that's all cool but mostly I just love to kill stuff" :smash:
But if you still killed it why do you only enjoy it if you find him?? Sounds like you enjoy much more then just "the kill". Cameras don't fill the freezer with meat........and before you move on to silly follow up question #2......No, because I have NEVER and will NEVER taste a piece of venison that is as sweet as one that I took from the field to my dinner plate with my own two hands. Whacked out extremes aren't going to get us any closer to understanding each others point of view............which I bet is nearer to the same then either one of us realizes. Of course I am happier with a successful hunt..........however, that has NOTHING to do with me ending a life......I am not "happy" about that at all......I accept it as part of the deal, treat it with due respect and save my elation for knowing how hard I had to work to accomplish that goal and savoring the memories and bounty of that day well into the future. Now you answer a question......when you think back and treasure the memories of a hunt.......years later or even as you are still perched in your stand seconds after the dust settles.....what brings a smile to your face??..........thinking back on the countless hours of practice, hard work, knowledge, skill and dedication it took for you to accomplish that goal or do you simply picture that deer flopping around on the ground and feel glad you got to kill something.
Tough one to call, Im really differnt in every situation. I think alot depends on my mood at the time, how hard of a season i have had, If its a big buck or a Doe. Sometimes its a fist pump or sometimes im just flat out shhk up and shakin like a leaf. One of my most emotional hunts was when me and my son were 20 yards apart and got to watch each other shoot a Doe one minute apart,,,,now that was a moment of emotions!! Trev,,,,Man im sorry i missed you at the NWTF convention, It was me, my wife, three kids, my sons friend, a nephew, my father inlaw, mother inlaw, and sister inlaw. my sister inlaw has had to have a knee replacement from a BAD car wreck years ago, she has more screws and rods in her than i care to think about. She was wearing down on us and we had to shag earlier than i wanted. Man i really wanted to meet you and so did my son and his buddy,,,they wanted to talk water foul with you..
Not a problem at all blood, maybe September H&H hunt now. That place was flippin huge though, my feet were KILLIN me after I left, lol. Atlas, it is what it is I guess. The kill is my favorite part, because it is PARAMOUNT of all the things you mention...it is the cap to a wonderful thing...the peak of the mountain. It is my favorite part, hands down...but not the ONLY part. Those two points are unrelated. In the situation I gave, the ONLY difference is that in one you killed an animal, in the other you didnt. Both had the same amount of work, memories, hours logged, sightings, etc...but in one you brought home the bacon so to speak. You killed an animal, which signifies a success involving ALL the things you mentioned....BUT, the kill is a crucial part in the process. I enjoy that. And anyone that hunts with success, deep down inside, they do too. Im not the weird kid that made 5 oclock news for stringing up goats in the basement for rituals, I dont smash turtles, but I DO absolutely LOVE the excitement I get triggered after successfully killing an animal while out hunting. I agree that we are probably alot more like than different in this, I think the more posts we go through, the more I am realizing I am calling it a fourwheeler and you, an atv...same thing really. When someone asks me why I hunt, my answer would be "because the feeling I get after releasing a successful arrow, can't be matched....by anything."
"A thrill is to feel sudden intense sensation or emotion" Whether good or bad/sad, by your definition, I do get a thrill everytime I kill something. I bloody cried after I killed my lion and they weren't sad tears. Yes, it's was part of doing "my business". Much went into that hunt.
The more I thought about this the more I cringe when people say "it's just business" and "not personal". How could one not run the gamut of emotions unless one is a cold blooded killer?
I agree Will, I don't understand the calmness, non feeling or "just business" mentality. If I had that, I'd question why I hunt. I'm a nervous wreck after the shot and I don't care if it's a buck, a doe or a turkey. I come unglued after each shot, even misses. The range of emotions I cannot control nor would I want to. I've shook(usually), smiled, laughed, cried...felt elation, remorse, happiness, sadness...it's a whole gamut of emotions. I can't figure it out and hope I never loose it. Many have seen this video of me taking a doe with Ben filming, it's "Just" a doe but I was "pumped" and if you watch my face, my mind is turning not just for what to say but the feelings of all the above, elation, accomplishment, sadness, remorse, contentment and more were running through my blood and mind. If I felt nothing, I'd stop hunting. It's "Just" a Doe. (Pumped) Video
I think that quote is a little out of context. If I am not mistaken he cringes when he hears others say they enjoy the killing. He never said he is not emotional, none of us did, we just said that we do not get the joy out of the killing part that some other folks seem too.
I usually will give a fist pump and at that time I decide I need to sit down because my knees are shaking so bad that I don't want to fall out of stand. I sit in stand reliving every event, smile on my face the whole time. I don't love that an animal died, but I do love that I was successful in my attempt to kill one. The day I get no feeling or the day that I am sad about what I did is the day that I would walk away from hunting. Like Rob said, "I can't figure it out and I hope I never loose it." Love the video Rob
I must say that I do get really pumped up after I know that I made a great kill shot. It does not bother me at all to think that I just ended the life of that animal, thats the nature of this activity. For me the excitement that I feel after the shot is a combination of many things. I think back to all of the work I did before season, during season, and right up to the moment of truth. We all know that a lot of things have to go right to kill an animal with a bow and arrow, so when all those things come together I feel very satisfied. Thats about the only way I can describe it...
I understand the context Bruce. To me, there is a time and a place for everything. Each hunt/situation will incite a different emotional response. But to say that you are sad/remorseful every time and it's just business. Really? Do you honestly believe that? I honestly don't. Let's say you're a Montana/Wyoming rancher. With bow in hand, you have killed a majestic elk and a theiving wolf (the wolf has killed 2/3 of your cattle herd). I would be willing to bet you run the gamut of emotions when you're standing over the two carcasses...sad and elated being the two extremes.
I am not sad or remorseful when I kill something. I would be sad or remorseful a lot then . I also do not think it is just business. I don't take killing something lightly nor do I derive great joy from it but I don't mope about afterwards either .
Bruce, I apologize. When I said, "you are sad/remorseful every time and it's just business", I did not mean YOU specifically. I was trying to make a general statement about prior context. My bad.... Respect. It will always be a time and a place for me...
I can not for the life of me get "business" involved in my "hunting". The 2 words are total opposites in my vocabulary, and I intend to do all I can to keep it that way. Call it semantics or whatever you like. It is just me. LAEq
In all fairness Will.............Christine's whole quote should be attached. She said, There is a HUGE difference between someone who loves to hunt and someone who loves to kill. If you don't believe me try using both those phrases at a crowded dinner table and see which one makes more forks hit the floor
