I've been reading many of the threads on here, and I have deiceded to ask this question...Why do you hunt? Please post up an answer along with your poll answer. Thanks
I voted "for meat", but I also would love to get a big buck, so I guess you can call me a trophy hunter too...
I hunt because it gives me an opportunity to relax and sort of "become one with nature," it gives me time to reflect on life and how fragile it really can be. The meat is great, but what I get from experiencing a beautiful sunrise and watching a group of squirrels play of a pair of young deer hurry to catch up with their mother, a buck chasing a doe, mama coon and her babies sleepily sneak up a nearby hollow tree and into a hole for their slumber, or whatever it is on that day, it helps me relax and enjoy the world around me just a little more......
Because I need to...Many more reasons besides just the deer aspect. I say trophy and meat also. But all I have is meat :D
So much more than any of the reasons listed above. We love the meat and eat it year round, and I pass small bucks and try and shoot deer with big headgear...but if you took all that away and I could just sit in a tree with a bow in hand and see deer, try to shoot deer...well then that is what I would do. I HAVE TO hunt, through all my youth and sports and college etc...hunting has always been the fire that fuels me, and many of those years my hunting was very limited. Whitetails and Turkeys keep me occupied for 7 months of the year, thinking about Whitetails and Turkeys keeps me occupied for 5 months of the year. I know that sounds like the textbook answer, but I could have wrote you a book about why I must hunt.
I hunt for the trophy, We use the meat I personlly love venison the wife not so much. Any one that says they hunt cause they need the meat (especially bowhunt) is wacked. Do the math on what that 50 lbs of meat cost a year. You can buy beef for a lot cheaper I think we all hunt for the reward/trophy.
It's who I am and always has been me...for 2 decades I have chased animals and I love more now then ever before. I hunt for big bucks, does, turkeys and just to breathe the air...it's home to me.
I didn't need to read down the replies any further than this. rybo summed it up for me. I can't say I am a "meat" hunter cause I pass some deer. I can't say that I am a "trophy hunter" cause I would be happy with a good representative, which might not be considered a trophy. While it is "something to do," it's much more than that to me. While I do video alot of my hunts, Momma always said I had a face for radio, so I ain't doing it to be on TV. It's just who I am. I can't see anything that could fill the void if I didn't hunt.
For the meat? Yes, I like venison For the trophy? Not really but I won't turn one down if the shot is right To get on TV? No. How do you do that anyway? Something to do? Yes, it is something I like to do not something I have to do It is also a challenge. It is, at times, self-abuse--weather, terrain, "do I quit and go home or stay?". It is time alone with no one driving me nuts about something. It's about watching life around me in the woods. It's about learning what works and what doesn't. It's about having time to sort through all the thoughts tangled up in my head. Just to list a few...
Like others have said, it's pretty much a part of me. It can't be classified as a hobby since hobbies come and go. I literally never imagine hunting not being a part of my life. Why is this so? Reasons too many to list, but at the heart of it all, it's an enjoyable experience that really forces to put things in perspective. Hunting simplifies life in a complicated world, even if only for a few hours at a time.
