Bowhunting addicts - explain!

[Old Buck]

I know not everyone here bowhunts and I know not everyone who bowhunts is after a big whitetail buck but for those of you who are fellow addicts what is it about going after a big buck with a bow that is so addictive? What do you get out of it? Why do you keep getting up so early to go climb a tree in the dark day after day?

Old Buck

 

[dblmainbeam]

That feeling when the buck falls to the ground after months or years of sitting in the treestand day after day waiting for the buck to make a mistake. I know that feeling is like no other. Its the only time Ive been totally alone laughing, yelling, jumping up and down, and thanking god all at the same time. Its got to be the challenge. I might have to think about this for awhile. My wife asks me the same question and I always tell you just have to be there.

But I guess you know that feeling. Good Topic!

 

[Shredder]

For me, the rush of taking a big buck on his own turf at less than 30 yards is the biggest adrenalin rush I can have, more so than the rodeo bulls I used to ride. After the shot, the rush continues, tracking the brusier thru his home, approaching his body, Thanking the Lord for an awesome encounter and the pure satisfaction of outsmarting a mature whitetail buck. I've been hooked for Twenty seasons now and hopefully 40 more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[muddy]

for me it's the simple things. a sunrise or sunset. the first snowflakes of the fall. the big groups of turkeys chasing each other all over creation. spending time in the woods with my dad, my best friend, & his dad. relaxing while leaning up against the trunk of the tree and watching that doe and yearling mill around below me with a smile on my face.

of course if that big buck shows up sometime it's an even bigger bonus!!

 

[Rembrandt]

For myself can't say it's addictive as much as it's another opportunity to hunt deer when they're most vulnerable...during the rut. Archery provides the chance to catch a large bucks senses off guard while he's thinking of "other things"....going out each day is sort of like browsing garage sales, you keep hoping someday you'll hit the jackpot and get a big one

 

[Central Iowa]

I experience all of the above. Becoming one with the woods. The change of the seasons. Watching it all unfold from the migration of the birds to the gathering of the squirrels. The sunrises and the sunsets. Shutting everything out and enjoying every moment not knowing what might happen next. The coyote howls that send shivers up my spine to the big buck coming down the trail that makes me buckle at the knees. These are the experiences that keep me coming back.

 

[vman]

I really cant explain it. I grew up this way, its all I really know. My dad would always go out west and bring back a big buck. I remember thinking, i cant wait until Im older to be able to do that myself. (memories my wife wishes I didnt have.) Now, its all I think about. Its turned into a year around passion since I started making my own trailcams. I hunt all year now, granted its just a photo. Come hunting season, I drop everything. Nothing else matters.

I guess Its good I have a understanding wife.

Good post Old buck.

 

[BW]

My Dad put a bow in my hand when I was 7. Bowhunting and challenging the mature buck was always part of our program but not the core.

The core is the challenge and experience of archery, hunting and God's great outdoors all combined. Dad and I always seemed like we were driven by a power within to go to the woods.

Those of us that hunted in the 60's and 70's know that it was not the same as today here in Iowa. You had to have something pushing you to take on the challenge of bowhunting. Harvesting a mature buck then was really something rare. Just getting a deer was tough enough. It is hard to believe at times it is the same state.

There are so many pieces of what drives me. Trying to keep the bluejay from spotting me so he'll keep his mouth shut while there is a nice buck around. The steam shooting out of the nostrils of a big buck on a cool morning as he surveys the stillness of the woods. The doe that runs by me at 100 MPH as I anticipate the bruiser that soon follows, which turns out to be a bootjack buck. Laughing at myself for letting my bow tip slip off the edge of the stand and fall to the ground.

I love the challenge of trying to use my own abilities to invade the world of the mature buck, I always respect them for being able to survive when so many of us are out there with every gimmick we can get trying to collect them. Although I enjoy the blessing of a good buck harvested. There is always something sad about it for me. (Don't worry, I'm not going to turn into a bunny hugger!

)

May God bless you all with a safe and bountiful season.

 

[Blackfoot]

Bowhunting is easily the most addictive activity on the face of the earth, or at least that's the case with myself. I know this is a rather strange comparison, and I am not suggesting anyone go find out firsthand the effects of drug use, but bowhunting has many similar effects to the human mind, and body, as drugs; both are extremely addictive, you can suffer from withdrawal symptoms if either is absent from the body for a certain period of time, and they both give you a "high" feeling.

It's not easy to explain to someone your true thoughts, and feelings for this great American sport. It's not merely to go out in hopes of arrowing a mature whitetail, there are numerous aspects to this sport that make it what it is. But how do you explain to someone the sense of awe and beauty you feel when you watch a doe and her young, from your stand? At this very same instant you can't help but wonder if this fawn will someday mature into a nice buck that you may potentially harvest a few years down the road. How do you relate to another, the way you felt when you had arrowed you're first deer? But how do you tell of the sadness you felt at the animal's death and the respect you had for its life? And how do you explain to someone that hunting is not just a sport, its so much more than that. A lifetime of hunting memories is woven into many strands; the places we go, the animals we take the animals we don't take, the opening days, and the closing sunsets. But more than anything else, the memories are built with the people whom we share these special times, and if it weren't for my brother, many of these memories might have never been possible, and for that I am very greatful.

When you look into the eyes of a fellow hunter, you can see the flame, the passion for the hunt that holds these memories and continuously strengthens North America's great hunting legacy. The preceeding thoughts are what I believe what makes bowhunting what it is - addictive.

 

[buckknife]

For me its all about the fond memorys,i can look at a rack and relive it in my mind as it happend and will never forget it.I cant begin to remember every doe i shot.
Just being in the woods itself cant be beat.One of my best times was watching 3 young racconns hanging from the lowist hanging tree branch of their den tree playing a game of trying to see who could touch this weed with out falling out of the tree.I didnt even see a deer that evening but i went home with a smile on my face.

 

[deadeye]

Very good comments. There isn't much left to say.

For me I find getting out is about the only way I can wind down and relax from work and other stresses that life brings. I also find it a very great place to sort out personal issues. But the real reason is the anticipation of that buck of a lifetime coming along. Nothing beats watching wildlife - no matter what it is in their natural surrounds when they don't have the faintest clue that anybody is watching them.

Good luck to all this season - can't wait until it is here!!!

 

[Coach]

Old Buck, this is the best post I've ever seen. I read through all of the postings and it made me feel like I was part of a family that really understands what it's all about. I can relate with everyones reply in one way or another. After 16 years of bowhunting I can narrow it down to a few conclusions that have me addicted. The first and foremost would be that I never feel closer to God than when I'm sitting in my treestand or blind. The second reason would be that great overwhelming rush that I get when I spot a shooter buck from the stand. I really can't explain that feeling, but I'm sure most of you get it. It's like the whole world stops, everything gets kind of warm and moves in slow motion as you focus, your actions go into automatic mode after years of practice and preparation. There is nothing that I've ever done that has reproduced that feeling. If drugs gave you half of that feeling I can see why so many people are addicted. The last and certainly not the least is the bond between hunting partners. Getting ready at the truck before, sitting and wondering what they are seeing, meeting them back at the truck in anticipation. I've found my best and closest friends in life through bowhunting.
I started butchering my own deer last year and this had added another chapter to my deer hunting love. From the field to the feezer all with your own two hands is very gratifying and humbling, I suggest that everyone try it atleast once.
" FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME "

 

[OneCam]

This is a great Post!

Addiction is a strong word, yet it may not be strong enough to describe my feeling toward bowhunting. 16 years ago I can still remember in great detail harvesting my first buck with a bow. The feelings were overwhelming and I've been hooked ever since. I've learned so much since that hunt yet there are so many more humbling experiences out there.

There was a time when I would have to make excuses to not get out of my stand early - now its so hard to leave even if I haven't seen a thing. The peace and the anticipation during the hunt are success in themselves.

Friendships made through this sport are genuine and last a lifetime. The hunts with friends are so much more important than those gone solo.

And yes the feeling after making a succesful shot on your quarry - there's nothing like it!

 

[bowman]

For me, it is the hours of preparing, planning, studying aerial photo's, sweating while hanging stands in August, waiting to see what is on the next roll of film from the Deercam, watching the wildlife that I don't harvest, videoing a friend shooting a deer, taking a new hunter out, hunting for shed antlers in the spring with my kids, hunting with and just talking hunting with my good friends, gettng on Iowawhitetail.com to talk to others with my passion, dreaming of the big boy, shooting does, the wondering, the waiting, and the one that got away. If I get a big one, great. If I don't...well... what an awesome season I have had. What a great way to live. I love this sport!

Bowman

 

[duckaholic]

My dad had me shooting a bow since I 7. Up until I was 11 I had only shot targets with my bow. When the day finaly came for me to harvest my first deer with a bow. I can't explain the the feeling I got. I was nervous, exicited, scared, and when I knew my aim was tue. Happy as hell!! There is something funny about that. That happened 10 years ago and it never fails, even if I have a doe walking my way those feelings come right back. If you know of another sport that gives you a rush like you better post it because veryone who reads about will become an addict of it also!

 

[Bowhunt]

Well growing up my dad always asked us what kind of bedtime stories we would like to hear. It was always a deer hunt that he had went on for me. From that moment on I guess I was hooked. Going out to see dad shoot a deer at about age 9 was unreal!! I had never had my heart pound so hard or get as excited as I did that day! I still feel the same rush, and love to show others the same rush. It is also spiritual to me, how else can you see what god created in a more natural way? I can not think of many ways, for me it is a way to marvel at what god created, pretty amazing if you think about it!! I will continue to enjoy the fall in the woods until I can not do so. I hope that does not come for a long time! Good luck to everyone and try it once you will see the marvel of bowhunting and be hooked!

 

[hags]

I started as one of the 500,000 plus gun hunters who bought a license to gun hunt deer in Wisconsin.....Many people I knew shot nice bucks over the years, but it never seemed like some of them had a lot of input into their success....sure they knew "thier" woods and how the deer moved but success to many was covering a large area with a high powered rifle and calling themselves great hunters after harvesting a buck from many yards away....I respect these acomplishments, but I never really knew deer "hunting" until my brother-in-law took me bow hunting.....The raw challenge to outsmart or out predict a mature buck...or even a doe, was more of an adreniline rush then any gun kill deer could provide me. I never trembled so much as when I was actually attempting my first bow shot at a deer, which was closer then any deer I'd ever seen.....and to miss the shot, or spook the deer, or just plain pick the wrong trail added many multiple factors before success would or could be achieved.....The simple fact that you need to get into their world and get close enough to even attempt a shot keeps me coming back for more....

I enjoy the gun season by helping young hunters achieve success, and look forward to this every year...but I loose sleep over bow hunting because this is my deer "hunt".

hags

PS....thanks Doug for taking me bow hunting and showing me the ropes....

"Just try it with a bow and see how much you know"......

 

[badgerbowdude]

This is a great thread. I'll try to add.

First, its about cultivating that sense of adventure inside of you that makes you a man. Not to disrespect women, but for me personally, walking out to my stand in the dark, camo'ed up, bow in hand creates an undescribable feeling.

Second, its already been mentioned, but seeing, feeling, hearing and smelling all the natural wonders God has created is just unbelievable. The other night as darkness put its death grip ending another day, I gazed at the black silouettes of tamaracks against the pinks, yellows and blues of what was left of the lights in the western sky. I love that moment - the solitude, and a thought went through my head - how sad that so many people were inside watching television that they missed this moment.

Third, the solitude. The serene quiet of the earth before humans wake up and wreck it. No vehicular sounds, no screaming kids, no lawn mowers, no gunshots. Just the slight sound of the breeze drifting through the treetops and the rustle of leaves and grass as the small creatures search for their breakfast.

Fourth - its a personal challenge. You can't blame any mistakes on your teammates, nor is anyone else there to steal any glory. You get out of it what you put into it - nothing more, nothing less. Everything is in your control and with the right input, you'll get your expected outcome. If not this time, maybe next.

Fifth - the challenge. Its takes effort to hunt. No matter your skill level, there's something in hunting for you.

Sixth- The thrill. Its all about anticipation and the unexpected. You just never know what you're going to see. And a slow night can get exciting in an instant. And no matter how many times you do it, getting a deer is always adds excitement.

Lastly - the stories. What would bowhunting be if you didn't have stories to share. Ones that got away, successful hunts, near misses, blunders, etc. My brother and I talk after every hunt, even if its just a quick call to say "didn't see anything." More often than not, there's something more to be said, and that makes it all more worth it.

Here's to many more seasons to all of you fellow bowhunters!

 

[ironwood]

I don’t have decades of bow hunting experience, just a few year. Those years have been shared with my two sons. We’ve become completely addicted together. We are hunting big bucks and that is the goal, but that we share it together is what will always really matter to me. I will view the purchase of those first three bows as one of the best moves I’ve ever made; second only to convincing their mother it would be a good thing to marry me. We’re blessed in many ways I believe this is clearly one of them.

 

[Blaster]

You can learn so much about nature!
I climb into my stand, look around and thank GOD that i'm alive!