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What does hunting mean to you?

palex2

palex2

Aim small. Miss small.
Alright, here is a topic that was thrown around quite a bit at deer camp this year. What does deer hunting/hunting mean to you? What motivates you to get out there and hunt? It was a really good discussion at deer camp this year and I thought it would be a great thread to hear everyone's opinion!

For most of us, we look forward to the start of deer season. We take work off in the fall, spend our weekends at deer camp, and spend a lot of time away from our families pursuing whitetails.

I have a deep passion for deer hunting but to me there is more to it than sitting in your tree stand waiting for 'Mac Daddy' to walk by. I would love to shoot a monster whitetail every year but that's not all it's about for me. I live for the weekends in the fall where all your buddies make it to deer camp. When the cabin is packed, the Big Green Egg is smoking, and a cold drink is in hand. The comradery is what motivates me. If I didn't have friends and family to share all my experiences with, I wouldn't be hunting today.

To some people it's all about how much your deer is going to score. You could shoot a monster that scores 200+ inches, but if you don't have friends and family there to celebrate and enjoy your success, what's it worth?

What motivates all of you? What does deer hunting/hunting mean to you?
 
for me its about nature in its true form, with me there but with minimal impact. i love to sit in a tree and see it all happening around me.its great to get so close you could touch your prey and have them clueless. its about testing all the deer i wont shoot to better understand the one i want to
 
It's about being one with nature hunting is an addiction. It's the thrill if the hunt. Being in the woods there's always something to see,hear,and shoot I can go into the same woods I always do and still find new things that catch my eye. I get to teach my kids how to hunt. Which is great. maybe not at first but they will get the hang of it. Also every missed deer is an opportunity to see what u can do different nnext time
 
I'm pretty much in line with streeter. A good friend of mine said "the best part of being in the woods is that no two sits are the same. " I enjoy watching squirrels, birds, raccoons, and of course deer. Then when a deer you want to shoot is spotted, the heart rate speeds up and the adrenaline starts pumping... There is nothing like it.
 
Different seasons have different reason for me, to a point. Bow season is about getting out and enjoying the outdoors in the peace and quiet. I love learning about and trying to outdo the whitetails we all love so much. I'm out there during bow season to enjoy the outdoors and take at least one deer with my archery equipment because IMO there is no greater hunting thrill than taking an animal at a close distance with a bow and arrow.
Muzzy season for me is also about learning and enjoying the outdoors, but more than that this season is about the time spent with family and friends pursuing our love for the outdoors and hunting. If I didn't have friends or family to hunt with, I would still go but it wouldn't be half as fun.
And of course a large driving factor is the quest for a giant buck, but if that was the only thing keeping me going I would have quit long ago.......
 
Hunting to me is time away and time to reflect....

I also enjoy the chase after game and of course eating what I harvest.

The quest for a trophy (whatever that means to you) is also part of it.

Spending time with friends and family is an important part.

Testing out gear and different ways to hunt is another.

Getting away from the hustle and bustle of the city and into nature to see animals in their natural habitat. 'Success' to me is a safe hunting trip and seeing animals. The harvest is a bonus and celebrated.
 
Actually it gets harder for me each year to get out there. Cimbing out of bed at 4:30 and stumbling around in the dark gets a little more to get that going each year, the older I get. But once I am in the Groove, it's hard to stop! Alot of time for reflection while sitting and waiting, I enjoy that. Getting more fresh meat,,look forward to that. Seeing how the deer have changed patterns to avoid me, that is interesting. The planning for next year,Moving stands,clearing trails,planting plots. The prep,,is really more fun than the hunt. You plan for it for a year, and with one shot,, and a few seconds,,the hunt,,is over.
 
Hunting to me is freedom. It's in and worth itself. It is a time to get away and think. A time to
Bond with family and the girlfriend. I'm not only a bowhunter but a waterfowl hunter and occasionally I pursue other game. They all mean something different but they all tie together in those ways.

Me being a college student it's a time to get away from school and relieve stress.

Hunting is a lifestyle not a sport.
 
after spending 8 days in Iowa this fall alone and having some great encounters with a couple nice bucks, coming back to a room alone only to share the stories by phone really kinda bit. im doing some real soul searching about all this trophy stuff and there is alot of truth to wht you say about being with family and friends..
 
it's about relaxing and clearing my mind with no phones ringing, no customers to deal with or boss to answer to.
it's about the anticipation of "the big one" that could show up at any time and then the racing heartbeat when he finally does or the shakes and becoming a nervous wreck if i am lucky enough to connect on him.
lastly, but most importantly, it's about the time spent in camp or afield with friends and family...telling stories, sharing a few laughs and maybe a couple cocktails.
 
Bow hunting to me is my time for self reflection. Its the piece and quiet with no phones, no work, just me and God. Its where I feel closest to God in the woods and everything else he has created. There is never a sit where I feel like I've taken that time for granted. Even though I've had the opportunity to kill some very good bucks, its still not about the kill for me. Its what goes into it and what you can learn from it. (IE Planting food plots, stand placement, herd analysis, practice,practice practice.) If I happen to kill a good buck so be it, but I don't have to kill anything to have a successful season. It still amazes me the things I learn while on stand. How deer move with different weather conditions, how the same raccoon climbs the same tree @7:05 am every morning, or how if you sit still long enough how you just blend in to whats around you.

Whether its deer hunting, waterfowl or turkey,gun hunting for me is a time to spend with friends and family. Its spending time with my father and close friends. Its teaching younger hunters how to do things the correct way. Its taking time to learn from those who have hunted much longer than I have, and take what little I know and pass it on to a younger generation.
 
DoneRight said:
Bow hunting to me is my time for self reflection. Its the piece and quiet with no phones, no work, just me and God. Its where I feel closest to God in the woods and everything else he has created. There is never a sit where I feel like I've taken that time for granted. Even though I've had the opportunity to kill some very good bucks, its still not about the kill for me. Its what goes into it and what you can learn from it. (IE Planting food plots, stand placement, herd analysis, practice,practice practice.) If I happen to kill a good buck so be it, but I don't have to kill anything to have a successful season. It still amazes me the things I learn while on stand. How deer move with different weather conditions, how the same raccoon climbs the same tree @7:05 am every morning, or how if you sit still long enough how you just blend in to whats around you.

Whether its deer hunting, waterfowl or turkey,gun hunting for me is a time to spend with friends and family. Its spending time with my father and close friends. Its teaching younger hunters how to do things the correct way. Its taking time to learn from those who have hunted much longer than I have, and take what little I know and pass it on to a younger generation.
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Very well said friend!
 
Peace & Quiet.......Time away........Me & God.......Being with Friends.......Hoping to (see) a good Buck.......Maybe kill it.........Watching any Wildlife........Most of all, spending time with the BEST group of hunters in a hunting camp a guy could ask for. Not sure about your group palex2, but mine is the best ever. ;)
 
Time with my dad. He's hunted for a long, long time with no "trophy" to show for it. But is the least selfish guy I know, always putting in the time to set stands, plots, gives up the best looking stand to others, gets the gear ready, makes the food and the list goes on. I want to get him a brute so bad but he could hardly care as long as he can spend the time just being part of the hunts. Great guy, I can only hope to half the man.
 
When I'm bowhunting, I get a sense of peace that hasn't been duplicated yet by anything else. My soul begins quiet and I feel that much closer to God. It is then that I can contemplate everything the Lord has given me and am able fully grasp the meaning of the phrase "my cup runneth over".
Hunting in general makes me feel like I'm truly a part of nature. No other activity on earth allows a person to interact with their enviroment like hunting does. Not fishing, not trapping not anything. Only when you pursue prey in this manner are you truly a participant and not a...spectator for lack of a better word.
Someone on here, I forget who, has a quote that reads: "hunting is not a matter of life or death, it is much more important than that!"
I couldn't agree more.
 
I have read through this thread like 5 times and still do not feel like i can truly explain what it means to me without writing a novel! But to sum it up in the shortest manner.... For those of us who eat, sleep, breath and dream about hunting, its hard to put it into words. Yea its the friends, the hunt, the thrill, the work leading up to it but it is also more than words can describe. Some how, some way, i feel more complete than ever when i am 18 feet up in a tree!
 
Got to thinking about this more,what hunting means,, and the Scoring points topic too. What would it be like if you had no friends.? No family.? No one who cared about hunting? Just you and the woods and the deer. No one to show off your deer, No one to discuss the hunt with. No commrads. Just you and what you harvested. Would you care about the rack.? Would the hunting be more about the meat? No right or wrong answer. Just somehting to ponder....I stayed with a hermit type in Alaska, in my early twenties. He lived 80 miles from nearest road. Went to town 3 times a year. He had a pile of moose antlers stacked behind his cabin. Could care less about them. Meat,,survival,,was his only concern.
 
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