Hunting And Killing

Hunting and fishing have always been tasks done out of duty, as far as I'm concerned. I was providing food for my family, and that was the primary pleasure that I derived from these tasks.
My main concerns in shooting game are killing as cleanly as possible and not wasting the product that is derived from the carcass.
Perhaps I listened to my neighbor, the Apache medicine man Push-Meh-Ta-Ha too much when I was little... .

For me hunting is about the meat. Spending time in nature is an amazing byproduct.
I only shoot big bucks, or does.
It does leave an odd feeling of accomplishment knowing that you could have made the shot but choosing not to.

There does come that time the torch has to be handed to the next generation. Maybe this is that time. Either way you are doing what feels right and enjoying yourself and that's ultimately what counts.

I went through the same transformation myself about 10 years ago.

Just being in woods, especially Deeeep into the woods feeds my soul. But the killing just got to the point of making me feeling empty. I think most folks mellow as they age and this is just part of the process of getting older.

I understand the big picture and the need for hunting for proper conservation. I don’t judge other hunters and I support their right to hunt.

I used to be a successful crow hunter as well as deer. I knew I was helping farmers by wiping out murders of crows. But that kind of killing probably had more of a negative affect on me eventually.

I’m like a kid again that gets so excited when I see wildlife now. I go out for walks in my neighborhood anywhere from midnight to 3 am just to experience our wildlife in the neighborhood. I regularly see coyotes, fox, owls, hawks, and rarely deer.

We all go through changes during our lives, this is just one of many for me.

My dad went through a lot of the same.
He used to hunt whenever he had the chance. Then came the time where he either had second thoughts, or didn't need to hunt over buying meat, or the family members he used to hunt with had just gotten too old and he wouldn't have help hauling it back.
He still loved the outdoors, being out in the woods and fields where his only company was the prey.
So he bought a good camera. We have a box of frankly amazing slides.
Maybe try the same? Still out in the wilds, still stalking, but everything gets to walk away after your shot.

I enjoy being out in the woods and still enjoy deer hunting. These days it's mostly for some venison tho, I don't really care about getting a big buck .

I am 38, and my father passed his love of the outdoors to me. I have hunted almost every year since I was 12, and have filled few tags. Like Dad always says, "After you pull the trigger, the REAL work begins." I am perfectly content to sit for hours watching squirrels play, trying to find where the call of a turkey is coming from, watching the wind move the leaves, and enjoying the peace and solitude. For me, most days, it is the POSSIBILITY of bringing home game that excites me, not the actual task. I hunt for the pleasure, not the need. So, if you are still enjoying walking in the woods, carrying a firearm, and having the choice of whether or not to take the shot, then I say keep on!

Be grateful that you have the choice. My dad left us when I was 12 and nobody ever taught me to hunt deer properly. I’ve never shot one although there are dozens in my town and yard every week. No in town archery permits are issued unfortunately.

Around here it’s a madhouse in the hills during hunting season and I’m embarrassed by the behavior of most of the deer hunters I come across.

I hunt grouse on occasion and I consider it a lovely hike with a gun. If I get any shots it’s a bonus.

1KPerDay

I hunt grouse on occasion and I consider it a lovely hike with a gun. If I get any shots it’s a bonus.

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That's the way it use to be with me and my friends when I first started hunting. We could go for miles on end without kicking up a single grouse or quail. Still those were great times with friends and family, even when trudging through a foot or more of snow! Just being outdoors enjoying the day was all that mattered. Wouldn't trade those memories for a freezer filled with game meat.

Aside from the thrill of the chase and a chance to spend time with my own thoughts, it still feels a bit more complicated. Whenever I have a game animal in the crosshairs, I picture myself buying more or less processed meat at a supermarket instead. More often than not, I find myself making an "impulse purchase" on the spot, at the price of gutting it, hauling it home and butchering it.

Quality time in the wilderness alone, with friends and family members can't be overlooked, but the fact is that all meat I don't kill myself has to be purchased and as a matter of principle, I don't really like that.

I've never been a hunter, as I grew up in a city and non-hunting family. I love living things. I also love eating them though, so I am all in favor of the responsible management of wildlife. Over population is a real thing.

That being said, I have lived and worked in the woods for the last 15 years and love it. I go on frequent hikes and treasure my days in the woods. There's nothing wrong with loving the woods for simply being the woods. There's nothing wrong with playing hunter and letting an animal walk if you have gotten the satisfaction you wanted earlier on in life. You know you could take them if you wanted. But if the desire is to watch them live, that's great.

I think you're appreciate of the natural world has finally culminated in that you are simply happy to be there, and don't have to necessarily be doing anything. Just being there is enough. I can completely understand that.

I hunt so I can get clean meat. Recently went vegetarian. When I do want meat it'll only be what I hunt. Not this processed crap in store's. Only killed one deer my whole life. About to change that this year. Took more squirrel then I can remember growing up. I don't eat the fish I catch. I only fish with my kids to teach them how. And they enjoy it for about 30 minutes. Then it's I'm bored.

At 62 I still like to get out and hunting is still an interest. Only thing that keeps me from it here is the absurd cost of a place to hunt.
Even still as age gains on you the saying that the real work starts after the hammer falls is increasingly prevalent.

I spent 3 days (all weekend days) hunting Elk this year. Didn't see a single one, only sign that they'd recently been through.

I had a great time!

My wife and I did get (easily) within 25 yards of a decent sized bull Moose whilst still-hunting. I'm not even sure it saw us as it passed us by in the dark timber we shared. I think it did smell us though, and paused a few times before moving off on its way.

And I got to intimately discover some areas I had never been before. Even just a mile from the road, it's a different place entirely, and not another soul was seen. In the future I will go deeper in, past the places I now somewhat know.

I find that my love for hunting and shooting deer grows each year. I'm just getting to the point where I'll let marginal bucks walk and stick to shooting big bucks or does.
I'm still on the comfortable side of 40 though (barely). Who knows how I'll feel in 20 years.

I am now an old hunter that is very conflicted. I love to be in the woods, I love to hunt deer but, I could not care less about killing an animal.

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No need to kill them if your not going to use them, hunt with a camera. There are people that have made careers out of that, no shame in making it a hobby.

I don't need to pull the trigger in order for me to say....I've had a good day. I have 30+ vacation and holidays that I will be using from now until the end of the year for hunting. I have let deer pass, because for some reason, I just felt.....no, not today. Not because it was late or a long drag. It was just me thinking..........maybe tomorrow.

January I will be 62, my brother I hunt with is three years older and had two disc broke at work about five years ago and is at 87 1/2% disabled. So now when we go deer hunting I think of how am I going to get the deer from where it is shot to the truck and then load it in the back of the truck.
So with age and my brothers disability changed the way we hunt. There are places that I walk through that any deer seen gets a green light.
We enjoy deer hunting and only take what we will use until next deer season.
Last year we harvested three deer, that seems to be the idea number of deer for the both of us.
My kids live close to my brother so if they have alot of work going on durring deer season we can harvest a couple more deer and give them to the kids.
Between the both of us we have a combined number of eight tags and the kids each have two transferable doe tags apiece.
We have a bunch of places to hunt and I just got permission on another 61 acre piece of prime deer habitat. We will only take two deer from one piece of real estate and hunt other areas if we want to take another deer.

I can sit or wonder the woods for days on end in pursuit of deer and enjoy every minute of it.
It is all connected.

I've never enjoyed killing. There was a brief period in my youth where I enjoyed the self-image and persona of a hunter, sportsman, outdoorsmen, that entailed killing fish and game animals etc., but that passed and it has long been absent as part of my identity. I'm not criticizing that image or persona, just saying that I don't feel a need to possess it. I do continue to spend time outdoors, and in the wilderness specifically, every day. I just don't identify with the hunter or fisherman persona, nor do I identify with the northface/patagonia/rei outdoor recreationist consumer persona, or the hippy/tie-die/birkenstock/granola/organic/boiled-wool pocket mulchers.

Because killing game gives me no pleasure, and because it does nothing to serve my identity, does not mean I will not do it. I recognize that game species produce a seasonal surplus that would put pressure on scarce resources if their population was not reduced. Without hunters harvesting a portion of that surplus, many more would succumb to great suffering. Harvesting the game ethically and consuming it to nourish people is moral. I will both do it and teach the life skills required to do it properly to others like my children. It does not thrill me. I don't get excited. It doesn't boost my ego or reinforce my self-image. I'm not a shooter. I'm not looking to limit-out. I don't covet trophies. I've used different methods like archery, but I don't have anything to prove by it. I do enjoy and appreciate the animals. I am very determined to be effective in all the tasks involved. I enjoy sharing the experiences with others, especially kids.

So my advice to Steve, who is evidently a mature hunter who has managed to outgrow or has avoided altogether some of the foolishness and cruelty that some hunters go through stages of, is to mentor others so that they can arrive there too. There is no substitute for a mentor who isn't eager to use all their latest gear and gadgets, and doesn't get giddy and yippee when they get to pull the trigger on a trophy or a bag limit, who is cunning and skillful, but has nothing to boast of. Your accomplishment can be that a young person will say what they love most about hunting is not the killing, but their mentor.

I pretty much enjoy everything about hunting except for the actual killing. Its exciting in a way and it's satisfying but I don't necessarily feel great about it. That said I still do it for the meat.

WrongHanded said:

I spent 3 days (all weekend days) hunting Elk this year. Didn't see a single one, only sign that they'd recently been through.

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That's how fishing is for me. I spent a week and a half fishing in August. Didn't catch a dang thing the entire time.

Sure did drink some good whiskey though and enjoyed sitting on the water. Enjoyed watching the kids catch pan fish too. sometimes its just being there that makes it nice.

IdaD said:

I pretty much enjoy everything about hunting except for the actual killing.

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Yeah, me too. Well, I never did think much of the dragging out either, and the cutting and wrapping is just okay - not something I really look forward to though.
My dad always used to say, "The fun's all over the second you pull the trigger."

I'm 76 and don't hunt like I used to. Now I'm lazier and less likely to kill a deer late in the afternoon because I don't want to clean it after dark. However, I still get a thrill when a deer drops from a neck shot or I put an arrow into the kill zone.

I enjoy being in the woods and I like a good, clean kill. In these respects I haven't changed much since I started hunting in 1965.

I've loved hunting since I was a kid. Squirrels were an early favorite though I hunt them rarely now. I also love deer hunting and made good use of all the meat. Rabbits were a tasty treat but I never hunted them; they were all taken with an air gun as a gift of opportunity. I don't hunt much anymore. The past few years I've only gotten out 2 or 3 times a season. Major physical restrictions limit about everything at this stage of my career.

I have always loved being in the woods, which is probably the reason I became a forester. Being in the woods is a, well, spiritual experience. It rejuvenates and calms the spirit and answers unspoken questions with quiet wisdom. A day in the woods is NEVER a wasted day. I've also watched deer walk by when I was at peace and didn't want to spoil the serene ambiance of the moment.