HUNTING: What Does It Mean to You?

[TrapperReady]

When you hear the word "hunting", what's the first image that pops into your head?

In my case, it's me and a friend walking along either side of a tangle of grass and brush at the edge of a field. The dog is in the thick stuff, working into the wind, trying to pin down a wily old rooster. It's cool outside, but I'm sweating hard enough to have soaked my shirt and my legs ache from the previous few hours of constant movement. My gun seems to weigh three times as much as it did when I first uncased it, but all that is forgotten in an instant when I hear the ruckus of a large pheasant crashing through the brush in a frantic effort to get airborne.

It only takes moments, but I can clearly see the red around its eye as I swing my old Model 12 past its beak and pull the trigger. Graceful flight turns into a chaotic cartwheel and it the dogs seem to magically appear right where the bird hits the ground. The dog gets a well-earned break, lots of pats and "Good boy"s, while the bird is passed around, admired and respected.

As I slip the bird into my vest, the additional weight is satisfying and my sundry aches and pains are gone. My gun feels lighter once again and I check the sun and my watch before scanning for the next piece of promising cover.

 

[rwc]

A full freezer.

 

[deciple-of-keith]

Let me see ! for me it ment work until recently !
But I suppose itr means getting away from the day to day durge.A second chance of living ,my formitive years.Now through the Eye's of my 11 yr old stepson .Who is just starting out in hunting .A time for quiet reflection of shots taken (Shots missed) .Camp fires in shooting camps from the Tropics to the Nullabour Plain and most of the country in between .Where Life was slightly differant & More tolarent .of people & everything was done at a slower pace .Yep thats what it means to me

 

[El Tejon]

Killing critters.

 

[Atticus]

Good: Getting away from the city rat race. Quitely walking/sitting in the woods on an Indian Summer day.
I rarely squirrel hunt these days, but some of my fondest memories are of sitting in the woods on a late August afternoon, free from the worries of my world.


Bad: Dragging my butt out of a warm bed on a 30 deg.F morning in order to drive an hour to freeze my butt off and then drive an hour back home.

 

[Fumbler]

When I think of hunting the image that pops up into my head is this:
Me sitting against a tree on a COLD a$$ morning wondering why I got up so early, then seeing something neat like a turkey (during deer season of course) or a possum walk right by me 3 feet away.

 

[Lennyjoe]

Peace and tranquility.

I love to hunt. Not so much for the kill, but for the time I get to spend enjoying Mother Nature. Nothing beats sitting in a deer stand on a cool morning and watching the sun rise and the earth come to life.

Quiet times like that give me the opportunities to reflect on my life. Where I've been, where I'm going, family, career and those that have come in and out of my life and the impact they have left.

The thrill of the hunt is important, but the time away from the hectic daily thing called living is what matters most.

 

[Art Eatman]

Aw, a little bit of "all of the above", I guess.

And sitting around a campfire with friends. Talking about past, present and future hunts.

Staring at the coals,wondering how many thousands of generations of others have done the same, and what the hunt meant to them.

Smugly feeling just a trifle sorry for those who don't know what hunting is all about, who don't have a clue of the connection to their own past generations' histories.

And there's always the anticipation about tomorrow, 'cause I know I'm gonna at least have some sort of micro- or mini-adventure of some sort. Gonna outwit Bambi or Wily or find that big covey of blues or just meddle along with a bunch of javelina. Find some leftovers from old historic stuff or even pre-history.

Quien sabe?

, Art

 

[Shalako]

Tip toeing as quietly as humanly possible, if not moreso. Eyes scanning every twig, leaf, and tree. Senses as alert as they ever can get. Anticipation that something will show. One with nature. One with the food chain. An animal.

 

[sm]

1) What Art said.
2) The gum smacking sweet young thang pouring my coffee at breakfast and calling me sugar.
3) Beef Jerkey
4) Dogs
5) I know I am pissing of PETA, tree huggers and host of other folks.

 

[scout26]

Deer Hunting:
I am completely in tune with my surroundings, yet inwardly serene and calm.

The 2nd most excited I get , while I am also totally relaxed.

There is a complete lack of stress and pressure, while I put myself through the most challanging of tests.

It's the time I spend with me.


Turkey Hunting:
The times my daughter and I communicate volumes to each other with only a few words but lots of facial expressions.


Upland Hunting:
That's all about the dog.


Waterfowl Hunting:
That's all about the wet dog smell.......

 

[arcticap]

I think hunting is about much of the above, AND trying to put yourself into the mindset of the quarry. It's a match of wits, senses, powers of observation, reflexes and muscle control that culminates in a fleeting second exchange of lead hurling through time and space as an extension of your soul and being through time which so ever briefly slows to a crawl as the quarry either wins or loses by vacating from the projectile approaching nearly instantaneously...an instant that yet seems to stretch into an eternity and of which the relevance, life or death or crippling injury, represents the epitomy of God itself. The course of history from that moment forward, will or will not be changed as a result, and it is largely in the hunter's hands in the blink of an eye whether or not any historical course will be altered or newly established. Let us remember not only the pleasure of the hunter to kill, but the duty as well to above all honor and respect the prey. For it is God's creature, and the observation of the suffering/dying or escaping/survival of the prey is simultaneously an honor, burden and a humbling experience. Humbling if one kills, humbling if one fails to kill, since one has been beaten by the simplist of creatures. Hunting...who's side is God on today? The man's or the beast's? Only the most noble shall win!

 

[WhiteKnight]

Quiet times like that give me the opportunities to reflect on my life. Where I've been, where I'm going, family, career and those that have come in and out of my life and the impact they have left.

You took the words right out of my mouth.

 

[ACP230]

Since last November it's this conversation:

"Dad, I don't know about this going in the woods and killing things."

My older son then gave up hunting.

Tore me up then, tears me up as bad now.
It's even hard to go to the places we used to hunt together.

He's not shooting any more either, as far as I can tell, although we used to shoot rifle and pistol matches together.

He's in his first job and busy, but finds time for other stuff.

I'm not handling it well.

 

[P95Carry]

ACP - that is sad - and hard to accept. Wonder why such a turn around.

For me - hunting is an occasional time - time to take in nature - ears are tuned sharp and I hear things not often noticed. My senses are keyed but not stressed - it is that mix of heightened, well - everything almost!

I am one who takes great pleasure in the hunt/stalk, whatever - much less in the kill. Many years back when helping a farmer with rabbit control - I took 134 during the main summer months - in most cases each was not so much an opportunist shot as prepared - me vs them. Once more, the prep' and stalk was infinitely more satisfying than the kill itself. He offered to pay me per kill - but I declined - the hunt aspect itself was enough payment.

The one thing I always had a problem with and still do - is the hunting which gets defined as ''if it moves - kill it''!!! Don't care much for the pure killer attitude.

I will also not take anything unless my shot is good enough - talking rifle here - only a good kill will suffice to best of my ability and circumstances - and so, no injured ''escapees'' - plus ever mindful of rule #4 - you just have know where a miss will end up - as well as being very sure of the target, of course.

 

[dave3006]

ACP - take comfort. He will probably come back. It sounds like he has hit a point in his teen years where he is questioning who he is. The departure from your activities is an attempt to define himself as an individual separate from his parents. This is not necessarily a bad thing. When he has done this to his own satisfaction, he will come back because it is a part of who he is. It will be a part of going back to his roots. The time away varies by individual.

I started hunting again in my late 30's. Each year, I enjoy it and do it more. My Dad used to take me out when I was 12-14 years old. It makes me feel like a kid again. My son is 12 now. He goes with me on every trip. I realize someday the same thing could happen to me as did you. If it does, I hope the time away is short - for both of us.

Good luck.

 

[waterhouse]

I'll tell you one thing, hunting means a lot less since my dad passed away last year. I've got other hunting partners, but only one was around for all of my 25 years.

Other than that, I've recently discovered that I enjoy watching the dogs run their patterns and stop on a good point just as much as I like the shooting that follows. My goals now lean torwards good walks and good conversations while watching good dogs; limiting out has been placed way far on the back burner, and I find I have a much more enjoyable time this way.

Unless I'm duck hunting, in which case hunting means limiting out as soon as possible so that I can get back into bed

 

[Malamute]

Meat. And much healthier than store bought with much lower cholesterol and fat.

Independence, as in cultivating and honing what I think of as universal life skills. Knowing I can feed myself.

Feeling truly alive, feeling a part of life in it's true essence. That heightened awareness of everything around me.

Connection to my personal and family past.

I like the walking silently through the forest, rifle in hand, looking and listening to everything around me as much as possible. It seems to get better after several days out, the smell of smoke in your hair and clothes, the senses more awake, more finely tuned.

Not just limited to hunting tho. I spend a lot of time out when it's not hunting season. Guess I could call it scouting for game.

 

[anapex]

For me it's a nice walk out in the woods with a chance to bring something different home for dinner. I've had a lot of nice walks.

 

[ID_shooting]

I guess for me it is a mix of what has allready been said, but I really enjoy the adventure. Get out, see new places, exlpore what is over the next bend or rise. Not so much about the killing for me, I mean, it is not deer killing, but deer hunting. I don't care so much if I get skunked, heck, it just becomes work once you bag somthing. Weather I get up in the early AM and drive for two hours of I pack up the camper and spend a week in the woods doesn't matter to me much. Putting away a clean rifle or shotgun is just fine with me, but getting out and enjoying life it what is most important to me.

I have a couple a friends the get all bent out of shape if they don't get to kill somthing. I never did understand that, me, if I get one rooster all season or I limit out in one day, I could care less.

 

[Polishrifleman]

The fellowship, yet being alone.
The Campfire, the solitude of thought.
The stories, bringing laughter and sadness.
The early crisp mornings, wondering who has never enjoyed one.
The hair on your neck standing on end when the twig snaps right behind you.

That is the hunt to me. Thanks for the Thread, I get lost just thinking about it.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I have an 8-year old great nephew (the only boy of his generation bearing the family name.) When he was told I killed an elk, he said, "Cool!"

If he'd been told I made a hole-in-one, he'd have said, "What a dork!"

 

[rust collector]

For me it truly is about great times spent with Dad, Grandpa and a host of huntin' buddies. It's about shutting up, watching and learning about how things work without humans interfering. It's the smell of coffee out of a thermos, the sun rising over the cattails, the roar of the bluebills pitching in.

It's listening to the redwing blackbirds, watching mink dart in and around the riprap, listening to the splashing of the fish spawning in the shallows. It's the reassurance of the worn bluing on the old Fox double, the crunching of the snow underfoot and the clattering of the cornstalks while trying to sneak up on pheasants who are now in the next county. It's the scent of wet labrador, the tang of jerky from last year's whitetail, and crackling of a friendly fire on a sharp October evening.

The game is ephemeral--the grouse will cycle in and out on the grasslands, deer populations will boom and bust. But every hunt will stay with me to the end of my days, whether I snap a cap or not.

 

[Guns_and_Labs]

It's a little of all of the above. If I had to summarize it, I'd say it's being a "participant" in nature/life, rather than an "observer".