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Strange Day for Me in the Woods.
- Thread starter PastorB
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Lot of people get nasty when a person kills a big deer. Cant understand what makes them like that. Spreading rumors about how it was killed. I get excited when someone kills a deer. Happy for them
aussie pete
40 Cal
I'm hearing you, PastorB. More often than not, lately I've come back with the charge still in the barrel, or rather, still in the flask. Years ago, I would feel disappointed if I didn't make a kill, now it's the opposite. I really enjoy getting into the loungeroom of animals' habitat; walking away and leaving them unmolested sees me grinning like a Cheshire cat! I'm finding the shutter button on a camera is as satisfying as pulling the trigger. Last outing, on numerous occasions, I got within twenty feet of our spotted beauties, enjoying the observation with pure delight. I do get what you and the other posters here are on about.
Mind, I understand the guy who is elated with a positive outcome in his hunt for meat too.
Pete
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I like this…
Pushing 70 and with a number of critters to my credit, I get it.
Tankerchief
32 Cal
Wow! amazing that I am not the only one having these thoughts. I turned 60 this year and couldn't wait to retire so I could spend more time hunting and fishing. The fishing has been great! But, like a lot of you, I'm not so excited about killing something as I used to be. I never was really a big fan of looking for a big rack or something. Possibly because the areas I hunt aren't known for big racks. I always said that I would head out west; or to Illinois or Canada some day to get that big deer. But what if I did? It's going to hang on the wall and when I pass it's one more headache that my daughter would have to deal with; because I know she doesn't want the deer or wild pig mounts I already have. I'm content with putting venison in the freezer. But with just me eating it in my house now; one deer goes a long way.
Although still young, things got worn down from my time in the service so it's not as easy to hike up hills or climb into stands. I think that I am getting more satisfaction from trying to make the holes in the paper closer together than killing a big deer. In fact I find myself thinking more about that while on stand than thinking of ways to improve my hunting spot for next year. The idea of building my own rifle is also becoming a preoccupation. I don't have to think about dragging a stand into the woods. Or, dragging a deer out afterwards. I don't see giving up hunting all together. Still try and put a doe in the freezer when the supply runs low. But just enjoying time in the woods; watching Mother Nature at her finest is getting to be reason enough to wander outdoors.
Although still young, things got worn down from my time in the service so it's not as easy to hike up hills or climb into stands. I think that I am getting more satisfaction from trying to make the holes in the paper closer together than killing a big deer. In fact I find myself thinking more about that while on stand than thinking of ways to improve my hunting spot for next year. The idea of building my own rifle is also becoming a preoccupation. I don't have to think about dragging a stand into the woods. Or, dragging a deer out afterwards. I don't see giving up hunting all together. Still try and put a doe in the freezer when the supply runs low. But just enjoying time in the woods; watching Mother Nature at her finest is getting to be reason enough to wander outdoors.
aussie pete
40 Cal
Great post, totally understandable. Age brings empathy or tenderness for most people, and for those who have hunted a lifetime, there is more gained in letting a majestic animal like this live than in filling yet another tag. Your post resonates with me because all Fall a huge buck has been hanging around our cabin in northcentral PA. I could have killed him a hundred times in archery season, from either porch or from the second floor. But I so enjoyed watching him and taking pictures of him that next thing I knew our rifle season had started (yesterday) and I was feeling reluctant to kill him when he next appeared. So far, he has been a no-show. And I hope he stays far away until flintlock is over. Getting old has strange effects!
I know it happens to many folks when they get older. Understandable I reckon. Every dog has its day.
However, I am now 65. Been hunting all my life, even before I was old enough to legally do so. And now I do more hunting than I ever did. Just about an every day affair for this ole boy. Weather permitting, seldom does a day go by that I don't hunt. I strive to get my allotted 4 deer per year for the freezers as early as possible with my crossbow and/or ML. A couple of times now that didn't happen and I wasn't able to fill all 4 tags before crazy orange army season arrived so I finished during the gun season. But one thing is for certain, before any deer seasons, and after, this ole boy will be out there with his Crockett Squirrel Rifle doing what I love most, chasing bushy tails around the hills and mountains of Kentucky.
Not bragging or trying to take anything away from this thread, just telling it as it is. I absolutely live to hunt. I do not see that changing any time soon.
However, I am now 65. Been hunting all my life, even before I was old enough to legally do so. And now I do more hunting than I ever did. Just about an every day affair for this ole boy. Weather permitting, seldom does a day go by that I don't hunt. I strive to get my allotted 4 deer per year for the freezers as early as possible with my crossbow and/or ML. A couple of times now that didn't happen and I wasn't able to fill all 4 tags before crazy orange army season arrived so I finished during the gun season. But one thing is for certain, before any deer seasons, and after, this ole boy will be out there with his Crockett Squirrel Rifle doing what I love most, chasing bushy tails around the hills and mountains of Kentucky.
Not bragging or trying to take anything away from this thread, just telling it as it is. I absolutely live to hunt. I do not see that changing any time soon.
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nothing wrong with that. i will be 60 in december.when im not working usually im in the woods. live alone. divorced after over 30 years of marriage.hunting and being outdoors has saved my life.got 4 grand babys. try to spend time with them and also have 4 kids. they all growed up. love hunting and fishing. dont trap no more. wish you many years ahead to hunt.
One key factor in hunting is the great meat. And we all have to continue eating even when we get older. Never before in my life have I experienced such low quality meat, whether it be from a fairly nice restaurant or purchased from a store, as what we are experiencing nowadays. I seldom eat out and what few times I was on the road, or even up in our own near by town at restaurants that's always had good food in the past, the quality of meat was pretty darn poor. My wife used to bring home chicken from what used to be from places that served good food. And even that had to stop due to very low quality of chicken. I've even gotten bad meat from Cracker Barrel, a place that I never thought would try to serve very low quality meat. KFC, forget it. Without doubt some of that was due to how it was prepared, but not all by no means. Fatty chunks of steak and/or meat, tough chucks of steak or chicken, rubber like meat/chicken, grissels in the meat, just flat out very low quality of meat/chicken. Therefore, I haven't eaten restaurant food in quite some time now. I just don't trust it, nor do I trust those preparing the food.
More recent, Thanksgiving turkey. Wife bought a turkey and cooked it as she always did. She told me that it wouldn't cook up right and took much longer than it should have. When we sat down to eat it, I couldn't do it. Not only did it have a very strange taste, but even the texture was way wrong and inconsistent. Part of it like rubber yet other parts were mushy. It was absolutely the worse turkey I have ever tried to eat. We wound up throwing it out. She took the receipt and a few pics of that terrible bird back to where she bought it from and got a refund.
Next we have the sky high prices of meat nowadays. It appears to me that, at least in this area, there was an uptick in the number of deer hunters this season. Its to my belief that some of the reason behind that is due to the increase in prices of meat and/or food in general.
And the number one reason for hunting is I know that the meat is not tainted by chemicals or anything else. Those critters are not going to eat anything bad, other than perhaps bears that like to eat trash. Also, the wife and I do all of our own processing. From the time that animal is killed, gutted, skinned, cooled down, butchered, put in sealed bags from our food processer, then into the freezers, I know how its been handled and cared for. This is another reason why I do not take meat to a slaughter house. When someone does so, they have no idea if the meat they get back is from the same animal they took in there. Much less if you are getting all of your animal back. You might be getting part of old Billy Bob's big buck that he gut shot, did a poor job of gutting (which can definitely have an effect on the taste of the meat) and he drove around town with it in the back of his for a couple of days showing it off, before it was skinned and even if the temps were warm. You just don't know what you are getting back.
Not wanting to go on a rant here, but to prove my point I want to state this. My son took a deer to the local slaughter house in TN last year to be processed. After a week of not getting a call from them he called to ask about when it would be finished. They told him soon. After nearly another week had passed he drove to the slaughter house and asked about his deer. They informed him they could not find his deer. So he told them that not only is he out his deer, he also is out a deer tag, and proceeded to inform them he was going to report this to someone like the TWRA. As soon as he said that, they told him "Oh, wait a minute, I think I remember where its at", walked back inside and after a while they came out with a very small box of meat. What's the chances that he got back his deer?
Only one time in my entire life did I take a deer into a slaughter house. That was due to my busy schedule and lack of time. When I got the call to come and pick it up, the guy walked out with a somewhat smaller box in his arms and handed it to me. I asked him where the rest of it was and he replied "that's all of it". Mind you that even at a somewhat younger age, I had already butchered up quite a few deer in my life. I knew about how much meat a deer of that size should be. I would reckon I got back maybe 60% of what I normally get out of deer that size. That was over 30 years ago and the first and last time I've ever had a big game animal processed.
One of the best things my wife and I has ever done was purchase a commercial meat grinder and food processer. Those have helped provide us with tons of good meat that lasts us until the next year. We also have extra freezers for the food that I grow in my garden and for the fish I catch in during the early summer. We know how our food has been taken care of and discard any meat/food that we deem unfit. Also, our outside dogs likes the the idea of us processing our own meat, as they get some of the meat we do not want for ourselves.
The way I see it is, animals were put here on earth for us to eat. We can either get those animals ourselves, take care of the meat ourselves, or we can purchase the meat from someone else that we know nothing about what so ever. Commercial meats are fed all kinds of chemicals. Don't believe it? Just go to a feed store and read the tag on a bag of feed. Chicken feed, hog feed, cattle feed, any feed.
With that in mind, I have no problems killing game animals for meat and I doubt I ever will. Much, much better all the way around rather than seeing them dead on the road.
I harbor no malice towards anyone that does not hunt wild game, or decides to stop killing animals.
Everyone to their own thing.
More recent, Thanksgiving turkey. Wife bought a turkey and cooked it as she always did. She told me that it wouldn't cook up right and took much longer than it should have. When we sat down to eat it, I couldn't do it. Not only did it have a very strange taste, but even the texture was way wrong and inconsistent. Part of it like rubber yet other parts were mushy. It was absolutely the worse turkey I have ever tried to eat. We wound up throwing it out. She took the receipt and a few pics of that terrible bird back to where she bought it from and got a refund.
Next we have the sky high prices of meat nowadays. It appears to me that, at least in this area, there was an uptick in the number of deer hunters this season. Its to my belief that some of the reason behind that is due to the increase in prices of meat and/or food in general.
And the number one reason for hunting is I know that the meat is not tainted by chemicals or anything else. Those critters are not going to eat anything bad, other than perhaps bears that like to eat trash. Also, the wife and I do all of our own processing. From the time that animal is killed, gutted, skinned, cooled down, butchered, put in sealed bags from our food processer, then into the freezers, I know how its been handled and cared for. This is another reason why I do not take meat to a slaughter house. When someone does so, they have no idea if the meat they get back is from the same animal they took in there. Much less if you are getting all of your animal back. You might be getting part of old Billy Bob's big buck that he gut shot, did a poor job of gutting (which can definitely have an effect on the taste of the meat) and he drove around town with it in the back of his for a couple of days showing it off, before it was skinned and even if the temps were warm. You just don't know what you are getting back.
Not wanting to go on a rant here, but to prove my point I want to state this. My son took a deer to the local slaughter house in TN last year to be processed. After a week of not getting a call from them he called to ask about when it would be finished. They told him soon. After nearly another week had passed he drove to the slaughter house and asked about his deer. They informed him they could not find his deer. So he told them that not only is he out his deer, he also is out a deer tag, and proceeded to inform them he was going to report this to someone like the TWRA. As soon as he said that, they told him "Oh, wait a minute, I think I remember where its at", walked back inside and after a while they came out with a very small box of meat. What's the chances that he got back his deer?
Only one time in my entire life did I take a deer into a slaughter house. That was due to my busy schedule and lack of time. When I got the call to come and pick it up, the guy walked out with a somewhat smaller box in his arms and handed it to me. I asked him where the rest of it was and he replied "that's all of it". Mind you that even at a somewhat younger age, I had already butchered up quite a few deer in my life. I knew about how much meat a deer of that size should be. I would reckon I got back maybe 60% of what I normally get out of deer that size. That was over 30 years ago and the first and last time I've ever had a big game animal processed.
One of the best things my wife and I has ever done was purchase a commercial meat grinder and food processer. Those have helped provide us with tons of good meat that lasts us until the next year. We also have extra freezers for the food that I grow in my garden and for the fish I catch in during the early summer. We know how our food has been taken care of and discard any meat/food that we deem unfit. Also, our outside dogs likes the the idea of us processing our own meat, as they get some of the meat we do not want for ourselves.
The way I see it is, animals were put here on earth for us to eat. We can either get those animals ourselves, take care of the meat ourselves, or we can purchase the meat from someone else that we know nothing about what so ever. Commercial meats are fed all kinds of chemicals. Don't believe it? Just go to a feed store and read the tag on a bag of feed. Chicken feed, hog feed, cattle feed, any feed.
With that in mind, I have no problems killing game animals for meat and I doubt I ever will. Much, much better all the way around rather than seeing them dead on the road.
I harbor no malice towards anyone that does not hunt wild game, or decides to stop killing animals.
Everyone to their own thing.
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All of my shooting is done at paper, on a range. France is far better than my native UK when it comes to available countryside and hunting, and I have been invited to join the 'Chasse' as they call it here. But it looks so boring, with men in high - viz vests stood on platforms at the edge of a wood waiting for something to come along. I would love - just once - to go out on a proper hunt ranging through countryside - woods, mountains, whatever and have a go. Camping in the open with similar minded people, just ranging free with my gun, maybe for an entire weekend. Once would be enough, as I sympathise with the OP on this. But it would be so nice to do.
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There's good processors and bad processors. I've used one here for many years and have had no problems. When they bring out the box(es) of meat, they open them up and go over the poundage and contents with you -- cube steak, burger, backstraps, tenderloins, roasts -- whatever instructions you gave them. I'm lucky to have a good one, I guess. (I spent enough time in my youth up to my elbows in blood and guts ).
well said.
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There is nothing wrong with you! As we get older our perspective changes, our emotions change and our outlook on hunting changes. I have always said that when my heart stops pounding and my knees stop shaking I’ll give it up. Enjoy your new feelings toward that majestic buck!!
Without discounting the fact there are some good processors out there, its the unknown factor that is the final say, IMO. As I have said, every body to their own thang. But for this ole boy, I want to know for sure. Hell, not bragging here but for many years I reloaded my own ammo (or made my own Maxi Balls for my ML's and/or built my own arrows for whatever bows I was using at the time) hunted, shot, killed, gutted, hauled out, skinned, quartered up, processed, froze my own critters, then did my own taxidermy.
Being a mountain man most all my life, I simply do not understand why anyone would take a big game critter to a processor. Processing a critter is not difficult. The savings in the cost of a commercial meat grinder, food processor, and anything else a person needs to do the job, can be paid for in one or two years. Most places nowadays charge $75.00 to over $100.00 just to process a deer alone. And its not difficult to do. Wowser, there's not that meat on a deer to charge that much.
Anyways, and as I have said, everybody to their own thing.
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At 73 I have the same feeling. I really enjoy watching them!!I'm 76 and still get in the woods as often as possible. I always carry and am ready to shoot but rarely do as just watching has become more important. Having the loaded gun and choosing NOT to shoot is not the same as just watching without one; it's BETTER! It must be psychological.
At 65, I enjoy watching them, too. Through the sights on my critter tools a fraction of a second before I pull the trigger. Shot placement means everything, ya know.
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I hear ya!
same thing happened to my dad, bout 5 yrs ago he said, son i have killed enough, and he hasnt hunted since. he was 77 when it happened. guess will happen to me some day, but not yet
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