The hunt or the kill ?

[Rev_William]

For me you can't have 1 without the other. the Hunt, if successful ends with a kill other wise you're just out for a walk with your weapon of choice. You may choose not to take the shot but is that really a hunt or just practicing all your skills except marksmanship?

 

[majg1234]

For me it is some of each...I use the woods to unwind and rememebr days afield with my grandad,old school friends or friends that can no longer hunt.I feel one with the critters, love to watch them and be greatful to the creator for them.The kill is important too though as we like the meat @ our house a lot....This took a while with SWMBO as she grew up a city girl but she partakes of the fruits of the endeavor and enjoys it. I think she is starting to understand this old country boy after 20 yrs of having our marriage interupted by hunting season.So like Matt said it is both the hunt and the kill.....maybe for me a little more the hunt and the memories it brings :hatsoff:

 

[Moose Guide]

I'll bet that 90% of hunters wouldn't hunt if there was no chance of a kill

I am very serious about putting meat in the freezer!!!

I don't think the question was about "if there was no chance of a kill"...I understood the question to be asking about the primary driving force behind hunting...the hunting or the killing.
For me it's absolutely not about 'killing to get meat' because I give away any game I take to a needy family(s) out in the countryside around where I hunt.

It seems that it is politically correct to say you enjoy the hunt more, but if it is true that most hunters prefer the hunt over the kill, why are the woods so quiet in the off season?

 

[roundball]

It seems that it is politically correct to say you enjoy the hunt more, but if it is true that most hunters prefer the hunt over the kill, why are the woods so quiet in the off season?

Not interested in spending time with anyone elses personal philosophical struggles...you need to sort out your own internal feelings about hunting.

 

[Stumpkiller]

It seems that it is politically correct to say you enjoy the hunt more, but if it is true that most hunters prefer the hunt over the kill, why are the woods so quiet in the off season?

I'm there. Shooting stumps with my bow. Doesn't make much noise. :v

 

[Vaino]

I think you've got a point about the empty woods in the off season.

Many "romanticize" hunting...possibly to elevate it's stature from the primeval "hunt for meat and the survival it provides" to something acceptable in this modern age of the "supermarket".

To many "the kill" is evidence of "a victory"....in lieu of "meat on the table". For me it's both, w/ the added enjoyment of being in a place where I feel totally at ease. Present day hunting w/ all it's modern conveniences and hoards of other hunters roaming the woods, might not entail hunting at all, but...just sitting there and being lucky. I think that's the reason that deerhunting is not my favorite hunt....compared to elk or grouse hunting where one moves and actually hunts.

"Utopia" is a very subjective mindset and mine is "actually hunting" for game in beautiful surroundings w/ a fair chance of seeing animals and being rewarded w/ a kill. The "feast" that follows is another reward.......Fred

 

[roundball]

To many "the kill" is evidence of "a victory"

Exactly how it is for me...an affirmation that I got it all together and did it right with a Flintlock.
If all I wanted to do was just kill deer I never would have gotten rid of a couple Remington 700's (.264WinMag and .30-06) with big Leupold scopes on them...sit over a bean field, don't worry about wind or movement, drop them in their tracks 300yds away, etc.
But finding / hunting them in the thick stuff, getting up close & personal with PRBs is where its at for me

 

[RevGeo]

Both, of course. I hunt for meat and I hunt for the experience. If it was just meat I would go to the grocery store and probably spend less than I've spent hunting for the past 40-something years. I think we all enjoy the hunt, regardless of the method(s) we use. Hell, I have friends who think they can't kill a deer without a plastic stocked, stainless, scoped rifle, $500 camo outfits and deer pee on their shoes. Cool with me. I prefer to use my muzzleloader or my old 30-40 Krag. And I wear my old 'hunting coat' and jeans of some sort.
I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the moment of the kill. Just like I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy hooking and landing a fish. I think it is a basic human emotion - the 'reducing to possession' as they call it in the regs. I live in a secluded valley in the woods of North Idaho and I live here for a reason: to hunt and fish. I came here all those years ago for a life, not a living.
So, to me the hunt and the kill are part and parcel.I don't separate them in my mind.

George

 

[Little Wattsy]

I think you've got a point about the empty woods in the off season.

Many "romanticize" hunting...possibly to elevate it's stature from the primeval "hunt for meat and the survival it provides" to something acceptable in this modern age of the "supermarket".

To many "the kill" is evidence of "a victory"....in lieu of "meat on the table". For me it's both, w/ the added enjoyment of being in a place where I feel totally at ease. Present day hunting w/ all it's modern conveniences and hoards of other hunters roaming the woods, might not entail hunting at all, but...just sitting there and being lucky. I think that's the reason that deerhunting is not my favorite hunt....compared to elk or grouse hunting where one moves and actually hunts.

"Utopia" is a very subjective mindset and mine is "actually hunting" for game in beautiful surroundings w/ a fair chance of seeing animals and being rewarded w/ a kill. The "feast" that follows is another reward.......Fred

Well stated! :hatsoff:

 

[Flint50]

Mike, you are spot on. That's exactly how I feel. Watching the world wake up, all sorts of critters out and about starting their day. So quiet you can hear a raven's wings as he passes by. Just being out there enjoying everything nature has to offer. And it offers a lot if we take the time to notice. I have learned things in the mountains, things about myself and the world around me. And if you listen when the mountains speak, they have a way of filling in the hollow places inside, of answering the unanswered questions, of helping me know how things are and why they are that way.

I have become a much better hunter since I started using black powder. Better at tracking, still-hunting, reading the land etc.

I used to feel I HAD to kill for a hunt to be successful. Not so much anymore. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy an elk steak or venison as much as the next guy or gal, and will certainly take a well presented shot. But if I get skunked, I still had the best of times.

flint50

 

[majg1234]

I agree with flint 50 and Mike B,but for the record I spend as much time in the woods during the off seasons as I do during hunting season.Some of the time is preparation for the hunt but a lot of it is wandering around on the lease seeing what I can see and learn from the woods.this time also "adjusts" my attitude about life in general :hatsoff:

 

[Matt85]

It seems that it is politically correct to say you enjoy the hunt more, but if it is true that most hunters prefer the hunt over the kill, why are the woods so quiet in the off season?

cant speak for the others but im in the woods year round. rain, shine, or snow im out there shooting. i love the woods and i love shooting so i merge the two year round. if its hunting season im aiming at deer if its not im aiming at paper.

-matt

 

[Loyalist Dave]

For me it's the hunt..., but then again, with some woodslore, you see a bunch of stuff that you cannot see sitting in a modern, tower blind, waiting for the buck to appear at 300 yards, and dropping him with a 7mm Remington Magnum. :shocked2: I can understand why folks who hunt in that manner think the day "sucked" when they don't see and shoot a deer, 'cause for them it did..., and I think they cheat themselves out of some really cool stuff.

Watching a bald eagle snatch a grouse in flight, or the fox working to catch a field mouse, or the suprise of a hen turkey who flew in and landed in the field and suddenly spotted me and ran off, or the chipmunk that came by to say "hello" and perched on the toe of my shoe while eating a seed, or the wingspan of a male crane as he is spooked from the creek and flies just over my head and scares the crap out of me as I didn't know he was there, or seeing a shebear and her cub in the wild, and a myriad of other things.

What bothers me when hunting is when I don't see any sign or any game animals. I don't have to shoot or harvest, but when you don't find scat or tracks, or a rub, or a scrape, or see something in the distance, that gets depressing. So does seeing a previously wounded or sick animal, or finding a carcass that is full except for the rack having been taken...

LD

 

[elkslayer]

The kill. I thoroughly enjoy my time in the mountains but my purpose for being there is to obtain meat. While I can afford to buy meat at the store, I prefer not to and I have not purchased any meat in 8 years besides chicken and some pork. I enjoy packing the animal out of the woods, I enjoy skinning and butchering the animal. I enjoy wrapping it in packages that I put in the freezer and I enjoy it every time I pull out a package of meat for dinner. I can't have any of those things if I don't make a kill.

 

[vthunter52]

LD,
Your response rang my bell, and the reason that I started this post was to see how much of our natural environment was being appreciated, and how much was being ignored. Everyone who has responded to this has only bolstered my belief that it is the outdoorsman who have the deepest feeling and respect for our surroundings. Nature's bounty is something that is ignored by most of today's population. They have no idea what it is to provide for ones self and their families. They are much more into the none-use of our natural resources instead of the wise use!

 

[ihuntsnook]

It's about making a good hunt, be it getting close to a big buck on a snow covered ridge, or sneaking up on a flock of geese in a salt marsh. Being able to stalk, sneak, and make the shot. The kill becomes anticlimactic if you do everything right and get close enough to shoot.

 

[hoochiepapa]

LD,
Your response rang my bell, and the reason that I started this post was to see how much of our natural environment was being appreciated, and how much was being ignored. Everyone who has responded to this has only bolstered my belief that it is the outdoorsman who have the deepest feeling and respect for our surroundings. Nature's bounty is something that is ignored by most of today's population. They have no idea what it is to provide for ones self and their families. They are much more into the none-use of our natural resources instead of the wise use!

Right on!! I don't know how many times my wife or I have seen game from the road or trail, and others just pass on by ignorant.
I don't spend much time up where I hunt other than hunting season, because there are so many anti's hiking around with their dogs-unleashed. I don't want to give them any evidence as to where I go. Guess I need to find a new place to go.

 

[JJCASTINGS]

For most of us the big game season is over for the year. As I read the comments and congradulations on the successes of the season, a thaught occurred. What is more important to you, the hunt, or the actual procurement of the game? I will be the first to admit that venison of the one or two deer harvested during the season provides tasty and healthy eats for the next year. I also can say that simply being out in the solitude of the mountains, no matter what the success is as fulfilling. How do you think?

Quoted to refresh question on later pages:

It is all about being in woods and the wonders of nature, learning the species enough to get in close.

Successful game harvest is always a bonus, but still enjoy sitting and watching the wildlife that is out of range. Been at it 5.5 decades, started when I was 7. I was raised to respect the, lands, water, and wildlife. And harvest natures bounty when able.

 

[shootrj2003]

My best times are spent in the woods wether I get game or not.To have the freedom to walk in the woods with a rifle is enjoyment and proof that there is still some freedom in this country,One of the best times was in a stand dozing when two squirrels ran up and over me and were as surprised as me!Another time was bow hunting and I squatted by a tree to let things "simmer" down while I made myself part of a tree and watched as a squirrel worked his way over to me and he climbed the tree almost set on my shoulder and then looked me eye to eye from about3" away til he finally saw through the camo and took off!. No for awhile it was get meat for me but now I just love the hunt and the things that happen on it,I carry a camera most times now also.

 

[roundball]

My best times are spent in the woods wether I get game or not.To have the freedom to walk in the woods with a rifle is enjoyment and proof that there is still some freedom in this country,One of the best times was in a stand dozing when two squirrels ran up and over me and were as surprised as me!Another time was bow hunting and I squatted by a tree to let things "simmer" down while I made myself part of a tree and watched as a squirrel worked his way over to me and he climbed the tree almost set on my shoulder and then looked me eye to eye from about3" away til he finally saw through the camo and took off!. No for awhile it was get meat for me but now I just love the hunt and the things that happen on it,I carry a camera most times now also.

Those kinds of examples are what makes coming home empty-handed no problem at all...similarly, I've been turkey hunting and had a ruby throated hummingbird appear right in front of my face mask, literally almost touching me with her beak as she peered into the eye holes then it hit me that she might peck me in an eye so I shooed her away.
Another time working a box call from inside a natural blind right at first light, had a coyote trot right up.
Had a hawk come down like a blur and snag a squirrel not 20yds in front of me.
Right at black dark I had an owl land on a limb a few feet away from my right shoulder as I sat in a tree stand bow hunting...then it pitched down across the front of me after something on the ground and its left wing tips brushed the toes of my boots sticking out in front of the Loc-On platform.
And the list goes on...a wonderful way to spend a few hours whether you fire a shot or not...