Hunting philosophy

[rtraverdavis]

@AtomicDog I was in a similar position as you about seven years ago. Growing up, my dad hunted, and I went with him on a number of hunts, but it never clicked with me personally. But I got to the point where I started to become pretty uncomfortable with the distance I felt from the meat I ate, and decided that if I couldn’t kill it myself, I had no business eating it.

I had my first successful hunt in 2015, and the experience unlocked something in me. It quickly became an obsession, then a way of life. For me, no other outdoor activity has created a greater sense of connection to the natural world. Plus, wild game meat is healthy and delicious!

The way I figure it, humans evolved as hunters over hundreds of thousands of years. It’s only very recently that we don’t have to hunt to survive. But all of that instinct and drive and connection to the natural world that we are every bit a part of as any other species is still very much there, waiting under the surface.

 

[Nick87]

I hunt because without hunting i just would not be me anymore. It connects me with wonderful family and friends, alive and deceased. I used to say it was for the food, but anymore I give away nearly as much as we eat. My favorite memories can be tied to hunting, whether we punched a tag or not. My best friends ALL are hunters.

My son killed his first deer when he was eight. He and his sister had been with me on many successful hunts prior to that moment. His sister has no interest in killing anything, but I love her just the same as if she were my best hunting partner. When we pulled the tenderloins off the grill from my son's first deer I told him, "from here on out, meat will taste different to you." He took a bite and said, "Yeah Dad, you're right."

My wife always asks how I can remember or know so many people. I continually remind her if somebody hunts or fishes, my brain will remember them, if not, it's like I never met them.

A wise hoops coach once said, "Find things in life that motivate you, and do those things." Hunting motivates me.

Well said.

 

[Pucky Freak]

There is no escape from the omnivore’s dilemma as long as you remain in society, although your food choices do have varying degrees of impact on other living things. Vegans displace wild animals from their native habitat in order to make room for the farms that grow their food, plus many animals such as deer, rabbits, and squirrels are killed during the transport along highways.

In pre-agricultural societies hunters were physically and mentally honed to understand prey, pursue it, and dispatch it. Rewards of a hunt included not only a full belly, but feelings of excitement and euphoria associated with chasing and killing game. These feelings make the activity self-reinforcing, a consequence of our predator DNA.

In a very crude sense I kill animals “for fun”, but on a deeper level I value partaking in the ancient traditions of my forefathers. Walking up on a freshly arrowed big game animal I experience a wave of feelings that is difficult to put into words - and it is one of my favorite things in life. It is extremely rewarding to butcher that animal, package the meat, and eat it for months to come.

Not everyone is a hunter. In hunter-gatherer cultures some members gathered, fished, scavenged, and participated in food preparation and storage in other ways. If you try out hunting and don’t enjoy it, it’s no cause to become a vegetarian IMO.

 

[JustinsDad]

For me it’s the whole experience.

1. Dialing in your rifle/ bullet
2. Developing hunting skills
3. Scouting
4. Planning the hunt
5. The road trips there
6. The hunts anticipation
7 The actual shot
8. Harvesting the kill
9. Processing the meat
10 Cooking the meat
11 Eating it
12 Planning the next one

Each step is good camaraderie with my friends and my kid. And hunts always produce the best stories for sitting around a campfire. When I get a littolder I want to have the best stories in the retirement home!

 

[Nick87]

When I get a littolder I want to have the best stories in the retirement home!

The thought of that is depressing, I hope I go before that. At least that's what I say now

 

[David58]

I like to hunt because I was raised doing it. I hunted with my boys so that at the very least, they understood that hamburger isn't born shrink-wrapped on a styrofoam plate. A life was given for that meal, important to realize.

 

[geetar]

I’ve never been to Africa but I think what Ruark says applies to all continents.

 

[AtomicDog]

Thanks all. Some good responses here.

A lot of you referenced it being something you grew up with, which I expected. My childhood was more suburban and we didn't do that.

I'm going to go ahead and give it a try. Need to take my hunter's ed first.

I think the first thing I am going to try is a Turkey. You shoot them in the head with a shotgun, so it seems like a humane kill is a sure thing.

I have other questions, but probably will post them in other threads.

 

[Hilljackoutlaw]

Watch this movie.