Is harder better?

[mdhunter]

I saw heading on the article in Outdoor Life about a "harder hunt being a better hunt". It is unusual to me the way hunters always seem to think a harder hunt is a better hunt. By harder I mean bow vs muzzleloader vs rifle etc and long pack outs vs drop them near a road.

I admit I fish in the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean a lot. You what know thought has never crossed my mind "if I could just find conditions rough enough to loosen a few fillings before putting these fish in the box, this day would be much more rewarding", lol.

I get the hard hunting, I have killed a dall sheep, shot a shiras moose in a hell hole in Idaho. I guess the article make me ask myself "why do we do it"?

 

[BrentD]

There is something to this observation. I've noticed the same for years. It as if you are not a real hunter unless you packed 9 miles in and carried your elk out on your back. I don't get that, but it's true.

 

[Stay Sharp]

Because we can. Its why I made killing a bear as challenging a difficult on myself as I could. The joy is in the doing. The prep, the planning, the gear we self limit ourselves to. We seek challenges and to overcome them. Its why I no longer hunt with a firearm. There is a time and place for all means and methods of taking game and Ive been fortunate to try lots of them from flying to Hawaii to try to kill a Vancouver bull with a bow to taking Russian boar in a game farm. I enjoy variety and different experiences and learn from all of them. For one guy with physical limitations (like my 84 year old father) just the act of getting out in the cold and killing a deer with a gun is now a challenging adventure. Its all about perspective. Its a personal thing and not something we put up against another hunter to makes us better than or more than. We do it for personal reasons, business reasons, etc. In my line of work Im fortunate to get to hunt all sorts of species and places ans situations from public land to private to free range to hi fence, low fence and everything in between. Ive never run an arrow through an animal on a traveling hunt where I wasnt having a good time, learning something about my gear and myself and seeing different places and species. Never once have I felt bad about it. Later I may find out that others may object to how or where I hunt and I then laugh because those guys dont matter in the least. Scientists have not yet developed a device sensitive enough to detect how little I care for the opinions of the VDP.

 

[Wild Bill]

There is something to this observation. I've noticed the same for years. It as if you are not a real hunter unless you packed 9 miles in and carried your elk out on your back. I don't get that, but it's true.

9 miles in and out and uphill both ways. Just like grandpa going to school back in the day.

 

[EYJONAS!]

Nice observation, I am a firm believer in it is what you make it. It can be a wide variety of experiences and I've had both ends of the spectrum. Lately I've been on the harder side of things......... I scratch my head why to.

I do enjoy the easier opportunities as most would but, there's just something about it when it all finally comes together on one of the more challenging experiences.

 

[Addicting]

I miss @JohnCushman on here. With a title like that we could always expect a interesting response. I will try my best.

Is harder better? Not after 4 hours........Lol

 

[Outlaw99]

According to my wife.......yes

 

[antlerradar]

This a fall I went hunting with a friend and his daughter. We hid in a cabin and watched deer come out of the timber to an alfalfa field to feed. When a real nice old buck showed himself she dropped him with one well placed shot. Both of us have done the "great" hike in and packum out on your back type of hunt. There wasn't anything about his daughters hunt that wasn't just as great.

 

[Europe]

I miss Cushman on here. With a title like that we could always expect a interesting response. I will try my best.

Is harder better? Not after 4 hours........

I did send a private conversation to a member of the forum, so the title was noticed by others Addicting. I will send you a private message of her response to your 4 hour response.

In regard to hunting, define difficult

if it takes you two days to horseback in, and then hike a day, and then spike camp---but then you get your animal at first legal light---was that a hard hunt or an easy hunt ? To me it would have been a difficult but wonderful hunt.

whether, hunting dangerous game, shooting the rapids, hang gliding, drag racing, sailing in the middle of the Atlantic, helicopter drop skiing, all are fun and difficult

BUT

I enjoyed a day in the field ( or blind ) with my dog, hunting birds also

So I say No, just different and they are both ( or can be ) enjoyable

 

[memtb]

My response would be that generally in life..... you have a higher appreciation for those things you work hard for! memtb

 

[gutshootem]

I saw heading on the article in Outdoor Life about a "harder hunt being a better hunt". It is unusual to me the way hunters always seem to think a harder hunt is a better hunt. By harder I mean bow vs muzzleloader vs rifle etc and long pack outs vs drop them near a road.

I admit I fish in the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean a lot. You what know thought has never crossed my mind "if I could just find conditions rough enough to loosen a few fillings before putting these fish in the box, this day would be much more rewarding", lol.

In general, more difficult=more rewarding for most. It's a hobby, our survival doesn't depend on killing an animal for the most part.

I wouldn't say it isn't done in fishing. Seems like guys that catch billfish place a high value on the fight in the fish and difficulty getting it into the boat. People also choose to use lighter tackle, flyrods, etc. Noodling for catfish is also more difficult than sitting on the bank with some cut bait on a hook.

 

[BrentD]

My response would be that generally in life..... you have a higher appreciation for those things you work hard for! memtb

Perhaps, but "working hard" is only respected by some here if it involves your legs, not your head. Working hard, might be busting one's ass for a couple of years earning overtime to pay for a hunt or a rifle or whatever. It might be getting up to speed on technology to e-scout that secret honey hole a quarter mile from a parking area that everyone walks past. It might be searching for, finding, rebuilding or restoring an old rifle and getting it to shoot straight again.

There are a million ways to "hunt hard" one's legs are just a very small part of it. I've been way under my one pheasant per 5 miles of hunting in heavy cover. They do not taste any better because of it.

 

[tzone]

I saw heading on the article in Outdoor Life about a "harder hunt being a better hunt". It is unusual to me the way hunters always seem to think a harder hunt is a better hunt. By harder I mean bow vs muzzleloader vs rifle etc and long pack outs vs drop them near a road.

I admit I fish in the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean a lot. You what know thought has never crossed my mind "if I could just find conditions rough enough to loosen a few fillings before putting these fish in the box, this day would be much more rewarding", lol.

I get the hard hunting, I have killed a dall sheep, shot a shiras moose in a hell hole in Idaho. I guess the article make me ask myself "why do we do it"?

I'll take a fun hunt over a hard hunt any day of the week. I don't need others approval on what I do for my entertainment. And....I'm not 23 anymore. You can keep the hard hunts. I'll take the easy hunts that last the entire season so I can shoot my buck on the last day I'm hunting.

 

[np307]

I enjoy the really difficult hunts and I enjoy really easy hunts. The absolute easiest hunt I've ever been on was when I was asked to accompany a friend's son at their family member's house (way out in the country, not a suburb or anything). We literally sat on the back porch and had does coming out within 30 minutes. It was a great experience for the boy and I enjoyed being there with him. I also hunt on a small lease with several others. When someone is at the property with an ATV, that's a very easy hunt. I enjoy hunting there for the camaraderie shared with friends. But I also hunt game lands here, and I hunt them by going a mile or more back (which is almost unheard of by most game lands hunters). Those hunts I enjoy for a very different reason; I enjoy the physical difficulty, the fact that I get to be alone, and the freedom to wander the woods. So do I think that the difficulty of the hunt determines the quality of the experience? No; however I enjoy the difficult experiences as much or more than the easy hunts.

 

[el unit]

I'm a fan of shooting my elk as close to the road as possible. I think that's the challenge and reward, especially on public ground.

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

I'd rather hunt smarter than harder

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

I think it all depends on what your goal is, and the "trophy" aspect too. I have no problem shooting cow elk near a road, and prefer those to a long pack out. But if it were a bull I feel like I would be missing out on something if I shot it right off the road. A hard hunt for a big bull which includes a tough pack out I think will make lasting memories more so than an easy elk. But how many hunters have ever passed up an animal because it was too easy?

 

[Rzrbck918]

I agree, I think it has something to do with the struggle creating more vivid memories. My most clear memories of hunts are ones that have some form of obstacle or difficulty attached. Many of the hunts that were just "normal" fade quickly.

 

[noharleyyet]

Isn't there a saying about smarter and harder making you luckier?

 

[JTHOMP]

I guess the article make me ask myself "why do we do it"?

My answer to this question is pride. And not in a shameful way but something to be proud of. I am proud of the animals that I killed by hunting hard and smart. It's taken a lot more time to become a smarter hunter than a harder hunter, and that is something that you can never stop improving. Of the 3 good bucks on my wall I have the greatest pride for the smallest one because of the hunt. I hunted not only hard, but also smart and the plan came together. And even have a couple does that rank right up there with it.

There is nothing wrong with shooting one close to a road, in a food plot, pasture, ect. For whitetails it's often your best chance. Had it not been for having plenty meat this season I would've gladly gone hunting on good properties where there is a decent chance of killing a doe or good buck. But I'd much prefer to kill one that I'm proud of, and not just to pull the trigger. That could be sitting on the small pea patch at the house I have access to waiting for a good buck to come by cruising, or on public land that I have scouted and learned how the deer used the land before having a successful hunt.