Why do we do all this anyway?

[MNElkNut]

I took my lab pheasant hunting today. She gets soooooo excited. I thought of this thread. Why does she live hunting so much?

 

[Nameless Range]

Protein, exercise, a desire to kill things, exploration, maps & geography, achieving a goal, mystery, possibility, weather, friends, family, habit, religion or lack thereof, improvement, learning, nothing better to do, recreation, awe, self-worth, probably irrational reasons, depends on the day, escape, pursuit, soul, memories.

I enjoyed the article.

 

[geetar]

I was sitting in a ladder stand this afternoon over a winter wheat field contemplating life. To some it seems hunting is something they do for a while and leave when life's responsibilities of jobs and families take over but for me it's never been something I could leave behind. I'm admittedly not a great hunter. I don't try to be the kind of polished professional you'd want if you were producing a TV show but I stumble into success often enough that the boy I was at 10 or 15 years old would be proud of the man I am at 33. I thought about this today. There are many people who have accomplished more than me but the kid who grew up following my dad around in the woods ( probably ruining his chance of success ) would be really grateful for the opportunities and success I've had. I have always endured whatever was necessary for even minimal success and I guess it's because hunting is what I do. It's one of the few things my dad and I shared. It has given me hope, memories, failure, success, food, taxidermy, reasons to buy new guns, reasons to trade guns for new ones. I'm not an expert. Probably never will be. I don't aspire to be the best. I'm content to participate and usually surprised with my own success but I couldn't imagine doing much else.

 

[Irrelevant]

Great essay BL, but when are we going to hear about that tank of a buck you got this year?