Why do you hunt

[.308sniper]

Just was wondering.

[drdougrx]

I'ma bad guy.  Trophy 1st, meat 2nd.  I only get one good hunt a year, so, I want horns, antlers and tusks.  I do however, always eat what I shoot no matter how aweful it may taste or smell!!!

[Redhawk1]

I hunt for the meat and then the trophy. Now there have been times the trophy is my top priority. I have donated a lot of deer to feed the hungry and have had friends that want meat.

[Chuck White]

I hunt mostly for the comradery with the other guys and secondly for the meat!

Trophies (that is record book trophies) are pretty much unheard of around here!
We do have some nice bucks taken in this area, but the bigger racks are usually 8-pointers with about a 12-14 inch spread!

[.308sniper]

the bigger racks are usually 8-pointers with about a 12-14 inch spread!

That is a gigantic deer around here.

[jhm]

I hunt because I can, and some of my best hunts ended without any game or shots fired, If I weighed hunting by the pounds of meat vs. the hours of enjoyment I have recieved or passed on to my children the meat wouldnt stand a chanch it is just a sidenote of the hunt.    JIM

[Terrill]

I hunt because it is in the genes.  It's hard to explain but it just feels right to be in the field.  I've always thought it was just a left over bit of DNA from the caveman.

[horseman308]

Other: I hunt because I believe God has given us the nature, and as part of that gift, we have an obligation to take care of it. By hunting, I'm reminded of just what kind of impact I have on the planet and how much responsibility we bear in taking good care of it; especially since we have to shoulder the burden left us by those who don't care.

After that, I hunt for meat.

[dukkillr]

I hunt because of that rush I get when a big buck walks under my stand or 50 honkers have their feet down in the decoys.  I don't get that rush from a doe walking under my stand anymore like I did when I was 14, thus I mostly trophy hunt, only taking non-trophies for population control.

[GRIMJIM]

I voted for meat and other. The meat part needs no explanation but the other to me is therapy. I live and work in Chicago, and when I go hunting in southern Illinois, I live in a tent for nine days no tv, no radio, no rush hour traffic, no machinery. Just the company of a couple of good friends and a lot of time alone in the woods. Call it communing with nature or meditation or whatever you want. All I know is that when I come back I feel strange being inside and wish for more time in the woods. My son is getting close to hunting age, in a couple of years I would have probably put family time as my first choice. In fact that's the only downside to my trips is being away from my wife and kids, well the kids anyway.

[.308sniper]

I agree hunting is very theriputic(spelling) to me.

[K.K]

I hunt for all of those reasons, and more.  I really feel that I was born to become a hunter.  If I'm not hunting, I'm reading about it, shooting, scouting, preparing, etc.  I also enjoy the meat of the game that I kill.  Trophies are great when and where you can get them, and I've been fortunate to take a few nice bucks, but I usually happily shoot the first legal deer that I see.  Time spent in the woods is a nessessity of life for me, and I'll bet many of you as well.

Good Luck this season!

[Benaiah]

 It's encoded in my DNA. Can't help myself. 

[dw06]

It's encoded in my DNA. Can't help myself. 

Now that is a good one :)The more I think about it,He may be right

[Don Fischer]

I voted other. I don't really need the meat and a good photo of a great deer would be more meaningfull hanging on my wall than a dead deer. Probally the DNA thing is right. When I was younger and had to justify all my shooting to a war department, it came in the form of meat in the freezer. And I really like cutting and wrapping, maybe thats it? Then again, maybe none of us really know why we do it and that's alright too. One of the things I have noticed over the years, the kill means much less today than it used to.

[NYHunter]

I agree, the kill doesn't mean as much now as it did when I was younger. Hunting gives me the break from life's everyday stresses. To be away with good firends, no job, no phones, no COMPUTERS. Just siittng in the woods listening to, and enjoying, the 'QUITE'. Can't wait for November!

[Land_Owner]

If we voted our hobbies, it is wondered how the percentages would stack up for golf, fishing, hunting, etc.?  This is a Hunting and Trapping Board.  I don;t think that Golf would stack up too well on this Board. 

As I look around my home, there has been a steady ADULT trend away from my youthful hobby of fishing.  I still know how to fish but I would rather manage land for wildlife (own, clear, Roundup, mow, disc, lime, fertilize, plant); target shoot; and reload - all of which surround hunting.

In one regard, I hunt for the ANTICIPATION, the FAIR CHASE, the OPPORTUNITY, the SATISFACTION, the MEMORY, the RETELLING when it all comes together.  Few today are blessed with available wide open space and unfenced forests to puruse at their leasure.  Quite a few of us have an AGENDA (a mortgage, kids in school, debts to repay, etc.) and jobs that are a hassle or blessing.  Taking quiet time in the "Pursuit of Happiness" makes us live linger.

[Old Time Hunter]

I voted "other". Normally I would try to spin this into all the politically correct reasons such as wildlife habitat control, herd reduction, and the all the rest of the "educated" reasons. But I truly believe it is much, much deeper. When I am out in the fields, I truly feel that I am free, without the social or society encombrances stemming from our culture. Kinda like our forefathers, hitch'n the wagon and mov'n to the frontier. It was not the goal of "more money", but the goal of a "better" life. A life dictated by the individual, and not by society. That short reprieve from the every day to day "box", is what I seek, and by God, hunting is one venue that accomplishes that goal. Even if it is more cerebral than actual.

[45Spades]

Sorry guys, Sure I love to eat'em, I love to hunt'em and I love the family time............but I just like the killing best.  I'll admit that if I don't eat it I won't kill it.  But eat'in is a bonus.  I don't get the shakes sitting front of a plate of tenderloins and gravy......although it makes my mouth water.......I know what I said is not poltically correct, but I can live with that........

[lil_hunter12]

i hunt for meat!! i wont pass a buck if i c 1 but i wont pass a doe either.i get 2 tags a year and both go for a doe if possible

[Mike Bare]

I have been hunting for around 30 years and the primary reason is for the meat. It is delicious! But there was always the hope that maybe, just maybe, I would get a buck worth mounting. That day came in 2004 when I killed the 10 pointer in the picture. The real quality of the hunt, though came from hunting with my lifelong hunting buddy and my Uncle Sam. I have learned a lot about the woods from him and we have hunted together almost every year since I started hunting. Sam doesn't get around in the woods as well as he used to, but we still have a good time hunting together. He is usually found pretty close to the truck, which is pretty handy for me! Another bonus for this particular hunt was that I was using a Savage .308 I had borrowed from a good friend of mine......It took a lot of talking, but I finally got him to sell me the gun. 

[handyman06]

this one has got me thinking. i thought i hunted for meat only, but why do i hunt coyotes?

[kyote]

just to bug PETA.....

[handyman06]

oh yeah thats it!

[NYH1]

Put me in the "other (please specify)" category. I enjoy doing it..........it's that simple!

[Charlie Tango]

meat, fun, always have, love to be outside, love to freeze, love to be rained on, the best fun you can have with family and friends. 

[James B]

The meat and being with other like minded folks. Meeting olf hunting friends again. I don't give a hang about horns.