Why deer hunt?

[Sitsbytree]

I ask, because I love deer hunting, but really can't say why. I love it if I don't get a deer at all. I love the venison sure, but I don't think that's why I do it. I think I just love being in the woods. I just like being there. I also love drinking a Coke at the deer cooler with my neighbors. There's something special about it. I just don't know what it is.

 

[Sitsbytree]

Oh!!! I also really like collecting cards from deer cams. That's like Christmas morning. Even if I never actually see that monster buck that casually passed by at 2AM.

 

[DCA-DEER]

Hunting fishing and shooting are my hobbies I don't watch any kind of sports just not my thing. Deer hunting is my favorite because I like the time alone in the woods just sitting being in nature real good therapy in my opinion

 

[backyardtndeer]

I enjoy my time watching them do their thing, with deer oblivious to my presence.

 

[BSK]

I could list a litany of things I like about hunting, especially all of the aspects of being in Nature. But if I distill it all down to my core feelings about hunting, it is that it makes me feel Human. Not Human in today's world, but Human at my basic core level. It fulfills a deep-seated instinctive desire to hunt and gather. I really like picking berries. I really like growing my own food. But I especially like hunting for food. Again, I think it is scratching the instinctive itch to hunt and gather that is the core of what makes us a successful species.

 

[Sitsbytree]

I could list a litany of things I like about hunting, especially all of the aspects of being in Nature. But if I distill it all down to my core feelings about hunting, it is that it makes me feel Human. Not Human in today's world, but Human at my basic core level. It fulfills a deep-seated instinctive desire to hunt and gather. I really like picking berries. I really like growing my own food. But I especially like hunting for food. Again, I think it is scratching the instinctive itch to hunt and gather that is the core of what makes us a successful species.

Well said

 

[Ski]

Hunting fishing and shooting are my hobbies I don't watch any kind of sports just not my thing. Deer hunting is my favorite because I like the time alone in the woods just sitting being in nature real good therapy in my opinion

Same here. I don't golf, don't watch sports, don't really have much in common with most men. I live a somewhat solitaire life other than going out for a game of pool now & again. Hunting is my thing. Being in the woods is where I belong. Nothing else scratches that itch or gives that particular satisfaction.

 

[Griswold]

Because it fulfills a natural desire to hunt down and kill my food

 

[Snake]

As I've aged and killed hundreds of this animal I still have the desire although much lesser to pursue them . I honestly believe we have it passed down to us through our forefathers . It's a trait born in us but only those that follow it will do it because it does have it's pitfalls . Getting up out of a warm bed lying next moma and going out into the cold takes a little bit of willpower . Sure we have these new fangled clothes that help us but still losing sleep to get out into the deer environment takes a want to .
Seriously....when your body has worn down from all the things we put it through and father time it takes that extra effort to go hunting . And those that don't care about hunting has never tried ....I still believe the desire is there just have to put in force .
Can't tell you the times some down at the plant went with us hunting that have never been get hooked once they've put out the effort to go . Some call it the comradiry but I call it the desire you have suppressed but the comradiry is real as well and now you've opened up the can . Why I say it's the desire because in all reality hunting is a lonesome sport . Sure you can enjoy each hunting brothers time together but most hunt alone and are only together a short time verses your time actually hunting . Sure we can share our experiences in the time afield once we've joined our hunting partners , that's the comradiry but more time is spent alone . And once you are successful you really have dipped your heart into the world of hunting . Now I have to be realistic .... throughout time the desire of hunting and getting suppressed time after time some really don't have the desire originally. To a point some just ain't got what it takes to trek through the woods with all the sounds , traps of broken limbs , cold temperatures, spider webs and such ... they had rather do without even trying to go hunting. Definition of a non hunter !

 

[CWT]

Deer hunting is what I do. Next year I will celebrate 50 years in the deer woods. Its who I am, the woods are a part of me. My therapy, my church, it's part of my life... it fulfills me... it creates mindfulness... its grounding in a screwed up world. Setting watching a single leaf flip in the wind is what I enjoy. Scouting, setting up cams and woods walking is just as much a part of it for me. But every now and then "preperation meets opportunity". Only a true deer hunter will understand "why we hunt". I thank the Lord for being able to get out there!

 

[DeerCamp]

I ask, because I love deer hunting, but really can't say why. I love it if I don't get a deer at all. I love the venison sure, but I don't think that's why I do it. I think I just love being in the woods. I just like being there. I also love drinking a Coke at the deer cooler with my neighbors. There's something special about it. I just don't know what it is.

Outdoors. Nature. Quiet. Food.

 

[deerhunter10]

Hunting is my hobby as said above I dont do anything else. I am obsessed with it.

 

[Don'tDrinkTinks]

Nothing better than a bourbon around a deer camp fire

 

[tn24]

It's fun.

 

[Wooden Arrow]

hunter/gatherer till death. food i bring home is best for my soul. whether i kill or not is irrelevent, i have to hunt, this is not optional, it won't be voted on.

 

[Brushwhacker]

Well said

Perfectly said . I spend everyday in woods working . Nothing like it . I don't care if every deer died I would still hunt . It's just the enjoyment being out in gods world. Grew up in the time when there was no deer in my area . We hunted squirrels, rabbits and coons at night . I feel just as at home in woods as in living room my house .

 

[BPhunter]

Other than filling the freezer with healthy food(deer, elk, antelope), me and 2 of my sons get to bond for a whole 10 days. It's always fun, rain or shine and always cool temps.

 

[MUP]

I could list a litany of things I like about hunting, especially all of the aspects of being in Nature. But if I distill it all down to my core feelings about hunting, it is that it makes me feel Human. Not Human in today's world, but Human at my basic core level. It fulfills a deep-seated instinctive desire to hunt and gather. I really like picking berries. I really like growing my own food. But I especially like hunting for food. Again, I think it is scratching the instinctive itch to hunt and gather that is the core of what makes us a successful species.

This pretty much for me as well. I was actually thinking about this the other day, and the days that I used to go out when the temp was down into the single digits, just to hunt. There has to be some sort of desire in there to prove that you can still do it too.

 

[BSK]

This pretty much for me as well. I was actually thinking about this the other day, and the days that I used to go out when the temp was down into the single digits, just to hunt. There has to be some sort of desire in there to prove that you can still do it too.

That's why my two older brothers and I still do our Death Hikes, even though we're in our 60s and 70s. Do we still have it?

 

[MUP]

That's why my two older brothers and I still do our Death Hikes, even though we're in our 60s and 70s. Do we still have it?

I remember one hunt in particular that it was 12 degrees in the middle of the day, and I was determined to hunt that evening. I got to the mtn, no doubt colder up there, and started walking away from the truck, and the crunching ice as I walked was loud. I thought "what am I doing out here?!" But there was also this inner excitement that I was going to be out in it, so I kept on till I got to my stand. The ladder was covered with ice, but I slowly made my way up and got sit down. I stayed way past legal shooting light, bc there was a skiff of snow on the ground, and a full moon, and I didn't have a watch or a phone with me, so I was fooled by the actual time being later than I thought. When I got ready to come down, my rifle was frozen to my bibs, and I had icicles hanging from my eye brows! Got back to the truck and saw my face in the rear view mirror as I got in, and had to grin! Just a feeling of raw accomplishment I suppose! Oh, and didn't see the first deer!

 

[BSK]

And you patted yourself on the back and said, "I've still got it!" :p

 

[BPhunter]

That's why my two older brothers and I still do our Death Hikes, even though we're in our 60s and 70s. Do we still have it?

You do. just turned 78 and still doing it and with joy.

 

[MUP]

And you patted yourself on the back and said, "I've still got it!" :p

LOL I do remember a very satisfied feeling tho, as I drove out of the woods, hit the highway and headed home in the dark.

 

[buckbstr_1]

I have been hunting over 40yrs and still love the smell of the fall woods and the smell of a cold morning. Don't ask me why but I remember the smells from when I was young. Those smells take me back to my younger years. I do enjoy hunting in the coldest/snowiest weather. I can remember a lot of those hunts. Most of those hunts I do not see a thing. I just enjoy sitting there in the outdoors. It is amazing how quiet the woods can be after a good snow.

 

[BSK]

I have been hunting over 40yrs and still love the smell of the fall woods and the smell of a cold morning. Don't ask me why but I remember the smells from when I was young. Those smells take me back to my younger years.

To this day, the smell of fall leaves is one of my favorite smells. I pack all of my hunting gear into airtight containers along with a layer of dead fallen leaves. The smell of them permeates the clothes, and I love putting them on.

It is amazing how quiet the woods can be after a good snow.

I've only had the chance in hunt while it was snowing a few times. But the sound of the woods - or should I say "lack there of" - is unique.

 

[Atchman2]

Oh!!! I also really like collecting cards from deer cams. That's like Christmas morning. Even if I never actually see that monster buck that casually passed by at 2AM.

I agree. Sometimes pulling those camera cards is more fun than hunting. Now that I have these cellular cameras, I can't wait to wake up everyday and see what is on them. Deer, coyotes, the hated BEARS, bobcats, domestic animals and hogs are almost a daily viewing on my cameras. So much fun!

 

[BSK]

I agree. Sometimes pulling those camera cards is more fun than hunting.

There is "camera season" and there is "hunting season." For me, "hunting season" last a couple of weeks, but "camera season" last 6 months! I love both, I but I think I like camera season more!

 

[Trapper John]

I can't add much to what has already been said. I'm just "supposed" to be out there. I would feel like less if I didn't go at least a few times a year.

 

[Chiflyguy]

I like sitting in the woods before sunrise and watching the earth wake up.
We get to see things many don't.
Also, I like eating them.

 

[DMD]

Never are my senses more alive than on a cold, crisp November morning, the smell of fall leaves in the air, and the sound of crows "cawing" in the background. And all of a sudden, the sound of crunching leaves. There is nothing else can make you feel alive like that. I can't explain it all, I just know I was made for it.

And, I'm different then most - I don't like fishing, or turkey hunting, or pretty much any other hunting (though I would like to elk hunt and bear hunt). But, only deer hunting makes me feel so alive.