Why Hunting

[efts34]

I had a good chat with my friend Andrew* regarding hunting in Africa. The discussion circled around, what is the main pulling force towards hunters returning to the hunting grounds (not limited to Africa) and I am sharing with you the response. "Philip, the trophy for me and the thing that keeps calling me back is the sunrise, the sunset, the sounds, the smell, the sun, the sky, the people, the animals and birds and insects. The chance to escape to a different place and different way of life that I crave.
The thrill of the hunt, the waking up and not knowing what is going to happen or what I'm going to see, the sweat and dust, the adrenaline and excitement, the disappointment and respect for the wildlife.
All of those things and more are what makes me want to return."
You can add your responses as well, and I will also share with you some of the responses I will get from the members of the family.

 

[Nyati]

Meeting old friends again, the food, Castle beer ...

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

The excitement of a trip, the whole expedition of it. Planning all the little details, drinking it all in, the senses all working overtime. And sleeping like a log when you hit the sack after the hot shower- I dont recall ever dreaming in camp.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I had a good chat with my friend Andrew* regarding hunting in Africa. The discussion circled around, what is the main pulling force towards hunters returning to the hunting grounds (not limited to Africa) and I am sharing with you the response. "Philip, the trophy for me and the thing that keeps calling me back is the sunrise, the sunset, the sounds, the smell, the sun, the sky, the people, the animals and birds and insects. The chance to escape to a different place and different way of life that I crave.
The thrill of the hunt, the waking up and not knowing what is going to happen or what I'm going to see, the sweat and dust, the adrenaline and excitement, the disappointment and respect for the wildlife.
All of those things and more are what makes me want to return."
You can add your responses as well, and I will also share with you some of the responses I will get from the members of the family. View attachment 385851View attachment 385852View attachment 385853View attachment 385854
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@Mafojani Safaris
I think you summed it up really well. To me hunting is more than taking the life of an animal it is the whole experience no matter whether it's the back 40 at home or an exotic hunt elsewhere it's the whole package. Up before dawn and experiencing a sunrise be it in Africa or a frost covered deer paddock is something to be savored add in the bonus of free range meat that you had to outwit to get, friends a nice fire at night and you start to get the picture
Bob

 

[Hank2211]

Mafojani, all that you say is correct and important.

For me, though, hunting touches something within me much deeper than these things, as important as they are.

Hunting is the participation in a ritual of survival which man has followed from the earliest days of his existence, knowing that it is a vital part of self-sufficiency for any human being in touch with their soul.

Hunting is about freedom. The freedom to (paraphrasing Ian Manning) carry a gun and hunt in good country. The freedom to look after oneself and provide for one's family.

Things that matter.

 

[dobber]

It calls my soul and i must answer the call

 

[Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy]

I hunt to be a part of nature, not just an observer

 

[VertigoBE]

One question I often get from non-hunters is: “why do you want to shoot animals”.

A much better writer than myself wrote about this: “I do not hunt to shoot, I shoot to have hunted”.

Most of the experiences of sight smell, etc that some have listed could be obtained without hunting. I agree with Hank that hunting is a spiritual experience, the ultimate pursuit of man in nature. Both getting to know nature, his place in it and himself. Very few activities humans do provide such a transformative experience.

V.

 

[Sika98k]

I am by no means a professional guide but I have taken a few newbies out on their first stalks after deer. Before starting out I have tried explaining to them that the animals we are going to hunt live here, in this forest,24/7,365 days a year. They know every inch of the forest. What we have to do is see them before they see us. Get into position for a safe shot and make a clean shot. When you watch a ferry at sea at full speed it creates a bit bow wave. As it approaches harbour speed is reduced and accordingly so is the bow wave. That’s how we go into the forest, walk a little, look a lot. We are merely guests for a couple of short hours.
somewhat simplistic but short and, I think, easy to understand.

 

[BeeMaa]

I've hunted turkey several times.
Never, taken one, but been within 20 yards on a few occasions.
It really gets my blood pumping.

The interaction with game is what does it for me.
I could "guide" for a friend hunting turkey and be perfectly happy.
Seeing and interacting with the game is what is amazing to me.

Pulling the trigger is part of the hunt and I love that as well.
Although, that is when the work begins.

 

[BourbonTrail]

Why I hunt - For me, it’s is a part of my heritage and culture. My family is from Appalachia, and aside from family and faith, there’s nothing that is more more central to our culture than hunting and being a part of nature. My grandfather had me hunting when I was still a toddler. Hunting isn’t something I do, it’s part of my identity.

 

[TXhunter65]

Don't know that I can add much that hasn't already been said or touched on but I'll try to put it in my own words.

Hunting is elemental, its something our species has done for hundreds of thousands of years. I understand most of us live in a time and place where its not necessary to hunt to procure food, and while many of us do enjoy the fruits of hunting I would venture most of us participate not only for the food but mostly for the fulfillment of something else...Its the something else that's hardest to put into words the nonhunting world can comprehend or even begin to understand.
Someone stated earlier you can experience the sights, sounds, smells, etc. without being afield with a gun in your hand, and you can, but for me its not the same. When I hunt those experiences are heightened as the interpretation of each is in a quest for the life of another animal and deciphering their meaning as you encounter them is the putting together of a puzzle leading to taking that life, and in some instances there is the possibility the hunter could become the hunted. Because most hunts do not end in the taking of a life it is these things that keep bringing us back again and again...its a heightened sense of belonging to a world we are more removed from than any other time in our existence. When were out there we're never alone...my father, my grandfathers, my uncles and even my grandmother are with me, they've all taught me things I use while in the woods and there are many times I'll see or smell something and I'm taken back to them.
When any predator especially humans walk in the woods its like throwing a pebble into a calm pond the ripples radiate outward in every direction alerting the entire forest. As hunters we minimize those ripples and as best we can belong to the forest. Its in these times we experience nature in a way the remainder of humanity never will. To get others to understand our obsession we have to teach them to calm the waters and be more than just a ripple.

P.S. The pebble/pond analogy is not my own but I cannot remember the authors name.