With all the arguing that goes on about deer hunting and how the state should change to better hunters odds on killing big deer or whatever your argument is I figured I would start this thread so people can share what deer hunting truly is to them.

For me my deer hunting started in 1991. I saw 2 deer the whole season and killed 1 with my bow. It was a little 5 pointer but I was only 13. I've been addicted since then.

Deer hunting for me is not killing the biggest buck or the need to see deer every time I go. It's about my time in the woods away from every day life. It's for my time to slow down. I've killed several deer over the years and now I'm fortunate enough to take my children to let them experience God's country the way I did.

It seems like on this forum and others that people complain about not seeing enough deer or not seeing big bucks or whatever but maybe you should just enjoy the fact that you can go hunting. Make it about the experience instead of the kill. If you want the perfect hunts every time then hunt high fenced areas.

An intelligent post!

That is a refreshing attitude! Deer hunting to me is a big deal....but so is fishing....squirrel hunting.....work.......my wife and kids.....working out at the gym with my wife......coaching youth sports......lol...ect.....I look forward to it....hung some cams today and have been working on everything since June!

God bless

It was hanging out with my dad when I was younger and he would take me bow hunting and just sit under my tree and read a book. Memories I will think about the rest of my life. And adding new memories with my wife and am ready to make more and start new ones for my 2 boys that they will remember. I go hunting to see wildlife and deer I know it don't happen every time but that's why I go back the next day for the chance of seeing a big buck or 3 does if I hunt long and hard enough I will see something that makes me smile.
And good post by the way, thanks

Its a tradition for me, passing that along to my sons and daughters like my grandpa did to me. The natural high that you get with success that cannot be duplicated by any drug! There is just something magical about watching the sun come up on a nice crisp fall morning If I actually see a deer its a bonus.

Here I go again...breaking the mold.

The "reason" I deer hunt is the challenge of fooling the senses of a mature whitetail buck at close range on his home turf. Putting an arrow through one is icing on the cake.

I've never needed a hunting season as an excuse to get out and enjoy nature. There have been very few weeks since winter that I haven't spent at least a few hours in the field or on the water...enjoying nature.

I fully understand the concept though....as I enjoy traveling to hunt different places. On those hunts, I am taking in brand new sights, smells, sounds and experiences. The goal is still to get close to a mature representative of the species being hunted...but I do tend to take more time to "smell the roses" on such hunts.

To me deer hunting is hangin out with my dad and my buddy. See what this year brings as me and my bud don't talk anymore. Personally I am in favor of the long gun seasons as my dad does not bow hunt anymore and that is more time I cannot wait to spend time in the woods with my son as I did with my dad.

this. I enjoy all aspects of hunting and I make a point to "take it all in" but i'm out there for the ultimate challenge..connecting on mr. big dick

Deer hunting is my best opportunity to provide meat from the wild in a sustainable, efficient, and cost effective way. It celebrates God's bounty through nature and allows me to live "closer to the ground" even if I am sometimes in a tree

Not only can I enjoy the process, it helps me to be a responsible steward of God's gifts.

Hmmmm, uh, ok.....

I guess deer hunting is VERY DIFFERENT for you...

quote:
Originally posted by Parke:
the ultimate challenge..connecting on mr. big dick

I'm sure glad I don't share the woods with him. I would become the hunted

parke Really?

As an Indy firefighter I spend 1/3 of my life working at or near the ghetto. Gunshots, drama, stabbings and fires are common place. I cherish he time I can walk the woods, try to figure out the puzzle and use any legal weapon to take a big mature buck. I admit that I am an antler hunter. Do I take does? for sure...but I am looking for a nice big antlered mature deer to take.
I hunt a lot and spend a fair amount of money doing it.
To answer the question 'What does it mean to you?....Escape.

Really? You might want to re-think your post. I think I hear banjo music playing

How many inches does it take to make the "bone" and crockett club

Really???.... :rolleyes:

guess I set myself up. i'd probably do the same to a guy I didn't like. apologize for the profanity. that one may get me banned

As it should, by the agreement and rules.
And consider yourself warned on the profanity

Another classic example of too much the stestosteron run amuke.. Hang in there one day you will get it

Maybe after a short vacation

Deer Hunting means to me.....

* Watching the world wake/ go to bed from 20 feet up. It's beautiful in my perch. Most favorite time is when the leaves are just ready to let loose....weighted down with some dew from overnight.....and that first breeze in the morning with that little extra weight from the dew .... Gets them to release all at once. "Snowing" the air with yellow, orange and red all around me. Just awe inspiring. And I know it's deer that pulled me out there to see that.

* Having the rush of adrenaline when I lay eyes on a savy old buck. I know the odds are stacked in his favor....and I like to see if I can "crack his code" or figure out his "secret handshake". The challenge he brings to the table:....matched with the restraint from pulling the trigger it takes to grow him over the years..... The rewarding feeling in the end is tremendous.

* A chance to get away from people. I help people for a living, and I get great satisfaction from that....especially as I see them recover. Even though it brings satisfaction in helping them
.... It takes a toll on me, as it should. Deer hunting allows me to "have my time too" .... Sit in a quiet place and just hear and see my own breath, and feel my own heart beat. It helps keep me sane....and grounded.

* it's a sport that litterally is the definition of "you reap what you sew". I like the outcomes of things that have that motto in life.....and this deer hunting sport is the "peak" of that motto.

* It also means many conversations with others about the hunt afterwards that moved you in a way that is hard to put into words. It is a sport full of memories that move your soul....not just caught up in a dusty ribbon collection, or arenas of people cheering for you...... It's a personal experience that is unique to me:..and everyone else that touches this sport.

* It shows true fiber in who I am.... What work means to me, what fun means to me, what honesty and integrity means to me, and what being responsible in so many ways means to me . Everyone in life should deer hunt for one week....and then sit down and check off .... What did I learn (good and bad) about myself this week. Cause it will bring out both in you.... And either make you choose to be a better, same or worse person. Deer hunting "stretches" you..... If you choose to go down that path.

* it means to me "soul friends". The friends you make in this sport ie, land owners, hunting buddies, etc.... They are lifelong backboards made out of solid hickory. You connect with them like no other. I appreciate what this sport has taught me about "soul friends".

* this one may surprise you.... But I like how it brings out in others jealousy, anger, spite, vindictiveness, backstabbing, and angst when others are successful. For a person to become a better person.... They must first face the demons within themselves.....and trust me....this sport will bring that STRAIGHT to the surface in many. I like that in this sport you actually get to see first hand what a person does with those "demons" and how they choose to "exorcise" them to make themselves a better person.... Or embrace them only to grind their teeth at night as they fight inside themselves there willingness to embrace that crap. In the end....it usually makes us a better person in time as we "shed" those demons.....but this sport will bring you face to face with your most inner rotten dung you may cling to....and make you look in the mirror.....and that's a good thing. It just takes some a bit longer than others to "get it".

* I also love deer hunting for some things I can't explain either. The feeling of sitting in the cold, the feeling of letting one walk, the feeling of seeing that arrow strike true, the feeling of putting my foot out on that stand for the first time each year, the feeling of getting that bow to full draw, the feeling of finishing up installing a good treestand position, the feeling of seeing a buck chase a doe..... Etc, etc....electricity that flows through me....and no other places in time emit that in me. No explanation..... Nor do I want to really understand it all.... I just want to keep living it.

Just a few thoughts I had about this today.....

Deer hunting to me is really simple.

It's the time I get to connect with nature, enjoy the woods, spend time with family and friends, and maybe take a deer every now and again.

And that's enough for me......

Wow can't believe parke got jumped on for a joking comment. Besides a few like pav and dew u guys are some straight up squares

There are different sites....

My son reads this site almost daily as do other kids. It s nice as a parent to usually not have the stuff on here. Yeah I know he hears it at school yada yada.....

In the UP right now and when I can will post the answer to the original thread.

Bigbrow I'll take that as a compliment......

I read all the above posts.
API, Yours is an ALL TIMER on this site...STILL LAUGHING!

Seriously though,
I can't put into words like many on here have...what hunting means to me. But I can tell you this: When I go out there and climb in a stand in the woods and watch ANY deer make it's way through the woods without being bothered and not noticing me...Not many things in my life make me feel better, more relaxed...It's like a drug! I swear I don't need to kill it. I just enjoy beyond words watching such an awesome animal in it's home. Big bucks? Love them! Who doesn't? But a lot of times seeing them brings on stress. They are so much more aware/scared than the rest. I feel like I can't move when they are around. But I also feel like if I don't kill it, I've somehow come up short.
I just love the whole ritual of hunting.

What hunting means to me is being out with my dad and friends. All the things that God made in nature are things we need to enjoy. When people miss a deer most of the time they are angry, sad or even stressed, I do that sometimes, but just think when you miss one, that God made that amazing creature for a reason, so smile and say that God made that for me. Hunting is for fun so make it fun for yourself. SMILE