What I love & hate about hunting

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DennisCA

New member
(it's not what you think so keep reading)
First what I love about hunting: Opening day-i mean any opening day, be it small game or big game (heck i get excited about opening day of fishing season). Maybe it's anticipating of not hunting all year or being back in woods. Maybe it's sites, sounds and smells of woods. I can't really explain it but for all you hunters out there; you know what I am talking about! I try to explain it to my non-hunting friends (yes it's true-I have some non-hunting friends) and they look at me like I have lost my mind.
Now what I hate about hunting: Last day of the season, (I really dislike talking about this part) it's kind of depressing actually. Knowing that once you walk out of the woods, that's it. Normally I seem to pause more to take it all in, one more time. It seems the older I get - appreciate more the time I spend in the woods.
That's my thoughts - let's hear yours
 
There's no reason you can't be in the woods out of season. Take up something like hiking, photography or preseason scouting.
 
But,about any time,anywhere,you can close your eyes and float back to your happy place.Get good at remembering that rooster pheasant flush,or the thump in the rod after a hook set.

Another useful skill,planning the next trip.Maps,boots,sharpening the knife...

And then there is re-telling the stories among the friends.

You might even have some pix or a trophy...

Don't leave without filling the magazines of your imagination.

Its like enjoying the ripe tomatoes,but can some for winter.

And think about that hot shower.
 
Some people say that they like going into the woods for a period of time to "rough it", -- I've always thought of it as going into the woods to "smooth it!"
 
What I love: Being there. Does not matter if I'm doing a backpack trip for elk in Colorado or sleeping in the back of my truck deer hunting in California, I love being there. Does not matter if I hunting in a boat in blind on some exclusive duck club or racing to get to a spot on the refuge, I just love being there. Having a good friend or one of my sons with me just makes it better too.

What I hate: There just isn't anything I can honestly say I hate. I did not like all the meat bee's while skinning my son's buck this year but we dealt with them and got the job done :D
 
Things I love about hunting. All the work getting ready for the season, the time spent with family and friends.
I love sitting in the stand for the magic moments at daybreak and sunset.
Watching all the work you put in payoff when you see a deer in the foodplot or on the ground after a shot is taken.
I love the excitement of seeing the first deer of the season .
I love to hear beagels jump a rabbit and run it with everything they have.
I love to hear the turkeys talk to each other.
I love the sound of backstraps hitting a hot grill.

Things I don't like about hunting.
Mosquitoes, they are particularly bad this season.
Wasp nests in deer stands and the preseason ritual of clearing them out. A close relative of this is yellow jacket nest while clearing trails although not as frequent as the wasp nests.
Briers:the area we hunt was clear cut a few years ago and you have to fight them every year clearing trails and shooting lanes and finding deer after the shot.
Idiots hunting on the lot next to us blowing grunt calls for 2-3 hours without stopping.
 
There's no reason you can't be in the woods out of season. Take up something like hiking, photography or preseason scouting.
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Funny you should say that. There are a lot of hunters I have noticed that talk about how hunting to them isn't the taking of game, but the experience of being out in the woods, enjoying nature, etc. The only thing is, they don't ever go out in the woods to enjoy nature unless they are there to take game.

Personally, I just like exploring. You can really get out and about out of season, see where the animals are living and what they are doing and not worry about distubing them and ruining the hunt.

Sometime back while exploring and clearing some brush, I found and open spring box that was several feet deep that was a real hazard (now surrounded by posts) that I would have hated to have fallen into while tracking or stalking in low light. Heck, I almost missed it in broad daylight. It's good to learn the terrain.
 
What I Like:

Having the only Snow Men in Elk Camp

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Companionship:

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The Rides:

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What I hate:

Grandkds growing up.
 
Opening weekend is my least favorite and I typically skip it. It’s always crowded and there’s a sense of mania as everyone tries to cover everywhere before someone else does.

I love going 2-3 weeks later and on non-holiday weekends when the hunting grounds are empty. Sure, the games a little wilder by that point but I enjoy a challenge.
 
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Things I like while hunting: Peace and quietness of the woods. Fresh smell of Autumn damp morning air. Slowing my pace down as to allow me time to observe what catches my attention. Its all entertaining no matter what. When I stop to taste a bit of coffee out of my thermos. For some unknown reason. It always smells and taste's a little bit better back in the woods.

Things I dislike while hunting: Other than the occasional trip I may encounter over a root or stick hidden from site covered by grass. For me there is no really down side to hunting. Whether I harvest an animal or not. "It's all good."

Looking out the window here. First snow of the Season is seen coming down as I write. Gee's I got to go get my hunting stuff together_:)
 
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You need to meet some experienced woods loafers. Maybe take a lesson or two. 95% of the woods experience is "being there".
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I enjoy the “being there” part. I just prefer to be there when nobody else is. I’m pretty solitary for most things and hunting and hiking is no exception; though I am looking forward to taking my son when he's older.

It’s different when you’re with a group. Some of the stillness is gone.
 
What I like is the test, physical, mental, equipment, and wildlife...
What I hate is the thought in the back of my mind...will my ticker hold tite for one more year.:(
 
I had serious, I mean serious, reservations about hunting after coming back from the big Sandbox. Skipped dove season entirely that year, which was a big deal to Pops, bcause He normally hosts a big opening weekend shoot at the farm, and evrybody, I mean everybody comes. The mayor, the Sheriff, all four of the school principles, everybody. And I couldn't bring myself to go to that.

Well deer season rolled around and I didn't even bother to buy tags. Three of my faternity brothers asked if we were still planning on going on our yearly hunting trip to my cabin, about an hour or so from where we're in school at, and, not wanting to disappoint them like I did Pops, I reluctantly agreed to go, but only to play guide.

So we went, and the first night we got there, we made a big fire, grilled steaks, and stayed up late into the night. My buddy badgered me into sitting in the stand with him the next morning, and I trudged out to the stand with him, hungover and cold, nursing a large thermos of coffee. W settled in and waited. And waited. Around 11 o'clock, we packed in and headed back to the cabin. As we were walking back, I realized I was content. I wasn't on edge, I wasn't evaluating terrain, I didn't feel naked without a gun, I was content and relaxed. That is what I love about hunting. The ability to totally immerse yourself into somthing for a few hours, and let the world slip away.
 
Thank You soldier

Your service keeps us all free to turkey hunt. Thank you for that. Now go buy a licence and hunt something.
 
I had the pleasure of a wyoming hunt last year this time (my first out west hunt). Our camp was 8 miles from the ranchers house, 4 gates and 3 lock and chains. The ranch is 300,000 acres and has everything from mountains to high prairie. Never in my wildest imagination did i expect the raw beauty that i encountered. The comaraderie in camp and the solitude of the hunt. That is what i love! Hated: 30 hours straight thru by myself (love that mountain dew and extra strength 5 hr energy).
 
I love the rush i get right before i squeeze the trigger, and the peace and quiet you only find in the woods. There's not much i hate about anything hunting related with one small furry exception..I HATE LOUD SQUIRRELS
 
What I love:

1) the peace and serenity of watching the woods come alive on an early crisp morning.

2) watching things in real life such as deer(bucks and does)/turkeys fighting for dominance in their herds/flocks or a buck making a scrape/rub or a doe tending a scrape rather then just seeing these things on TV.

3) the cat-n-mouse game of trying to out smart a dominant buck I've scouted for the season.

4) the successful feeling of grunting or rattling in a buck or calling in a big tom.

What I hate:

1) trespasser's

2) finding trash(namely beer cans) scattered in my hunting area...since I hunt mostly my own land, this is the reason for #1.

3) walking up to a downed animal I've shot and it's not dead.
 
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