If it's just about the rack, and how many we can kill during the season, then where are we as hunters. I see on the hunting infomercials that it's all about pushing the sponsor's product and how many big bucks they can kill in a season. They must have a huge walk in freezer, not to mention a very large wall for the mounts.
I hung up my wheel bow because I found it to easy, after you tune the bow ,it's just point and shoot. Traditional hones your skill and hand eye coordination. Makes you grareful for your harvests. I have nothing against huge mounts but A doe is better than a buck in my humble opinion. Well my rant is over.
I love the traditional hunt. You and you alone have harvested your quary. no gizmo's, all you. :D
well i didnt hang up my compound because it was too easy,i hung it up because i feel im more proficient with a stick and string...im a headhunter till something else walks by...lol...i just love to hunt antlers or not i eat the crap out of deer meat...i and my family probaly go through 4 deer a year....and thats the whole deer just not loins and backstraps....i love to eat them and hunt them...its not the destination its the journey
Well I find a stickbow just as easy to kill something with as any other bow.Once you learn to shoot them all bows are the same as far as hunting goes.I hunt to kill stuff or I would not be going.I would take a camera instead of a bow if killing was not the reason I was there.Don't need to drag a bow around to go sightseeing. :biglaugh:
I think we go through seasons of life and kind of grow up as a hunter. When I started hunting it was all about the kill and getting as many as possible. Now it is more about the way I hunt and having a great time with friends and family.
A lot of stuff I agree with. I think you choose your weapon and that's what you hunt with. When I grew up there were no compounds. I can remember thinking, "yea, but he killed it with a rifle." Now it's, "yea, but he killed it with a compound." Until now I feel that my longbow is a more efficient weapon than a compound. The reason I don't switch back to a less efficient weapon is that a compound takes away all the fun. You don't have to shoot as much to be good. Last time I shot an arrow it was fun. Last time I shot an arrow and looked through a peep to find a pin and a target, I didn't see the most beautiful thing in archery - picking a spot and seeing that arrow hit it. I could go on but you get the point.
Bowmania
I still like to be successful but I like the preparation and practice before season, i like the whole package including the taking of game. After all why bother taking my bow if all I want to do is enjoy the outdoors.
If you are a TV host - it is all about the kill, the rack, the sponsor. This is the corporate "tradition" of hunting. The chase is reduced to stalking dollars. YOU must define how YOU hunt.
Enjoy your sport while you can :( . H
Its 'The Chase'....its all about 'The Chase'.
It would get old if the chase NEVER ended in a kill.
It would get old if the chase ALWAYS ended in a kill.
Its all about The Chase I'm telling ya! :readit:
:campfire: :campfire: :campfire:
QuoteOriginally posted by Blackhat:
I see on the hunting infomercials that it's all about pushing the sponsor's product and how many big bucks they can kill in a season.
Agreed! While I can admire large trophy game; that is not why I hunt. If I spend the day out and see nothing, I still had a great day.
The infomercials make me sick when no matter how bad the shot was; it is always annouced as "Great shot".
I'm right with you Terry. Sometimes I get them sometimes I don't but my heart lies with the chase.
I think Imhntn said it. I think we all go through seasons in life also. I can remember hanging around the local archery shop and having a contest to see who could kill the most deer and with what brand of bow.Many of those guys never even used the meat. they might find somone to use the meat sometimes and if they didnt they would just count it as a kill and leave it for the coyotes.I understand exactly what blackhat is saying and I also agree. T.V. has glamourized hunting IMO. I watch how people celebrate the kill of an animal bbd or smoked em and laughing and saying that that old buck went straight down.When he really spine shot the deer!! Im not saying that we shouldnt celebrate and get excited. Lord knows I still get all tore up if I make a kill,But for me there is also a paying respect and thanking the animal, I do this with just a silent prayer over the animal.. I know Im going to catch alot of heat from this reply but I just wanted to let the people know that feel the same way it is okay
I will say one more thing. I don't see traditional sponsors pushing the corporate hunt. :D H
Once I am at the point where I am more successful in my hunting the chase, and knowing you did it yourself will be such a rush.
Until then, it is a great excuse to walk in the woods before the sun comes up with a bow in my hand. Everything looks new, when you see the darkened outline of a blacktail eating clover in the predawn meadow, my heart races my vision gets more focused then any other time in my life. All I can do is watch because the Sun isn't up so I just kneel and watch him eat.
Bowhunting has given me back the awe of the natural world around me, working in the city sort of stole that from me for a while, but I have it and am passing it on to my boys.
It sickens me that people can just kill deer to hang their horns on the wall, I believe if your going to kill an animal you better use just about every part on its body for something useful and let nothing go to waste
It is about the voyage, not the destination. Time in the woods, time spent getting back in touch with your inner predator. Campfires with friends and family in hunting camp. Endless hours of practice and anticipation of the hunts to come. Killing something just starts the work. Those dang elk weigh a ton when there 4 miles from the truck. I love eating them though. It is all fun, all rewarding, even the work after the kill. I often find the kill to be almost anticlimactic once the animal is found. I always find myself a bit sad and thoughtful at having taken a life.
I call most of the whack and stack shows on these days"hunting porn". they disgust me. Not only are they just commercials for the sponsors but I suspect some dishonesty involved. Several times I have seen a arrow clearly penetrate only half way into a deers chest, but later a bloddy arrow is picked up off the ground and declared to be a pass through shot. Naturally the credit is given to the mechanical broadhead they were using. I have quit watching most huntig shows alltogether. I miss shows like The american Sportsman with folks like Fred Bear, Bing Crosby and Phil Harris, Guys that understood the simple pleasures of a day spent in the outdoors. I know there are some good shows out there. but most seem to be infomercials.
To kill is not success unless accompanied by the chase. Vance Bourjaily eloquently stated this interrelationship in his article "Hunting is Humane" in the February 15, 1964 issue of the Saturday Evening Post. "The two parts of the sequence must occur together, or there is no satisfaction. Killing, and this is generally misunderstood, is not pleasure at all if the challenge of hunting does not accompany it." Most will agree that the feeling of accomplishment, pride, satisfaction, and culmination of a truly successful hunt, is not the size or score of the animal harvested, but in the effort and energy expended in the pursuit! In fact, a truly successful hunt often times does not even include the killing of an animal. Robert Ruark summarized a short anecdotal quotation as follows: "There was a Russian school of acting which once maintained stoutly that a good tragic actor had to suffer. The same must be true of all hunters... The value of a trophy is computed directly in terms of personal investment in its acquisition." Theodore Roosevelt was also a student of the chase, as evidenced in the following quote: "Of course in hunting one must expect much hardship and repeated disappointment; and in many a camp, bad weather; lack of shelter; hunger; thirst, or ill success with game, renders the days and nights irksome and trying. Yet the hunter worthy of the name always willingly takes the bitter if by so doing he can get the sweet, and gladly balances failure and success, spurning the poorer souls who know neither."
Theodore Roosevelt described the past allure and the sportsman as follows: "In hunting, the finding and killing of the game is after all but a part of the whole. The free, self-reliant, adventurous life, with its rugged and stalwart democracy; the wild surroundings, the grand beauty of the scenery, the chance to study the ways and habits of the woodland creatures – all these unite to give the career of the wilderness hunter its peculiar charm."
Saxton Pope: "May the gods grant us all space to carry a sturdy bow and wander through the forest glades to seek the bounding deer; to lie in the deep meadow grasses; to watch the flight of birds; to smell the fragrance of burning leaves; to cast an upward glance at the unobserved beauty of the moon. May they give us the strength to draw the string to the cheek, the arrow to the barb and loose the flying shaft, so long as life may last."
What Terry said. If something is not challenging; I lose interest pretty quick. The kill is just a part of it and the older I get the less important it becomes. The kill is just a climax to the hunt; not the most important aspect.
Bob
QuoteOriginally posted by James Wrenn:
Well I find a stickbow just as easy to kill something with as any other bow.Once you learn to shoot them all bows are the same as far as hunting goes.I hunt to kill stuff or I would not be going.I would take a camera instead of a bow if killing was not the reason I was there.Don't need to drag a bow around to go sightseeing. :biglaugh:
Me too!
I've yet to make a kill but, every season I get out there and keep at it!
"It is all about the chase!" :thumbsup:
QuoteOriginally posted by imhntn:
I think we go through seasons of life and kind of grow up as a hunter. When I started hunting it was all about the kill and getting as many as possible. Now it is more about the way I hunt and having a great time with friends and family.
Couldn't have said it better Buddy.
There's more to your statement than many will ever know.
For me it is the whole experience......the anticipation, the preparation, the camaraderie, the fire, the food, and above all the stalk
to the final kill. Wow! Love it!! :campfire: :archer:
Naw it's not all about the kill but I do love shooting things with sharp pointy sticks!!
My three legged hog and I have been dancing around each other for the last couple of months and last night we did the tango for about two hours before he bested me(never did figure out who was sneaking who). Though I couldn't see him, I could sure hear him. Maybe 12' away in the dark shadows poppin' them jaws. Figured he was gonna bust out of there and show me whos woods I was in but he finaly trotted off.
If I had any plaque or any other kind of build up in my arteries or veins, I'm quiet sure it got blowed out last night the way my heart was pumpin!
If I ever put a shot on the ol' boy the above experience will have made the whole hunt even sweeter.
Im with Terry its the chase.
QuoteOriginally posted by stevemfwills:
well i didnt hang up my compound because it was too easy,i hung it up because i feel im more proficient with a stick and string...im a headhunter till something else walks by...lol...i just love to hunt antlers or not i eat the crap out of deer meat...i and my family probaly go through 4 deer a year....and thats the whole deer just not loins and backstraps....i love to eat them and hunt them...its not the destination its the journey
:thumbsup: well said. I feel about the same. I kill to eat more than anything. If I couldn't kill a supply with a trad bow I would get the compound out again. I have been known to use a gun to finish filling that freezer. I do love the chase. That is what keeps me hunting all I can all season, but I start to get nervous if I do a lot of hunting and no meat. That and the wife starts giving me the eye. She likes me to have a good time getting away, but wants to see some investment return, in the form of free range meat, on those licenses, arrows, bows,................
For me it's definitely not just about the rack. You know the old saying that "it's not about the destination, it's about the journey", or something like that? Well, I find that saying to be more true now than ever for me. Don't get me wrong, I want to take game. However, the process and everything that surrounds the hunt means just as much, if not more, than the kill. If killing were the only goal, there are far easier ways to do the killing. The spirit of hunting with archery tackle has become so diluted that only a razor thin line seperates some of our ranks from our gun toting hunting brothers.
Which brings me to another point...Why are we all falling into the trap of using the word "harvest" to describe our killing. It seems to me that the word harvest plays right into the "mounds of racks" philosphy of todays hunting culture. The disrespect shown most killed animals on the TV hunting shows is sickening to me. Harvest, sounds as though they are gathering handfulls of wheat or bushels of corn, rather than taking the life of an animal. By using that word, it almost condones the thoughtlessness with which these hero hunters do their killing. Lets call it what it is. We are killing animals. Nothing wrong with it. Nothing to defend. No need to soften or downplay what it is that is a part of our sport/lives. I love to hunt deer with traditional equipment and I love the processes and people surrounding that pursuit. No apologies. Killing is part of that equation, but the killing is not a part of every outing. Sometimes I choose not to kill, and sometimes I choose to take an animals life. My choice, when presented the opportunity. However, I never take lightly the killing of an animal, and I never forget to show respect for the life I take. For those who get Traditional Bowhunter Magazine, there is a good article by David Peterson on the last page of this month's issue called "Waiting to Kill".
Just my two cents.
Who was it that compared hunting to onion soup?
You can't call it onion soup without it, but an onion all by itself isn't soup.
Jeff,
Nicely put.
to me its not how big the rack is or if its gonna make the book or not.i have my own book that each one makes it into wheather it culminates in a kill or not.the chase is why i hunt,why i drag my tired body into the mountains every sept.the not knowing what is about to happen before my very eyes.i love the smells and sounds of a busy camp.the laughter and even the controversies that sometimes arise.i hunt for the unknown.i think the best times to me are when i get to create a new elkhunter by teaching someone everything i know about hunting them.the kill means nothing to me.i have taken my share of elk.its all about the scream of a bull and how close i can get to them.see you in september.
Is it "all about the kill"--no--Is it mostly about filling the tag, yes! I would not even own a bow if I couldn't hunt! Different strokes for different folks! I'm not a trophy hunter, but I must hunt!!!!!!
ElkNut1
If its just about the kill, then your really missing out.
Gilbert
Now that's what I'm talking about! :D The Journey is the thing. The cold, the heat, the no seeums, the rain, the trek through the woods. The knee deep mud. The heart in the throat moment,the release and the long moments before you know if you have made a good hit or a miss. Campfire's with friends. Seeing your kids and grankids take their first animal, either deer or squirrel, or what have you. These are the moments you live for, this is why you are a Traditional Hunter.
As was said at the beginning by Terry Green. The chase is the thing. :archer: :coffee:
I am with Terry,"The Chase". If every story I ever heard or told about hunting was only about the kill they would be pretty short stories,In fact I would personally only have about half the stories to tell.
I think if you read this thread it will give some good views on what we think about Traditional Archery
http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=087039#000000
I've been at it for more than 4 decades. I love to see mature antlered white-tail deer and I love even more to take them home with me --doesn't happen much. However, I've always gotten a huge kick out of the scouting and figuring things out (or not). I'm fortunate to be invited to hunt with some folks in big deer locations -- I rarely accept the invites though because I enjoy doing my own scouting. A scouting job that results in a high percentage shot is very satisfying to me.
It's supposed to be hard. That's why lots of us do it. Taking an animal is icing on the cake. I have as much fun stump shooting when not hunting as I do hunting (almost!). To me, it's not just about the killing, but as Terry put it so well, it's the Chase.
It's the whole thing, but bottom line is you can't eat a tag. So.... I guess killing is a bit necessary if you are hunting for meat. My kids and wife want me to bring home food and I need to greatly improve in that area.
I have been laughed at 3 times when I brought my Hill bow out. Once when I went pheasant hunting with my brother-in-laws, and I got the first kill of the day and they shut up. 2nd time when we went out for an early goose season here in Michigan, and 5 birds (2 on the fly and 3 once landed) later I had 6 other guys wondering how the hell I just did that (I am gratefull they let me shoot first), and the last time was out on Lake St. Clair, and at 20 yards I took the tail feathers off of a flying teal. All of this is in the last 5 years, now no one laughs, they all just want to watch. To me, it is just about being out there and having fun. There are days too that I have used every arrow in my quiver on deer coming thu, that after shooting the last one, I climbed down and went home. I took it as a sign to go to bed. LOL
Yukon Chuck said it best!!!! great post Charles
I am just happy when it all comes together.Buck or doe.I have never shot a wallhanger and I would be thrilled to but I consider myself fortunate just to walk out the door and bowhunt.I do however respect those who consistently shoot large mature animals.Those who do their homework.glen
Hunting is a part of me, down to my core. I have slowly moved from rifles to shotguns to muzzleloaders to compound bows...now the recurve for the first time this year. It is NOT about the kill for me, although the reason I hunt is to kill. The hard work I put in and my passion for bowhunting is what drives me into the woods. I absolutely love it! I have always been a pretty much loner hunter, enjoying the woods by my lonesome. But that is slowly changing as I age....I must give back to the woods by helping others in their endeavors. If I don't do as well in the woods each fall, yet I help others fulfill their goals, then I am a happy man.
Come on guys Your not a real man ( or woman ) or real hunter if you dont get a 140 + rack each and everytime you go out . Just look at all the shows and adds.
If it was just for the sport , or chase , or stalk , or meat then WHY DO WE HAVE ANTLER RESTRICTIONS ?????????. OH sorry don't forget that does are ONLY in the woods to be culled so we can get to the correct doe to buck ratio. So they are just there to be killed off.
Im so sick of todays mental attitude toward SHOOTING game NOT HUNTING .
QuoteOriginally posted by Ragnarok Forge:
It is about the voyage, not the destination.
One of my favorite philosophies.
Sometimes the journey leads to a kill. Some times it does not, but I am always out there eager to see what is over the next ridge or around the next corner of life.
Mankind has hunted throughout our existence in order to survive. Just like procreation and eating, we have been genetically programmed to enjoy the act because it gives us the increased motivation to engage in it more often and more vigorously to help us survive. Of course, the killing and eating of the meat of our prey is what originally drove the development of our biological sense of enjoyment, but even without the need to hunt, we have retained the pleasure of the activity. I intend to fulfill those ancient pleasures for as long as I am able, and I feel no shame in my predatory behavior.
Allan
I get a little frustrated when I read folks on here say that, "a mature hunter is one that does not care about JUST killing"... :(
Really?
Then why take a bow into the woods? Take a camera... :saywhat:
I want to fill every tag every year. If that makes me immature...I appologize.
I believe that a "mature hunter" is a person that learns, grows, and appreciates the experience; WHILE learning why he/she did not harvest then make every effort to improve his/her skills so that the next outting is a success and harvest is possible!! :banghead:
BUT, I still hunt this recurves/longbows because I enjoy the challenge and effort it takes to get that close. However I do not feel like I am effecient enough to hunt deer yet, and I DO NOT want to wound deer...so I wont till I get better and trust I will not miss as 6 yards for the third time (Yes...you read that right).
Anyway, YES...I am all about the KILL!! That is the pinnicle...but I dont turn away if it dosent happen.
:archer2:
I love the chase, I really love when the chase ends in a kill but even my most recent pursuit of a turkey in Kansas, was one my most memorable because of the way it came together, the opportunity to make the chase, learn the lay of the land, the way of the turkey and the ability to close the distance. It did not end in a kill but Wow! What an experience that I will cherish always...Terry was right, its all about the chase!
How many of us practice judging yardage throughout the day while we go about our everyday lives? Most of us can recognize twenty yards within a foot or two. We notice animal tracks wherever we go. We see a predator bird perched when nobody else does. Wind direction. Sunset...sunrise.
It`s within us, and killing is but a small part.
Surely if it was all about the kill I would have given up 40 or 50 years ago. Thankfully it's not for me anyway. I love all of it..walking in the woods, hiding in the bushes, climbing trees, sneaking up on animals, shooting arrows, sharpening broadheads. It goes on and on and what's not to like. But most of all it's the anticipation...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Iflytrout/DEER/greenwestrub9.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Iflytrout/DEER/monster1.jpg)
Terry, Bonebuster, & Hoyt hit it on the head. :thumbsup:
Larry
Nope, it's not about the kill for me at all, I also just love being in the woods doing something, be it hunting, fishing, scouting, hiking, bikibng or just plain tramping.
I am, by personal choice a "trophy hunter" I enjoy the added challenge of trying to take a mature animal or so called "trophy". Everything I have ever killed is a trophy to me, from the smallest to the biggest.
I agree, if you are hunting just to kill, your head is in the wrong place but is it just me, or does it seem like some people think it is "wrong" to trophy hunt???? If anything, it makes you less of a "destination" guy & more of a "journey" person to trophy hunt, I can assure you, I have done waaaaaaaaay more journeying than destinationing HAHA!!!!
What are your thoughts????
QuoteOriginally posted by Silent Bear:
It sickens me that people can just kill deer to hang their horns on the wall, I believe if your going to kill an animal you better use just about every part on its body for something useful and let nothing go to waste
Hear, hear! I'm taking my hunters exam this fall, and that will be the moral with which I enter the world of hunting. Anything less makes no sense to me!
There are a lot of reasons why I hunt. Basically, human evolution provided us with binocular vision, an upright posture, eye teeth and finger/toe nails - we've evolved to be omnivorous. To me, that means a salad with my steak. But it's important to me to take the responsibility to find, kill and dress out my own meat when I can. No respect is given to meat that you buy. Some guided hunts aren't much better.
Hunting traditionally means that I can become a part of the environment and experience the fullness of nature. Rifle hunting never includes a squirrel thinking you're a tree and deciding to climb you for some nuts (no pun intended!) or having a covey of quail walk right by you. It's the stillness I appreciate, the only time I can "turn off the internal dialog".
Bagging game is great when it happens and would happen more often if it was a necessity. For me, it really is the chase over the kill. I guess my reasoning may sound too esoteric but ....
Eddie Paulsgrove
The Chase, the Anticipation coming from that noise you just heard over there.... The lack of any REAL guarantee. You have a BIG job to do when things line up just so. It's so primal. I often think about the majority that don't hunt. It's so confusing, impossible to consider.
Last Fall was my first time on stand with bow in hand. I was worried that having deer close, but not "killable" (He's just behind that branch....)would be too frustrating. No way - I had 6 deer come in, got busted by a nice 8 Pt. and came out of the tree totally pumped. I won't sell all my guns, but some are on the block as the New Bow Bug is gnawing away. I'll try as long as possible to make meat with the bow this season, but may end up out with the gun as we (my wife and I ) both love the meat. Another thing I can see with the bow is I'll be out more to make it happen. What's the downside in that?
Everything about the chase is part of the hunt and the enjoyment and the reason I am out there. But if I wasn't out to kill every hunt if given the opportunity, I would carry a camera instead of a bow.
I love spending all year in preparation for what might be only one shot. The hours of shooting, modifying equipment, observing game movements, etc. It makes it so sweet when it all comes together...whether you close the deal or not. I'm by no means "old", but with all of todays advancements in equipment, I get an increasing amount of satisfaction by using what is so basic. I am definitely the odd ball in my hunting community and I like it that way. So no, it isn't all about the kill....but I do get lucky a lot.