Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: customcrester on January 25, 2011, 07:49:00 PM
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Went out hunting tonight behind the house after work because this saturday is the end of deer season here in S.E PA and i have a doe tag to try to fill.Just before dark 3 deer (2 button buck and 1 doe i think)walked right in front of me at 15 yards. I just sat in my blind and watched them for awile and had to almost talk myself into shooting one of them.When i did decide to try and shoot the doe one of the button bucks saw me move to raise my bow and all three deer ran away.I just sat there and smiled and was kind of glad they ran off before i shot.I think i may be loosing my desire to kill.I did shoot a nice old 6 point buck and a nice size doe this year so far and i have to admit i do have much more interest in hunting and shooting bucks,maybe that is all it is.....I HOPE! :banghead:
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Nothing wrong with that Tim. Enjoy whatever you want while out in the woods, be it hunting and killing or just blending in. Go with what feels right!
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I don't know what to say Brother---Hmmmmm
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Totally normal in my books. You're still the top of the food chain so it's naturally in you...just not in the mood that day, and that's OK!
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With two deer for the year, you are just not hungry. Taking a deer was not something you needed.
There is no audience when we are out there alone...or perhaps we are never alone...regardless, our actions say alot if there is no one watching.
I love the part about the "smile".
Next August, when you feel the first cool air one foggy morning...you`ll feel differently.
You just gotta love hearing the story of a true hunter!!! :thumbsup:
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Nothing wrong with that sometimes it's just nice to sit in the woods and enjoy being close to the animals.
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I know I'm loosing my desire to kill. I also hunt some behind my house. This season I passed on deer that in the past I would have easily shot. In fact, I found myself giving names to some of the deer I passed on the stand. I started questioning my sanity! I was expressing my feelings at work one day and the guys said that I just needed a group hug so about 5 guys hugged me! LOL. Then one guy said that maybe I'm just turnng into a trophy hunter; well, maybe, but I doubt it. What I really think is that as you get older (I'm 58) the desire to kill lessens and you just appreciate being out in the woods more.
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I don't think I have ever had a 'desire to kill'. It is what's gotta' happen for the rest to take place. It is natural to pass on an animal-the movement you made may have been intentional to get you off the hook?
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When I go hunting, Killing is the last thing I think of. I don't go out to kill anything, I go because I enjoy the time with nature. Call it spiritual, genetics, or just plan old outdoors woodsmen-ship.
If everything feels right and comes in to range then I think about taking a shot. It takes a lot to drop the string on a Life Animal and I want to be 100% sure that is what I want to do..
I'm just as happy not shooting an Animal as I am Shooting one.. If Your coming to a point that You don't feel like taking a life, Then Enjoy just doing Traditional Archery or 3-D shoots. What ever it may be I wish You the best...
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I don't think I ever have a 'desire' to kill. I love to harvest deer. I eat them, so I never feel any regret taking a deer. I also process all the meat myself at home.
I think there are only 2 things that ever really deter me from wanting to take a deer:
1: Thinking of the huge amount of work in fully processing a deer myself.
2: If the doe is in a fmaily group, with yearlings.
I use to never shoot a doe or either of the yearlings. However, I do now. The drag is easier, the meat is tastier, and there is a lot less trimming to do.
I may sound insensitive, but a good 70-90 pound yearling is the best eating there is.
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Its good to here.All fellow tradgangers that chimed in above all understand what hunting is.The people who dont and arent happy if they dont get one or cant just enjoy going out are the ones that worry me and will probably never get it and or be happy.Good job to you Customcrester,maybe that old girl will throw a fawn that will be ahuge buck someday this year.
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Thanks guys, i think all of you have good points and i feel the same in alot of ways.I think i am at the point that alot of things have to be right for me to want to take a life.I love to hunt and i love to share what i kill with my family and friends but i think i am taking the taking of an amimals life more seriously and i sometimes just rather watch them go about their daily lives.
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I have let a number of deer pass this year, I don't feel the need to harvest a deer just to say I got another. Most of the time the best part of a hunt is just knowing you were in the right place and could have if you wanted to.
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I just see it as the ebb-flow of life.
Sometimes it's there, sometimes we're just there to witness.
Nothing in life is permanent so I quit giving thought to those "phases".
I posted in mid Oct here about wanting a meat doe but being on some antibiotics that made me feel lousy sick and dizzy, I just couldn't make myself shoot a easy shot--my first from a ground blind.
Things all have to be in harmony... and I'm not as driven at 62 as I was, but I still would rather eat venison than anything else...but if I don't kill it, I don't get to grill it.
Still just let it slide. Seems 4 me, life has to be all in order...then the "instinct" surfaces, but when things are a wee bit un-settled, or all systems aren't go...it's just not there.
Wait till next year! Then you'll know! :)
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If it was only about the kill you'd be hunting with a 300 win mag or even worse a compound. Traditional archery is not always about the kill...there is an inherent appreciation for wildlife that comes with it...I'm 57...been hunting for over forty years ; still I might have a hard time passing up the RIGHT shot at a big bull elk...something to think about though.....
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I think everyone is "right"
I find it easy to watch a lot more than I did when I was in my 20's-40's. I have to admit I have become a bit of a "trophy" hunter. But that is likely because I can....
On the other hand, do not put me in a hot corner in a hot dove field.... the killer really comes out.
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No worries....I've passed on more deer in the last 4 years than I ever dreamed I would....been helping someone manage a property and took two bucks off off it...one nice ten and a freak buck...still haven't told the story or posted pics of the freak..
Also, I have a hard time shooting a doe off our family propety, or young bucks...but did manage to get a buck 4 feet from a friend of mine and I had him set up on the ground....the biggest buck he's ever seen. That was cool.
I spend most of the bowseason in the Cohutta Wilderness chasing bears.....what a challenge that is and I LOVE the country.
I don't pass on hogs though...cept when I was guiding Rob last year...he got his 1st...so that was cool.
Shoot what you want and when you want.....its your hunt.
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I have noticed the same thing the my last two deer seasons. I am 53 years old and killing 411 deer this season is not my priority anymore (slight exaggeration). I prefer to kill a trophy or two and then enjoy the doe hunts with no pressure on me to take one or not. Back in my 20's, 30's and 40's I never missed a single day of deer season. I missed weddings, funerals, parties, etc if they interfered with my time in the woods. Now, Christmas morning with the family is ok...I missed the last day of the season this year because of a funeral...its OK...I have reconciled it in my "book"
I get a huge bit of pleasure from taking deer with old rifles, recurves, etc...something I don't take to the woods every day. For instance I took one this year with my first rifle given to me by my dad, a Remington 742. It has only taken 3 deer before...about time for another deer. Love my recurve....its all about choices, as long as it's not a cross bow!
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I know exactly what you mean. I haven't killed a deer in 3 years and that is exactly how I've wanted it. I will admit that the last deer I killed was my personal largest deer and it seems that I do prefer to hold out for a nice buck but I have passed up several shots and I have honestly found myself planning not to shoot anything before I go.
Another twist: I bowhunted more this year than I have since I was in college some 25 yrs ago and I seem to enjoy it more every time I go. It's a weird feeling but at times, I don't want to shoot a deer. Can't really explain it.
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Customcrester,
You got your head on straight. The older we get, the more we value life.
A man worth his salt wont take killing lightly, and killing is what we do.
Roger Rothar summed it up well. His words, borrowed or original went something like this.
"I dont hunt animals to kill them. I kill animals because I hunt them".
I taught my own daughter to love the outdoors and when she decided that she wanted to hunt with me, I made sure she knew just how hard it is for the animals we hunt to survive the elements, predators and sickness. She knew how they were bred, born, played procreated and and how they died from sickness, old age, cars, hunters bullets and yes arrows.
She went to the woods as a hunter with as much respect for the animals she hunted as a desire to kill them.
I hope every hunter gets to the point where he or she can breath a sigh of relief when the animals we pursue pass buy without result.
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That's why they call it hunting and not killing...it's your choice. I'm not a trophy hunter by any means, but I've passed on many deer. when I need meat I shoot and when I don't, I don't... I've respected every animal that i have ever shot, and have told my boys that if the time ever comes that you don't feel a little remorse for having taken a life, then it's time to hang up the bow.
Good luck in your journeys!
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Maybe it's loosing the desire to track, tag, drag, gut, skin, cut, and process. Just sayin. . . .
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The wheelbow guys I hunt with think trad archery is crazy....it's so hard to KILL anything, they always say!
These guys are about 8-9 yrs younger than me (I'm 39) and they want to kill EVERYTHING. It's a bit much at times. I find myself more disinterested in their killing talk, the more I hunt with them, which is almost every week of deer season.
I derive far more pleasure from nature and watching animals up close (hunting) than shooting at them, which I've not yet become calmly proficient at......
Bruce I could have used you this dove season. I was in that hot corner and it was pure insanity. I could have used 3 of you! They were like locusts.....
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Customcrester,
Thanks for starting the thread. Some 35 or so years ago when I started hunting deer with a bow success was defined as putting something in the freezer. As time passed and my skills improved, going after the elusive bigger bucks became more of a passion. When set up for a particular buck, passing on does or smaller bucks seemed like part of the plan. I went from tree stands to ground hunting to up the challenge. One year I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time and took a massive 17 pointer. After that, I still found myself going to the woods, but passing on more and more shots. Not sure why taking a shot some days feels right, and on other days feels wrong. Is it age, experience, growing respect for the game? No one answer seems able to unlock the mystery for me. This past season I came home from many great hunts, but no harvest. But the time afield was not diminished. I saw more deer this year than any previous season, and followed one good buck for better than six weeks. I think success now is finding the right place and time and being able to do it consistently. Will I take another shot? Don't know. Maybe if the right deer comes along.
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The only time I recall having a true desire to kill was with some of my distant past run-ins with wild dogs.
The preparation, the strategising,the hunt, getting close, executing a nice shot and disecting a blood trail are my favorite parts.
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If you dont feel like killing dont kill. Only your preys lives depend on it.Youll be fine.
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i enjoy being in the woods. 'specially with bow in hand. on those occasions i go hunting, my goal is to make a good kill, and killing is the biggest part of what's on my mind. if i lose that desire to kill, then i'd be roving and not hunting. it's just a matter of goals and perspectives.
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Maybe since you alresdy took two deer, there really wasn't any need of taking another. I think that just makes good sense! We are deer hunters not deer killers. Need justifies the end.Good job! Gary. :clapper:
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I know where you're at brother,I haven't killed a deer in about 5 yrs,not because I couldn't but because i was looken for the right one ,buck or doe.The bowhunting fire burns as bright as it ever did an I still spent many hours an $$ on it but now it's more about nature an the experence of it...I think it's normal for whats it's worth.I still have friends that shoot anything that walks by but not for me anymore ...
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Some days I have no desire to kill a deer, or not enough of a desire, so I don't go. It could be early in the season, it could be after 4-5 days of hunting, or it could be at season's end.
I love to bowhunt. Killing what I've studied, planned, practiced, and prepared for is one of the objectives of each of my hunts. Of course most of the time I leave the hunt with other objectives met but without a deer and that is the routine. Even when an opportunity is about to occur it isn't just the kill that's on my mind. I wonder, will my set-up work, will the wind cooperate, will I be stealthy enough,and finally, will I make the correct decisions, and will my practice result in a quick kill and recovery.
This season I hunted only once after November 12th. I fully intended to hunt more and some days I was fully dressed, bow in hand, and stopped at the door. I realized, after two deer already in the bag I didn't want another. So I didn't go.
On Monday this week a group of 6 bucks (all small) and three does walked through the backyard about 50 yards away.
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Originally posted by pumatrax:
If it was only about the kill you'd be hunting with a 300 win mag or even worse a compound. ...
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I read an article many years ago that talked about how most people go through "stages" in their hunting career. When we are young or new to hunting we go through the "kill" stage. We want to harvest an animal every time out and measure our success on the number of kills. Then we move onto the "trophy" stage. We still want to take an animal but now the size of the rack is more important than the number of animals. Then finally we enter the "quality" stage. Now it is the quality of the hunt, quality of the people we hunt with and overall outdoor experience that counts most. Looking back I know that I have gone through the first two and now am in the the last stage myself. Obviously you have done the same. On another day with an empty freezer you may take that shot. Maybe not. We are all out there for our own enjoyment. I don't see anything wrong with your decision.
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“It’s not the quarry but the chase. It’s not the trophy but the race.”
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Nope.....nothing wrong with that. Like Hermon said, we all go through stages of maturing as a hunter.
Here is the 5 stages of a Hunter that Hermon touched on.
5 Stages of a Hunter
SHOOTER STAGE
The hunter talks about satisfaction with hunting being closely tied to being able to “get shooting.” Often the beginning duck hunter will relate he had an excellent day if he got in a lot of shooting. The beginning deer hunter will talk about the number of shooting opportunities. Missing game means little to hunters in this phase. A beginning hunter wants to pull the trigger and test the capability of his firearm or weapon. A hunter in this stage may be a dangerous hunting partner.
LIMITING OUT STAGE
A hunter still talks about satisfaction gained from shooting. But what seems more important is measuring success through the killing of game and the number of birds or animals shot. Limiting out, or filling a tag, is the absolute measure. Do not let your desire to limit out be stronger than the need for safe behavior at all times.
TROPHY STAGE
Satisfaction is described in terms of selectivity of game. A duck hunter might take only greenheads. A deer hunter looks for one special deer. A hunter might travel far to find a real trophy animal. Shooting opportunity and skills become less important.
METHOD STAGE
This hunter has all the special equipment. Hunting has become one of the most important things in his life. Satisfaction comes from the method that enables the hunter to take game. Taking game is important, but second to how it is taken. This hunter will study long and hard how best to pick a blind site, lay out decoys, and call in waterfowl. A deer hunter will go one on one with a white-tailed deer, studying sign, tracking, and the life habits of the deer. Often, the hunter will handicap himself by hunting only with black powder firearms or bow and arrow. Bagging game, or limiting, still is understood as being a necessary part of the hunt during this phase.
SPORTSMAN STAGE
As a hunter ages and after many years of hunting, he “mellows out.” Satisfaction now can be found in the total hunting experience. Being in the field, enjoying the company of friends and family, and seeing nature outweigh the need for taking game. Not all hunters go through all the stages, or go through them in that particular order. It is also possible for hunters who pursue several species of game to be in different stages with regard to each species. Some hunters feel that role models of good sportsmen, training, or reading books or magazines helped them pass more quickly through some stages.
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There is nothing wrong with feeling like that. It is not for everyone and I guess some people try it and change. My father in law did.
I don't think I ever will so if any of you need someone to hunt your spots PM me. I will do my best to help fill your freezer.LCH
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I understand many of the sentiments expressed here regarding killing. I found out for myself a long time ago that I did not enjoy killing anything. If it wasn't going on the table I felt that somehow by killing a creature just for sport I had disrespected something very fundamental about life. These are my own feelings.
I love to see and watch wildlife when hunting. I am not there to kill every legal animal I come across. I am there to be responsible for the meat on my table. Somehow that makes me feel that when I do take a life, there is a reason for it above my arrogance.
I love hunting and will never not be a hunter. Trad archery has brought back to me the fundamental reasons I love being out there and a lot of that has to do with respect.
Joshua
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jhg well said!
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The "5 stages of a hunter" thing is experienced by many - but not close to being universal. To suggest it is normal, natural, or inevitable is to suggest those not subscribing to it are not so. That would be wrong and smacks of elitism.
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Sometimes I sit and hunt and sometimes I just sit.
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Kevin-
Thanks for posting the steps that I was refering to. Much better put than I could remember. I always wanted to find that again and couldn't. Saved to my hard drive now...
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Wow I thought I was the only one that was going thru this and I am 54 years old! I actually gave up on hunting with firearms for over 10 years cause didn't want to shoot game anymore but I still loved being in the woods! Then I got into trad archery, love being in the woods with my longbows shooting stumps firing arrows at tree rats and I am hunting deer again! Haven't killed any game yet with my bow but sure have shot a lot of arrows in the woods! I did get a couple shots at does this fall, both misses and I saw lots of deer to me I had a fulfilling season! I think we Trad hunters are all alike, while we may like taking game we just enjoy all the aspects that Traditional Archery has to offer us!
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Just enjoy yourself
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I like this thread. Hunting is an ancient and primal rite of man, but at the same time I think it is something that must be respected. When you choose to kill an animal you should do so under a strict set of ethical rules, and you should always respect that you are taking another life.
The fact that you held back shows great respect for the hunt, instead of just killing because you had the chance to. I say bravo.
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I'd venture to say that the most ethical hunters I've met are the Trad Gang guys (and gals)...
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The worst part of hunting is killing...sounds weird but thats how i sum it up.I have killed many deer but have never enjoyed watching one die. Now dont get me wrong i love hunting deer and shooting a big buck, and occasionally a smaller one. Maybe these deer just didnt present a challlenge to you. I am sorry but shooting a yearling or doe is not very difficult. Matter of fact its pretty easy.I am not against it and occsionally take a doe for more meat, but eventually changing your mind set happens as a hunter matures. You just get that feeling and know when you want to kill, and when you dont.
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IT is sort of like the old Mounds/Almond Joy commercial - "Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't". In hunting, sometimes you want to take the shot and sometimes you don't. I think it is natural as we get older to savor the pursuit more than the kill. When younger, I was a member of the "If it flies, it dies" club and wanted a kill every time I stepped into the woods. Now, more often than not, I do not drop the string. I passed on 5 easy shots under 10 yards this season but still feel that I won the game knowing that I could have taken them. You made a good choice not to shoot when it just didn't seem right.
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Great thread. I am now out of the trophy stage and into the enjoying it all stage. My dad is 76 now and I watched him go through most of the stages. I vividly remember asking him when I was about 12 years old "Dad how come you never want to go shoot birds with me", holding onto my BB gun. He smiled and said "You'll understand when you get older." I also remember him telling me one day about ten years ago "Not really looking to kill one, I just like to be in the woods". Man I thought that was the weirdest statement I had ever heard at that time.
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it ebbbs and flows for me ... always has. I'd venture that I will always hunt, maybe not always drop the string.
Its being there amongst 'em that matters the most for me .
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It's OK, you have to do what you feel is right at the moment...because then it is right for you. You don't have to feel bad about it. I am 57 now and if I don't feel like shooting I don't either. I have passed up shots for a number of reasons, until later when I thought about it,I realized that at that moment, I didn't want to shoot that particular animal. I still had a great hunt because I was in the hills and some days I felt more like just enjoying that experience. It's all about balance in our lives and emotions. There's nothing wrong, because you are doing what you love to do and can adjust accordingly. You've killed two deer and you have your supply of meat in the freezer. Next year I'll bet the passion to take an animal returns, especially if you see a bruiser! Best to you!
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I have never had a desire to kill anything. My least favorite part of hunting is the "kill".
I eat meat, I'm grateful for the buck I took with my jack howard recurve this year and I look forward to hunting again next year and god willing the year after that...
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I'm pleased and honored to be among men and women who feel that the kill is the worst part of a hunt. I tell people that dont hunt (and some that do) that the worst thing to see is another creature lose it's life. It affects me deeply every time I participate in that end. I could even go so far as to say that a little bit of me goes with that animal. It's a trade I freely take, so I wont whine about it or make excuses, but I carry that sight and mixture of emotions every time I remember...and I do.
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Never did enjoy the killing part, But I love the venison, the hunt, my bows, the friends, getting in shape, shooting, preparation and all of the other things I do in the participating in the HUNT. I thank the lord for every animal he grants me to take and the ones I've missed. God Bless Don I love this group of fellow hunters
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I have sit in my ground blind and had deer walk past maybe 15 to 25 yards away,and just watch them. I guess at 62 I just do not fell the need to kill. I did get my buck this year but I guess I just enjoy watching them and fell close to nature. So do not fell bad or up sit it just fells good the watch and enjoy, at times.
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It's not always about the kill, for me it's the joy of being in the woods and having the oppurtunity to do something that I love to do, but if the freezer is not full LOOK OUT! :)