I'm not a hunter, but I want to be. The call to the woods is one that I cant shake. There is something in the complicated simplicity of it all that always makes me want more despite all the unsuccessful trips taken into the woods. I've yet to take anything with my bow.
I'm not a hunter, but I want to be. I want to be the guy at the campfire talking about how I've taken my fair share of deer and other game, but I can't abandon hunting with a simple stick and sting that most condemn as archaic and outdated. Those same people don't understand what a real hunt is I don't believe.
I'm not a hunter, but I want to be. I stay on the ground and prefer to have those close encounters that you can only get by being on their level regardless of the small number of times I've had them. Those that I've had are even more meaningful. When I walked right by three doe and started moving slowly past, they popped up and jumped over a few paces on the other side of some bushes wheezing at me. I wheezed back at them for what seemed like 30 minutes, but was more like 5. I could see them through the bushes looking around to see what I was.
I'm not a hunter, but I want to be. Sometimes I flirt with the idea of using all the new gear giving me the same edge that most others use, but as soon as that idea comes I feel the joyful expectation leave with it. Sometimes I wonder what it is I'm thinking standing out with my stick and string with sharp stick. I feel silly as if I don't have the slightest clue, but I move past that and keep slowly moving through the woods, my eyes scanning the woods intently looking for sign of my game, constantly being tricked by my little furry friend the squirrel.
I'm not a hunter, but I want to be. I will continue to hit the woods before the sun rises and stay as long as the old lady will allow. Maybe one day I will be able to send my arrow on its way hitting the mark and taking that first one, finally putting some blood on the bow. Until then, I will move quietly, silently through the woods with eyes open.

I like the way you reflect on your methods of hunting and the choices you have made.

I like that Truman quote Chad.

I guess that's pretty good from a poem standpoint, BUT you are a hunter, like it or not.  Maybe not a killer, but what you've described is a successful hunter in my book.

You are so, so wrong.
You ARE a hunter. In many ways more than many folks I know that have killed way more deer than I have.
You ARE a hunter. Hunting is the pursuit of game, not necessarily the taking of game.
You ARE a hunter. There are many folks I would not share a deer camp with due to lack of morals, or lack of ethics. You do not appear to be 'that guy'
You ARE a hunter. Your persistence and refusal to join the ranks of people who don't care how they fill their freezer is admirable.
Someday soon you will tell us your stories...because you ARE a hunter.

Well said Captain-my feelings also.

Too many folks think they have to kill something in order to be called a hunter.  It's good to see some believing otherwise.

BTW, I enjoyed your post John.

Cool post, but I agree with the others, you ARE a hunter!

Great post.  I need to post one that says:  "I'm not a killer, but I want to be..."

I tend to hunt a lot (and I mean a lot) but never can have the opportunity to shoot anything.  But that is my problem.

Again, great post.

trust me my friend you are a hunter. I hunted for 10 years before my first harvest of a bow deer, and 22 years before I had a gobbler on the ground. this is a true story. but I still drove on. God sometimes just knows who he can give such challenges to and who will never give up. your time will come. Poem was good though!

Sorry that you are surrounded by folks that condemn your methods. The folks I'm around respect my choice for greater limitations as I respect theirs, even if different from mine.

Sorry that you are surrounded by folks who don't know what a real hunt is.  The folks I know; compound guys, tree stand guys, ground hunters, camo  users, wool devotees, etc. know what a real hunt is. They engage in them daily.

Sorry that the ground is the only place you can have close encounters.

Every day of hunting is exactly the same, yet every day of hunting is just a little bit different.

To me your more of a hunter than most, including me! There's a stigma that comes with being a hunter that were a bunch of blood thirsty killers. to me killing is the one of the smallest parts of hunting, if I didn't enjoy the other 99% of hunting I would use a gun not a stick and string. Keep on and your day will come,  with commitment comes success!

Every time you go hunting your a hunter. Sometimes your a successfull hunter. sometimes not.

The hungry hunter remains determined to be fed.

Love it.  You are a hunter.  A friend recently said on our hunt-if it was easy it would be called killing, not hunting.  We are all hunters.  I feel so very fortunate being part of this family.

Thank you to all. I wrote this after last weekends hunting. I was thinking some of this in the woods. This has been a truly humbling experience that only makes me more eager to learn. I think this helps me become a better hunter.
This post was written when I was somewhat disheartens by yet another fruitless hunt. I do want this to be one of my main methods to feed my family in the future, as well as raising our own livestock, fishing, and having a bountiful garden. I want to develope these necessary skills so that I may pass them on to my kids as well.
Every time I go out into the woods I am blessed, sometimes with great encounters, other times with very meaningful reflections.

I don't know about the rest, but if I referred to my significant other as my old lady, I woild be able to hunt well with her boot up my a$$.

You sir, are a hunter by heart and soul. The hunt is not about the killing. It is about everything building up to that final moment when you let your arrow fly. It is not about all the animals you shoot, as much as those times you let down and watch your prey walk away knowing you could have made that shot.
Again, you are a hunter.