The folling is a excerpt from the book tracks by Donald c. Jackson.Not archery related but still a great read!(I dont hunt for sport.Rather i hunt because there is an acient urge within me which will not otherwise be addressed.Hunting is not fun.For me it runs deeper than that.Hunting is a response to an overwhelming calling and in hunting there is satisfaction and a confirmation of idenity.)Kinda how i feel.Why do you hunt???

The first deer I killed was when I was 45, with a compound bow - and it was one of the most surreal moments of my life... I was shaking like Barney Fife before the shot (the arrow was jiggling around on the rest!)... and I literally had to count the arrows left in my quiver to see if I really shot it... very hard to explain to non-hunters.  I've tried to explain it like this... when I'm hiking in the outdoors, I feel like an observer of God's creation(and that's a good thing), but when I'm hunting, I become part of the outdoors - part of the "circle of life", if you will.  Also in some ways... like the satisfaction obtained from growing one's own vegetable garden.

I heard a good quote... "I don't hunt to kill animals; but I kill animals because I hunt."

I hunt because it makes me feel more alive.

It is who I am.

I hunt because it is in our nature to be hunter's, only doing what's natural.

Because i'm not working or fishing?Is there something else we're supposed to be doing?Oh yeah goin to church.How'd i forget church.LOL.Great question.I bet this one goes on for a while.

I'm Hungry ! But it is truly part of my spirit to hunt.Without hunting I would be a freeken lunatic and committed to an institution for the mentally disturbed.  

Just had a conversation about this the other day when someone asked why I was just starting to hunt after never having done it in 35 years of my life.  Simple answer, because I don't want my infant son growing up to believe that all food comes from McStore.  

Whenever I finally retire and settle down in one spot for more than a few years, we'll probably have a small farm or at the very least a couple herd animals.  Nothing quite like a farm to instill work ethic, I know it sure worked for me even if it took 20yrs to sink in.

The best way I can tell how I feel about hunting is:


Hunting is in My Heart & Soul, With out it I'm a Empty Shell.

I hunt to Live and Live to Hunt.

Every time I have tried to answer this question over the past 30 years, the answer has always seemed contrite and rehearsed as I don't think I will ever be able to accurately describe what drives to want to hunt.
It falls somewhere between something primal inside me , a desire for freedom to do things my way and the chance to become a part of something much greater than myself, and that is something only nature, and the hunt can provide.

I've been hunting since i was three killed my first deer at 8 just something i live for every year

Because it is instinctual and I need it for mental and physical health.

"Why Do I Hunt?"..... That's like asking me why my heart beats. Because for me it's as natural as passin' gas! IMHO, there may be some who hunt for a "trophy". These are the competitive type. (They) follow many sports, ie. football or baseball and "need" to be part (if only in their mind) of a team. I think, for the most part, we are a group of lone wolves not afraid to call a nice day afield, without a kill, a grand time in Gods world.

... mike ...     ...

I hunt because I enjoy the feeling of being joined to the wild. watching the woods come alive in the morning,the sights,sounds,and smells of it all. It is easy to drift away
to primortal times with a stick & string in
hand.

Because......(you can fill in all the reasons since the dawn of time)

Hunting is one of my most favorite things In Life. I love the venison ( antelope, elk, moose, deer, buffalo, bear ), to name a few I have taken and enjoyed. The year long preparation, the friends, my bows and equipment. Just being out in wild. Can't say it all

I stopped shooting animals a couple of years ago, tho I still hunt every season.  I figure that I've gotten my share, and if I don't "need" the meat for myself or my family, why take a life.  I know I can do it. . . just don't need to.  If the day comes when I do need the meat, I'll go get it, but wanton killing just because you can isn't perfecting your skills, it's just greed.

I now hunt to out-smart them, keep my skills sharp, but don't need to kill.  Ain't hungry enough.

somes it up.  If I'm not hunting, I'm thinking about hunting,(except at work of course).

These days it's the only activity that makes me feel alive.

As a hunter I choose to be a part of nature rather than apart from it.