Hunting: I don't get it

[UpTheIrons]

When it comes to hunting from a stand, don't forget archery season. For those that think a stand near a feeder is "cheating," try it with a bow! I've missed more deer than I've taken with my bow, so it is no guarantee. Of course, that's why I hunt both archery and rifle season - so that I have the opportunity to fill my tags (and my freezer, I haven't bought meat at the store (except chicken) in 4 years).

There is certainly something to be said for the solitude, the stamina needed, and the patience. I love sitting in a bow stand in the dark 40 yards from the feeder. Right before it gets light, you can hear corn being crunched, and you have to be oh, so still, and oh, so patient as you wait for enough light to see what has wandered by that morning. Is it legal? Is it a buck? A doe? Several of each?

This year I had a gray fox walk right under my bow stand one morning. He stopped just after he went by and turned around looking for me. That was cool!

I also get a lot of thinking done out there, just listening to nature. Plus, nothing beats taking one of my kids along one afternoon and letting them watch the deer wander by. We are lucky enough to have a year-round lease near Fredericksburg, so we even go out and sit in the spring and summer when the babies are still spotty.

No, it isn't always about the kill. It is the camaraderie, the being away from the office/job/daily grind, the time with your family at the very edge of cellphone range and away from TV signals and the internet. It is watching nature unfold, like gemini said above.

And there isn't always a "guaranteed kill" just because you have a feeder set up. This last year was rough because there were so many acorns that the deer weren't coming out of the thick woods. I never saw a deer close to being in range during archery season. And it wasn't until the end of the late doe/spike season that I filled three of my remaining 4 tags.

If nothing else, find someone who is going hunting and tag along - even if it is with only a camera - just to see what you can see. Who knows, you may want to join the ranks of the hunters/huntresses among us. Even my wife, the confirmed San Antonio city girl, said that this year she may just have to go hunting and try to bag her first deer.

[Ropin]

I'm not a Native Texan. I grew up in PA, and hunted as soon as I turned 12 (legal age). Before that, I would go out with my dad and roam the woods or sit at the base of a tree while he hunted. I'm not ashamed to tell you that during all those years, we never killed a single deer. We also hunted squirrels, rabbits, grouse, turkey and the like, and we found more successes there. For us though, the kill wasn't ever the big deal. Every year, we would see countless animals, bit if we weren't sure of an effective and safe shot, the deer would pass on by. Herd management wasn't a huge issue either, because the Commonwealth had a program where if you left your land open to the public to hunt, the Game Commission folks would plant a certain number of native trees on your property every year; so we had a win/win/win. New growth trees, a place for our neighbors to hunt, and plenty of help with population control. I wish Texas had such a program. If anyone ever crossed the line and failed to respect the land or the wildlife or the law, well, our neighbor was a Conservation Officer. A quick mention was all it took.

Now, many of our passed on shots were passed on because another hunter was too close to the line of fire, but I wouldn't have changed a thing. (It was especially an issue on opening day--it's like a State holiday with numerous business closings, schools not in session, and any business that served food or offered any service a hunter might need would open way early in the morning...say 3am.)

I've not hunted deer since I moved here; I can't afford a lease, and all of my friends who have one are at their gun limits. However, it is to me a worthwhile pastime, and I fully support it. I buy a super combo every year, and pretty much just use it for doves and fishing, but if a chance comes up, I'm ready...and I like supporting the conservation efforts.

Sorry for the long-windedness...y'all got me all nostalgic.

[dsim]

Go hunting.... you'll get it.

[threoh8]

I don't "get" opera, chitterlings (chittlins to regular folks), bingo, New Beetles, American Idol, or knitting. That doesn't make them bad (except the chitterlings), and I don't ask people to defend them. It just means I don't do those things.

[A-R]

"when pigs fly!"

already happened .... where ya been?

didn't you hear that the "swine flu?"

[A-R]

I've only hunted once and used to believe much as the OP stated. But now that I've done it once, my mind is totally changed. It really is a worthwhile experience. As to the debate of "lured" hunts, feeders and such vs. "true hunting", I'll just say that throughout time man has developed newer, more sophisticated, more "devious" ways to kill his dinner. Is feeder hunting as "sporting"? Of course not. But as a rank amateur in November, I took two deer in 15 minutes that I never would've got any other way and I'm now hooked on hunting. So I see no problem with it.

Also, as TAM said, some of us ain't the "stalkin' " type. More power and Godspeed to those of you who are and who do. And I have no problem admitting you are more "real" or "natural" or "wild" or "manly" or any other description than I am sitting in a blind looking through a glass tube at a deer next to a feeder. And I in turn feel more "manly" than the tree-hugger who buys all his tofu burgers at Whole Foods. It's all relative. And I'm not judging anyone.

But, just remember that carrying a gun is not "real" self-defense either. The only sporting way to disarm an armed criminal is with your karate skills or the power of your mind. Me, I take a shortcut and carry a gun because my martial arts and mind-bending ain't what they used to be

[suthdj]

This may be a bit of an ignorant post, since I'm not a hunter, have never been hunting, and have never talked about hunting, therefore I know nothing about it except my own perceptions (mostly from TV and Gander Mountain displays), but I have some questions.

When I think of the word "hunting", I imagine a predator, creeping through the shadows, following the unsuspecting creature, waiting for the opportune moment and then pouncing on its prey. Hunting from deer blinds doesn't really seem like hunting to me. Seems like sitting in a box, seeing a deer and shooting it. Is all deer "hunting" done like this? Why is it so popular?

Again, these questions are my observations, please don't take it personally. I'd like to know what is so exciting about this sport.

I always called it Deer Ambushing.

[puma guy]

Simple question - simple answer. Venison Chicken Fried Steak!! I'll take it any way I can get it.

On types of hunts - if you don't manage the herd, it will attempt to manage its enviroment. Wildlife Management is as important in hunting as predator management. Without one or the other, you will have neither.

Doug

Right on , Laser Tex,
Maybe a few of you remember when shooting a legal deer (forked antler was the requirement) was almost like snipe hunting. In the 1960's TAMU (Texas A&M University for the un-enlightened) developed a means to erradicate the screw worm fly in Texas which was decimating the cattle industry. What does that have with deer you may ask. Well, the little screw worm lays its egg in any opening it can find in an animal's body. A wound, a nostril, an eye and it isn't particular as to species. The larve eat their way into the flesh making a home for more little screw worm flies to lay eggs and so on and so on until they've eaten all the animal flesh that's fit to eat. The animal then becomes buzzard bait and food for other fly species that like dead meat. Deer were decimated along with the cattle. The Aggies figured out how to sterilize male screw worm flies and released them by the millions all over Texas to find little girlie screw worm flies to hook up with. Let the little buggars breed to their heart's content they did, but no little screw worm larve hatched in all those deer and cattle. The ranchers do what ranchers do and sold their cattle and we ate them. Deer did what they do and they bred and prospered and multiplied and multiplied and they ate every thing they could reach until there wasn't anything left to eat. There weren't enough hunters to thin them out. With nothing to eat the die-offs were massive. Thus began the great Texas whitetail deer philposphy. Manage the herd! Hunting is how that's done. Don't even get me started on coyotes.

[Carry-a-Kimber]

Go hunting.... you'll get it.

Hunting, like fishing, for me is more about the bonds you make with friends and family during the hunt than the actual harvesting of game. I never had an issue with hunting but never really got it until my first hunt, it changed my entire outlook. I personally don't like stand hunting, I rather glass and stalk myself (walk, look for signs, listen for calls,etc.) mostly because I can't sit still in a stand for hours on end . However; if thats your bag and you don't mind waiting, around have at it. Just give it a try, its hard to explain.

PS: Backstrap is really hard to get ahold of if you don't hunt.

[puma guy]

Go hunting.... you'll get it.

Hunting, like fishing, for me is more about the bonds you make with friends and family during the hunt than the actual harvesting of game. I never had an issue with hunting but never really got it until my first hunt, it changed my entire outlook. I personally don't like stand hunting, I rather glass and stalk myself (walk, look for signs, listen for calls,etc.) mostly because I can't sit still in a stand for hours on end . However; if thats your bag and you don't mind waiting, around have at it. Just give it a try, its hard to explain.

PS: Backstrap is really hard to get ahold of if you don't hunt.

M-m-m-m-m, Yum Yum! Don't forget the tenders. I make sure I get them packaged separately

[UpTheIrons]

M-m-m-m-m, Yum Yum! Don't forget the tenders. I make sure I get them packaged separately

Those don't even make it to the freezer! They are first in the skillet/stove!