I like to kill stuff. I like to eat meat but more to the point I like to kill stuff. Hunting is about the pursuit and the kill for me.

I can remember a few days when I was bird hunting and weather would turn extremely cold, high biting winds, freezing spit, and not locating birds. Durn that gun got heavier the colder my toes became and several times I would have shot a meadow lark but I couldn't find one of them. Otherwise I have been ok enjoying the outdoors.

This describes me as well. I just enjoy being in the outdoors, have killed a lot of nice animals over the years and don't need to pull the trigger to enjoy hunting.

I'm somewhere between 1 and 3. Limiting never mattered to me. But I'm not real likely to let a good buck go very many times. I did it on one good buck this year because I had a better one on camera, and regretted it at soon as he was in the brush. Never saw the biggun.

I still think alot of guys put too much emphasis on managing for big horns, and that would take away some of the fun for me. But everybody is different, and enjoys it differently. But I don't like having to dissect every facet of a buck before I pull the trigger. I'm in the "If he gets you excited, shoot him" camp.

To answer the OP. If I don't get atleast a deer or 2 in the freezer, the season is not a success. Whether I get a buck or not doesn't on its own determine whether it was successful, but I put in too much time, work, and some money into hunting to not occasionally bring one home.

If I went fishing 20 times in a row, and didn't catch a fish, I'd have a hard time going the 21st time.

i think the "i just enjoy being out there" or "i don't have to kill something to have a good time" is a bit overused.

not saying that their aren't people like that, but I think people have been conditioned to feel they have to say that to be more PC ( just like the "i feel remorse for what I kill" and " re-iterating the point that they hunt for food")


I hunt because I get a rush from killing something. I get jacked up when i'm about to take my quarry.....be it a doe, buck, hog, etc. I get the same rush from guiding a hunter but the fact remains that something has to die to get me there.


I spend a lot of time out on ranches and I do enjoy "just being out there" but at that point its just that.....and not hunting. I do not feel the need to constantly chase that high like some do but that is the reason that I hunt. its the reason I fish too.

I like to kill. I understand this part of me and sleep well most nights.

If it were not for the hogs, I would probably be disappointed years that I don't kill a deer, but it doesn't bother me anymore when I don't, when I do it's the icing on the cake for that season.

At this point for me it's the time with nature, family and friends. But I do enjoy killing my quarry.

I bought a ranch so I would not have to put up with "lease" problems. That was 17 years ago and I consider myself very lucky..I have killed a deer (Buck or Doe) on opening day for 17 years. I have a nice 10 point mounted in my cabin, along with a blackbuck and an axis. The neighbor has game camera pictures of a black bear on his place.
The grandsons are still at phase 2 and that's O.K.
My biggest hunting disappointments were on leases with ridiculous rules and owners who were "day leasing" when I was not there. Been there, done that !

I'd like to see all of the folks who claim they "don't have to shoot something to enjoy hunting" to just go sit all season without a gun or bow.

I do it with a camera. Got lots of trophies and didn't kill a one. Don't get me wrong, I love to shoot a nice buck, but I get certain amount of satisfaction in getting a good image too.

haha, well that wouldn't be hunting now would it. i took mine with me every time from 2003 to 2014 and never pulled the trigger, watched tons of deer, just never saw anything i wanted to put on the wall or wasn't able to get a good shot with my bow.

Yes sir it is disappointing not to take a deer, especially if I have hunted for days and not see anything. If I don't shoot but am seeing some game that is a different story.

I only have 47acres but have deer and hogs and have owned it for the last 30yrs. i only take one deer a year but its enough for me and wife but i would take venison over the best beef and i hunt for the meat not the horns. That said i have no problem shooting a big buck but hunt for meat first and horns second and the fun of hunting a close third.

Reaching for the camera first is so going to give me heartburn one day.

Rifleman,

Me too brother. Me too.

That is why I have my camera setup on a tripod beside me where I can still get my rifle out the window for a shot if I need to.

I only have time for one or the other a lot of times.

That is why the binos go up immediately when I see a buck and make a quick judgement call to tell me what to do next. If I don't know the buck from TC pics, then the rifle goes up. If I know the buck from TC and he is on the shoot list, the rifle still goes up. If I know him and he is not a shooter, then I start taking pictures. 1 buck AR county and I have tagged out, then I am taking pictures only.

My father and I have both had heartburn because of this exact thing

To answer passthru, just because I have a gun or bow doesn't mean that I am going to shoot or have to shoot. I have gone many years without killing a trophy and didn't always get them on camera but every year I had opportunities at a trophy, just elected not to shoot. Sometimes it is more about the anticipation than the finality. Different deer and different moods determine the outcome, not my need to kill something.

It's rare that I have time for binoculars too. Camera sits in my lap and on.

I cannot come on here and say that the hunts where I have been unsuccessful were just as enjoyable as the ones where I have been successful. I hear people say that too - but I simply don't believe it. Not that I don't enjoy every time I go out, but I am hunting - not nature watching. I have been on several out of state/country trips - and it's just plain disappointing to come home empty handed after investing so much time, money, and sweat.

Now, with deer hunting on my own place, it's a little different. I am very selective and don't need to shoot one every year, but I still am focused and trying hard to take a good mature deer. Yet, sometimes I will pass a good deer up. It's complicated I guess.

And, yes, the camera has played a big role in saving several deer's lives.