The "need" to kill...

[bowhunter1023]

things have really changed since I was young and it was kill everything that ran past, I'm not saying it was wrong, it was just the way things were done back then in our neck of the woods.

I can relate to that Tad as we are from very similar areas. I know of a few camps who still operate like that. The thing that cracks me up is most of those guys bowhunt TOO, then take place in the slaughter every time there is a gun season in. When I started hunting, it was with a gun. We sit in the morning, do a drive, eat lunch, do another drive or 2-3, then still hunt or sit until dark when we gun hunt. I like to drive deer and have learned a good bit about it over the years. But simply put, it is just killing. There's not much "hunting" to it when it comes to being a stander.

I always had the same "that's it" feeling after pulling the trigger and watching the animal flop around on the ground while its nervous system shuts down. I never felt bad about it but it is a different feeling then shooting a deer in a tree stand in the fall with a bow.

That is the feeling I was describing. Typically when I shoot something, it felt like I'd completed any other chore. What I have noticed with my bow kills now that I have become much more selective is that I feel a deeper connection to the animal. When I shoot a deer with a bow, there was a process and method to my selection. I CHOSE to kill that deer in a much more intimate manner. Unless you've ever done it, it is hard to explain but I know nearly all of you know what I am saying. There's just something about killing a deer with a bow and arrow that has a much deeper connection to me than simply pulling the trigger on a gun...

 

[hickslawns]

That is the feeling I was describing. Typically when I shoot something, it felt like I'd completed any other chore. What I have noticed with my bow kills now that I have become much more selective is that I feel a deeper connection to the animal. When I shoot a deer with a bow, there was a process and method to my selection. I CHOSE to kill that deer in a much more intimate manner. Unless you've ever done it, it is hard to explain but I know nearly all of you know what I am saying. There's just something about killing a deer with a bow and arrow that has a much deeper connection to me than simply pulling the trigger on a gun...

Nobody is knocking gun hunting from what I hear and this is not my intent either. Just agree with you 100% here. It is more rewording to me to use my bow and arrow.

I can relate to ArcherTL in regards to his trapping experience. When my freezer is empty, I will admit to turning the emotions off a bit. Pick out a nice doe, draw my bow back, and completing a job. Sort of like splitting firewood, mowing the lawn, filling the dishwasher, or giving the dog a bath. It is just something which has to be done. Curious if I am alone on this one? It isn't that I don't respect the animal. Sometimes it is just something I need to do. i don't have near the years in some of you do. This is my sixth year deer hunting. Even in this short time though, I can see some change in my mindset from first season to this season. Two years ago I wanted to fill all my tags. Last year I wanted to fill what was needed to fill our freezer. This year will be no different. I am not sure when or how the feelings of being a good steward of the land came in to play, but I have noticed this change in the last couple years. I look forward to being in some of your shoes down the road. I look forward to looking back and saying "Ya know, 20 years ago my mindset was xyz. Now I am. . . . " I guess this is the maturation process as a hunter some of you are referring to.

 

[Lundy]

From someone who has killed his share of deer with both a gun and a bow the feeling is the same for me, but that may be because I am a bowhunter that uses a gun. The tool used to kill is such a small part of the hunt to me.

 

[Hoytmania]

I never started hunting till I was 19 years old. Started out with a crossbow hunting whitetails. Hunted four seasons before I killed my first deer. Never did much in the outdoors growing up with my father. We never had any guns in the house other than a BB gun, we lived in town so couldn't really use it to much either.

Once I got my first deer down it was game on. The next few years it I was filling as many tags as I could. Then my son started getting involved and that is probably what changed me the most. That made me realize what it was really about. Teaching him it was more about being in nature than killing a animal was crucial. Every hunt can be a successful hunt if you just enjoy yourself. I do get a sense of remorse and have the utmost respect for the animal when I do chose to take its life.

Now that I have a couple wall hangers on the wall I really enjoy taking other people out and trying to introduce them to what I cherish so much. I still enjoy filling the freezer and eating a nice juicy backstrap, and love the adrenaline rush when I see a big mature buck roaming in the woods, but it is more about enjoying Gods wonderful creation.