Thread: what makes a true hunter?

A "True hunter" is someone who hunts for the right reasons.
Who has a deep love and call for the wild places and creatures in them.
Who respects the wilderness.
Who respects the wild animals living in it.
Who respects their fellow hunter/tramper/fisherman/outdoorsman.
The hunter who carrys a packload of rubbish out of the hills even though it isnt his.
Who leaves huts clean and tidy and in better condition than he found them.
Who cuts bloody firewood!
A true hunter is a true bushman. Numbers or size of animals is irrelevant and if you are a true hunter they will come in time anyway.
...
In my opinion

To quote NIMROD, from the other pub:

"If you loved these hills like I do,
And you saw what I saw,
You'd cut some wood and sweep the floor, before you closed the door."

Originally Posted by tikka

My odd man was annal about this.
Respectful of his quarry, only kill what you eat unless it’s pest control. Quick clean deliberate kills not winging it and see what happens. Knowlage of the animals, the seasons and it environment. More time watching them interacting in nature than pulling the trigger on the first mother with a baby to stave to death.
All this takes time in the hills and there’s only so much you can read about to know it and a big one is learning off your mistakes.

my late father had an almost identical POV re duckshooting and i still to this day and to my last days with the gun will also adhere to what is written in this post.In the years ive hunted lake ellesmere Ive never taken large numbers of birds(ducks geese pigeons )..but hell ive got memories of mates places and wildlife that i could match with david attenborough 24/7/365.that place is utterly bloody fascinating.Iharvest what i can eat ,but also to treat firends who in a lot of cases have never tasted wild game .i even did it a a work do for my patients &their whanau-that went down a bloody treat -especially the hangi cooked duck goose breast and pigeon but best of all the canada goose sausage rolls -yes you read it right!!

Many man days in the field spent hunting in someones lifetime.....=.... True blue "volume hunter".

Well I'd say we're all born potential hunters. Just that most people move down a path that doesn't require them to hold onto and develop that skillset as others in their community do that job for them.

I studied zoology/ecology etc at varsity because I enjoyed being outdoors and had a genuine interest in learning about the natural world. But it was only when I started getting interested in fishing, then diving (spearfishing) and hunting that I started to feel like I could be in any of those environments and feel and understand what I was looking at. A scientist would just want to quantify it.

Early days I'd read up as much as I could but it was still a fair struggle trying to put it into practise. That would usually be about context. Being in a certain environment in certain weather conditions at a certain time of year, day, tide, whatever. It's pretty tricky to trawl through everything you've read and find the bit of information that is relevant to the moment and apply it. But the more time you put into exposing yourself to different situations, and thinking about what is in front of you, and building your 6th sense I think is what starts turning you from wanting to be a hunter into being a hunter.

Eventually you as you develop (or reawaken?) your 6th sense, it becomes so much easier to take on board tips and advice from books or talking to people, apply it against situations you've been in previously but were confused or unsure about then have that aha moment where that little piece of the puzzle clicks into place.

Really enjoy reading others stories, or being out with somebody who instantly sees something that you've never cottoned onto before. It's an endless journey....

What was the question again?

Originally Posted by Tahr

I think that the qualities of a true hunter are intrinsic rather than extrinsic. Its the stuff you can't see that is important.

Empathy for the quarry - you won't have that if you don't have it for your fellow man.

Unselfishness - putting others' first and taking delight from others' success and supporting them when they fall or fail.

Humility - Confidence without arrogance

Strength and courage - mental strength, not physical strength. Courage to keep going. Courage is fear walking.

Perspective - able to see all aspects of hunting and appreciate them. Able to approach hunting from many angles. Able to see the bigger picture.

Self awareness - and ability to reflect during the hunt and after the hunt.

And as for the things that we can see...Actions aligned with the above personal values.

I guess it just illustrates that we are all probably work in progress.

Thanks for putting this topic up Muzz.

I think this is a fantastic way of summarizing it Tahr. Very inspirational to us younger guys.
And I think kbrebs summed it up nicely aswell.

I agree with the vast majority of what had been said in this post, and I think it's a very thought provoking post so awesome to see the engagement in it.
I don't think I could add anything further to it. But what I could add is what a believe a hunter isn't in regards to our hobby/passion/livelihood/way of life.

A true hunter is not the kind of person who drives country roast night, spotlighting others paddocks, and then shooting a good stag and taking just the head. It's just blatant trespass, theft or whatever. Its having no regard for safety regarding the firearms code and no human decency. It is these guys however that will proudly display the head and fabricate a story to give along with it so make out they are in actual fact, a great hunter.
A true hunter does not after a hard days slogging on the hill, shoot over the fence of a game park or deer farm just so they dont go home empty handed.
A true hunter does not for fun, shoot road signs endangering other members of the public in doing so, just to get a feel for the recoil, those guys are dicks.

There are countless more things a true hunter of our sport does not do.

I for one believe I am a true hunter, for I will always think of the animal, think of others and respect the wilderness before I do myself.


The fact that you have not left an unfortunate disability stop you from following your hobby/passion, speaks volumes for your character. You sir, are a true hunter.

I assume some of you have come across this clip at some point, or seen some of his films... but I've always really loved this video as a summary of hunters. It doesn't match how I feel as a hunter 100%, but it does a pretty damn good job and certainly puts it across in a well spoken and respectful manner. Plus it's got some great footage...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL3gCr2Jr0U

Quadhunter260 it's not a piss poor post. Just do your research on where you can legally take your quad and keep on enjoying outdoor hunting etc.

Perhaps when you get towards the twilight years you may be quite please of what you have accomplished despite your disability.

They say these days that 10% of the hunters get 90% of the deer...If you could bundle all the 90 per centers together how many field man days would they do per year or in there lifetimes ?

Cheers Fullas if it wasnt for this forum and others like it here and overseas i wouldnt have done the hunts ive done already and met some great people and some possbily slightly dodgy ones 🤔😂😎

Most of these posts are about what makes person "true ".