Thread: Why we hunt.

Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

Nice one mate, gotta be a great feeling seeing the next generation taking those first steps and planting the seed for what will become a lifetime obsession.
Its a great question to ask yourself also, why do I hunt? For me its also not about a bloodlust, nor is it only about the meat on the table. I was thinking about this very thing last week as I drove to the west coast for our Tahr trip, I was also making a bit of a video for my other halfs parents in Uruguay to watch so I was speaking my second language and having to put a lot of thought into what I was saying to try and convey my message in the correct light. For me its a whole combination of things that add up to create what it is I feel I NEED to do, its a sense of identity - "I am a hunter"
I feel totally at peace when I am hunting, I have a very high stress job that can sometimes swallow up large parts of my life, but when I have my boots on its like nothing else matters, I can relax (although some would say that freezing your ass off in the snow and rain on top of a westland mountain you just climbed with a half buggered knee isn't really relaxing) I like the knowledge that I have pitted myself against nature, and discovered my limits.
For me its not just about pulling the trigger, in fact I take a great deal of enjoyment out of just being out in the hills and as I hunt more and more, I really enjoy being able to see animals, watch them, and carry on without having to shoot everything I see, which I think is what a lot of people may think we do? I think that makes me a better hunter as just sitting and watching I have learnt ten thousand times more than I ever would have just bombing up hillsides. Now when I go out I set myself goals, challenges, and limits, and I really enjoy that.
Anyway, bunch of mumbo-jumbo there for y'all, I think a lot of the reason why I hunt are feelings that are really hard to put into words.

Totally agree with you Ryan, I started hunting only 4 years ago at the age of 55, done decades of tramping and mountaineering, but it got me off the beaten track
and I had to go 'bush' for the first time in my life........haven't looked back.......absolutely love it.....