Why I Hunt

  Why do I hunt? This is a question that, I believe, all hunters have heard. We have heard it from family members that do not hunt. We have heard it at parties where people that we don’t really know that well find out that we hunt and they want to confront us about our hunting activities.

  We have even heard it from ourselves when we have conversations with other hunters. 

  Some will say that all the men in my family have always hunted so I was born into it. Others will say that it is a way that I provide my family with food that isn’t store bought.

  Still others will say that it is something that I have always been interested in and discovered as I grew older.

  This is where I come in. I didn’t grow up in a hunting family. My dad hunted deer a little but nothing that the whole family got involved in. Actually where I grew up not many people hunted or even talked about hunting.

 I became interested in hunting when I was living in Florida. I got in with a few friends that were interested in hunting and that is when I got bitten by the bug for the sport.

  On one trip a buddy brought his dog, a Brittany, to the camp. This really interested me. I have always had an affinity for dogs and to see one that hunted really intrigued me. I picked my buddy’s brain over some beer and campfire smoke about the whole thing. What the dog did, how did the dog learn it, where do you go. All the common questions. Shortly after this trip that friend and his wife relocated. Then a short time after that my job moved my wife and I.

  Now I was in a new place and the only person I knew lived about three hours away. So when the invitation came in to visit my buddy for a quail hunt I jumped on it. My wife and I loaded up in the truck and headed out to see my friend and his wife. 

  In the interest of brevity I am going to say that we went hunting and the wives went shopping. At the end of the day I was hooked. We had a great time and I was amazed at the dogs performance.

  Not too long after this hunt my wife and I got a Brittany puppy. My friend and a couple of books helped me train her. She was a solid performer on quail and woodcock. She was fun to hunt with and definitely fueled the fire that was building.

  Since I owned that dog I have had a few dogs which include a new pup that is coming along great. 

  As the time goes by though I have discovered that actually taking a bird is not as important to me anymore as it once was. Don’t get me wrong I still love to put a bird in the bag. However it isn’t the only way that I measure a successful hunt.  

  More and more for me it is more about the experience. Taking a family member or a friend for the first time and watching that first bird go into the game bag. Seeing the excitement in his eyes that he was able to successfully  get that bird. Then reliving that hunt the next time we are all together and seeing that the excitement has not diminished.

  Also going to new places and meeting new people that have the same interests as you do. Telling a few stories and feeling like you have known these guys for years.

  Then comes the dogs. Getting him into birds and watching the instincts take over and the determination in his eyes. The way that when he starts to get birdy his whole demeanor changes. Then BAM, he slams the point and you get to put it all together for him. Every time he makes progress in the training is like a little victory.

  These are some of the reasons that I hunt. The dogs working hard and learning the game. The places that is takes you where you normally would not tread. The people that you meet and the memories mad over a common interest.

This is the one thing that I do that truly feels timeless and the pull of the uplands make it so I have to go.

So let me know why you hunt today. Share this with your friends and follow us now on Instagram at wingshotandfall. Thanks for being here.