Kind of an odd question but I’ve been thinking on it and watching my boys and listening to them and realized that the older I get, my perspective of the outdoors and my outdoor pursuits have changed ten fold. As a kid, like my boys, I just wanted to kill something, anything. Deer, turkey, squirrels, birds, just to do it. (We ate it all, dad made sure to pound it in my head that if you take something’s life, you had better eat it). Then in my teenage years it was about how many can I kill and I wasn’t happy until I filled every tag that the state would allow me, then I went through a gear phase where I wanted to try every bit of the latest and greatest and was always tinkering. About 5 or 6 years ago, I started to realize that camo doesn’t matter and the age of your equipment don’t either. Now, at this point in life, I use limited turkey calls, the same old shotgun, and what I learned from all those heathen years. For deer, I use my 2002 longbow and have more fun than ever. In my late twenties now, I don’t care about the number, or killing so much, I’m there to hunt how I want, in a way that challenges me, and if I kill something it’s on my terms. Turkeys less than 30 yards, deer 20 or under. I went through the same with trapping. I say all that to say, at this point in life, all I look to get out of the outdoors is peace, to be amongst the critters and nature, and the enjoy what god gave us and provides for me and my family. My focus is to pass it on to the kids and enjoy it for what ever hand is dealt me. I’m just happy to be out there!. How about y’all?.
to me its a personal pursuit yes I share with others but I guess I’m lucky cause I always hunted to challenge and out do my self. Never worried about what others did. I like to get close to game and be in the woods long enough to be part of the natural world .
If you was to do a national geographic show on the areas I frequent they’d say there’s the flora and foana them there’s that little short white boy who is always there trying to learn or experience something else.
I never get enough from song birds on my arrows to rabbits at my feet darkness setting in as the doves make there last flights going to roost. Just being submersed in the natural world is what I crave.
Then there is taking from God’s bounty to feed my family that has always intrigued me.
Then there’s the phase of life when I started teaching my daughter all of these things.
I never really went through that gadget phase
Colt
I agree with you there Colt, my goal when I go in the woods is not to be a guest, I look to be in tune enough with what’s going on to be just as much at home as the critters are.
I find peace and solitude just being outdoors no matter what I am doing whether it’s fishing hunting trapping or root digging it’s like going home to me
Those are about as good of statement’s on the why, and how of a persons personal thoughts on hunting as I have seen!
You guys speak of things many never get. I’ve seen downright nutty men deer hunting in their 60’s and 70’s. They’ve never evolved past their first shooting stage. I don’t think you can ever truly appreciate outdoor endeavors until you relax, evolve and grow with it in your mind and have peace with it. I think the competitive hunting and fishing keep many in the ditch as far as true, what it was intended to be, love of it. Passing it on to kids is rewarding. I see many that tout “ for the kids”;or “ for the wounded warriors” that aren’t really doing it for them……really. It’s about personal gratification. I’ve also seen, mainly some of you guys, giving of yourselves time and effort, sacrificing your own success. Probably it all can’t be explained by any of us on here. You just know in your heart if you’re enjoying it to the fullest or all the time trying to get the biggest, the mostest the fastest and are missing the boat….to me.
The older I get, the more emphasis I put on learning “old ways” of doing things and buck this new attitude most guys seem to have. I’m only 28 but have been in the woods since my dad was literally carrying me in before I could walk. He taught me how to identify trees the common trees and that deer eat acorns, that squirrels eat hickory nuts in the early season and how to find the sign and what it means. But it seems the more I do this, the more woodsmanship I want to learn. I would rather know that deer are browsing on a certain type of plant because the acorn crop was a bust and go in a kill a doe, in close, with a longbow than kill a 190” buck with a rifle over a corn pile. Not that there is something wrong with that, but that doe would mean a whole lot more to me personally.
My point is, I’ve become a lot more interested in all tree species, plant species, where and why they grow there, what eats them and why, finding edible mushrooms, where deer bed, and why they picked there, where turkeys are every month of the year, and why they are there at those times, etc. My biggest interest is knowing the land, having a good idea why an animal does what it does in that particular area on that particular season and being able to live off of it, way more so over actually killing the target animal.
Some things you just can’t buy, and knowledge of the land and the animals is tops.
Most of my best memories anymore are of what I see when I’m hunting, fishing, or trapping that has nothing to do with what I’m doing.
I’ve had an eagle swoop to within 5 feet of me when he thought I was trying to steal a rabbit from him when I’m trapping.
Ive watched 2 bucks fight and otters playing while I’m fishing.
I’ve watched coyotes hunt a cut bean field while I’m deer hunting.
I told my my wife years ago that most people never get to see what I see.
Anymore when I come in from whatever I’m doing the first question is never what a caught or killed.
It’s always. “Did you see anything exciting today?”
Many of these times I have a story for her.
I agree there, the first morning of turkey season, I went down a mountain I’ve never set foot on, crossed a water fall type creek, and went up the roughest cliff faced mountain I’ve ever trekked up, got within 80 yards of two beautiful strutting toms that put on a show for probably 10 minutes. I didn’t kill either, but I sure saw some pretty sights that I will remember forever.
That’s what drives me I love learning all the ins and outs of the wild world I never gets old learning and have new experiences,I like knowing when turtles breed what frogs do and when, witch birds sing in the night and what they look like and where they go in the day time.
I love learning what different plants do and what types of heath benefits they possess.
I love knowing when and where go look for deer and turkeys no matter the time of year.
I take pride in knowing where to find turkeys year round something I worked on for several seasons.
I can literally catch fish to eat 12 months a year and I have put flatheads in the boat in every month except February
To me hunting fishing and trapping is a life style choice.
Colt
I find it is peaceful and relaxing. I feel closer to God when I’m in the woods or on a stream! I’m finding myself wanting to be alone more! I used to always hunt with a friend or two but know it seems I enjoy it more when I’m alone if that makes sense ! It’s really not about killing or catching to me it about precious time well spent! All my life I have worked and now I’m Retired I just want to enjoy and slow down! I think hunting and trapping allows that for me! I also enjoy my horse and dog on a good trail !
You guys seem to get it, so many don’t. I think back to a morning year before last, I was on a mountain in Rowan County that ran into Cave Run Lake, I knew there was a big white oak flat in front of me and a gobbler off to my right but it was still dark. As daylight came to that mountain, I was blessed with such a beautiful sight, a heavy fog lay over the lake and the sun was starting to reach across the face of that mountain it was absolute peace punctuated by an occasional gooble of the turkey, it brought thankfulness to my heart to be able to enjoy God’s creation in a way so many never will. The turkey came but wouldn’t get closer than about 35 yards and that was too far for the flintlock laying across my lap that morning. Many would consider that hunt a failure but to me it was an overwhelming success. I have many stories like this many where an animal is killed and many where no animal is even seen but special times anyway.
There’s the fall squirrel hunting trips I often take where I wear an old ball cap, a work shirt and bibs or work pants and hunt with one of my old single shots. I do these trips a few times every fall usually when the colors are on because it takes me back to hunting with Dad and Papaw when I was a boy and didn’t have the latest camo or best gun. But I did have some high times in the woods and still do. Some people just don’t get it, I ran into a fella a few years ago when I was hunting like this that told me I would be more successful if I would get some better equipment. He looked like he had just stepped out of the Cabelas catalog but he just didn’t get it. By the way I had my limit when I ran into that fella and was easing back to the truck just enjoying the day and thinking about times gone by in no particular hurry to get out of the woods.
There’s the countless sunrises and sunsets in the woods and on the water, there is sitting in the blind with my daughter when she takes a deer, there is getting to hunt or fish with my wife, there is the trips to so many beautiful places to hunt and fish with dear friends. There is the memory of going to places with dear friends and loved ones who have already passed on and the memories of those trips are priceless.
I guess, I have turned into that old guy that sits in the woods and thinks too much about days gone by, I have killed my fair share of game and still kill plenty but the killing isn’t as important to me now as the experience.
I feel like I am in good company every time I 'm at a meet with you guys; but now I realize just how lucky I am to know each of you!
Sounds like from your hunting locations there’s a dang good chance we might bump in to each other in that country one day. I do the same thing, this old single shot was my papaw’s on my mom’s side, he grew up hunting and only hunted small game, this was the only shotgun I ever knew him to have. He gave it to my dad when I was a kid when he got to old to hunt and I cut my teeth turkey hunting with it, it used to have the forearm duct taped on, dad laid it up in the gun cabinet and never used it. I used to take it out every year squirrel hunting up until I moved out at 18. It sat in dad’s gun cabinet up until last year when he gave it to me and it was covered in rust. My best friend’s dad took it and completely re finished the stock, fixed the duct taped on forearm, got the rust off and made a bead for it, it never had one. I took it out turkey hunting this spring with me, and it will make a few trips to squirrel woods just like papaw did with it. It’s just an old single shot Winchester that ain’t worth 50$ probably, but I wouldn’t take a million for it. Some times the old simple stuff just works better for you than something new if you know what I mean!.
Is that a 37A? I have a 16 gauge in it and it’s my favorite to tote.
Yes sir. 12 gauge, 32” fixed full
I know exactly what you mean, I have some guns that I consider expensive guns but most of them if you offered enough money they could be yours but the ones that no amount of money would buy are probably not worth 200 dollars to anyone but me but they are Dad’s and Papaw’s so to me they are priceless treasures.
Since 2012 I’ve killed about all my turkeys with a 1936 ithica double barrel
I love hunting with old guns and to me if your hunting like you should be there’s really no disadvantage.
Good looking gun there be fun to hit with. Them handle really good too.
Looks like some nice goldenseal in the back ground there.
Colt
I had a 1926 New Ithaca Double choked full and cylinder that I liked a whole lot, I had it about two months and a buddy of mine offered me nearly double of what I gave for it and I sold it. I wish I had it back.
