Hunting.
Why do we do it? This is something I find myself thinking about a lot. Whether I am sitting in a tree on an oak flat looking for whitetails or in the mountains at 12,000 feet glassing mule deer.
Even though there are many moments where I feel “right at home”, there are other moments when I ask myself the question, “What the hell am I doing?”. This is usually following some sort of stupid backcountry mistake or yet another morning of no animal activity.
But no matter how bad of a day it has been in the woods or the mountains, I am always excited to come back for more.
Why is it? Is this a primal instinct? I wonder if you poll one-hundred different passionate hunters if you would get one-hundred different answers.
And who is to say there is a wrong answer? As a health-nut myself, I tip my cap to the guy that says, “I care about what I put in my body. I want to consume my protein in the most natural, organic way possible”.
I could also see a veteran hunter state simply, “It’s just what we do. My dad hunted and my grandfather hunted. Growing up, it was just apart of our way of life.”
I also would not fault the man that says, “It isn’t about the kill. I just love being out there with my family, connected to nature.”
There is also the concept too of saving money at the grocery store since your freezer is already full. As much as I would like to support the argument for our passion being a better alternative financially, I highly doubt when you add up the money for gas, gear, tags, etc. you are actually beating the $2.99 boneless chicken breasts at the store. So maybe the economics side of things do not exactly check out.
Even if it was purely about obtaining meat, then running your body ragged chasing elk in the mountains makes zero sense. Just stay local and pick up a few extra doe tags to help fill your freezer. Your neighbor keeps complaining they are eating away their garden so this shouldn’t be too much of a challenge.
There is nothing wrong with that kind of hunting either but if you are reading this blog article, you may share a similar Type A personality as I do. We have a drive to chase those elk for days on end. And perhaps even take pride in getting our butt’s kicked a little bit.
So what is the “right” answer? Can it be multifaceted?
I think for me, it is. I love the feeling of eating free-range, organic red meat that is as natural as it gets. I also feel a deep connection to nature when I am out there, especially in the West. I find myself constantly reading books and listening to podcasts about the mountain men who explored this landscape like Jim Bridger and Kit Carson (ahh… maybe in a past life).
Last but most certainly not least, I want the challenge. The monotony of day-to-day life can drive the ambitious outdoorsman insane. While working a 9 to 5 in an office cube— I ponder if some people are truly wired to constantly seek challenge, adventure, struggle and then (hopefully) overcoming.
So I believe that this is the greatest impetus as to why I hunt. Stepping into the unknown. The adventure. If we want to get really deep, I would say that is what we are put on this Earth to do. Just look at God’s call to Abraham in the Old Testement:
God said to Abraham, “Leave the land you have always known. Go from your homeland to a new land that I will show you. I will make you and your people a great nation. I will bless you. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. You will lead your people and your name will be great.”
The pursuit to adventure is a step into the unknown. And overcoming the unknown is where we grow. And I am a firm believer in the expression, “if you are alive on this planet, you are either growing or dying.”