Words of Wisdom ...

R.J. · Post by **R.J.** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 12:22 pm

Or at least , I think so and can relate ... I cut this out of a post on another forum ..

Face it. When you strip all the feathers off it, hunting and fishing are remarkably inefficient, expensive ways of putting meat on the table. There are exceptions. I could step out my back door right now and pot four or five half-tame gray squirrels in 2 minutes time, or I could go out there at daylight Saturday morning and kill two or three yearling does that have been showing up almost every day. But basically, wild meat is an expensive and troublesome commodity to procure. Put the pencil to it, factor in your gun, ammo, gasoline, hunting club dues, camo clothes and most of all your time, and you quickly realize you could be eating prime rib and caviar at every meal for less than you're spending on duck breasts with steel shot in them.

But what of it? When a hunter or angler finally realizes that it's not the kill, but the quest that's important, all those thoughts of expense and inconvenience go away.

"One does not hunt in order to kill," wrote the Spanish philosopher and hunter Jose Ortega y Gassett in his book Meditations on Hunting. "On the contrary, one kills in order to have hunted." I wish I'd come up with those words myself, but all I can do is plagiarize them because Gassett wrote them a half-century ago.

Gassett got it right, too. The kill -- or, often, just the possibility of the kill -- is the glue that binds all the wonderful things that make up a hunting or fishing trip: the camaraderie (or the solitude, depending on what you need at the time); the calm that comes over you in the wild places; the recharging of spiritual batteries; the challenge of pitting your senses against those of a critter whose senses are much better; the feeling of becoming a working link in the food chain.

wabi · Post by **wabi** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 12:38 pm

Yep,
The meat isn't the reason we hunt today, it's just a pleasant bonus.

BTW - you can probably kill just as much without all those accessories like the latest camo clothes, the newest model gun or bow, the biggest - baddest 4WD truck to get there, and a new stand or blind to hunt from.
But then what would we spend all those $$$$ on in anticipation of being more successful?

dick195252 · Post by **dick195252** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 12:23 am

That Says It All In One Paragraph

vixenmaster · Post by **vixenmaster** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 6:48 am

I guess its all in how you spend it! I have 3 rifles & a nice 16ga pump, i am lucky. As i got them all fer less than $400 all brand new, many years ago.

Cossack · Post by **Cossack** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 9:14 am

Words after my own heart. I spent 6 weeks in the woods with a x bow this year, letting countless deer walk, including a 6, two 8s and a 10 pointer, (my wife calls it 'deer watching') before pulling the trigger...on a big doe. Spend some of the most relaxing moments of my life that way, with senses working like they otherwise don't. Man, that is LIVING. It binds me to who we are (hunters) even though I no longer need to do so for food.

munch · Post by **munch** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 6:23 pm

my six year old daughter asked me why i had to kill a turkey.when i told her so we could eat she told me we have lots of food in moms spam
ps she is 11 know and got her own 20ga. 870 jr for turkey season this year. i think she has the bug now to get her to deer hunt with me

hikerman · Post by **hikerman** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 7:39 pm

"Gassett got it right"
Man, thats so true!

DropTine · Post by **DropTine** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 7:53 pm

I like that, but i would not rather spend my money anywhere else. I have some friends that smoke and blow there money away for something to kille them, im happy where my money goes, i just dropped $150 on a goose call, most would say STUPID, but the smart, educated would say MONEY WELL SPENT!

dick195252 · Post by **dick195252** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 12:20 am

Stress Management What Better Way To Cope With The Stress Of Every Day Life Then To Climb In A Tree And Sit Back And Watch Wild Life And Breath The Fresh Air!!!! {Maybe Shooting A Nice Deer Is The Second Benefit}

gad · Post by **gad** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 8:50 am

DropTine wrote:I like that, but i would not rather spend my money anywhere else. I have some friends that smoke and blow there money away for something to kille them, im happy where my money goes, i just dropped $150 on a goose call, most would say STUPID, but the smart, educated would say MONEY WELL SPENT!

The value of the Money only shows up when you use it.

VixChix · Post by **VixChix** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:47 am

I don't spend money on getting my nails done, or more than I have to for my hair, I won't wear expensive clothes or jewelery or Chanel #5, our house isn't furnished in Martha Stewart style, we rarely eat at restaurants and I can't remember the last time we went to see a movie, we don't smoke, rarely buy alcohol, don't have cable or satellite, we don't take expensive vacations, we don't indulge in many things that our friends and family do and have. So when people question the money we put into hunting gear or the "wasted" time we spend hunting, we point out that people spend thousands for their resort vacations, but that we'd prefer to sit in the woods rather than lie on some beach bored out of our minds.

TPM · Post by **TPM** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 10:21 am

Years ago at a deer camp I was at we calculated the cost per pound of the venison we were taking home. Worked out to around $47 a pound! This is why I always laugh when people ask for meat and say I “get it for free anyway”.

While I am primarily a “meat hunter” I by no means hunt just for meat. Hunting and the outdoors is just part of a life-style in our family and as with any life-style there are costs associated with it. And as with any life-style these costs can get carried away. I have too many shotguns, too many rifles, too much camo clothing, too many hunting knives, radio’s, flashlights and all the other gear and accessories that you “need” to hunt but that’s okay, it’s part of getting the most enjoyment out of our life-style. I think non hunters have a had time understanding this. I often wonder what some of the guests think when they come into our house. I don’t think there is a room in the house where you won’t find at least one hunting magazine laying around, there is a deer hide and a beaver pelt hanging on the wall, a library of hunting and gun books in the living room, old duck and goose calls mixed in with our sons toys and this time of year it’s not uncommon to see a quiver full of arrows on top of the entertainment unit and a crossbow propped against the wall in the dining room.... Boy, life is good!