True confession

[papa bear1]

Well tonight my wife and i was sitting and enjoying a wonderfull meal with deer meat. Boy can this ole girl cook when she said we should toast the young doe that gave up her life so that we may induldge ourselves with great tablefare and it got me to thinking, While sitting in my tree stand this morning it come to me that killing a deer was not the sole purpose of my beeing out here!!! I suddenly became aware to me what a privalidged person i am I am sitting here out in the middle of God's creation's witnessing what no other person in the whole wide world is seeing;; I'm sitting here before daylight waiting for 1rst. daylight... The birds start to scamper around, the squirrels start chattering at one another , the fresh smell of the timber warming up, And i feel so humbled to be in the pressence of such a spectacular onset of life in the most remarcable way of nature So after 50 years of archery hunting i now know there's more to it than admitted to..... I give praise to the man above for finnaly opening my eyes and my heart to bieing a true hunter And i give all the respect to the animals i take they so richly deserve I hope other hunter's finaly get the same feeling that i got.

[ElmerFudd]

Papa bear I have the same feelings each and every time that I go to the woods. Be it for Deer hunting, small game, or just to be in the woods enjoying everything that i see and hear. Many times I carry my rifle or hand gun, or both to hunt small game. But, never fire a shot. Many times I have carried my bow (now xbow),shotgun, or muzzleloader and only watched and witnessed things that I never saw before. There have been many times that the cross hairs of my scope have been on this critter or that, big or small yet the shot was never taken because in reality I was just there to watch and witness nature and when I went to bed that same nite dream about what I had seen.

[one shot scott]

I know what you mean.

I have been in stand, a pair of does with fawns playing around. Whatching them rear up on their back legs, And chasing eachother around like a bunch of playful pups:) never thinking once about taking a shot. Owls landing near me. Messing with the feeble mind of a squirrel that had the misfortune to climb a tree near me.

Makes ya feel good to witness things like this. I find that shooting a deer is the downside, then the work really begins. I feel a little remorse (can't think of a better term) after I take the life of another creature. But I do it for the life experience and the meat. If it were not for the meat I would never do it. PETA and the like may not care for it, but nature was designed this way. It peeves me off when they try to labor as nothing more than cold blooded killers. We are for the ethical treatment of animals more than they are.

[ElmerFudd]

Yup papa bear and one shot we got it going here. Like the time I watched a Doe with twins that was letting them nurse and showing them to eat grass in the spring while I was at the club shooting. Had to wait abound 20 minutes for them to get clear of the 100 yd back stop so I could shoot. Or when watching Does eating Acorns and doing lick baths, then peeing and pooping. Then the one and only time I witnessed Deer breeding......NO shot was taken. STILL AT TIMES I think back and remember, smile and dream about my gifts in the wild.

[Louvp]

congratulations on your awakening, If more people would realize hunting is more about the experience and less about the kill,it becomes alot more enjoyable. Some of my best days hunting didn't include killing anything but time.

[hikerman]

I know what you mean, seems like the deer is just an excuse to get out.
One time a bird almost flew in to my face.
Being able to sit out in the forestis something to be greatfull for! Though I do enjoy butchering a deer. Which I still hope tp do.

[maple]

Amen Papabear1.

Very few people are fortunate enough to experience time in the woods the way we do.

Being in the very heart of nature, so quiet; staying so still for so long; and needing to wait longer yet. It gives us an appreciation of the world we are blessed to live in that the poor common folk can't even imagine.

As I'm sure it's been said before in many ways, I call it, worshiping in the church of the woods.

Maple

[Cyclonic]

We are truly blessed, to sit and see what most can only imagine. I have had chipmunks on my boot, squirrels on my stand. Hawks in trees right beside me. Deer all around, doing what they do. I'm thankful my grandfather and father taught me to sit quietly in the woods and observe, not just kill. It always makes me sad to kill a deer, and leave an empty space in the forest.

[georgiaboy]

Well said papa bear...some of my best memories in the woods never involved the firing of a weapon.

[Hoss]

WOW Im not alone....I understand my friend

[bob1961]

it should be no other way of thinking when one is hunting ....too much is put on getting a big massive racked buck, instead of being able to enjoy the time just spent outdoors in gods country as you put it....when i'm out in the woods hunting i'm out there not thinking of anything but enjoying where i'm at and have this feeling over me that only one knows from being out there....sure i like to bring the meat home and when i do i don't buy beef untill i need to after my venison is gone........bob

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