5 Stages Of A Hunter

[grand veneur]

I got interested in hunting as a kid because of Fred Bear. Everything he did seemed like an adventure and adventurer spoke to me very deeply - it still does. I've never had the time, money, nor opportunity to become a quantity or 'trophy' hunter. I've never felt disappointed because I walked out of the woods empty-handed, but I also do no share the view that 'just being out there' is the same as hunting - it's not. I won't take a gun if I just want to be out there - and I do plenty. But when I hunt, my intention is that I will take game PROVIDED the situation fits a very narrow window of expectations. Meaning everything has to 'be right.' If at any time I feel the situation is 'cheap' or 'easy,' (I personally will not use trail cams, but I don't want them banned either) I won't shoot. As a kid I made one stupid mistake which was to kill a deer the evening before the season actually started. That shitty feeling still sticks with me. I prefer to hunt alone if possible, and when hunting with someone, I don't have any interest in just yapping all day. I try to notice the very small things and observe observe observe.

I don't know what stage that makes me - but I no not feel that I have changed this perspective from when I started hunting - as they say, I was 'born this way,'

Fred Bear was best known for hunting with bow and arrow, a hunt that was something special even back then. I also dreamed about this kind of hunt once, but I stopped thinking about it for many reasons.

As far as carrying a rifle in the wilderness is concerned, it is certainly only associated with hunting if you intend to shot something. Nevertheless, carrying a rifle in the wild without the intention of hunting is a necessity at times, for example during an expedition to areas where the risk of encounter with polar bears is very high, and being a hunter makes in this situations things more easier. Also a reason why you can become a hunter.

 

[375Fox]

375 — I want to hunt your “Backyard”…PLEASE?

I think you’d be very disappointed. A 180” whitetail in my backyard would be a once in a lifetime event. I was trying to make a good contrast.

 

[Tanks]

I am actually at 1, 3, 4, and 5 all at the same time.

My pheasant and dove hunting each year definitely qualifies at stage 1 and my DG hunting 3, 4 and 5.

 

[Ridge Runner]

I think it’s quite accurate. I find myself at a combination of trophy, method, and sportsman stage at moment. I like taking trophies and hunting a certain way, but seeing new areas and getting new hunting experiences is really what drives my decisions for the hunts I book. Maybe an adventure stage needs added. I’d rather hunt the smallest old impala in a new area than hunt a 180” whitetail in my backyard.

Are you speaking literally or metaphorically about that 180" whitetail in you backyard.

 

[HankBuck]

I think you’d be very disappointed. A 180” whitetail in my backyard would be a once in a lifetime event. I was trying to make a good contrast.

375Fox: I got your point — I’m slow but Not that “slow”…

 

[HankBuck]

Slob hunters are "all of above": poachers, trespassers, shoot after hours, litterbugs, drunk in the field, operating off road vehicles behind gates, leaving dead game in the field to find something better, skybuster waterfowl hunters, leaving makeshift crappers at campsights, pitching camp in the middle of access roads, tying up livestock in designated campsites, shooting owls, beavers, etc for target practice, and on and on and on. The variations of inappropriate and/or illegal hunting behavior are endless. Why not use one term to define them all? I suppose a litterbug might think himself above a jack lighter but I think lumping the jerk in with poachers is entirely appropriate. It is the best way to educate people new to the sport. It's all black or white: you either do it all right or risk being labeled a slob hunter.

Nothing is ever “all black or white” including opinions - otherwise this “Africa Hunting Forum” would’ve ended after the First Post

 

[Safari Dave]

We used to teach this in Hunter Education classes in America, but don't anymore.

I don't completely disagree with it, but there's probably a bit more nuisance.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Nothing is ever “all black or white” including opinions - otherwise this “Africa Hunting Forum” would’ve ended after the First Post

I don't know about the first post being the ending, but damn sure would be the Politics Post or the debate over the 458WM.

 

[Randy F]

1. Shooter Stage
Hunters at this stage simply want to do a lot of shooting, be it doves, ducks, squirrels, rabbits or even deer (in which case shooting opportunities are acceptable too). They want to test their shooting abilities, as well as that of their rifle or shotgun. These hunters are beginners and are often young as well.


2. Limiting-Out Stage
Eventually, simply burning through a lot of ammunition is no longer sufficient. Hunters at this stage still gain a lot of satisfaction from shooting, but now the number of birds or animals bagged becomes important too, and limiting-out, or filling a tag, is the gold standard.


3. Trophy Stage
Eventually the weight of the game bag becomes less important and the emphasis shifts from quantity to quality. Hunters at this stage gain satisfaction from being selective in taking game, such as a duck hunter who shoots only green-heads, a turkey hunter who only shoots long beards, or a deer hunter who takes only mature bucks. These hunters often travel long distances to hunt trophy animals.


4. Method Stage
For this hunter, taking game is still important, but more important is how that game is taken. True satisfaction comes from the method used to take game, with particular emphasis on more challenging methods such as archery or muzzleloading. This hunter will spend a lot of time scouting and using trail cameras, studying their quarry and practicing hunting skills such as calling and, in the case of a deer hunter, may even choose to target one specific animal.


5. Sportsman Stage
After many years in the field, the hunter begins to place the emphasis on the total hunting experience. Being in the outdoors, enjoying the company of friends and family, and seeing nature in all its beauty, now outweigh the need for taking game. These hunters often turn to mentoring other younger hunters for ultimate satisfaction.


None of these stages are bad or wrong, but just my observation of the natural progression and evolution of hunters throughout their lives!


What does the community think? Do you agree or have you witnessed different stages and progressions?

Spot on where I'm concerned for the most part.

Stage one was just a lot of fun learning how and when to shoot and finding limits.

Each stage after that, I'm thankful to say, included a very healthy dose of stage 5. Thanks to some very good examples in my family who taught what they felt the real meaning of hunting was to them, they sort of instilled an "old soul" ingredient into the the way and why I hunt even starting at young age. That, if nothing else, has made 50+ years of hunting very very enjoyable.

 

[AdAstra92]

1. Shooter Stage
Hunters at this stage simply want to do a lot of shooting, be it doves, ducks, squirrels, rabbits or even deer (in which case shooting opportunities are acceptable too). They want to test their shooting abilities, as well as that of their rifle or shotgun. These hunters are beginners and are often young as well.


2. Limiting-Out Stage
Eventually, simply burning through a lot of ammunition is no longer sufficient. Hunters at this stage still gain a lot of satisfaction from shooting, but now the number of birds or animals bagged becomes important too, and limiting-out, or filling a tag, is the gold standard.


3. Trophy Stage
Eventually the weight of the game bag becomes less important and the emphasis shifts from quantity to quality. Hunters at this stage gain satisfaction from being selective in taking game, such as a duck hunter who shoots only green-heads, a turkey hunter who only shoots long beards, or a deer hunter who takes only mature bucks. These hunters often travel long distances to hunt trophy animals.


4. Method Stage
For this hunter, taking game is still important, but more important is how that game is taken. True satisfaction comes from the method used to take game, with particular emphasis on more challenging methods such as archery or muzzleloading. This hunter will spend a lot of time scouting and using trail cameras, studying their quarry and practicing hunting skills such as calling and, in the case of a deer hunter, may even choose to target one specific animal.


5. Sportsman Stage
After many years in the field, the hunter begins to place the emphasis on the total hunting experience. Being in the outdoors, enjoying the company of friends and family, and seeing nature in all its beauty, now outweigh the need for taking game. These hunters often turn to mentoring other younger hunters for ultimate satisfaction.


None of these stages are bad or wrong, but just my observation of the natural progression and evolution of hunters throughout their lives!


What does the community think? Do you agree or have you witnessed different stages and progressions?

I really enjoyed reading this. I think, like so many other things in this world, there are exceptions to the rule (in this case, hunters that don't fall inline with how this has been itemized) but, for a very large portion of the hunting community, I do believe this to be a very accurate framework. I started hunting when I was 21. Now, a little over a decade later, I can run through my personal rolodex of memories and I can clearly identify Stages 1 - 3 and I believe that I am now somewhere in the 3 - 5 range.

Thank you for making the time to not only think about this, this "hunter's lifecycle," so to speak, but to also share it here with all of us. If nothing else, it gets many of us to stop scrolling in the feed and ponder a bit on our own experiences and, through that, much like stopping to look at a beautiful trophy on the wall or a photo in an album, we get to reminisce on our own experiences and the personal growth that has followed us over the years as we mature as hunters and stewards of the land.

 

[Ed Lally]

Started hunting as a kid and went through those phases or very similar phases on my path. We might add to 5. a 5.1 when all of 5 applies but the hunter has been blessed with so many memorable hunts and great trophies that he passes on good to great animals just to enjoy seeing them for as long as possible, before they fade into the bush. At 78, I've been at 5.1 a number of times and have frustrated some of my guides and PHs by passing on a great animal just because it felt like the right thing to do at the time and to give some other hunter a chance at that animal in the future.