So what is it about hunting?

[Kevin Peacocke]

What is it about this pursuit, this sport, this way of life that grabs your interest and keeps your interest? It is more than just interest, it is passion, devotion, longing, all strong feelings.
I think it is a lot of things, for some the beautiful animals themselves, others the rifles and to others it is the great outdoors where it all happens. Of course it is all of these things in varying degrees and speaking for myself I find it swings from one to the other, so the meal is always interesting. Right now, as I tick off the days and months until my Ruger No1 arrives it is the hardware that has my attention the most.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Difficult question to answer in short order Kevin. But for me the first and foremost thing is getting close to an animal. The outwitting of a living being on it's own turf that is so much smarter than me when it comes to survival that gets me the most pumped up, even when that moment of truth comes and passes with no shots fired. In spite of my love for Africa and it's diversity of wildlife, it is the pursuit of elk here in the USA on foot with a bow during the rut. Identifying a big bull by it's bugle alone and then putting on the stalk for perhaps even a couple of hours getting fleeting glimpses of the bull and then finally it happens and your close when that bull let's out a bugle that gives you chills as you realize he's so very close......there's just nothing that compares to that for me.

 

[CoElkHunter]

What is it about this pursuit, this sport, this way of life that grabs your interest and keeps your interest? It is more than just interest, it is passion, devotion, longing, all strong feelings.
I think it is a lot of things, for some the beautiful animals themselves, others the rifles and to others it is the great outdoors where it all happens. Of course it is all of these things in varying degrees and speaking for myself I find it swings from one to the other, so the meal is always interesting. Right now, as I tick off the days and months until my Ruger No1 arrives it is the hardware that has my attention the most.

“days and months until it arrives”? Is it coming from Mars via Space X Fed Ex? LOL

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

“days and months until it arrives”? Is it coming from Mars via Space X Fed Ex? LOL

First it is the three weeks or so to get the import permit into Zimbabwe. Then for the export permit from SA, anything from three to six months. Then the final week to clear it once it arrives on the Zim side. Teaches you patience!

 

[CoElkHunter]

Kevin,
Once again you’ve come up with a great thread!
CEH

 

[CoElkHunter]

First it is the three weeks or so to get the import permit into Zimbabwe. Then for the export permit from SA, anything from three to six months. Then the final week to clear it once it arrives on the Zim side. Teaches you patience!

So, you’re buying the Ruger in SA for import to Zimbabwe? That would explain the delay.

 

[Pondoro]

The excitement..the culture..the like minded..the guns..the travel...the nature..etc..

And of course hunting DG puts an extra edge into it..

 

[Elkeater]

That’s actually a tough question to answer. I’d say for me it’s a deep answer. It’s the connection to the land the animals and the people around you. It’s the connection over time. Even with our modern gear and rifles it’s easy to connect with our ancestors across time. The taking of animals for meat and trophy has occurred since humans first walked this planet. I imagine our ancestors likely felt the same way about hunts as we do. For me every time I stand over a downed animal I feel a sense of sadness, yet feel accomplished and happy. Those are feelings not easily replicated in our modern world. The sense of wealth when my freezer is full of meat and the joy I feel when my family sits down to a meal provided by my own hands. I feel sorry for those that will never experience this part of being human.

Deep thoughts for a early Saturday morning.

 

[Josh P]

It's one of those things that if a hunting buddy asks that question, everyone shrugs and says, "Well, you know..." and then we all nod and go back to talking about that big pig we saw that one time in the swamp, when the dog ran after, and I couldn't quite get there in time because I was all but running on my knees, and then the dog and I both had a big grin and no air when the rest caught up to us in the clearing. You know...

 

[schmijar]

Elkeater and Phoenix Phil are on my wavelength. It's hard to describe.

While I definitely experience the sadness and thankfulness in killing an animal, there is also this deep deep thread that gets tugged. Connection to my ancestors? Spirituality? I don't know what words to use to explain it but it touches a nerve nothing else I've found in life does. And it just feels right, and I feel more whole. I suppose there are some who would say evolution molded us to feel good about acquiring nutrition and maybe that's true, but it feels a lot deeper than even that.

Hunting makes you slow down and really immerse in nature. I grew up tree stand hunting whitetails but since then have done a lot more active, "exciting" hunting, which is great. But really, show me a non hunter who has sat silently and not moved in the outdoors from before daylight till after dark and watched an entire day unfold. That is something modern humans just don't do, and I think of it as a gift. A time to slow down and live the way we were meant to. Going for a hike on a trail is fine, but I'd argue it's not anywhere near as interesting an experience in the natural world.

Aside from the woo woo stuff the toys are cool. The lines of a recurve bow, the custom walnut on a fine rifle. I get obsessive and really into things and what I'm into changes over time. But nothing besides hunting has held my life long interest.

 

[Masai]

First it is the three weeks or so to get the import permit into Zimbabwe. Then for the export permit from SA, anything from three to six months. Then the final week to clear it once it arrives on the Zim side. Teaches you patience!

Hey Kevin, how complex is it to bring a rifle into Zimbabwe as a visiting hunter and leave the rifle there? I understand it would take a long time to legalise the gun, but in the meanwhile you would already have it at home.
At least in Europe, where I have done it, is better to proceed that way than to wait for the acceptance from police and customs to clear all the paperwork. Somehow is like they feel like they want to clear that case off the table once the gun is already inside the country, meanwhile there seems to be nu rush at all when the gun is still abroad.

 

[Shootist43]

Kevin, I'm probably off track here but to me hunting is an activity that brings like-minded folks together. I understand the connection with our past and the desire to put wholesome meat in the freezer, but it is the "campfire" that we share that is my strongest attention. BTW what caliber No 1 are you so anxiously awaiting?

 

[375er]

That’s actually a tough question to answer. I’d say for me it’s a deep answer. It’s the connection to the land the animals and the people around you. It’s the connection over time. Even with our modern gear and rifles it’s easy to connect with our ancestors across time. The taking of animals for meat and trophy has occurred since humans first walked this planet. I imagine our ancestors likely felt the same way about hunts as we do. For me every time I stand over a downed animal I feel a sense of sadness, yet feel accomplished and happy. Those are feelings not easily replicated in our modern world. The sense of wealth when my freezer is full of meat and the joy I feel when my family sits down to a meal provided by my own hands. I feel sorry for those that will never experience this part of being human.

Deep thoughts for a early Saturday morning.

BINGO! You absolutely nailed it! It is the primal connection to the earth, environment, animals on their turf. It takes you far beyond opening a pack of steaks someone else cut with a side of Cheetos. It takes back to what we really all are.

 

[R.M.C.]

I don't think I know any different, my older brother had the hunting bug and so it was instilled in me at a very young age. I wanted to hunt in Africa in particular at a fairly young age too, probably by age ten or eleven. It just seems natural to live breathe and eat hunting , trapping, and fishing. I don't really consider it a " hobby" or a sport, I kinda have it in a separate category in my mind. And I definitely agree with all the aforementioned statements about connecting with the land and animals, etc. Great thread!!

 

[AimSmall]

 

[Nyati]

In my case, it was first a love for the outdoors, as a teenager, I was into mountain climbing, and still remember while in Gredos, waking up and having Ibex all aroud my tent.

Then came military service, I had always been interested in firearms but never had the chance to handle one.

Outdoors+firearms=hunting simple !

 

[Rubberhead]

Hunting strikes an inexplicable and ancient spark in humans. It's that spark that made humans unique and special. Without that spark, the flame of humanity would go out in less than a generation leaving, at most, a carbon-based husk that only resembles a human being.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Hey Kevin, how complex is it to bring a rifle into Zimbabwe as a visiting hunter and leave the rifle there? I understand it would take a long time to legalise the gun, but in the meanwhile you would already have it at home.
At least in Europe, where I have done it, is better to proceed that way than to wait for the acceptance from police and customs to clear all the paperwork. Somehow is like they feel like they want to clear that case off the table once the gun is already inside the country, meanwhile there seems to be nu rush at all when the gun is still abroad.

Hi Masai, the problem isn’t the Zim side, once the rifle lands here, legally, it just takes a week to clear. For sure the importing person needs to get a permanent import permit from the Zimbabwe authorities before the rifle lands and I would think if that is in place then there wouldn’t be a problem how the rifle arrived here, whether purchased, or as a gift. I will find out.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Kevin, I'm probably off track here but to me hunting is an activity that brings like-minded folks together. I understand the connection with our past and the desire to put wholesome meat in the freezer, but it is the "campfire" that we share that is my strongest attention. BTW what caliber No 1 are you so anxiously awaiting?

For sure fire stirs the soul, it wouldn’t be the same without flames.
It is a 30-06.

 

[Arthur Morta]

To answer a question such as this, takes a deep and personal thought provoking query...
It is Personal, yet to a certain degree, hard to explain the most taken for granted attributes that are part of Hunting - "Why do I walk, why do I get lost in the awesome Wild of the bush?"
Gathering up thoughts that thousands of years gone by - Hunting was a way of life, a survival in millennia past, that today not everyone alive can know what it feels like to have a Kindling flame within, restless to get out and Hunt NOT just shoot... Hunters know, yet can be very disappointing at times, that not always is it guaranteed We will hang biltong, take a trophy, that in itself is an unexplained magnet that will have a Hunter back for the next challenge of a 50/50 pursuit of a field success against a worthy adversary.
Lastly the built and cemented Camaraderie of Families, Father and Son, (not to forget often Daughter too), Husband and Wife!
Hunting for me is not just about the killing and spilling of that animals blood. It is a lesson each time, never the same as the one before!

In short I look at each of my Hunts as Therapy in more ways than one... Enjoy and be grateful while I can!