Genetic killer...

[dan]

You can play football...
You can play baseball...
You can play golf...

But no one "plays" hunting... They call it a sport, but that don't seem right to me. It seems so much more. Like my wifes cat who grew up in a house with no outside influence, and an always full bowl of food that still chases mice... Its not a game, its in our DNA. Im meant to chase deer like foxes chase rabbits, and lions chase antelope.

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[Jackson Marsh]

Agree 100%

[Boogieman1]

I don’t like hunting called a sport either. To me it’s a instinct but IMO much like baseball or whatever some guys can play and others well...... just can’t. I’ve seen kids who have never hunted a day in there life step into the woods and things just make sense and come natural. On the flip side I’ve seen guys who have hunted 20+ years and can’t tell the forest from the trees. Think the term “sport” gets thrown in there cause some are just satisfied with saying there on a team. Others are just looking for an escape from reality and a breath of country air. If they see a deer great, if not they come home recharged telling tales of song birds. Took me til recent years as silly as it sounds to realize not everyone goes deer hunting with a primary goal of killing a deer.

[Ryan549]

Hard to argue that point.

[Edcyclopedia]

TRUE THAT!!!

[hunt4fall]

That's the way I see it.....

[druski]

Good stuff.
So many reasons to hunt and I think these many reasons and benefits can differentiate from one hunt to the next.
These days I do value the solitude of a hunt a great deal and value pursuit of that memorable hunt with a deer that is only determined a "shooter" in my eyes in the moment I see it. I've heard you guys talk about the journey and that's so true from my perspective.
Sooner people can understand these factors and manage to have their own experience, the sooner the hunter #s can start going back up.
One thing I think that seeped in over time for me is the drive I get from doing something/hunting that goes as deep as our very earliest origins, heck probably one thing in this world older than the origin of fire. Probably same reason I appreciate and envy seeing some doing things in a traditional or what some view as a antiquated or overly simple (perceived and otherwise) approach. (farming, gardening, wood worker, trapping, leisurely activities etc. in general are good examples of this)
As long as we have inhabited the earth there has been a natural food chain with hunting predominately being our means for nearly always remaining at the top with most of the largest predators having a natural fear of human/homosapiens being in their DNA by way of their their ancestors I suppose. Interesting given without a weapon we're armed physically about as well as a rabbit in the wild for being a predator of course our ability to discern and reason is the blessing and a curse often times in this journey. This I think explains why over centuries of DNA one of things constant is we hunt regardless of the degree of nutritional need and animals of all sizes have a natural fear for the true king of the jungle and the food chain no doubt relies on top predators to maintain balance and health of the wildlife kingdom.
Went off in a few directions there-but it is all intended as positive in my view and refreshing to have an outlet such as this to further this great adventure, therapy, journey, escape and growth we loosely call hunting.
Appreciate what you and your team have done and continue to do Dan, along with all the members that make this website possible as well.

[Uncle Lou]

I think I was playing hunting in 2019, what a disaster. But I agree in general when you are trying to kill your opponent that sure isn't sport in my book.

[RookieBeast2019]

100% agree when it comes to PUBLIC hunting.

Call it whatever but I think it has to be in ones DNA

[Moose]

[Bigburner]

Our eyes face forward for a reason. We breed the hunt out of breeds of dogs and we’ve done the same with society. You need to make the choice to personally refuse to have that happen. And these days you have to defend your stance to do so. So let the mouth breathers him and haw and leave them in the dust. Forget your foam packing and shrink wrapped meat and get after it. Keep the human spirit alive and do what you were intended to do and get after it.

[1STRANGEWILDERNESS]

The “sport” and “sporting” term probably came from the aristocrats of yesteryear. Think back to when people were still living off the land in rural America and some rich citiot showed up with fancy gear looking for “trophy” specimen.

[gsquared23]

I thought by the title we were going to be talking about heart disease.

[Boogieman1]

The “sport” and “sporting” term probably came from the aristocrats of yesteryear. Think back to when people were still living off the land in rural America and some rich citiot showed up with fancy gear looking for “trophy” specimen.

Sadly I think your probably on the money. Have grand visions of some yahoo looking like he just stepped out of a 1960’s field and stream yelling Tallyho old chap! The days of living off the land and protecting resources were over. Enter the new breed of the real “Sportsman” If we can’t find em then we will buy em. If we can’t buy one big enough to get our name in then headlines then by god we will genetically engineer the suckers. Tallyho....

[LeroyBrown]

Couldn't agree more! I played baseball through college and it just ain't the same as hunting.

That said, there is a similarity I see here. Just like in sports, if you push yourself or put in the time - you can achieve a higher level of success. In that sense, if you can be out there killing young deer/doe but, you actively choose to make it more of a "game" (your own sense of accomplishment) to harvest the oldest/largest animal in the herd... well, I can see how the term "sport" would have been associated.

Just playing devil's advocate! :)