I'm going to talk about the art of hunting and why people hunt in general and focus somewhat on whitetail deer hunting to try to explain why people hunt. Is it for food, not likely in this day and age and pound for pound it is far less expensive to just go to the grocery store for meat than it is to deer hunt. Is it to kill something? Well that's where it may start out as a small boy but as hunters mature this becomes less and less of what drives them to spend a whole lot of cash and effort to bag their first buck.

First and foremost many hunters hunt because their father, their uncle or some other significant role model hunts or has hunted in the past. Hunting is something learned primarily by hunting with the old dogs that have been around the sport for 10-20 years. Visions of big bucks run through the minds of whitetail deer hunters for example as they listen to stories of other hunters and what they came across while deer hunting. Whitetail deer hunting is especially interesting because you never know what a whitetail will do and every time one is presented to you, you'll see things happen that you wouldn't believe unless you were there.

The main reason people hunt is like I say a seed is planted there from someone they know that hunts, but it is not long that the person gets a feel for what it is like in deer habitat looking for tracks or other indication that deer are around.

You get a feeling of being watched sometimes as if a deer could actually hurt you or something. It only feels that way because to bag a big buck means you have out smarted and set yourself up to do so. A very great thing in the realm of hunters. The worst thing I can think of is to be driving along in your truck, see a buck standing on the side of the road and you get out and shoot it. Not much in the way of skill there and except for just plain luck and the ability to shoot straight, not much of a story or memory to be proud of.

The main reason people hunt is that they love the thrill of being in the woods or forest where they know big game reside and knowing they can get a chance at any moment to catch a glimpse of something few see and even fewer get a chance to harvest. There is nothing like walking into your deer stand in the morning darkness with a flashlight and be able to watch the forest come alive as the sun comes up. Especially on quiet days where you just seem to melt right into the surroundings and it becomes like you don't exist to the animals around you.

For some there is the thrill of the kill that motivates them but the kill is a very short period of time compared to the usual hundreds of hours hunters spend in the forest scouting for deer, looking for sign or building a stand. If hunters don't enjoy this part then they are missing the main attraction.