Please explain the "fun" of hunting

In My Humble Opinion
1

I am NOT the anti-gun, anti-hunting, anti-killin-shit-dat-need-ta-be-kilt, or any other tree-huggin kind of sentimental crap type of person. While I’m not enthusiastic about hunting as a “sport”, I’d like to think that I can understand how some might be. I think their enthusiasm is mostly inherited, but I could be wrong.

Anyway, regardless of any inherited “love”, I just don’t understand the attraction.

I’m totally clueless, so please tell me if these are the only attractions, or if there are others?:

  • Minimizing the population…yeah, duh, got that.
  • Sneaking up on an animal (stealth!!!) and killing it without it having any clue of your presence. I’ve played enough PC-games to know that this can be fun.
  • The act of killing something that is not human and will not put you in jail. Kinda’ creepy, but ok I guess.
  • “Manly-ness” - UG! Me-Man! Me-Kill-It!
  • For the meat. Sorry, but this is just NOT a realistic answer IN MY EXPERIENCE. IN MY OPINION, everyone who says they like the taste of hunted meat is lying in order to boost the ego of their “manly-hunter”. I’ve had HUNDREDS of meals prepared with “hunted” meat, and it has never, EVER, tasted good. NEVER! Really! NEVER!

So, I guess my question really is just simply, “what do you find FUN about hunting”?

Open to all comments, please share your thoughts. I’ll try to respond ASAP.

2

Editing not allowed, so, additional possible reasons:

  • Getting away from wife and family
  • Love of the “cold” weather and being in it
  • Excuse given to wife/family to do [XXXX] without you
3

I’m not a hunter but I know one of the thrills of hunting. Its that skill and work matter but there is also a luck factor involved. You don’t know what if any opportunities will present themselves on a given hunt.

Surfing, bird watching, fishing, and all other sorts of activities have this element that each trip has the potential to suck but likely will present some opportunities and challenges you haven’t encountered before. Even people who go to thrift shops and garage sales regularly are often in it because this intermittent reinforcement, chance of a grand find element.

4

The fun of hunting for me is based first, on being outdoors and secondly, on the “thrill of the hunt”. And the meat is a treat. At times the practical side of thinning an out-of-control varmint population has been part of it. Killing something for the sake of killing something is not a part of it. And as far as it being part of some definition of manliness, I think that probably passed along with puberty.

5

Thank you, DSarbo!

I get the “skill/luck” point. I did neglect to mention that there is a certain level of skill required to successfully hunt.

I guess I also neglected to mention that the “rewards” of successful hunting are most probably variable by participant. That is, I believe that I would find the “reward” of a carcass that I need to clean and butcher after a successful hunt to be a poor “return on investment” for the time, discomfort and inconvenience of spending large quantities of time in the cold, uncomfortable, sometimes life-threatening wilderness.

Again, no offense intended, just my opinion. To each their own.

6

I’m not a hunter but I know plenty of people who are. The main two rewards from what I’ve observed is that it’s an application of skill and the social aspect. Hunting is a common interest that can bind together a group of people.

7

Your experience with game meat does not match mine.

8

I’ll respond to the OP when I get finished rolling my eyes at his terrible taste and resulting dismissive attitude. If you don’t think its possible for quail, turkey, duck or venison to taste good, that’s your problem.

Otherwise, I love the suspense, the time spent outdoors with great friends, and the skill involved. A lot of hunts I do are weekend trips, which are a blast even when you aren’t hunting.

9

The fun is the whole thing.

I’ve not solo hunted before, but I’ve been out with relatives and part of the fun is learning how to dress and pack the meat, and another part of the fun is being out in the ‘scary’ wilderness.

Sure, it’s not for everyone, but it isn’t that there’s some end goal to make it all worthwhile. The whole experience of being outside in wild nature, trying to be better (sneakier) than animals who literally do this for a living, being able to be involved with the preparation of your eventual dinner (and many to come)…

As far as the eating, I think that’s just a matter of personal taste. I think that oysters taste like a runny nose at the beach, and brussellbsprouts are concentrated midget rotten cabbages, but given how many other people obviously enjoy them, I tend to figure our tastes are different, rather than that they’re all faking it.

There’s such a variety of tastes too! Gigged frog doesn’t taste anything like venison, which is different from duck, which is not anything like squirrel, and snake really does taste like white-meat chicken.
Now fishing? Booorrrring. :smiley:

10

Not a hunter but you’re wrong that hunted meat, such as venison, has never tasted good ever. I love venison when I can get it from hunter friends. And you’re also assuming when people say “for the meat” they mean “for the taste.” For many lower income rural people, hunting is a significant source of protein, which is the hardest food to afford when you’re poor.

11

I’m a hunter, and I’m not ashamed of it. However, I don’t actively advertise it, since I know that a lot of people have problems with hunting, and opinions and beliefs are like penises: It’s fine to have one, it’s fine to be proud of it, but you shouldn’t stick it in someone’s face unless the person takes an active interest in it.

That said, I don’t agree that hiunting is “fun”. It’s more than that. It’s a basic instinct, like sex and caring for your children. Homo sapiens is a predator, and like other domesticated predators like Felix and Canis, we still have our hunting instinct. It’s just that in a modern society, it’s often sublimated. Have you heard of collectors “hunting” for new items for their collection? PUAs “hunting” for women? Hunting metaphors used in business and other fields of work? We who still hunt reckognize and accept our basic hunting instinct.

It’s not the killing. Yes, to kill is the goal of hunting, but it’s the goal much in the same way an orgasm is the goal of sex. You don’t do it exclusively for the goal, because without all the preceding activites, it would be rather dull. Hunting is all of it: scouting for the animal, stalking it, sometimes managing to get close enough, killing it, dressing it and taking it home. Personally I cook it too, because I’m not a trophy hunter, and I love game meat

To kill an animal to be able to eat it does something to your attitude towards the meat you eat. I have serious problems with modern industrial meat farming, and if I ever were to forgo my carnivorous instincts and become a vegetarian, it would be because of the way we get most of our meat. Game meat is ecologically friendly and ethical. The animal has had a natural life, never stuffed into a pen, and it died in the natural environment it lived. If you don’t like game meat, I’ll wager a bet that you haven’t tried well-cooked game meat. It’s tender, it’s juicy, and it’s got lots of taste that you’ll never experience in a bland industrial chicken or pork chop.

When I hunt, I get out in the wild, I see lots of birds and animals I never would have seen unless I was stalking carefully, I learn to track and to read tracks, I get a deep thrill which is rooted in one of my most fundamental instincts, and sometimes I get a catch that can provide a wonderful meal when I get home. What’s not to like?

12

I’m very happy for you, and quite envious!

If you’d care to share any recipes that might enlighten me, it would be greatly appreciated!

13

Sorry if I seemed “dismissive” in any way! How you got that from my post is beyond me.

But, as I said to Scumpup, please share any recipes you have that might/will change my opinion of hunted meat. I’m seriously eager to hear them!

14

I’ve never wanted to totally dismiss a social activity that is actively endorsed by so many without ever having tried it. Way back in the day I wanted to try it, if only just once, just to see if it was something that I could get into.
I asked around a lot, but the opportunity never arose.

Eventually, I got tired of seeing the relevant equipment collect dust and take up space, so I sold it.

15

If it’s “beyond you”, then I can only assume you don’t actually know what the word dismissive means. Because your paragraph on game meat was a textbook example.

16

Well, in my case there’s a fine line between still hunting and taking a nap in the woods, and I’m not afraid to admit that I’ve crossed that line. Once in a while a deer will sneak up and spoil a nap, but if you just remain quiet most of the time he’ll go away.

It’s mostly justification for getting out in the woods and having some time to think. I do kill a deer once in a great while, but always I eat what I kill, and if you’re going to eat meat that deer has had a better life than any of your factory raised animals.

17

Sorry, dude, I thought “IN MY OPINION” was clear. No dismissal, just an opinion. No offense, but I think you’re looking for an argument where there isn’t one.

Otherwise, I’m glad you enjoy hunting. Have fun! But, I’d still like to hear any recipes you might have. :slight_smile:

18

As a vegetarian for the past six years, I’d just like to say that IMHO you’re doing meat right. Thank you.

I personally think that people who hunt for “sport” - i.e. trophy hunters, like those who go to Africa just to kill an animal - are mentally unstable. I do not see the “fun” in that, I see cold-blooded killing. That is just my opinion. BUT I have absolutely no problem with hunters who hunt responsibly and use what they kill for food, warmth, etc.

19

“Hunted meat” is not a recipe category. What animal would you like recipes for? I think you already know how to cook turkey, and rabbit is just like chicken (never tried my hand to squirrel but Brunswick stew is the traditional approach to varmint eatin’. )

Venison loves acid flavors like onion, garlic, tomato, and wine. No surprise that “cacciatore” (“hunter style”) usually contains these ingredients! Fry some onions and garlic, pour in some tomatoes, briefly fry steaks to medium rare or simmer chunks till tender, season with strong herbs like rosemary, sage, or cumin.

You can also marinate a couple hours in vinegar or wine.

The meat of an old buck, however, should be ground and mixed with pork fat and spices for sausage. On it’s own it’s very lean and tough.

It helps a lot if you’re not accustomed to watery bland supermarket beef.

20

The first, and most important step, is to field dress the carcass properly and not get gut contents, urine, or feces on the meat. It should skinned promptly and held at low temperature until it is butchered. Spoiled and/or contaminated meat is never good. I typically have a deer completely processed within 24 hours of killing it.

Simplest recipe I know: Cut a whole, entire deer into cubes of meat. Be sure to trim away all fat, tendons, and silver membrane. Don’t cut any bones. The marrow is bad tasting and you don’t want it smeared across the meat. Fill quart jars with the meat cubes and add a level teaspoon of kosher salt or pickling salt. Process in a pressure canner, not a coldpacker, according to the instructions for meat that came with the pressure canner. Good straight from the jar. Good as the basis for quick stew or chili. My brother in law, a Soviet army vet, calls this tushanka. I just call it canned meat.