Ask anyone why they hunt, and 9 out of 10 will tell you it’s because they enjoy it. In fact, maybe 10 out of 10 since hardly anyone actually hunts anymore for the sole purpose of providing a food source. Even the lucky few that make their living hunting will tell you they do what they do because they enjoy it.

Think for a moment about why you enjoy hunting. Is it the challenge of matching wits and skills with a big whitetail buck? Is it the sounds of the woods coming alive at daybreak? Is the fragrance of the blossoms from a wild plumb thicket that fills the air on a morning spring turkey hunt? What does it for you? What’s it all about?

What makes a hunt enjoyable for you might not appeal at all to the next guy but that’s not the point. Well, actually, that is the point! The point is that you should do what makes you happy and not feel like you have to do what others around you are doing to have an enjoyable hunt.

For me, it doesn’t have to be about harvesting an animal every time I go to the woods.  If that were the case, I’d be disappointed more times than not. But I enjoy just going hunting. Taking a nice animal is just a bonus, but it sure isn’t necessary for me to have considered the hunt a success.

I enjoy sitting in a tree stand and just watching the game come and go from a feeder or pass on a nearby trail. When my hunting progressed to the point that I realized I didn’t have to kill an animal every time I went to the woods, I began to learn a lot more about the game I was hunting.  You’d be surprised how much you can learn about an animal’s characteristics and habits by just watching them feed or go about their normal activities. You learn what the subtle little body movements mean and what those movements signal that is about to happen. You hear sounds that you never recognized before. You begin to recognize individual animals. And in time, you can even see the animals mature over several hunting seasons.

I enjoy taking pictures and video from the stand and sharing with my friends and hunting partners. Regardless of what else I might or might not need, my bow and my camera go to the stand with me every time. If you ever thought hunting a trophy whitetail was not enough of a challenge, try throwing video into the mix! But I do it because I enjoy it – not because I think it’s something I have to do.

I enjoy bringing others into the sport and teaching them the “ropes”.  As a hunting outfitter, I have the opportunity to meet many hunters that are relatively new to this game and it’s refreshing to me to see them so eager to learn and see them become consumed with the pleasure of this sport.

And hunting with my kids! Wow! Some of the best times I’ve ever spent hunting have been with my children. For me, this is a pleasure that can’t be matched. Being there with them when they harvested their first deer was something that I’ll remember even when they’ve long forgotten it. The smile on their faces and the excitement in their voices is a trophy that no mount on the wall can compare with.

Don’t get the idea that I don’t still get excited when I harvest a mature buck, a fine doe, or a long beard gobbler. All these things still excite me as much as the day I did it for the first time, but I’ve learned that I don’t have to harvest an animal to enjoy a successful hunt. A successful hunt for me is one that I got to go on. When I get to watch the animals in the woods, the hunt was a success. When I hear a turkey gobble from the roost, the hunt was a success. When I get to see the sun rising through the trees and it warms my face, the hunt was a success.

Hunting should be fun. It should be something that you enjoy. It should be something that you can’t wait to do again. When it becomes such an obsession that you can’t have a good time unless you harvest an animal, then it quits being fun and starts being a job! And I already have all the jobs I want.

It doesn’t always have to be about harvesting an animal. Sometimes it’s okay just to go to the woods for the sake of being in the woods. Sometimes it’s okay just to lean against a tree and take a nap in the warm mid-day sun.  It’s okay to take your kids and watch them soak up all the things that make this sport the thing we all enjoy so much. It’s okay to just have fun.

For me - that’s what it’s all about!

John Shelley 

BHNA Pro Staff