Snake Charmer
Happiness is a warm gut pile
Read an article a long time ago and maybe this will help. It was published by the university of Wisconsin by two folks with doctorates. its called the five stages of a hunter and goes as follows verbatim-
Stage one, Hunters at this stage want to do a lot of shooting be it doves, ducks. squirells rabbits or even deer ( in which case shooting opportunities are acceptable too) they want to test their shooting abilities, as well as their rifle or shotgun. These hunters are beginners and are often young as well.
Stage two, Limiting out stage. eventually simply burning through a lot of ammunition is no longer sufficient. Hunters at this stage still gain a lot of satisfaction from shooting, but now the number of birds or animals becomes important too, and limiting out, or filling a game tag, is the gold standard.
Stage three, Trophy stage, eventually the weight of the game bag becomes less important and the emphasis shifts from quantity to quality. Hunters at this stage gain satisfaction from being selecitive in taking game, such as a duck hunter that only shoots greenheads, a turkey hunter that only shoots long beards, or a deer who only takes only mature bucks. These hunters often travel long distances to hunt trophy animals.
Stage four, Method stage, For this hunter, taking game is still important, but more important is how the game is taken. True satisfaction comes from the method used to take the game, with particular emphasis on more challenging methods such as archery or muzzleloading. This hunter will spend a lot of time using trail cameras, studying their quarry and practicing hunting skills such as calling and, in the case of a deer hunter, may even choose to target one specfic animal.
Stage five, Sportsman stage, After many years in the field, the hunter begins to place the emphasis on the total hunting experience . Being in the outdoors, enjoying the outdoors, enjoying the company of friends and family and seeing nature in all its beauty, now outweigh the need for taking game. These hunters often turn to mentoring other younger hunters for ultimate satisfaction.
The researchers and writers of this paper also state that not all hunters go through all these stages or in this particular order, personally for me I'm still mixed up in the last three depending on what species I am thinking about and which has dictated my choice of shotguns, rifles, gear and things I like to hunt. For me the last ten years have been a big mix of doing hunts with the people I care about and looking for a special animal to take. I take as much joy if not more on going on hunts where I have no stake in the outcome other than giving maximum help and just wanting to be there and enjoy the moment. In some ways it is more relaxing to me because I have put no presure on myself to have to fill my tag and at the same time do the best I can to help my partner acheive their goal no matter the task asked of me.
Pick the gun and method that makes you happy. That's my two cents...
Stage one, Hunters at this stage want to do a lot of shooting be it doves, ducks. squirells rabbits or even deer ( in which case shooting opportunities are acceptable too) they want to test their shooting abilities, as well as their rifle or shotgun. These hunters are beginners and are often young as well.
Stage two, Limiting out stage. eventually simply burning through a lot of ammunition is no longer sufficient. Hunters at this stage still gain a lot of satisfaction from shooting, but now the number of birds or animals becomes important too, and limiting out, or filling a game tag, is the gold standard.
Stage three, Trophy stage, eventually the weight of the game bag becomes less important and the emphasis shifts from quantity to quality. Hunters at this stage gain satisfaction from being selecitive in taking game, such as a duck hunter that only shoots greenheads, a turkey hunter that only shoots long beards, or a deer who only takes only mature bucks. These hunters often travel long distances to hunt trophy animals.
Stage four, Method stage, For this hunter, taking game is still important, but more important is how the game is taken. True satisfaction comes from the method used to take the game, with particular emphasis on more challenging methods such as archery or muzzleloading. This hunter will spend a lot of time using trail cameras, studying their quarry and practicing hunting skills such as calling and, in the case of a deer hunter, may even choose to target one specfic animal.
Stage five, Sportsman stage, After many years in the field, the hunter begins to place the emphasis on the total hunting experience . Being in the outdoors, enjoying the outdoors, enjoying the company of friends and family and seeing nature in all its beauty, now outweigh the need for taking game. These hunters often turn to mentoring other younger hunters for ultimate satisfaction.
The researchers and writers of this paper also state that not all hunters go through all these stages or in this particular order, personally for me I'm still mixed up in the last three depending on what species I am thinking about and which has dictated my choice of shotguns, rifles, gear and things I like to hunt. For me the last ten years have been a big mix of doing hunts with the people I care about and looking for a special animal to take. I take as much joy if not more on going on hunts where I have no stake in the outcome other than giving maximum help and just wanting to be there and enjoy the moment. In some ways it is more relaxing to me because I have put no presure on myself to have to fill my tag and at the same time do the best I can to help my partner acheive their goal no matter the task asked of me.
Pick the gun and method that makes you happy. That's my two cents...
