If you are new to hunting, please read this blog. You will be on your way to being a great hunter. Great hunters have spirituality within themselves to appreciate and be thankful for all of the gifts given to us by The Great Spirit.
As a young hunter, no matter what you are hunting, you can’t wait until you get an opportunity to shoot your rifle, your bow, or your shotgun at your quarry. That is the ultimate goal of hunting…the harvesting of a game animal. The fact is, you will not reach that goal every time you go hunting. But, even if you do not bring home any game, your spiritual game bag will be full EVERY time by appreciating some of the following gifts that make hunting such a wonderful passion to enjoy.
The excitement of waking up early in the morning
The smell of breakfast being cooked
The anticipation to get to your hunt location during the hike to your special place
The feel of the breeze on your face and determining the direction it is coming from
The comradeship you share with other hunters
Sitting in the early morning darkness
Looking high above and gazing at the moon and stars
Hearing the woods come alive when the birds begin to sing and the squirrels begin rustling about in the leaves looking for nuts
Listening to the wind as it moves through the colorful leaves of an autumn day
Listening to the rustle of leaves as the breeze moves them across the ground
Listening to a nearby stream
Being amongst various kinds of trees all living together peacefully
Feeling a closeness to The Great Spirit you can never achieve elsewhere
Seeing the sun rise and the magnificent colors reflected on the horizon
A time to be thankful to have a place to hunt
These are but a few gifts we receive every time we head out in pursuit of wild game. There will be days hunting a field we won’t have an opportunity to pull the trigger or let an arrow fly, but we will still come home with an abundance of gifts only hunters get to enjoy.
Copyright © 2009 Craig Cribbs
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
ARE YOU A HUNTER OR A SHOOTER
I recently changed my television cable package so I could start watching the vast selection of deer hunting shows offered on the Outdoor Channel and the Versus Channel. I was ecstatic. I was watching show after show after show. I felt like I was living in the outdoors. My wife felt like she was living the same day over and over as in the movie “Ground Hog Day”.
After several weeks of our television set being tuned into the Versus Channel or The Outdoor Channel, I found myself becoming disappointed in what I was viewing. My growing disappointment emerged from viewing so many shows that contained very little footage of actual hunting. The shows were focused on someone in a tree stand or ground blind placed near a food plot or attractant with a decoy set up.
Oh how technology has changed the way we hunt. I remember when scouting was actually done by walking through the woods instead of sitting in front of a computer and viewing digital pictures or watching live video feeds being taken by trail cameras. I remember actually hiking into the area I wanted to hunt instead of riding a 4-wheeler or utility vehicle. I remember hunting a natural food source instead of one planted to draw deer close enough for a shot. I remember when it was not legal to use bait…I mean a deer attractant. In fact, I don’t have to remember these things at all, because this is how I continue to hunt.
With today’s onslaught of trail cameras, utility vehicles, attractants (actually they should be called baits), food plots, cover scents, scent free clothing, high fencing, decoys, electronic calls, outfitters, etc, etc, etc…you no longer have to be a hunter. The only skill one has to master is shooting.
Let me tell you a little about myself. I am not a well known outdoorsman or a writer. After my name, there is not the title “Professional Hunter”. Although I’m not exactly sure what qualifies someone to be titled a professional hunter. Webster’s Dictionary defines the word professional as “engaged in an activity as a means of livelihood or gain”. Gain is defined as “to get something for as a result of one’s efforts”. Every year, I engage in deer hunting gaining venison in the freezer. Therefore, I should qualify to be a professional hunter. I suppose I could put it after my name then. Let’s see how it sounds… Hmmm, not bad. I suppose now I am qualified to host an outdoor show. I can start endorsing products. Dang…I could make some money at this.
My love for the outdoors began when I was 11 years old when my father took me squirrel hunting. We only enjoyed hunting together a few times. He died when I was 14 years old. But his teachings and willingness to take me hunting to experience the outdoors has provided me with countless hours of enjoyment ever since.
After my father’s death, I continued hunting squirrels and rabbits for the next 13 years. In 1984, when I was 27 years old, I was I invited to go deer hunting in West Virginia. Since that first time I went deer hunting, I’ve been hooked. I do not get invited by outfitters to hunt big bucks that have been scouted all year. I do not own a farm where I can grow mature bucks. I do not have access to property holding Boone and Crocket deer. But every year I harvest deer. I have tried various methods of hunting the whitetail: tree stand; ground blind; deer drive. But the art of “still” hunting is my favorite way to pursue the whitetail. I enjoy the challenge of hunting deer on the ground, on their terms. I would rather shoot a doe by still hunting, than sit over a planted food crop or a bait…oops I mean attractant, and shoot a trophy buck.
Last hunting season, I shot my first deer with my bow while still hunting. I realized how much I had missed hunting during the archery season. I had not hunted with my bow for over 10 years. I set a personal goal to shoot a deer, buck or doe. I figured, if I can shoot a deer while still hunting with my shotgun at a distance of 30 yards or less, I should be able to do it with my bow. I consider this accomplishment one of my hunting high points. It was only a year and a half old buck, but I shot this deer on the ground on his turf.
The point of this article is not to condemn any certain method of hunting or to condemn the use of technology for hunting. I hunt from a tree stand when the circumstances call for it. I do use a compound bow. I even bought a range finder last year. I am not totally against the usage of modern technology for hunting. I just want deer hunters not to forget how to use their hunting skills. Remember, it is called deer hunting, not deer shooting.
So as you begin planning for this deer season, consider still hunting; consider hunting an area where you did no scouting; consider hiking to your destination instead of riding an ATV; don’t use any type of food attractants; don’t hunt over a field that is a food plot; keep your decoy in the garage. No matter what size the buck or doe you harvest, a greater sense of accomplishment will overwhelm you when you walk up to your downed deer. You will no longer be just a shooter, but a hunter.
Copyright © 2009 Craig Cribbs
After several weeks of our television set being tuned into the Versus Channel or The Outdoor Channel, I found myself becoming disappointed in what I was viewing. My growing disappointment emerged from viewing so many shows that contained very little footage of actual hunting. The shows were focused on someone in a tree stand or ground blind placed near a food plot or attractant with a decoy set up.
Oh how technology has changed the way we hunt. I remember when scouting was actually done by walking through the woods instead of sitting in front of a computer and viewing digital pictures or watching live video feeds being taken by trail cameras. I remember actually hiking into the area I wanted to hunt instead of riding a 4-wheeler or utility vehicle. I remember hunting a natural food source instead of one planted to draw deer close enough for a shot. I remember when it was not legal to use bait…I mean a deer attractant. In fact, I don’t have to remember these things at all, because this is how I continue to hunt.
With today’s onslaught of trail cameras, utility vehicles, attractants (actually they should be called baits), food plots, cover scents, scent free clothing, high fencing, decoys, electronic calls, outfitters, etc, etc, etc…you no longer have to be a hunter. The only skill one has to master is shooting.
Let me tell you a little about myself. I am not a well known outdoorsman or a writer. After my name, there is not the title “Professional Hunter”. Although I’m not exactly sure what qualifies someone to be titled a professional hunter. Webster’s Dictionary defines the word professional as “engaged in an activity as a means of livelihood or gain”. Gain is defined as “to get something for as a result of one’s efforts”. Every year, I engage in deer hunting gaining venison in the freezer. Therefore, I should qualify to be a professional hunter. I suppose I could put it after my name then. Let’s see how it sounds… Hmmm, not bad. I suppose now I am qualified to host an outdoor show. I can start endorsing products. Dang…I could make some money at this.
My love for the outdoors began when I was 11 years old when my father took me squirrel hunting. We only enjoyed hunting together a few times. He died when I was 14 years old. But his teachings and willingness to take me hunting to experience the outdoors has provided me with countless hours of enjoyment ever since.
After my father’s death, I continued hunting squirrels and rabbits for the next 13 years. In 1984, when I was 27 years old, I was I invited to go deer hunting in West Virginia. Since that first time I went deer hunting, I’ve been hooked. I do not get invited by outfitters to hunt big bucks that have been scouted all year. I do not own a farm where I can grow mature bucks. I do not have access to property holding Boone and Crocket deer. But every year I harvest deer. I have tried various methods of hunting the whitetail: tree stand; ground blind; deer drive. But the art of “still” hunting is my favorite way to pursue the whitetail. I enjoy the challenge of hunting deer on the ground, on their terms. I would rather shoot a doe by still hunting, than sit over a planted food crop or a bait…oops I mean attractant, and shoot a trophy buck.
Last hunting season, I shot my first deer with my bow while still hunting. I realized how much I had missed hunting during the archery season. I had not hunted with my bow for over 10 years. I set a personal goal to shoot a deer, buck or doe. I figured, if I can shoot a deer while still hunting with my shotgun at a distance of 30 yards or less, I should be able to do it with my bow. I consider this accomplishment one of my hunting high points. It was only a year and a half old buck, but I shot this deer on the ground on his turf.
The point of this article is not to condemn any certain method of hunting or to condemn the use of technology for hunting. I hunt from a tree stand when the circumstances call for it. I do use a compound bow. I even bought a range finder last year. I am not totally against the usage of modern technology for hunting. I just want deer hunters not to forget how to use their hunting skills. Remember, it is called deer hunting, not deer shooting.
So as you begin planning for this deer season, consider still hunting; consider hunting an area where you did no scouting; consider hiking to your destination instead of riding an ATV; don’t use any type of food attractants; don’t hunt over a field that is a food plot; keep your decoy in the garage. No matter what size the buck or doe you harvest, a greater sense of accomplishment will overwhelm you when you walk up to your downed deer. You will no longer be just a shooter, but a hunter.
Copyright © 2009 Craig Cribbs
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