There are many ways that we as outdoorsmen can enjoy the great outdoors. There’s fishing, a very popular hobby by many, and there’s camping which takes the outdoor experience to another level. Maybe your idea of being outdoors involves playing golf or maybe exercising. But for thousands of others…there’s hunting, which for many is the main reason they wake up every day! Hunters, in most cases, are very hard-core outdoorsmen who have a serious passion for pursuing wild game from doves and squirrel to ducks and bucks. But why?
To understand a hunter, you need to be a hunter or live with one. This group has the same mind set and passion for the outdoors that LSU Tiger fans have for football…they’re crazy! Hunters put in a lot of time and effort to not only hunt, but to get ready for the hunt. Just like a bass tournament angler, preparation is key to being successful and is a part of the grind that hunters must go through to increase their chances for success in the fall. For most hunters, all the preseason planning is just as much fun as the hunt itself…or is it?
Whether they are on a lease or hunting public land, hunters have a lot of work to do. When it comes to certain things needing to be done, they tend to have more flexibility on a private lease than they might on public hunting land. But most leases, public and private, do not want hunters to put nails into trees since at some point, the landowner or timber company will probably be harvesting the timber. But most of the time, they’re okay with you cutting a few shooting lanes, bush hogging pipelines, or planting food plots on old logging roads.
For deer hunters, the next season begins only a few months after the last one ended. Deer hunters do not get much of a break as they start the process of preparing for next season by planting food plots, fixing feeders, and repairing deer stands. Most take their ATV or UTV vehicles in for service due to the abuse their machines have gone through.
For duck hunters, the biggest job is building the blind. Some simply rebrush blinds they’ve used for years, while others may build new blinds in different locations. Make no mistake, the amount of work to build a duck blind is no less than what a deer hunter must do. Duck hunters must go out and gather moss and cut brush so they can brush-in their blind. This takes time and lots of work to secure the brush to the blind. Of course, all this takes place when temperatures are usually in the 90’s, so sweating is a major part of both a duck and deer hunter’s world as they prepare for another season.
There you have it ladies, now you know why your husbands are gone so long during hunting season, and especially during the months leading up to the hunting season. Hunting requires hard work and long hours of preparation to guarantee success. But don’t try and justify the cost of hunting because when it comes down to dollars spent versus pounds of meat put int the freezer, you’ll see it does not come out very well for the hunter. But it’s all worth it when that back strap comes straight off the grill and is sitting in front of you at dinner time. It just doesn’t get any better than that!
Till next time good luck, good fishing and don’t forget to invite me for supper when back strap is served!
Steve Graf Angler’s Perspective
