The Three M's of Whitetail Deer Hunting

I came up with this several months ago and have been meaning to write about it, but to my recollection haven't yet done so.  I thought of it again yesterday when I read the first post in Bryan's new series on why he hunts.

That's a subject we could all talk about for hours.  We do it for the quiet.  We do it to study nature.  We do it to spend time with our families and to stay in touch with our past. We do it for the adrenaline rush.  We do it for fun!

But for me, it all comes down to what I have dubbed "the three M's of Whitetail Deer Hunting."  I associate the three M's with whitetail deer because that is the only animal I get much chance to hunt.  But I'm pretty sure the three M's would apply to just about any kind of legal hunting you enjoy.  Every reason I can think of that I hunt falls under at least one of them:

Meat-This is why animals hunt and why humans started doing it. 

Every time we go into the field to hunt, we hope to put food on the table, whether that table is in our own house or in the home of someone who needs it more than we do.  There are few things that make me happier than seeing my kids eat game which I harvested or than giving it to someone who will enjoy it and whose winter it will make a little easier.

"It puts food on the table," is my answer whenever anyone questions the amount of time I devote to hunting.

Never mind that if I spent all that time working at a second job or on a side business my family could probably afford to eat whatever we want.  It's still a pretty good feeling to walk into the woods with a bow and arrow and come out with enough meat to feed my family for a month or more!

Management-Around here, that means thinning out the deer herd to make the roads safer and protect homeowners' pansies and azaleas.

But wildlife needs to be managed, and that's one of the main reasons our state governments let us hunt in the first place.  Deer, geese and rabbits are some of the most obvious examples, but there is some type of management plan behind the laws regarding every game animal and bird. 

And it's not just about protecting humans' interests.  Hunting is needed to keep otherwise overpopulated game animals healthy. Non-hunters and "antis" often lose sight of the fact that the modern hunter, above all others, has an interest in keeping the animals healthy and populations dense.

We don't want to get rid of them.  We want them to still be around next year.  It's all about conservation!

Memories-What about antlers on the wall, you ask?  Well, I guess that would fall into this category.

For the deer hunter, that mounted buck brings back memories: memories of hard work and long hours on stand; memories of the hunter's heart pounding when the buck came into the clearing; memories of a great animal who lived a great life and died a valiant death.

But there's a lot more to hunting memories than trophies: a memory of a good day shared with a good friend; an exhausting drag and collapsing on the ground at the end of it; the buck you saw but couldn't get a shot at; the buck you could have shot but let walk on by.

I fondly remember (but won't admit to) how many years I hunted before I killed my first buck.  That's a good memory and not a bad one, I suppose, because I'm reminded of how hard I worked at learning to be a deer hunter and how rewarding it was when I finally succeeded.

Some of my best hunting memories ever have taken place in the last few days, and I haven't even come close to having a shot at a deer yet this season.  That's because I took my kids hunting. 

A four-year-old sits in a thicket, with a camcorder in his hand and whispers: "We're real outdoorsmen, Dad."

A six-year-old sees a deer at dawn and says "Shoot it Dad!" then apologizes for scaring the deer.

These little memories will stay with me as long as I hunt and as long as I live.

And that's what it's really all about!

Comments

[Kristine Shreve]

Love this post! Especially the last part about taking your kids hunting.

I'd also guess that most hunters would agree with your "Three M's".

[deerPhD]

Great stuff...great stuff! Glad to see you put this post together (and thanks for the link). I hope others follow suit.

Best of luck getting your Meat, Management, and Memories on!

[Arthur]

Preach on brother!! Hehe.

I couldn't agree more with this post. Awesome!

[Sassy]

Those are some lucky boys, Matt.

[Phillip]

Three Ms and a K (Kids)!

Excellent post, Matt. You got at a complex topic in a fairly simplified way. I like that.

Mmm... meat. Must be lunchtime!

[darrell]

Awesome post Matt! And thanks for the link. Man, do I ever want to go hunting now. And I can't wait till the youth hunt!