What hunter stage are you in?

[Dr.Spaniel]

Method. Want to shoot deer from the ground with the bow. Trophy or not. Being close is the game.

 

[I Am Gunz]

I’m in the sportsman stage with a little bit of limiting out as well. I think as a lot have stated, we can all kind of fall into all of the categories depending on the hunt. Each hunt has its own different purpose. But getting my little ones involved and hunting with friends to make memories is what’s most important right now.

 

[satchamo]

I’m in the I have 3 young kids, I get out when I can and it’s never enough stage….

 

[Snowwolfe]

I want to hunt several times a year but I could care less if I ever pull the trigger again.
Planning, memories, and hopefully meat is what I look forward to.

 

[Sbird2019]

Im in the “proud of the hunts I’ve been able to afford while working a normal job to support my family yet wishes I had the personality or professional archery background to be a sponsored social media hunter that got to go on one “hunt of a lifetime” after another” camp

 

[AlabamaMountainMan]

Definitely found myself transitioning into more of the method stage over the previous 2 years. I hit a point where I just was not enjoying sitting in a blind or tree stand on small patches of family land or friends land on Saturday mornings and Sunday evenings. If I can spend 3-6 days camping, still hunting/stalking, and see game up close (even if I don't seal the deal) I will go home satisfied. Traveling out-of-state, incorporating camping, and still hunting/stalking have really added the adventure to hunting that I really wanted and was not getting previously.

 

[mighteywhitehunter]

In the middle of Method-Trophy

 

[diamond10x]

I'm a HUNTER. It's what I love to do and it'll never change.

Some days it's limiting out, some days it's only archery, some days its checking off a new species or filling a tag for the freezer, some days it's holding out for a specific mature animal, some days its the adventure or just being in the outdoors, some days its just having shot opportunities, it changes all the time depending on the quarry, the location, and the tag.

 

[49ereric]

Hunger stage

 

[bojangles808]

barely kill anything anymore spend too much time on the internet stage

 

[MTPaul]

I'm not sure what category I best fit into. I enjoy the spot and stalk with my grand-kids. I am past the trophy stage and am now into the filling the freezer with healthy food options.

 

[Sandhills]

I'm in the trophy stage until a forked horn walks out

 

[Huntingfanatic]

Definitely Sportsman stage. I have taken a lot of animals in my life. I have 4 boys ranging from 40 to 26 and I have never taken an animal any better than being with or watching those boys get one themselves.

 

[Ridgerunner1]

I catch close to 100 bears a yr,and I personally haven’t killed a bear in over 10 yrs. It’s all about the chase for me , rather it be whitetails or hound hunting.

 

[Turkeytider]

I’ m very surprised at the majority being in the Sportsman stage. I wonder how these categories correlate to respondents ages, if at all ?

 

[Sandhills]

I catch close to 100 bears a yr,and I personally haven’t killed a bear in over 10 yrs. It’s all about the chase for me , rather it be whitetails or hound hunting.

I miss running hounds. Did that my whole childhood until 2013 when California outlawed it

 

[roosiebull]

Sportsman fits me the best, but I do miss the shooter stage, and enjoy reflecting back on that when there was no BS and I was purely hunting for an opportunity.

In text, the sportsman stage sounds the most elegant, but the shooter stage was the most pure stage of hunting… no rabbit holes, no thought on gear, hardly prepared for success, just out there grinding for a chance, and everything is new

Those in the shooter stage are my favorite people to take hunting and see successful. It seems like the most pure stage of hunting, just out there hunting for food and a full tag

 

[LostArra]

For elk I'm in the Misogynist stage. I can only draw cow tags and I like to hunt them and put them in the freezer.

The more time you spend in the Trophy stage the more time you will spend in the Point Creep Sucks/ I Got No Tag/They Hate Non-residents Complaining stage.

Hunting deer I was for many years in the Trophy stage until I finally understood a quote by one of the Wensels. You can't kill a 160" deer if you are hunting a location without 160" deer no matter how hard you hunt.

 

[teph45]

I think i am at the trophy stage, I could give out the meat, share the experience but the Taxidermy has to be mine.

 

[Mish-pop]

I am on the line between trophy and method stage. I want the biggest trophy big game animal I can but I like an added challenge. I picked up a bow a few years ago for this reason. A 150-160 class mule deer with a bow is more rewarding to me than with a rifle. I shot a 150 class mule deer during rifle season that i chased for several days a month prior with my bow. I was stoked to harvest the buck but the challenge of the failed stalks during archery and twice being in range but unable to seal the deal were more of an adrenaline rush compared to using a rifle.