Just last night, after returning home from my outdoor TV gig at Omaha’s WOWT Channel 6, and unloading my vehicle filled with various pieces of waterfowl hunting gear/TV props (goose decoys, layout blinds, camouflage clothing, etc.), a new neighbor and I got to talking. After exchanging pleasantries and ‘small talk,’ she asked me the question: “So, why do you hunt?” I explained to her that hunting is who I am, it is part of my fabric and I conveyed to her my deep, eternal affection of and the connections I have with Nebraska’s outdoor scene. Later that night, I got to thinking a bit more … So, why DO I hunt?
I hunt because I like tradition and having my soul hard-wired as a descendant of pioneers
I hunt because I like to have fun meeting new friends, reconnecting with old ones and staying close to family members
I hunt because I like contributing to conservation, being a wildlife manager, and being viscerally tied to the earth and the circle of life
I hunt because I like celebrating the freedom of America and to fully appreciate the North American Model of Conservation
I hunt because I like and understand habitat — the woods, the waters, the wetlands, the grasslands, the crops
I hunt because I like the adventure
I hunt because I like to make memories that will carry me well into my senior years
I hunt because I like watching sunrises and sunsets in wild, rural places
I hunt because I like smelling the wind
I hunt because I like the spiritual experience it offers
I hunt because I like escaping the concrete jungle and the hustle & bustle of everyday life
I hunt because I like the challenge that hunting offers with Nebraska weather and trying to draw game animals and birds close enough for a shot on their turf
I hunt because I like viewing nature
I hunt because I like to watch a good hunting dog work
I hunt because I like eating healthy, lean, free-ranging wild game
I hunt because it is who I am
If you’re a hunter, I want you to stop and think: So, why DO YOU hunt?