I now hunt mostly to get out in the woods. I haven't shot a deer in several years now, and the squirrels have been pretty safe too, if you exclude the little bastards that raid our birdfeeder. I've found that they really don't like getting tagged with a paintball gun. We've got a couple very nervous booger green squirrels running around the neighborhood right now as a matter of fact. And then I discovered there's full auto paint ball guns.......
For me, it's become more about just getting out. My health issues the last couple years have really put a dent in my method of hunting. I'm a lot closer to the trail heads than I used to be, but I have become a much better still hunter, totally out of necessity.
I really enjoy watching the woods wake up in the morning. The owls settling in from their turn on the night shift, the grouse walking past my stand picking seeds, the mice and squirrels busy on the forest floor. The crows alerting their friends to my presence, and the little chickadees and whiskey jacks that always seem to find me. The day just isn't complete till a chickadee lands on my gun barrel. Now a days, the local chipmunk gets more of my cookies than I do, but that's okay too.
Now it's more about just enjoying being out of the office, and away from the house. I may never kill another deer, and that's okay, but then again, I still dream about hanging a tag on a nice buck and bringing it home. Right now though, the other stuff is way more important to me.
