Why I like to hunt

This is the first of a two-part series about my reasons for hunting.

A question was posed to eight of my hunting friends a few years ago: Why do you hunt?

The answers varied, but not one made a reference to killing a critter. Of course the main goal of hunting is to notch an elk tag or bring down a goose, but not every hunter will notch a tag or bring down a goose. This is why the sport is called hunting and not killing.

This year the question was posed again, but this time to only one person, me. I began to analyze the question and find the answers. Here are some of the results:

Ruler of the does

The ground blind protects me from the slight rain and wind, but it is cold just the same. Tomorrow the propane heater will warm me as I sit and wait for a legal deer to appear.

A group of five does walk into view and began to eat the green grass. They run out of the field as if a cougar was chasing them. Instead a lone doe walks to the field. This animal is obviously the queen, the ruler, the top of the pecking order in these parts.

This behavior is most interesting. The deer stays 20 minutes, feeding in different parts of the field, and then walks slowly up the trail where she made her entrance, eating dry grass along the way. The instant the queen is out of the field the other five does are back, feeding again.

Watching a new deer behavior, one I had not witnessed before is exciting and thrilling. This is why I hunt.

The power of the sun demonstrated

Seated in a goose pit blind with eight other hunters and a guide in 20 degree weather is an interesting experience.

These hunters came from around the state to hunt with this guide. Most of us had hot coffee or hot chocolate to sip while waiting for a flock of geese to appear. The guide was on a constant lookout for the birds, but the rest of us talked freely.

We all had hand warmers of some type and a couple of us had propane heaters. It was cold, yes, but we were all dressed for the below-freezing weather.

The talk centered on their home towns, the weather they suffered to arrive in Moses Lake, their occupations and even their families.

I watched the light begin to glow in the east, the sky shining as if the sun was setting with orange and blue and yellow. The clouds were not solid, so patches of blue were visible.

As the sunlight hit a frost-covered cornstalk outside the pit, just 12 inches to my front, I watched as the warmth of the sun slowly melted the frost.

Watching a sunrise as powerful and beautiful as a sunset, being with new friends even if for just a few hours, viewing the power of the sun melting frost close to my position. This is why I hunt.

Setting moon and three deer

Thomas Steffens relayed the following story about the seventh day of our 2013 hunt: "I was up an hour before shooting time. Heated some water and had a cup of coffee while getting dressed for the hunt.

"I walked to the north fence and headed into the stubble for about 100 yards. Then I turned west to the end of the property. My position was now north of the northwest corner area.

"There were several minutes remaining before shooting time, so I settled onto the earth and looked around me. The full moon was beginning to set in the southwest and it held my entire attention.

"It was large, no huge, and orange in color. The bottom end hit the horizon and the scene was breathtaking.

"As the moon settled more, perhaps a third more, it appeared larger than ever, but this was just the beginning. As I sat mesmerized, enthralled and fascinated by the site, three deer walked across the face of the moon.

"This was an awestruck moment to be remembered forever."

Hearing a hunting partner's narrative of a special time on a morning hunt leaves me with a desire to experience the same. This is why I hunt.

Next week: More stories to answer the question of why I hunt?