Happiness Afield

by Matt Treat

For many, happiness consists of, playing video games, going to the beach, watching movies, or going shopping. For serious hunters, happiness consists of something much more; something that runs deep, and only serious hunters will ever understand.

Many start hunting at a very young age; like myself, so being out on the land and having a grand respect for nature starts early. A wide array of people will never understand the feeling we get as hunters; to get into the woods well before sunrise, and to watch the world wake up around us. Whether its sitting in a treestand in the fall, or sitting up against a tree during the spring turkey season.

Until you witness the sun coming up, and hear the birds start to sing, and watch the squirrels, and other animals of the forest become active, you’ll never know the feeling I’m describing here today.

Though, this is just a small portion of what my fellow serious hunters and I experience, what we feel deep inside us is indescribable. We as hunters have a connection with the land that runs deeply inside us. As Ted Nugent says “The hunt is sacred, and we as hunters have a spiritual connection that takes place every time we are on a hunt.”. I believe this statement to be true, and not all hunters can relate. Only the dedicated of all hunters will ever relate.The hunt never truly ends, when we are scouting, sighting in the new bow, hanging stands, or remembering last years sensations, we are hunting. Its an inescapable call, that brings us closer to nature and makes us feel at home.