On November 21, I went to Black Rock Forest for the first day of deer season.  Among the many hunters there on the first day, one came to hunt very early in the morning, even though it was his significant other's birthday.  This led me to the question; what drives someone to want to hunt? Why would someone want to get up before sunrise and sit still outside in the cold weather waiting for a deer to come into sight? 

 (Note that the picture is neither real nor taken during hunting at Black Rock Forest.)

What I've learned from interviewing hunters in the states of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, is that attitudes towards hunting seem to rely on where you are and by whom you were raised.  Almost all hunters started hunting because someone in their family did it and taught them how to shoot deer or other animals.  Most hunters shoot deer to eat the meat as opposed to shooting for the thrill of the kill.  Many hunters, especially at Black Rock Forest, know the damaging effect the deer have on the forest and it is that knowledge that drives them to hunt each year with the goal to reduce the population size to a level that which the environment can sustain.  Greg Breining wrote last year that although hunting runs in families, he and his wife came from families that did not hunt but they taught themselves to hunt because they enjoy shooting guns.