Im at the 5 spot.Iget more satisfaction,just bein out and with friends,Looking back and remembering the other stages.Its all good. Excellent post .

5. The Sportsman Stage, I love being outdoor and spent it more with my eleven year old son!!!

Somewhere between #4 and #5. Limiting out was important when a lot of what my family ate came from what I shot or caught. I still find gear that is absolutely essential, but don't have the strength or space to carry it. Limiting out is not as important as not missing, or making a bad shot. I will pass on more shots than I would have a few years back. I look forward to the hunt, it is the only time I get to see some of the friends that make up our group.

SD whitetail. I don't know how you would get a -1 but I bounced you back up.

I love to stalk whitetail with a longbow so it's obvious I'm a glutton for failure and taking game is secondary to the quality of the hunt.

I started off in stage one and stayed in that stage for several years. I now believe that I am in stage 5. I don't even care if I see deer any more. I just love spending time outdoors watching other animals. Teaching younger hunters what the tradition of hunting and sportsmanship is all about. I mostly hunt for meat but if a good buck comes along I will most certainly take him.

Hmmm, I'd say I'm mostly a a 3 & 4 but I do see a little bit of 5 showwing through. Good Post WAM!!!

WA Mtnhunter-
You left out the Mentor Stage. This is the stage after the Sportsman Stage, when one still likes to go, but had rather guide a younger or less experienced hunter. In this endeavor, one has no need to carry a heavy rifle, or be constantly alert. It allows one to doze off occasionally in the deer stand.
One should practice waking up without being startled, and slowly bring up the binoculars to look at some point in the brush, so dozing may be mistaken for a concentrated squint. Learn to make wise comments as you doze. "Is that a deer?" is always appropriate. The occasional snore can be laughed off as a deer grunt. When the deer is shot, the mentoring hunter has two options. "Good shot!" for a bang-flop, or a wise
comment like "A mite fur back" if the deer runs. It does not matter what you say, the mentored hunter rarely remembers anyway, in his relief at finding the deer. If you have mentored well, the deer will be found within 25 yds. but you get to demonstrate your Boone-like tracking skills. No need to confess you see the dead deer from the point it was shot.
Now is the time to stand back and give unneeded advice about how to sharpen your knife before you leave home, how to tie off a gut, always bring an axe, and "you should cut straight down the middle," or something that begins with "I always," or "My Pappy taught me....."
After returning to camp, one is then entitled to set around, drink coffee, and tell the other old folks how well you have taught "your" hunter, son, nephew, etc. and offer unhelpful hints on how to skin, butcher, or cook breakfast!

When it comes to diving for lobster, I've been stuck in the limiting-out stage for 35 years. My attitude toward hunting is mostly stage 5--sometimes I hunt with a camera--but I do consider the prospect of a trophy once in a while and I've been focusing on methods a little more lately. I think I got most of phase one out of my system at the range, but then my trigger finger does get a little itchy sometimes. Maybe I'm going through the stages backwards.

I guess I'm a mixed bag. I love nothing more than taking my kids hunting, but I love to drop the hammer on a big ol' tom or buck too. I really love to eat what I've shot or caught, and to feed it to friends and family. I've loved just being in the woods for as long as I remember. I filled the freezer w/venison this past fall, but I didn't shoot a buck, and I'm totally fine w/it. Yet, I'll damn sure be after a biggun' next fall. I bowhunt, but mostly to extend my hunting days, not to 'handicap' myself. I called in my brother's first turkey, and was more excited when he shot it than he was. I just flat-out love being 'out there', I consider it my church, and it's the prettiest one of them all.

I skipped 3 & 4 and went right to #5 about thirty years ago.

Even after forty years, I'm still stuck firmly on two when I'm in a dove field. For everything else I'm in category five and have been there for a while. I do like to hunt successfully---after all, the object of hunting animals is to kill some, but the how and how many and how big isn't nearly as important any more. Good post.

Between 3 and 4 with some 5 thrown in there. I don't ever recall not being able to find satisfaction in the total hunting experience. My family led me to hunting, so hunting means time with them.

5 I'd rather see them than kill them anymore. I would shoot one in range but don't need to anymore.

4. The Method Stage i love black powerder flint lock hunting and archery with my recure

for me it is #2 and #5. i get annoyed when i dont get anything or at least see anything sometimes and other times im just glad to go out and hang out with friends and get out of the house.