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Gun season already started 2 weekends but no report so I am start with my buck 11/15.
I felt really emotional after the shot and I started have this feeling in the past years and it getting worst. Am I become sissy or what?

Respect for the game that paid the ultimate price. What you are feeling is the difference between hunting and killing.

LOOKN4REDS wrote:Respect for the game that paid the ultimate price. What you are feeling is the difference between hunting and killing.

Yep.

I think it's a natural thing for some of us as we grow older.
Some including myself tend to look at nature's world around us in a different manor.
Rats, mice and squirrels (the one's that want to chew through the facia boards on my house) are still fair game.

Nice buck. I get the feeling too, but as long as you dont waste it, feed it to your family and treasure your time out there it's worth it. Just means you appreciate the animals sacrifice, most people buying beef at the store don't get it.

I think as we get older we have a much higher respect for all that God has blessed us with and thankful for the animals that he has provided for us to enjoy(whether watching them just interact with other animals in the wild or harvesting them for a meal) You aren't doing anything bad by harvesting an animal as long as you utilize it.
God made man dominion over all here on earth! Giving thanks to God for such a gift is very important and having respect for the animal is equally important.

When you say emotional, what exactly do you mean? As in nerves and rush or adrenaline or more of the cry-type feelings?

That is one very nice rack on that buck

good buck!

I get that same feeling just much later, usually about the time I can see the bottom of the freezer.

LOOKN4REDS wrote:Respect for the game that paid the ultimate price. What you are feeling is the difference between hunting and killing.

This exactly. I have always felt that feeling whether it was a fish, deer, squirrel, rabbit, etc. Heck, one of the worst times was when i killed a possum that had killed some of my in laws kittens. I went to haul it off and the babies crawled out of her pouch. I ended up dispatching them too, but felt horribble doing it. Thats the thing the anti hunters dont and may never understand as they bad mouth hunting while they pick out their next steak or chicken.

Very nice buck!

I still like to hunt, stalk them, or even sit in a blind. Hanging out in camp is fun, sitting around a fire. But, I try to let someone else shoot them, my kids or a friend. My wife isn't a big lover of whitetail flesh, but she likes Axis venison so I'll harvest one of those occasionally.

I still get excited for my kids when they shoot a deer and make a good shot. Or anyone else that I know. For me, pulling the trigger is getting harder. It's that saying "I'm not mad at them anymore".
I think it's true. I still can kill a few fish, the whole family loves fresh fish, so that's a motivator.

Seems like most of my friends around my age (50's) feel more or less the same as I do about the killing part. One friend's whole family loves venison so he'll shoot a deer (within the law) any chance he gets. I can't ever see becoming one of those folks that gets mad or gives someone a hard time about hunting or harvesting animals responsibly. Those folks had better be a card carrying vegan without a speck of leather around or they'll probably get more from me than they can ever dish out.