Jerry Miculek Talks About “Why I Hunt”
Russ Chastain 12.03.20
(Image: Screenshot from video; Jerry Miculek)
In this video, Professional shooter Jerry Miculek talks about why he still goes hunting at age 66. It’s just Jerry standing by a tailgate (where someone obviously had some luck, judging by the blood smear on the cooler) as he talks about his reasons for getting out into the woods to get away from it all.
Jerry says he likes to get out there and “go numb,” by which he means he stops doing and going and planning, and simply becomes an observer.
“When I go out in the woods, I don’t want to be anything or any person or anybody; I just wanna get out and listen.”
He talks about enjoying the interesting things you get to see when you go hunting, whether it’s a lone doe feeding, some geese flying over, or a buck pursuing a doe with romantic intentions. I know exactly how he feels; on a recent public-land hunt, I watched as two does worked the same licking branch above a scrape — separately and then together! That is definitely something you don’t see every day. In fact, it was a first for me and I’m in my 38th deer season.
During the talk, he removes his smart phone from his pocket and sets it aside.
“You just listen, you look, and you become part of the environment that you’re in, instead of having this thing dictate to ya everything that you wanna do the next day or today.”
I could probably benefit from using my phone less when I’m on the stand, but it has become a crutch of sorts for me, keeping me entertained in between critters. Either way, Jerry Miculek and I are on the same page on this next part:
“That’s the thrill for me: Something new will happen every day.”
That’s for sure.
I hope you enjoy the short video.
