I enjoy the hunt. Turkey…..I have killed one a year nothing the last 2 years which is good with me. I’ve had several of great hunts and let the gobbler ease on off. Fun times gets you pumped and hunt him again another day. Double triple beard or more id be hard to hold back. Enjoy the hunt!
Deer….. Same thing looking for the drop tine weird rack guy, big 10 or more point. Watching them is as enjoyable as the kill. Lots of work after pulling the trigger.
Is it the hunt and hunt them again or the kill that most are looking for? Both? Fishing lots of folks catch get a picture and release.

Most people once they have had success over the years they just treasure the experience to get in the woods and don't really care to kill much, if anything. Once I had kids I just wanted them to have success and I sat back and enjoyed. I've seen others that shot everything they could until they simple could not raise a gun any longer. Each to his own. Different strokes for different folks.

I enjoy the hunt more than anything. Once the shot is fired the fun ends and the work begins. Don’t get me wrong, I still get overwhelmed with excitement when I’m able to kill a deer or especially a turkey. But then the game is over for that hunt. The game is what I love!!

The hunt for sure. I'm very picky (probably too picky) on the deer I shoot, but if its a mature gobbler he gets shot in the face if any way possible. Catch and release turkey hunting, in my opinion, does nothing for the quality of the hunting.

For deer, I enjoy a good hunt…relaxing and really enjoyable

For Turkey, I’m not out there to bird watch… 😂

For the record…I harvest crops…I hunt to kill…drives me nuts the “I harvested this majestic deer” etc lol

Sometimes it is bittersweet. You won the game ,but now you have to find a new opponent.

I do love the work part of it a lot more than I used to when younger. Younger, kill, kill, kill, some more, now, I still want to kill, just more selective, and enjoy the time outside working doing things more.

It’s always been the experiences I’ve had while hunting far more than the kills. I’ve been proud to take some animals more than others, sure, but I put them all to the same use. I like to eat them. As I’ve gotten older I’m enjoying expanding my skill sets and learning new things. Ready access to hogs lead into sausage making. Now when I drop a sow I’m reeling with which type of sausage I’m going to make next. I’m working on habitat improvement on my property to make it better for the animals that live there. I won’t kill anymore deer than I do now but I want them well fed.

It’s a combo for me when it comes to deer hunting. I like killing deer because I enjoy processing the meat and turning it into food for family and friends. That part is super rewarding to me. Heck even killing does for the freezer is fun. If I ever stop getting a rush from that I may have to reevaluate things.
I do enjoy the hunt and prefer hunting public ground vs my private property. Yeah I’ll kill deer on private and it’s still fun, but nothing like the reward from getting a mature deer on public ground. I just enjoy being outdoors, but outsmarting a deer that is pressured heavily certainly has a different level of enjoyment/satisfaction.

Not a big Turkey hunter so I don’t really have the same feelings towards them. I may go turkey hunt twice a year max so if I happen to kill one it’s pure luck. The population just isn’t there in this part of SC. I’m more scouting for deer than turkey hunting. I’ve killed a few gobs in the past but that was when I lived in AL and had public ground with plenty of birds to chase.

I really enjoy the challenge of trying to kill a big, mature buck . I thought after I killed that 162" with a bow a couple years ago I'd relax but I still love it every bit as much even knowing I'm likely never to beat that one. I did enjoy turkey hunting but it's not as much of a challenge and I didn't even go last year even though the farm I hunt is covered up with them. I do plan to go some this spring. I love being in the fall woods more than any other time of year and I still would go even if I knew the chances are low to kill. If I'm going to fight the mosquitoes and terrain I am dang sure pulling the trigger as many times as is legal in turkey season. So I guess it's the hunt for deer and its the killing for turkey that gets my blood pumping.

To answer the question simply- I love being outside, but I'm a killer (of game animals only). So it's the kill for me.

If those that say the excitement is just the killing part you most likely haven't killed very many things in your life. That goes away for everyone except those type of people who as kids wanted to light their pets on fire.

if killing something gets you all hot and bothered you missed your opportunity and should have joined the military. It's on an entirely different plane of exhilarating adrenaline when there's' the possibility you might die in the process... if that's your drug of choice.

Shooting a deer and getting an adrenaline rush is child's play. That's why most grow out of it. There's no danger you are just shooting animals.

Getting charged by a Brown Bear of Lion would break you in if you are too old to enlist.

I'm a predator i do what they do

Don't hunt anymore. Just shoot what walks out back

I relax when I go deer hunting. Don't get all that fired up about actually killing one. Tracking them is way more fun

I've got several killer spots to turkey hunt this year that I have worked my butt off trapping for. I'm planning on killing my limit plus get a few kids on some. Ain't no playing around, but they'll have to play the game. None of that hunting with decoy garbage either or ground blinds

I like the hunt, the kill and the meal on both

The hunt for me. If I tagged every legal animal my season for elk and deer would be way too short for my liking. I hunt 6 months out of the year because I'm an addict lol.

The hunt makes the money and time well spent.... at least for me it does.. I love deer meat....... if I don't get me a deer at first it gives me time to think what did I do wrong that day,,, then decide what to do differently ... the deer thru me a curve ball I'm going to return the favor... Turkey hunting ain't for me ...I ain't got the patience.

Both, but I enjoy the kill more if I’ve done the hunting. I enjoy the kill less if it’s a guided place and I’m there for 3 days with no scouting.