For students who love the outdoors at NHS, the colder temperatures and conditions of winter usually mark the end of their fun for the year. However, some nature aficionados not only continue going outside, they intensify their endeavors. With November 3rd marking the start of hunting season, this sport of intense patience and persistence shifts its sights to the deer of Indiana.

    “Hunting is fun, rewarding, and tastes good,” senior Dalton Carver said. “The most rewarding thing to me is the adrenaline rush of finally finding an animal after hours of hunting it.”

    Stalking prey is the sport of choice for a few students at NHS, and they say it’s the ultimate pastime for the more reserved.

    “I usually hunt alone. There aren’t a whole lot of people who hunt, and the ones who do aren’t very good at it,” Carver said. “I have a buddy from Alabama that flies up during fall and winter break, and we go duck hunting.”

    Hunters say they love the activity for many reasons. But those reasons are often similar. For many, hunting has brought them closer to their family.

    “I mainly hunt with my dad. He’s taught me everything,” Kyle Peters, a graduate of NHS in 2016, said. “If he’s busy or something, I just hunt by myself. We always go together for waterfowl hunting, though.”

    It isn’t uncommon for hunting to be introduced in a person’s life at a young age, handing down the tradition to these students and binding them to their family history.

    “I started hunting with my dad at the age of nine,” Peters said. “I just hunted during gun and muzzleloader season.”

    For others, the tradition was passed on much earlier.

    “When I was six, my dad took me to go deer hunting for the first time,” Carver said. “I used a bow and a rifle.”

    As for tools of the trade, hunters say they pick their weapons for a variety of reasons. Some aim for function, others for nostalgia.

    “I prefer a rifle because of the range that it offers,” Carver said. “Animals are less likely to know you’re there.”

     “I started out using a muzzleloader,” Peters said. “Having used one since I was a kid, I still prefer using one all through the season.”

    Choosing an animal, much like their weapon, is another matter of personal preference. Just as certain weapons can be used during specific periods of the year, hunting certain animals is restricted to particular seasons.

    “I hunt goose, duck, turkey, but most importantly deer,” Peters said. “I love deer hunting — it’s definitely my passion.”

    Whether they do it to eat or for the thrill of it, the reason many hunters spend their time pursuing animals is to lose themselves.

    “I love hunting not only for the chase, but becoming lost in the outdoors as well. I see it as an escape from the stress of everyday life,” Peters said.