One of my children's friends was over the other day, she is a real animal lover and they were playing a game of "save the animals". I thought it was a good game until my son, who up until that point loved hunting with me, comes to me and says, "Daddy, when I go hunting with you, I don't want to kill anything, I just want to watch the animals." I said that was fine, but what changed his mind. He responded, "I just don't want to kill anything, its wrong to kill animals."
Looking around the den at my mounts, I asked him some questions and took the opportunity to explain to him that as a hunter, we love the animals also, we are in fact the the group of conservationist that pumps the most money into wildlife management, we spend more volunteer hours trying to save species, and enhancing habitat than any other group. I explained that we only hunt animals whose populations can withstand the harvest and that without our harvest, many of these animals would over populate and lead to disease and starvation.
I could tell it was going over his eight year old head and slowed down, got off my soap box and explained to him, that hunting is not about the "kill". while that is part of it, its about being in nature, watching undisturbed wildlife, listening to the sounds, embracing the smells, watching sunrises and sunsets. I explained that the killing is only one small part, and that we enjoy the meat, (I reminded him of his mothers world famous cubed steak and gravy) and how much he enjoys it.
But this conversation got me to thinking again, as I believe all sportsmen and women do, on why we hunt. I believe we hunt because we must. Its ingrained into our DNA, its part of who we are and something that makes us whole to a significant degree. The pursuit, the challenge of chasing, shooting, and harvesting. The adventure of being there. While some hunt to fill trophy rooms, most of us hunt for the sport of it, for the challenge, for the internal significance it brings to our lives. To be whole.
I feel remorse for those whose DNA is lacking this thirst for the out of doors, for the camaraderie, those who lack the desire to quality time in nature, enjoying the creation God provided us. I feel remorse for those whose feeling of success in hunting is measured by well preserved trophies on their walls, and miss the simple joy of just being there.
A successful hunt is not measured by spent cartridges, or slung arrows, it is not measured by antlers, horns or beards, it is measured by all of our times that we spend out doors with friends, family and in harmony with ourselves, enjoying another day, another opportunity. It is enjoyed around campfires, in deer-stands, on mountain tops, tundra, field edges, northern forest, on the plains and in marshes, where we can escape everything else in our lives and just be at one with nature and ourselves.
Why do I hunt, I hunt because I must, because at the core of who I am, I am a hunter.
