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comment by mk
mk  ·  3251 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Let Me Tell You About Hunting

I got a rabbit with an arrow when I was about 9 years old. It was sitting in a large discarded concrete drainage pipe which made it an easy shot.

I shot it in its hindquarters and it ran, but our dog caught it in a matter of moments and brought it straight to my father. Rabbits scream terribly, and I'll never forget my father holding the writhing rabbit by its hind legs, and pausing for a moment to tell me that some fox hunters will record the scream to bring in fox. He then clubbed it hard against a tree. He dressed the rabbit and we went home and made a stew.

My father was a hunter, and he taught me a lot about animals and their behaviors. I agree that if one eats meat, killing your own meal is a valuable experience.

I fish occasionally, but don't hunt. I would consider going hunting again, but maybe to just to get close enough for a kill without following through. I don't really like the taste of wild game. It is an eye-opening way to interact with the world.





user-inactivated  ·  3251 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Honestly I thought that I wouldn't go through with the kill the first time. I could probably accurately quote myself as saying, "I'm only going to take a buck if it's a trophy, but I'd prefer a doe for the taste." But as soon as I saw that buck in my sights there was no question that I would take him, and he was only ten points. I'm glad I did because I would have chanced souring myself on hunting if I passed on a shot to come home empty handed altogether. Next time I will have the confidence of success behind me and not have to worry as much about gender and antlers, but one of my life goals is to recreate a mount that my grandfather had on his wall. He was a real piece of shit otherwise, but damn it if he didn't have a 16 point buck with a beautiful rack looking down on him like a conquered warrior. I don't even fully understand why that speaks to me so much; my family never hunted. But when I saw that at 16, I knew I wanted to recreate it. Coming up on 15 years later I'm close. It's in my blood I suppose.

The last time I hunted rabbit was in the Grand Teton Wilderness, and I used a rock. They certainly do have a wail, but the Air Force taught me to karate chop the back of the neck for an instant painless kill so I've barely heard it. I learned how to dress an animal on a rabbit, and everyone should learn that way. It's like a meat banana in how easy it is.

mk  ·  3251 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    It's like a meat banana in how easy it is.

It really is. The skin came off like a sock.

My dad told me he got his first rabbit with a club.

Did you just throw the rock at it?

user-inactivated  ·  3251 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Yeah. Pretty unceremoniously. But that's what you get when your defense against predators with color vision is to sit perfectly still.

mk  ·  3251 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I guess it works in enough cases not to change the strategy.

wasoxygen  ·  3251 days ago  ·  link  ·  

For r-strategists, filling up the predator's belly is part of the strategy.

With love, anything is possible...