Saturday, November 26, 2005

A Hunting Tradition


Some of my more squeamish readers may be sickened by this post, but I submit to you that if you are a meat eater and this offends you, then you need to get over yourself. Your life is too sanitized, Wal-Martized, and un-realityized. If you are a strict vegetarian...good for you. I feel sorry for the tomatoes.

Hunting is something that I enjoy doing because I am semi-insane. I like to get up at 4am, go and sit out in the woods and freeze my tail off. It helps me relax. Further, the best nap that you can ever have, bar none, is the nap that you get when the sun heats you up at about 10:30. That's living, folks.

You learn something about life hunting that you cannot learn anywhere else. You learn about life and death, and you can admire the beauty of God's creation. On the stand Sunday, I was privileged to witness a beautiful pastoral scene. I was hunting by a small canal of water in the midst of a beautiful forest. The wind was cool and fresh; the grass was green; the squirrels were chasing one another. It was wonderful. There were even birds flitting about, mostly cardinals. Early in the morning a doe and her fawn came out for a drink of water by the stream and to munch on grass. I enjoyed the view and marveled at God's creation. Then I rolled the safety off and flattened that doe with my trusty .270 WSM. Roast venison tonight, baby!

If the average person had to gut, skin, and quarter an animal of any kind, then the world would be full of vegetarians. It is hard, stinky, bloody work. But it sure makes you appreciate the deer roast on Thanksgiving, I can promise you that. So why do I hunt? Because I love nature, being outdoors, shooting deer, hanging out with friends, and feeling primal. It also gives me a time of deep peace and quiet to meditate, interrupted only by the occasional rifle report.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I eat meat and were killing it left to me, likely we would eat a lot less meat, but I do not see eating meat as wrong or unbiblical. However, it does bother me that you killed a doe with a fawn...now how can the fawn survive without its mama? Wouldn't a buck have done just as well...and since they do not raise babies in any way...well one of them is all that is needed for a large group of does.

The taste of deer is a wonderful one and we often had it growing up. But next time get a buck instead.
Elizabeth

Brad Williams said...

At this time of the year, the "fawns" are weened and able to take care of themselves, don't worry. It will probably live until next year, at which time I will try and shoot it as well.

Anonymous said...

Ok...I feel better knowing the fawn is weaned now...

We often had them so close we could nearly touch them in the last place we lived...on a mountainside. They and the wild turkeys. We had elk herds cross from time to time as well, but they never came very close to the house. The one thing that scared me silly was all the snakes and bees and even a mountain lion...fortunately a young one, but even so...evidently ate all but one of the cats who was smart enough to stay in the garage when the thing was around.

Daniel said...

I don't hunt myself - but my father owned an abatoir (that's french for "slaughter house"). I don't think I would have any trouble butchering an animal - but I might have trouble killing one. Not a philospophical problem or anything like that - just that I am a little timid around guns and worry that I might cause the animal to suffer in my clumsiness (not to mention wasting a few shells) :-)

Brad Williams said...

Bro. Terry,

That was a slip, it was actually Saturday. The congregation will testify that I was there preaching Sunday morning and evening.;)