A lot of people in our industry have been weighing in on the anti-hunting movement, even when it doesn’t make much sense for them to. Are we stoking the fire with our well-intended parade of pro-hunting articles? Or are we raising awareness for a sad epidemic that has left many of us in an uncomfortable situation?
Either way, it’s gaining momentum in mainstream media. And the anti-hunters won’t back down when they are getting exactly what they want. Attention.
When I’m in the woods or sitting around a campfire, the last thing on my mind is drama. I go to the woods to get away from the busy world and the over saturated life that many people actually enjoy. I spend time in the woods because it’s where my soul is happiest.
I love hunting. I won’t apologize for it. I love the the nature of it, the challenge of it, and the reward of taking an animal that I’ve worked for. I adore the smells of the countryside, cleaning my own animal after the kill, and the cold wind against my face. I love climbing mountains and knowing that the big deer live at the top, I love releasing an arrow into the perfect spot to take an animal down quickly, and most of all I love that this is a tradition that my great ancestors enjoyed also. They passed down this heritage for me to enjoy it, and I do.
I’ll never apologize for being a hunter. I’ll embrace it, I’ll defend it, and I won’t back down just because some guy on social media threatened to hurt me. That guy just needs a good kick in the pants and a 9 mile hike up the mountains to get his head straight.