Middle River Dispatches

A gumbo of fly-fishing, conservation, politics and days afield, for what it is worth....

  • Front Page
  • Fly Fishing
    • Fly Fish Virginia
    • Fly Fishing Instruction
    • Tenkara
    • Mossy Creek Fly Fishing
  • Conservation
    • The Roosevelt Mandate
      • The Roosevelt Mandate Articles
  • Politics
  • Antics
    • Why
    • Who is Tom Sadler
      • Biography of G. J. Thomas Sadler, Jr.
    • Contact Information
  • Campfire
    • Forum Rules
    • Forum Privacy Policy
  • Fine Print
    • Privacy Policy
      • Privacy and Unicorns
    • Terms of Use
    • Disclosures
You are here: Home / Conservation / The Honor In The Hunt

The Honor In The Hunt

February 15, 2012 By Tom Sadler 2 Comments

As a hunter I confront the finality of my action each time I kill an animal. Each time, every time. It is a soul searching pause that is never easy.

When I was introduced to hunting by my father he instilled in me a deep and abiding appreciation for the fish, fowl and animals I would take. He made me pause to honor and thank them for the sustenance they would provide my family, or friends or me.

I have often searched for an explanation for the honor of the hunt. I think I found it.

“And that is the thing about real hunters. Real hunters love the animals they kill. It is not about trophies, or ego, or dominance. For real hunters, the life they take is already a part of them, and when they take that life, they do so with reverence and awe and the understanding that being struck down cleanly, without pain or suffering, is a far better end than any creature usually has the privilege of meeting.”

That passage is from Allison Glock’s wonderful tale, First Shot, in Garden & Gun. She writes of her first hunt for a turkey with hunting legend Jay Walea. The story is about a first timer, Walea’s skill as a turkey hunting and in the end it captured for me, that elusive explanation above. Her story ends fittingly with;

“We say grace. We toast the gobbler. And then we pass the plate. I do not hesitate. I honor his death with appreciation. And extra gravy.”

A toast to hunters, hunting and the cycle of life.

Filed Under: Conservation, Hunting, Reflections Tagged With: Allison Glock, Garden & Gun, honor, Hunting, Jay Walea, turkey hunting

Have something to say?

You can start a conversation or join one on our forum. I call it the campfire.

Comments

  1. Tom Sadler says

    February 16, 2012 at 7:45 am

    Howdy Kiwi, Thanks for the kind words! Best of luck with your days afield.

  2. Chris "Kiwi" Kuhlow says

    February 15, 2012 at 10:30 am

    Great post!  As someone who began hunting for the first time this year I agree with everyword.  I have yet to actually be succsessful but having reverence and awe for the animals I was after was clearly part of my thinking when I began this journey.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Join us around the Campfire

You can start a conversation or join one on our forum. I call it the campfire.

Article Sections

  • The Roosevelt Mandate Articles
  • Hot Takes & Second Hand Smoke
  • Fly Fish Virginia
  • Fly Fishing Instruction

Politics

Insurrection most foul

Gerson’s article, “The U.S. must punish sedition — or risk more of it” captures much of what is going through my mind at this moment.

The post-election political theater has jumped the shark.

BLUF: Time to starve the conspiracy whack jobs and Trump sycophants of oxygen.

The Threat to Democracy is Real

“We opposed Trump because we recognized that what he stood for is an existential threat to the American experiment in constitutional democracy.”

More Posts from this Category

Categories

No cheating!

Creative Commons License
Middle River Dispatches by Tom Sadler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Copyright © 2021 ·News Pro Theme · Genesis Framework by StudioPress · WordPress · Log in