Grew Up Hunting

I grew up hunting.  It was super convenient because I lived on a farm.  You'd walk out the back door and be in the fields.  From as early as I can remember, I'd go on regular adventures up and down the rows hunting for rabbits and whatever other varmints my golden retriever and I managed to stir up.  I think my favorite hunting back then was for dove.  Getting used to the sudden flush of quail, even with great dogs pointing them out, was something I could never get used to.  They'd flush and I'd jump with surprise every time.  Of course, I don't think it helped much that the grown-ups put me out front with the dogs!

Over the years I've been duck hunting, goose hunting, deer hunting, and pheasant hunting.  I've always used a gun, never a bow.  I just didn't get into that craze.  My least favorite of all is duck hunting.  I absolutely cannot stand being cold or cold and wet.  Another reason I like the whole dove thing is that I really enjoy the way they taste when fried.

Hunting Adventures

Many of my buddies are hunters.  And some of them have been on some amazing trips.  One shared pictures and tales of his white-wing dove hunt in Argentina.  Just the sheer volume of birds down there in the fields is astounding.  From what he said, the farmers see them as pests that destroy their crops and they are delighted to have hunters pay them to come and eradicate them.

Another friend is a bow hunter and usually manages a tag each year to claim an elk.  Hearing him talk of the strategy and treks up and down and through mountainous terrain in all manner of conditions is a blast all in itself.  I think he likes being in the wilderness as much as the hunt itself.

Still another acquaintance is into hunting in exotic places.  It's not so much the game that is being hunted, but the locale.  Taking a vintage float plane into the rugged mountains of Alaska was one of his latest thrills.  I know he had guns and a great guide.  But his camera was never far from his grasp either.

Hog Hunting

More recently, feral hogs are devastating farm and ranch land all around the country.  It seems that they have just gone wild while municipalities have not done much to control them.  I got a call not too long ago from a good friend who was leading a hog hunting weekend trip to a rancher's property in Texas.  Each person attending had to pay and all the proceeds were being donated to a particular charity.  Yes, a charity hog hunt.  You talk about fun!  And not only a blast for the participants, this was a true win-win-win-win.  The participants, the rancher, the charity, and the county all won because a destructive force had been reckoned with in a productive manner.

Texans are something else, too.  They've even taken up hog hunting using helicopters.  I guess it's true that everything is bigger in Texas....even their hunting.

Helicopter Pig Hunt (no music)

You can learn more of the history with excellent links for further exploration at Wikipedia when you click on HUNTING.