28 May 2007
Why Would You Hunt A Bear?
Posted by Darrell under: Rantings Of An Outdoorsman .
Today, on the plane to Alaska for my bear hunt I sat by someone who asked “Why would you ever hunt a bear?” It was an interesting question and one I really wasn’t excited to answer.
I’ve found that if someone needs to ask that question then they probably won’t understand the answer. I’m so excited to be going on an archery bear hunt in alaska and to be able to share the experience with my 12 year old hunt. How can I convey that to someone who is dumbfounded that you would dare kill a living creature? Someone that ‘assumes’ that you have no respect for that animal. Someone that could never accept that you might ‘love’ those wild creatures and respect them far more than they do.
“It is not about the hunt (and especially not about the kill), It is about the experience”, I’ve said it a million times and always with the same results - blank stares.
Someone else asked me why I would bother with the trouble and expense of shipping bear meat back from Alaska to Missouri. They were utterly surprised when I said “Why would I kill it if I didn’t plan to eat it?”
I’ve been doing all kinds of Internet searches to prepare for this trip. Theresa Bakker, a stay at home mom in Fairbanks Alaska, summed it up better than I ever could. On her blog post A Hunting We Will Go she talks about being a child that couldn’t understand why her uncle would be excited about having killed a bear.
Now, after marrying and living with what sounds like a true outdoorsman, she understands. She states in her post “Now I understand the reverence he had for those beasts and the personal satisfaction he got from providing his family’s food”. She also says “The food just taste better”, referring to wild game that has been naturally harvested.
My wife did not grow up in an environment where people hunted. Yet, now she too enjoys not only the food, but the personal satisfaction and peace of mind that hunting (and being outdoors) brings me. After reading some terrible things that anti-hunters (and some obvious sociopaths) wrote to the 11 year old boy who recently took a monster pig, I’m glad to know that it is possible for someone to come to an understanding (and accept) why we hunt.
Theresa states in her blog that she is planning her first hunt. Theresa, I wish you the absolute best (not necessarily a kill, but the peace and serenity that comes from the pursuit)!
2 Comments so far...
Theresa Bakker Says:
1 June 2007 at 12:09 pm.
Darrell,
I’m glad you liked my story. It led me to your site. Thanks for writing about your approach to hunting. I hope you had a wonderful experience in Alaska. It’s a great state.
Theresa
Darrell Says:
4 June 2007 at 2:13 am.
Theresa. I really enjoyed your post and I LOVE Alaska. I wish you the best on your first hunt!
Subscribe to Full RSS 
