The thrill of hunting.
A true story. It just went down a short while ago.
Hunting. We do it. Some more than others, some none at all. Some do it because they have to, some because they want to. Some contract out their hunting, and have others do it for them. What we hunt with is also varies with the individual. Some like to get their game from far, far away, some like to get up-close and personal. Some even forego weapons, and use hands. Traps. Every hunt is different.
There is a time when we all do it. Some when they need to, some when they have no other choice. Some even do it out of anger. Yet some few catch and release. It’s personal, and varies by the individual, what they feel like doing.
Today I killed almost five dozen- yep, 60- and still I feel as if I missed out. Only when my weapon of choice was packed away did I see more. Had I seen those three, I would have killed them too. If fully automatic weapon was available, I would use it without a second thought. I would kill all that I can see. Most would agree with me. Even you, now, the one reading this and thinking I wold never, well trust me, yes you would. Killing is part of being human. There is something satisfying about a hunt going well, when a quarry is dispatched it makes us feel human. I have never heard anybody be honest and say other vise. Even those snowflakes do it sometimes, the peta-nutz do it. Kids want to join in. It is natural.
Just a few shot hours ago I assembled my equipment. The cool steel in my hand was comforting. The plastic parts of my weapon not so much. Gauging my prey, I decided on a shorter barrel length. Sure, a long barrel is sometimes nice, and needed, but today a short one would do. Once assembled, I quietly moved into my hunting territory. Cautiously, one slow step at a time to keep from making noise, I advanced. They were in the area, I have seen them, I have seen their tracks. From the entrance to their field I judged what I was up against. They were all over. I counted a dozen out in the open. Big. Ferocious. Quick. I think they’re getting smart, those that I miss seem to learn, they are harder to get next time. Beside me, hiding, are a few more, I almost missed them. They’re the smart ones, they are afraid of being out in the open. Now I don’t know if I should get them first, or get the ones in the open…
Slowly I advance, and bring my weapon up. The barrel is shiny, I think it will give me away, but I move slowly. Very slowly. Just fractions of an inch at a time, so if there is a gleam off my weapon it will not startle them. There is one hiding close to me. My barrel is lined up, the sights are lined up. A slight jolt is all I felt, it is done. Like fish in a barrel. Its life is extinguished. I feel something strange in the pit of my stomach. Remorse? Regret? Usually I would not take a life, but today is different. I have a reason to do so. Revenge.
My barrel lines up with the next one. A slight click is al I feel. Number 2 is dead. Still the others don’t move. Quickly I acquire the next target. I moved too quick and it got startled, it got away, I can’t see it any more. Others are nervous now, I can see them fidgeting. That’s alright, I have all day, I’ll come back for those. I move out, further into my hunting grounds. I’m native to this place, it is my land, I can do what I want here, and I will get them all, I will get every single living creature I see. Big and small. Black, brown, whatever.
Out in the open, I aim my weapon around. The sun is gleaming off the shiny barrel, I am so obvious here, yet they don’t escape. Some move a little bit, but settle. Maybe they want what is coming to them. Maybe my spirit guide is in contact with their spirit guide, and the universe wants me to have this day. Honestly, I would rather not, but I’m already here. Soon it will be done, I will have gone on my murderous rampage, then I can contemplate on what I have done. But for now, I need to finish this. They came onto my land uninvited and more are coming every day. Only God knows where they’re coming from. Maybe the locals brought them here. Doesn’t matter. I will reclaim this place that is my birthright. I will rid it from them all. My weapon’s barrel is lined up with the next one. Again the slight tremor in my weapon, one is taken. Next target, a hit. And another. Another. Another. Some try to flee, I got one of them too.
Before I know it, I don’t see any more of them moving around. There was almost twenty-nine of them, looks like I got them all. Poor bastards, they didn’t see it coming. That’s alright. Now I’ll move to the other side, I know more are there, I had seen them when I was coming here. This place is like a buffet for them, they’re all over. I briefly think I should have put out some food to bait them. Something to draw them close together, so I can maybe get more than one. Too late now, they’re moving. My weapon is raised, and the barrel follows the nearest one. It is little, I almost feel sorry for it. Click, and it is done. Before lowering my weapon, I see another. Without slowing my stride, I got that one too. Then another. And another. I lost count. I think I got twenty of them.
Now that I don’t see any more, I walk to other areas. Most of the land up high is barren. Nothing there. Other areas are void of life too. I stop at a plant to admire it. It is old, I can tell. And dry too, it had not gotten enough water in a while. Such is life. There is nothing in the highlands, so I had back to the lower mainland. I see a few more. I dispatch them quickly, I’m tired, I just want this to end so I can relax. A little more walk. A few survivors in the other area. I raise my weapon, and notice that my hands are trembling. It has been a long day. It has been a long week, I cant remember how many hundreds I killed earlier this week, but lots. Now I’m tired. Still, there is a few left. Click. Another one bites the dust.
Slowly I walk around, looking for them. No more live ones. All the way back I look for more, but don’t see any. I dismantle my weapon and stow it away. It will need a good cleaning. It is a good weapon, Got it used many, many years ago, needed some new parts over they years but it is magnificent for a forty year-old tool. It has served the other family well, It has served us well. I thought about getting a new one, but then I’ll just keep fixing it— maybe because of all the memories I have with it. My dogs don’t like it. Whenever they hear it, they cower in fear. My black lab not so much, but he doesn’t come close when I have it in my hand. My other dog was abused and dumped at a shelter, she doesn’t come near whenever I have anything in my hand. Poor dog. Definitely not hunting. Sometimes she has dreams in which she cries, and wakes up with tears in her eyes, and I wonder what some man could have done to her so that eight years later she still has such bad dreams. Sometimes I wish that it was legal to fight other people, I would like to track down her old owner and beat him senseless for hurting such a magnificent animal.
The day is long now. Just as I stowed away my weapon, I see three more. Really? It’s like they know. I briefly contemplate unpacking and killing them too, but I’m tired. I just want a coffee and to lie down on my couch. I let them live. For now. “Later,” I tell myself. “They’re not going anywhere.”
After stowing away my weapon, I walk away. I fix the window screen that the wind has blown open. It’s a shame really. On a cloudy Saturday such as this I should have slept in, I would have too, but the damn flies in the house kept waking me. All of them came in from the farmer’s field overnight, attracted to the kitchen light. At least there were no mosquitoes. Like the hero of the hunt I am, I laid down on the couch for a well-deserved nap. Again I think of my weapon. Some fancy new accessories would be nice. All of us hunters love accessories. A new stock perhaps? Nah. Maybe a nice thermal night vision scope, or just a plain old nightvision scope that would allow me to see their eyes, to see where they’re hiding. That would definitely give me an edge next time. Then I think of my weapon and how I would use it, and I decided that a scope would not be right. Maybe when I get old and I can’t see, but for now, my eyes are still good enough to hunt, I will continue to hunt as is. My old weapon, this poor old central vac the previous home owner left me, it will continue to suck up houseflies for a few more years as it is, but that window screen will need a more permanent repair to keep the flies out. I hate flies, but I love the click I feel in the vand of the central vac hose when one gets sucked up. Its just like hunting.
Norbert
A true story. It just went down a short while ago.
Hunting. We do it. Some more than others, some none at all. Some do it because they have to, some because they want to. Some contract out their hunting, and have others do it for them. What we hunt with is also varies with the individual. Some like to get their game from far, far away, some like to get up-close and personal. Some even forego weapons, and use hands. Traps. Every hunt is different.
There is a time when we all do it. Some when they need to, some when they have no other choice. Some even do it out of anger. Yet some few catch and release. It’s personal, and varies by the individual, what they feel like doing.
Today I killed almost five dozen- yep, 60- and still I feel as if I missed out. Only when my weapon of choice was packed away did I see more. Had I seen those three, I would have killed them too. If fully automatic weapon was available, I would use it without a second thought. I would kill all that I can see. Most would agree with me. Even you, now, the one reading this and thinking I wold never, well trust me, yes you would. Killing is part of being human. There is something satisfying about a hunt going well, when a quarry is dispatched it makes us feel human. I have never heard anybody be honest and say other vise. Even those snowflakes do it sometimes, the peta-nutz do it. Kids want to join in. It is natural.
Just a few shot hours ago I assembled my equipment. The cool steel in my hand was comforting. The plastic parts of my weapon not so much. Gauging my prey, I decided on a shorter barrel length. Sure, a long barrel is sometimes nice, and needed, but today a short one would do. Once assembled, I quietly moved into my hunting territory. Cautiously, one slow step at a time to keep from making noise, I advanced. They were in the area, I have seen them, I have seen their tracks. From the entrance to their field I judged what I was up against. They were all over. I counted a dozen out in the open. Big. Ferocious. Quick. I think they’re getting smart, those that I miss seem to learn, they are harder to get next time. Beside me, hiding, are a few more, I almost missed them. They’re the smart ones, they are afraid of being out in the open. Now I don’t know if I should get them first, or get the ones in the open…
Slowly I advance, and bring my weapon up. The barrel is shiny, I think it will give me away, but I move slowly. Very slowly. Just fractions of an inch at a time, so if there is a gleam off my weapon it will not startle them. There is one hiding close to me. My barrel is lined up, the sights are lined up. A slight jolt is all I felt, it is done. Like fish in a barrel. Its life is extinguished. I feel something strange in the pit of my stomach. Remorse? Regret? Usually I would not take a life, but today is different. I have a reason to do so. Revenge.
My barrel lines up with the next one. A slight click is al I feel. Number 2 is dead. Still the others don’t move. Quickly I acquire the next target. I moved too quick and it got startled, it got away, I can’t see it any more. Others are nervous now, I can see them fidgeting. That’s alright, I have all day, I’ll come back for those. I move out, further into my hunting grounds. I’m native to this place, it is my land, I can do what I want here, and I will get them all, I will get every single living creature I see. Big and small. Black, brown, whatever.
Out in the open, I aim my weapon around. The sun is gleaming off the shiny barrel, I am so obvious here, yet they don’t escape. Some move a little bit, but settle. Maybe they want what is coming to them. Maybe my spirit guide is in contact with their spirit guide, and the universe wants me to have this day. Honestly, I would rather not, but I’m already here. Soon it will be done, I will have gone on my murderous rampage, then I can contemplate on what I have done. But for now, I need to finish this. They came onto my land uninvited and more are coming every day. Only God knows where they’re coming from. Maybe the locals brought them here. Doesn’t matter. I will reclaim this place that is my birthright. I will rid it from them all. My weapon’s barrel is lined up with the next one. Again the slight tremor in my weapon, one is taken. Next target, a hit. And another. Another. Another. Some try to flee, I got one of them too.
Before I know it, I don’t see any more of them moving around. There was almost twenty-nine of them, looks like I got them all. Poor bastards, they didn’t see it coming. That’s alright. Now I’ll move to the other side, I know more are there, I had seen them when I was coming here. This place is like a buffet for them, they’re all over. I briefly think I should have put out some food to bait them. Something to draw them close together, so I can maybe get more than one. Too late now, they’re moving. My weapon is raised, and the barrel follows the nearest one. It is little, I almost feel sorry for it. Click, and it is done. Before lowering my weapon, I see another. Without slowing my stride, I got that one too. Then another. And another. I lost count. I think I got twenty of them.
Now that I don’t see any more, I walk to other areas. Most of the land up high is barren. Nothing there. Other areas are void of life too. I stop at a plant to admire it. It is old, I can tell. And dry too, it had not gotten enough water in a while. Such is life. There is nothing in the highlands, so I had back to the lower mainland. I see a few more. I dispatch them quickly, I’m tired, I just want this to end so I can relax. A little more walk. A few survivors in the other area. I raise my weapon, and notice that my hands are trembling. It has been a long day. It has been a long week, I cant remember how many hundreds I killed earlier this week, but lots. Now I’m tired. Still, there is a few left. Click. Another one bites the dust.
Slowly I walk around, looking for them. No more live ones. All the way back I look for more, but don’t see any. I dismantle my weapon and stow it away. It will need a good cleaning. It is a good weapon, Got it used many, many years ago, needed some new parts over they years but it is magnificent for a forty year-old tool. It has served the other family well, It has served us well. I thought about getting a new one, but then I’ll just keep fixing it— maybe because of all the memories I have with it. My dogs don’t like it. Whenever they hear it, they cower in fear. My black lab not so much, but he doesn’t come close when I have it in my hand. My other dog was abused and dumped at a shelter, she doesn’t come near whenever I have anything in my hand. Poor dog. Definitely not hunting. Sometimes she has dreams in which she cries, and wakes up with tears in her eyes, and I wonder what some man could have done to her so that eight years later she still has such bad dreams. Sometimes I wish that it was legal to fight other people, I would like to track down her old owner and beat him senseless for hurting such a magnificent animal.
The day is long now. Just as I stowed away my weapon, I see three more. Really? It’s like they know. I briefly contemplate unpacking and killing them too, but I’m tired. I just want a coffee and to lie down on my couch. I let them live. For now. “Later,” I tell myself. “They’re not going anywhere.”
After stowing away my weapon, I walk away. I fix the window screen that the wind has blown open. It’s a shame really. On a cloudy Saturday such as this I should have slept in, I would have too, but the damn flies in the house kept waking me. All of them came in from the farmer’s field overnight, attracted to the kitchen light. At least there were no mosquitoes. Like the hero of the hunt I am, I laid down on the couch for a well-deserved nap. Again I think of my weapon. Some fancy new accessories would be nice. All of us hunters love accessories. A new stock perhaps? Nah. Maybe a nice thermal night vision scope, or just a plain old nightvision scope that would allow me to see their eyes, to see where they’re hiding. That would definitely give me an edge next time. Then I think of my weapon and how I would use it, and I decided that a scope would not be right. Maybe when I get old and I can’t see, but for now, my eyes are still good enough to hunt, I will continue to hunt as is. My old weapon, this poor old central vac the previous home owner left me, it will continue to suck up houseflies for a few more years as it is, but that window screen will need a more permanent repair to keep the flies out. I hate flies, but I love the click I feel in the vand of the central vac hose when one gets sucked up. Its just like hunting.
Norbert
