Confessions Of A Hunter
By Andrew BealPVPHS class of '03
I had never actually been hunting before, but it seemed like it could be a blast. When I was younger I used to play "Duck Hunt" for Nintendo and having the power to kill those birds in your hand-wow, that was amazing. So when my father told me we would be going to Montana for vacation the first thing that popped into my mind was if we were going to go hunting. I asked him and sure enough, that would be one of things we were going to do.
We arrived in Big Sky, Mont., and right away I knew why it was given the name Big Sky. But more to the point, we would be going hunting the next day and I couldn't wait to be holding a shotgun in my hands. Real men hunt. At least that's what you are made to believe all through school. I was ready to show everyone that I was a real man and that I could kill a deer just like the rest of the men in my family.
I woke up about 6 in the morning because apparently it is better to wake up early when you are going hunting. I didn't really care that I had to wake up early though because this was going to be one of the best days of my life. Just like when Jewish kids have a bar mitzvah or when Spanish girls have a Quinceanera and they are introduced to society as adults, I was going to be introduced to society when I got my first deer. So we head out into the forest and I start to talk. Bad idea! Everyone yells at me and tells me that you have to be quiet when you are hunting and that the only way to be successful is to use the contraption that makes the noise of deer in mating season. So we sit there for about an hour and nothing happens. At this point I am starting to wonder when we are going to see a deer and finally I see one walking ever so pleasantly. The deer is enjoying its Friday morning stroll around the forest and has no idea that we are there to hunt it. BANG! My uncle fires at the deer but misses and it scampers away at light speed. My uncle curses and starts to complain that there is something wrong with the gun, but we all know he just missed the deer. We wait about 30 minutes and then the exact same thing happens. My uncle had just missed two clear shots at a deer. Everyone was laughing at him, but I just couldn't bring myself to laugh.
There was something about this whole hunting thing that seemed a little unfair. Maybe it was the fact that the hunter had a weapon and the deer had no form of defense whatsoever. Or maybe it was the fact that we were trying to kill an innocent living creature. Whatever it was, I was getting upset. When it came my turn to shoot at the deer I refused. I got made fun of so much right then it was unbelievable. I didn't really mind it though because I knew I was doing the right thing in not shooting at the deer. Sure, I could have shot and missed intentionally, but that wouldn't have gotten the point across that I did not want to harm a living creature.
We returned to the hotel that night and no one had hit a deer all day. Everyone was complaining about how their gun was broken and how something was wrong, but I knew what had really happened. When I told them why I didn't want to shoot at the deer they thought about why they were shooting at it and decided they didn't want to kill a leaving creature either. Now, they didn't have the will power to just not shoot the gun, so they missed on purpose. I know they did. I had heard stories about hunting before and this is the first time a deer had not been killed. I can honestly be proud that I saved a few animals lives because of one simple decision I made. So next time someone wants you to go hunting ask them this, "How would you like it if I locked you outside my house with no form of protection and started shooting at you? Would you still want to go hunting?"
That's what I thought.