Last year, after my first season of bowhunting, I was
visiting with a colleague at a work function.
In a casual conversation about hunting, he congratulated me on my first
bow kill. I thanked him and asked him
how his season went and he answered, “well, I didn’t get anything this year
because hunting for trophies is totally different.” Say HUH?!
What? So hunting for trophies is
different. Ok. At that point I realized, there must be
something I was missing. I was new to
hunting so I am sure trophy hunting was different. In fact, I didn’t really even know what
trophy hunting was. So I began to read and research and ask questions.
For the purpose of this discussion:
Trophy hunting is
the selective hunting of wild game for human recreation. The trophy is the animal or part of
the animal kept, and usually displayed, to represent the success of the hunt.
Parts of the animal may be kept as a hunting trophy or memorial (usually the
skin, antlers, horns and/or head), in most circumstances the carcass itself is
usually used for food, sometimes donated to the local community.
Okay, makes sense. But how is
that different from “other hunting”? Isn’t it the desire of everyone’s hunt to get
a trophy? I guess that is determined by
an individual’s perception of what’s in a trophy.
My first harvest was a Mule Deer doe.
It was an indescribable event that was preceded by a lot of
learning. I put in 9 days of hunting for
that doe. Some days I froze to death and
saw nothing, some days I basked in the late day sun and saw nothing and some
days I saw only does with fawns. I rushed from work with gear in tow and made
every effort to make good use of the time I had. The morning I shot her, I was in awe. I just took the life of something for the
first time (other than a giant spider or pesky fly) and it was emotional. I sat over that doe for 20 minutes. She was my trophy. My time and my hard work
was my trophy. The deep satisfaction I
had from watching my child eat venison spaghetti was my trophy.
This fall, I went on my first solo hunt to Wyoming. And I mean
solo. I traveled alone, out of state,
camped, hunted, harvested, gutted and reveled in my very first antelope
kill. I overcame fears, pursued
adventure and achieved success:
●
tent camping alone in a desolate area with no phone signal
●
glassing, stalking and hunting antelope for the first time
●
shooting a .243 rifle at a live target for the first time
●
gutting an animal on my own for the first time
●
hauling a harvest 200 yards straight uphill
●
listening to a man drive by and ask, “do you need any help
missy?” and responding with a confident “NO, THANK YOU”
●
seeing my children “dab” with excitement over antelope
stir fry?
Yes, yes, these things are my trophy.
In today’s day, with the explosion of “Horn Porn” on social media, I can
see where one could feel that “trophy hunting” is different. I have noticed
that because of this “trophy” pressure, people tend to minimize the harvest,
saying things like it is “only a doe” or “it’s not a monster”. In a sense, this is disrespectful to the
animal that was just killed. This was
the decision, this was the choice, and at the time it was right. Be proud of that, celebrate the hunt and
don’t ever be disappointed in the harvest.
I follow Kyle (@faith.family.hunting) on Instagram and I love his
post:
“Blessed to be able to harvest both the buck
and doe down here in Kentucky! Meat in
the freezer and backstraps on the grill!
My family will be eating well for while now and the season is still very
young!”
Julie McQueen, one of the first female Pro-Staffers in the hunting
industry, Co-Host of "Till Death Do UsPart" on Carbon TV , Producer at Backstage & Backroads and Outdoor
Writer was kind enough to allow me to share her post:
“When people ask me to send a trophy photo, I usually send something a lot like this:”
I am still bowhunting this season for both Whitetail deer and Mule deer
and I can tell you, I have already found my trophies. Spending quality time with the love of my
life and hunting with my son for the first time is what trophy hunting is all
about.
So to my colleague that told me trophy hunting is different, I beg to
differ. And to all of you, the trophy is in the eye of the beholder. Unlike the progression of today’s youth
sports where there is much controversy about everyone getting a trophy, I will
rest assured knowing that every time I hunt and most certainly every time I
harvest an animal, I am receiving a trophy!
“A hunt based only on trophies taken falls
far short of what the ultimate goal should be.”
~Fred Bear
