READERS COMMENTS

What we need to understand here is that people are entitled to their own opinions and beliefs, and whether or not you agree or disagree with hunting, you should respect others' beliefs. To "Cal" who posted earlier: You are an idiot. Who are you to judge what Bruce (the author) believes? I don't care how much you are against hunting or the killing of animals, you do not wish death upon a person. Your opinions are your opinions, nothing more. You are just one of billions, so your beliefs have no priority in this world. I've never hunted, and I don't like the thought of killing animals/game purely for fun, but I would kill a thousand animals and leave them to rot before I would wish death on a person. It's this sort of lack of respect for other's beliefs that cause problems in the first place. If you want to hunt, then hunt. If you don't, then don't. Live your life the way you want, I'll live mine the way I want, and Bruce will live his the way he wants. Stop being so concerned with others' lives, they're not yours!

To Bruce: Thank you for this article. Whether or not I agree with you is beside the point, I enjoyed your sharing your beliefs (which should not be disrespected) so boldy.
Posted: Jan 02, 2012 calisanidiot

Excellent article. I have been a backpacker for many years and like you never really considered giving hunting a try. I am seriously considering taking the hunter's education and giving it a try. Thanks for sharing your experience and thoughts.
Posted: Aug 03, 2011 Joe

Great article I have been a person who enjoys both hiking and hunting... I have hiked in Denali and the Wrangells and hunted and hiked in the Brooks Range, would love to see more cross over articles for I am always looking thru BP for ways to safe on weight and gear to use on my trips.... Thanks again good job
Posted: Feb 08, 2011 Troy O

I thoroughly enjoyed this article.
Posted: Jan 21, 2011 Aaron Williams

I was pleasantly surprised to find this article. As a person who hunted with my family as a child, became a "backpacker", and now has returned to hunting for a variety of reasons, I've been on both sides of the coin. While the ethic of "leave no trace" is slowly and fortunately permeating hunting, hunting has given back something I missed as a hiker. Moving slowly, stopping and remaining motionless for hours, conscious of every leaf and puff of wind, I see the smallest plot of land with a depth that would have would have missed in the miles I racked up while backpacking. Having returned to hunting as a urban 40 year old, I also had to take a renewed look at the philosophy and ethics of hunting, and I enjoyed the author's well written account of his own exploration of the issue. While I doubt Backpacker will or should start publishing rifle reviews, I can say that I read through other parts of your magazine with a new interest for the first time in a while. Thanks for being willing to explore beyond the stereotypical boundaries between two groups that share a common cause in preservation of wilderness.
Posted: Dec 27, 2010 Neil

Great article and my kudus to BP magazine for publishing it. Perhaps you have opened some eyes to a part of internal but suppressed chemistry of our being. For many hunting is an "excuse" for being outdoors that allow us to feel the world around us at a higher resolution than I do when I'm hiking in the woodland hills during the other months of the year.
Posted: Dec 06, 2010 Steve Backs

Excellent article! Please keep hunting and flush this out into a book. As a Natural resource management student I had similar converstions with the Forestry students. I have returned to (bow) hunting and find it further bridges this odd divide among the outdoor crowd.
Posted: Dec 01, 2010 Eric S

What a great story. THANK YOU for writing this. I am glad the author took on a challenge that was out of his comfort zone. The article was extremely honest. It was a great read and I will be passing this onto others!
Posted: Nov 24, 2010 Shannon

Bruce covered in vivid,engrossing detail most of the activities of a large animal hunt for food. I would just like to add that first time "hunters" could research outfitting businesses in their hunting area of choice, and hire an outfitter to guide a first hunt.We have such an outfitting business and would welcome a novice or two. Dana Ivers, cowcreekoutfitters.com
Posted: Nov 18, 2010 dana ivers

I absolutely loved his article. As a lifelong outdoors enthusiast, backpacker, and Bambie-lover, I had my first deer hunting season last year (you can read my story here: http://myrbou.blogspot.com ).

Deer hunting season is a mere week away and I can't wait - yes, I know, I am one of "them" now...

When I tell other I started hunting, to the horror of some, I only accept criticism from those who don't eat meat - otherwise, it is pure hypocrisy, as somebody, somewhere, is killing an animal just for you to eat...

My mentor-hunters don't like to play God - and I understand that some hunters do... sadly - especially those who do not kill for food... and that is a whole other side of hunting which can be debated ad nauseum...
Posted: Nov 12, 2010 Myriam Bouchard

Thank you for the thoughtful essay on an issue and experience that is difficult to put into words. Whether we hunt or not, we share a world where beautiful, wild places are rare and diminishing. We should work together to pass them on, along with the freedom to hike and hunt. www.backcountryhunters.org.
Posted: Nov 12, 2010 Ben Long, Montana

My fiance and I are hikers and I've been telling him I want to go hunting (both my grandfathers and my dad hunt, but I've never been). He had me read this article before we actually go and it was a great choice! Thanks for sharing your experience!
Posted: Nov 10, 2010 Stephanie S.

What a great, well written article…probably one of the best I’ve ever read in Backpacker. It touched on many of the points my hunting buddies and I talk about all the time. Some of us avoid REI because of the treatment we get when we mention we’re buying gear for hunting. Some of us tolerate the attitude because of the quality and selection of gear. I love hiking and hunting, but I find I put my outdoor skills (navigation, fire starting, etc) to the test more while hunting than hiking/backpacking probably because most of hunting is done off-trail and in the colder months. Many of these skills I’ve learned from the pages of Backpacker. Also thank you for touching on hunters’ contribution to wildlife habitat conservation. As a member of Ducks Unlimited and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation I’m glad the conservation efforts are recognized. Congratulations on your buck.
Posted: Nov 08, 2010 Tom

I hope you die soon Bruce.Meat is murder.
Posted: Nov 07, 2010 cal

I am glad that Backpacker has published this article. I am an outdoorsman and enjoy hiking and hunting together. I hope to see more of this. I actually canceled my subscription because of articles and posting against hunting.
We must all find a path that preserves our heritage. I am a hunter but foremost I am a Conservationist.

Posted: Nov 07, 2010 Steve Clark

Bravo on an amazing and well written article. Very refreshing point of view. I wish everyone could be so open minded. I'll admit to being one of the few receiving cabelas and REI catalogs in the mail regularly. It's difficult to explain the sensation and thrill of hunting to those who question it, but I hope keeping a copy of your article handy will help me explain that I'm not a blood thirsty lunatic. Thank you and well done.
Posted: Nov 05, 2010 Travis

Very good article and fair. Why can't we all coexist together in the outdoors?
Posted: Nov 04, 2010 Marc

Thank you, Bruce, for that wonderful article, and props to Backpacker for having being brave enough to include a piece on such a potentially controversial subject.

I grew up hiking, climbing and skiing in the Rocky Mountain West, and was, for a large part of my youth, a vegetarian. After college, I had the good fortune to land a job training horses at a ranch in northern Colorado. Working with the ranch's cowboys, and being paid, at least partially in grass fed beef and elk steaks, I was forced to reevaluate my dietary and lifestyle choices. I began, for the first time, to see the value in raising or hunting one's own meat.

A few years later, my then boyfriend, now husband, and I got our first dog, a German Shorthaired Pointer, and began thinking about what it might be like to hunt with her. We were both avid fly fisher-people, and my husband loved the idea of shooting birds and using their feathers for fly tying. We started with Chukar in the west desert of Utah, and now, all these years later, are hunting and training dogs for all manner of wing shooting pursuits.

I would never have imagined how much pleasure I would feel at walking out behind a dog I trained myself, to search for grouse in the high mountains of New Mexico or the North Woods of Wisconsin, pheasants, sharptails and Huns in a North Dakota blizzard, or back at home in Wisconsin.

Now, as I find myself living far away from the mountain landscape I grew up in, hunting has given me a new way to experience and enjoy the outdoors here in the Midwest. It has taught me so much about the land, the plants and animals, and, perhaps most importantly, about myself. Nothing in the world equals the sense of accomplishment that accompanies my dog retrieving his beautifully worked bird to hand -- except perhaps the moment we sit down to a meal of green chile pheasant enchiladas at the end of a long, cold day.

Thank you again, Bruce, this made my day.
Posted: Nov 04, 2010 Amy Engle

Thank you, Bruce, for that wonderful article, and props to Backpacker for having being brave enough to include a piece on such a potentially controversial subject.

I grew up hiking, climbing and skiing in the Rocky Mountain West, and was, for a large part of my youth, a vegetarian. After college, I had the good fortune to land a job training horses at a ranch in northern Colorado. Working with the ranch's cowboys, and being paid, at least partially in grass fed beef and elk steaks, I was forced to reevaluate my dietary and lifestyle choices. I began, for the first time, to see the value in raising or hunting one's own meat.

A few years later, my then boyfriend, now husband, and I got our first dog, a German Shorthaired Pointer, and began thinking about what it might be like to hunt with her. We were both avid fly fisher-people, and my husband loved the idea of shooting birds and using their feathers for fly tying. We started with Chukar in the west desert of Utah, and now, all these years later, are hunting and training dogs for all manner of wing shooting pursuits.

I would never have imagined how much pleasure I would feel at walking out behind a dog I trained myself, to search for grouse in the high mountains of New Mexico or the North Woods of Wisconsin, pheasants, sharptails and Huns in a North Dakota blizzard, or back at home in Wisconsin.

Now, as I find myself living far away from the mountain landscape I grew up in, hunting has given me a new way to experience and enjoy the outdoors here in the Midwest. It has taught me so much about the land, the plants and animals, and, perhaps most importantly, about myself. Nothing in the world equals the sense of accomplishment that accompanies my dog retrieving his beautifully worked bird to hand -- except perhaps the moment we sit down to a meal of green chile pheasant enchiladas at the end of a long, cold day.

Thank you again, Bruce, this made my day.
Posted: Nov 04, 2010 Amy Engle

Bravo to all of the hunter/backpackers out there and to the author for being honest with himself and to his readers.
Posted: Nov 04, 2010 B. Beal

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