The sun disappeared behind the trees in the west as we sat in sloped tan lawn chairs. The weathered wood of the house matched the brown and gray of the trees from which it came. A stream rushed through the trees behind the house, sounding off the mountain. We looked into the woods where his memories came to life so clearly. He slouched into his chair as he recalled his experiences in the woods. He is a short, heavy built man, hands and body worn from years of work. His gray hair expressed wisdom and knowledge of the woods and hunting. He remembered when his passion sparked and took life, nearly five decades ago. Ed Courtemanche started hunting when he was 12 years old. He grew upon a farm in Vermont. For the first years of his life he learned …show more content…
a lot about working outside, farming, hunting, tracking and the outdoors. He and his brother had a BB gun which they would track and kill rabbits with. When they brought back their first kill, their dad decided they were ready to get a better gun, so he pulled out a little 22 rifle and they learned to track rabbits. Because they lived on a farm, his dad didn’t have much time to teach Ed and his brother how to hunt, so they taught themselves by practicing and figuring out the basics of hunting.
They learned a few things about gun control from their dad and took a version of hunter’s safety course from a man they knew who lived down the road. Now, 53 years later, he still enjoys hunting. But unlike many hunters who go hunting for the sole purpose of getting a deer, Mr. Courtemanche also enjoys getting way out into the woods where it is quiet and he can think and enjoy God’s creation. He also loves seeing and being around wildlife and learning more about the animals that live out in the woods. But of course there is nothing like seeing that big buck and taking that shot and watching it fall as you know that you have just killed a deer. Hunting in Vermont is fun, but Mr. Courtemanche said that he would like to go hunting in Washington, Wyoming, or Montana. He wants hunt elk because they are such a big and amazing animal. He said he loves to see them in big herds because of how beautiful they are. While in the service, he hunted deer out in Washington where there were elk. He wished he had gotten an elk tag, because they were such a beautiful …show more content…
animal. Over his years of hunting, Mr.
Courtemanche has learned how to track deer, which is his prefered way of hunting. He has learned how to figure out if a deer is male or female, and if it’s an old or new track. Mr. Courtemanche said, “I learned a lot of how to track from simply going out and doing it.” His father also knew a man who was arguably one of the best trackers in the United States, and he learned some tips and tricks from him on tracking. Knowing how to track is not enough, you need to put it into action and have successful results. Tracking is Mr. Courtemanche’s prefered way of hunting. He enjoys being out in the woods slowly following after a deer and enjoying God’s creation while tracking. He likes it best when there is snow on the ground and he can walk slowly through the woods following a deer. Over the years Mr. Courtemanche has hunted all over the green mountains, outside his back door, and in the northeast kingdom in a small town called Newark at his brothers camp. He has also been hunting in New Hampshire in the White mountains and he went to Maine for one season. He said that “Everytime I go to a new hunting spot I always seen to be the one who gets the a deer.” Whenever his brother takes him to a new hunting spot he always gets lucky enough to shoot a big deer, and sometimes that is the only deer that is killed in the group. His brother always jokes that he doesn’t know why he brings him to new hunting spots because Mr. Courtemanche always gets a big
deer. One of his favorite memories from hunting was when he was hunting way out in the middle of nowhere and had started tracking a deer since around 6:30. It had snowed a little bit over night and he got onto some new tracks early in the morning. He was hunting with his son Ben and they went so far out that they lost contact. He called Ben up to ask if he wanted to meet for lunch, but in the middle of the conversation he saw movement, so he hung up and watched as deer legs were moving among some spruce trees. Then he saw the deer and its huge rack and shot him right in the neck. The deer just dropped to the ground right there. “Thank you lord,” he said, and he called Ben up who was like, “are you kidding me, did you just shoot?” and He was like, “yep.” Mr. Courtemanche said that he always enjoys it when he kills a big deer. Along with favorite memories come the disappointing memories when things just don’t seem to go your way. On the third day of hunting season Mr. Courtemanche had started out and was marveling at all the bear scrapings on the ground and in the trees, when about 50 yards off a buck came walking in sniffing the ground looking for a female deer. He was not able shoot at the deer and that was frustrating. Then, not 10 minutes later form behind him came a younger buck and doe being chased by this deer and they ran right by him. He tried to shoot at the big buck and almost hits the doe twice because they are switching places as they ran. Then, 5 minutes later the same buck comes back through sniffing the ground again, so he aims just next to a beech tree and when the buck comes out on the other side of the tree he shoots, and hits the beech tree. This was one of the most frustrating times hunting because he had three chances to kill the deer but he missed each and every time. One of the most scariest moments Mr. Courtemanche had while hunting was when he was 16. He was coming back from hunting and some hunters were shooting at a deer below him and he heard the bullets hitting the branches above him. He was so scared that he would get hit so he lay flat on the ground until it all stopped. He said that he still remembers the time clearly because it was so scary. Mr. Courtemanche said that he does not like hunting around other people, but would rather get way out into the middle of nowhere and hunt alone. Being alone allows him to think and hunt and not have to worry about people who could be in your area. He said if he is hunting with someone they go in the same area but don’t go together. Hunting alone means that you don’t have to constantly worry about where other people are in your range of view. When asked what is the most common mistake that people make when hunting he immediately said, “People going too fast on a deer track, you have to go in pace with the deer.” He said that if you go too fast then you won’t ever be able to catch up to the deer. If the deer is walking you walk, if it's running you can run, if it meandering back and forth, you need to go really slow. Being able to hunt is one thing but being able to teach someone how to hunt is the real test to see if you are a good hunter. Mr. Courtemanche said that the top three things he would want someone to know about hunting are all the safety regarded with handling firearms and what is right and wrong. Such as how to operate a gun and what is safe and what's not in the woods, how to get in and out of the woods safely, and what a pleasure it is to see God’s creation and to enjoy it. Mr. Courtemanche said he plans to keep hunting until he can’t go anymore. He said that hunting is a part of him and he plans to continue pursuing his passion. Even though it can be a labor intensive sport he is still fully capable of going out into the rugged terrain to hunt deer.
All three adventurers displayed their affection for the wilderness through how they lived after leaving society. After reaching Fairbanks, Alaska, McCandless set up his camp and began to live off the wildlife nearby. In his journal, he noted what he caught each day and showed his gratefulness through his writing font. He believed that “it [wildlife] was morally indefensible to waste any part of an animal that has been shot for food” (166). He tried his best to preserve the animals he shot for food, which in turn displayed his thoughts of nature as something precious.
First, the attitude of the speaker’s father creates a contrast with other hunter’s behaviours during hunting. When the speaker goes hunting with his father, his father often adopts the technique of “[sitting] silently, motionless and endlessly patient, waiting for deer to come down the paths” (2). They sit this way for hours and are usually rewarded because “there was always an abundance of less patient hunters … noisily crashing about, keeping the deer more or less constantly on the move” (2). The sound of
Born in Home, Pennsylvania in 1927, Abbey worked as a forest ranger and fire look-out for the National Forest Service after graduating from the University of New Mexico. An author of numerous essays and novels, he died in 1989 leaving behind a legacy of popular environmental literature. His credibility as a forest ranger, fire look- out, and graduate of the University of New Mexico lend credibility to his knowledge of America’s wilderness and deserts. Readers develop the sense that Abbey has invested both time and emotion in the vast deserts of America.
He concentrates on getting as close as possible without being noticed. Ed then decides he is ready as he will ever be. Yet, the moment he shoots his arrow he feels that he jerks upward. He immediately realizes that he is going to miss. Indeed, he does miss the shot, yet he wastes another arrow, knowing the second shot is pointless for the deer is now running.
A point has to be made about hunting and outdoor life in Illinois, which is a common interest throughout Illinois. Though it may not interest everyone, the livelihood and a portion of income is g...
The author provides information describing the deer population in parts of New Jersey; yet, he does not include any data regarding the population in the rest of the United States, nor does he include any sources of where this information was obtained. A reader may be more
The best way to control the overpopulation of deer in Alabama is to be an active hunter,
To Mr. Rainsford, hunting is like football to a NFL player. Hunting plays a huge role in his li...
It is early in the morning; the majestic Elk bugles in the distance. The sun is kissing the tops of the peaks with the most beautiful gold, and painting the clouds rose red. The men and women who enjoy the outdoors whether it is hunting or just hiking help make these types of moments possible. Hunting and the ecosystem is tied closely to conservation of land and animals. The articles of “Hunting and the ecosystem” written by the South Dakota Game Fish and Parks Department (SDGFP), and “Facts and statistics on wildlife conservation” written by Roger Holmes, director of the Fish and Wildlife, touch on how hunting is important in the environment to keep a good balance in the ecosystem. They also point out how hunters do more than any other organization for wildlife and environment. Our country was created by outdoors men who hunted and they passed their knowledge of the outdoors to their kids. Hunting has worked its way down from the generation and we should learn to “pass it on” Hunting is great for the environment and wildlife and should be preserved for the ages to come.
Hunters often reveal that being in nature provides time to clear the mind. In the woods, there is no rush, no schedule, and no deadlines; nature moves at its own pace. This interaction provides a deep spiritual connection with the land, the wildlife, and our planet. Hunting has been around since the beginning of time and has been in many people 's lives for generations, these are some reasons why people all across America continue to hunt. Hunting has many benefits such as reducing deer related car accidents, controlling deer densities in heavily human populated areas, creates jobs, and feeding and supporting families. Thus, deer hunting is necessary for several reasons.
There are different regulations regarding hunting in different states, and in Minnesota, the times for hunting run from 12:00 noon until 4:00 p.m. on opening day and at sunrise for the remainder of the season. Although this doesn’t seem like a lot of time, the ten of us made some memories I will never forget. We arrived at our blind at 10:30 a.m. The sky was swarming with ducks before we even got things set up. Everywhere I looked I saw ducks swooping in and out of decoys. It wasn’t going to take long to bag our limit, and I knew we were going to get the season off to a great start. All we had to do was wait until noon!
Hunting couldn’t have revolutionized if our ancestors didn’t start. However, before the Europeans arrived, the “Plain Hunters” were living and thriving off of the buffalo. “Cheyenne, Arapaho, Crow, and Dakota were late comers to the west. They used to be settled down waiting for the heard. They soon erupted in to life of nomadic Indians. They “ran” with the heard going where ever the buffalo went” (http://www.cabrillo.edu/~crsmith/noamer_plains.html). Hunting doesn’t stop improving there, it continues on. In order for the buffalo to go down they had to work together, because of their weapon of choice. When the 15th century rolled around the gun appeared with it.
It was the middle of October, and it was finally time for my long awaited moose hunt. I have waited ever since I was a little girl for this opportunity, and it was finally here. So, my father and I packed up our stuff and left the warmth of Phoenix. We were leaving the "Valley of the Sun" and headed for a place called Wyoming. After two days and fourteen long hours of driving, we made it to our hunting unit.
It’s a brisk November morning like any other day, but today isn’t any other day, today is the first day of firearm deer season. Shots are going off everywhere like world war three declared on deer. I’m wrapped in every hunting garment I own but winters cold embrace always finds its way in. My cheeks are rosy red and my breath was thick in the air. As I raise my shotgun and pull the trigger, my heart races and my hands shake. As I race after my prize, the sounds of leaves crunching beneath my feet are muffled by the ringing in my ears. I’m walking face to the ground like a hound on a trail and then my eyes caught it, my very first whitetail. I will never forget my first deer and the joy I felt sharing it with my family. Hunting is a passed down tradition for my family and friends. Throughout the world, millions of people participate in the spoils and adventure of the hunt. Hunting has been a pastime since the beginning of man. Hunting is one of those things either you like or you don’t like. It’s hard to explain the joys of hunting ,because it’s something one must experience for his self. Hunting does have laws and regulations you have to abide by. Are hunting regulations benefiting the hunter or the animal? This paper will discuss some of the regulations and laws, types of game, disadvantages of regulations, the pros of regulations, poachers, and ways to preserve wildlife and there habitat.
Cold and fresh snow is the type of morning that is be for hunters in Central Nebraska. It’s cold, quiet, and the clean freshness is in the air while the moon is still high in the night sky. Fresh coffee is brewed for the day while breakfast is packed for the blind at the river. This is a typical morning for a hunter anywhere around Nebraska and is usually quite an exciting time. Hunting around the world is always different, whether it’s the weapons used, the style of how an animal is hunted, or the cultural or social background a hunter might have. These weapons can range from firearms like most of the United States uses, to blowguns and spears. The styles also differ from sitting in a blind or walking through fields to running down an animal for more than five hours and over twenty miles. It all depends on their upbringing, availability of weapons and resources, and type of animals hunted.