On The Edge Of Common Sense: The urge to hunt: for some it's a primitive calling

Posted: Saturday, November 08, 2003

For some it is a choice. They must think about it. For others the urge comes from inside. It is a deep, primitive calling from a time when time was not a word; as Chief Real Bird says, when, though it existed, its concept was unknown.

Hunting is a survival skill built into our genes. Humans invented the arrowhead, the spear and axe before they invented written language, the wheel and Thinsulate underwear.

It has always been fascinating to me that little children often can "point and shoot" with their finger before they are out of diapers. This observation is not to antagonize or frighten the anti-gun lobby; it is just a demonstration to me that the antis are up against a behavior that is more instinctual than learned.

The prehistoric species that were exclusively plant eaters sentenced themselves to a lifetime of grazing and chewing, grazing and chewing. Hunting allowed humans to eat a concentrated diet rich in protein and fat, but it also gave him time to think between hunts.

His hands and his brain allowed him to improve his hunting skills. The club, the bow, the knife and the spear separated him from his fanged carnivorous competitors.

Modern man is still in competition with coyotes, wolves, lions and bears. Our hunting tools have become more sophisticated, but a good hunter is so much more than a compound bow or a rifle with a scope. He or she is part of the cycle of life on earth. A coordination of experience, instinct and accuracy, of being in the right place at the right time.

I am a hunter. One of many. I have seen my face on the walls of ancient caves. That's us with the spear and club chasing a mastodon across the wall. I see my counterparts in underdeveloped countries practicing their art, applying their skills, using their instinct to hunt seals in the Arctic, birds in the rain forest, antelope on the Savannah and squirrels in the woods.

This fall as we take to the woods and mountains, we are following the tradition.

If you ever doubt that hunting is not a sacred part of our natural being, go back and look at the drawings on the cave wall. There are no pictures of people behind desks.

Baxter Black is a veterinarian and cowboy poet. His column appears weekly and airs each Monday at 6:20 a.m. on KGNC Talk Radio 71. He can be reached at baxterblack.com or (800)654-2550.