"Hunting Not Killing"
by Lukas Huggins
I stayed awake all night tossing and turning. Sleep seemed impossible for excitement filled my body. I woke suddenly in the early morning to the sound of my dad's voice. I dressed myself, grabbed my calls and walked out of my room to the kitchen for a bowl of oatmeal. I was eight and this was my first elk hunt. I stepped outside our house after finishing my bowl of oatmeal and realized how cold it was in the brisk breeze blowing in the early morning. We left the house quickly and I fell asleep in the car as the heater blew warm air in my face.
I woke suddenly when the truck's engine stopped. We grabbed our packs and disappeared into the forest hoping to find a big bull elk. Our day consisted mostly of vertical hiking and short stops to call. We heard many bugles and even saw large six-point bulls in the 300 point class. Even though our effort was great we walked to the truck without horns in our hands and warm meat in our packs. I felt defeated driving home empty handed. I said, "It stinks we didn't get one." That's when my dad said the most inspirational words I've ever heard. His words were "That's why they call it hunting, not killing". At the time, these words meant practically nothing to me for I was a caught in utter disappointment. They didn't mean anything to me until many years later. For, if you think about it, those are powerful words to a sportsman. Those boring simple words can separate a real sportsman from a want-to-be.
Don't get me wrong, I love to squeeze off a shot at a wily coyote, big mule deer buck or really anything. I love to see my prey, which I've given sweat and blood to take, crumble from a well- placed bullet or arrow. It's a thrill like no other I have ever experienced. The adrenaline rush, the pounding heart, it is an experience that I can't live happily without. That rush is the excitement of the hunt. Yet, there is another piece equally as important to true hunters, the great outdoors itself and the creatures within it. Yes, I walk into the woods with the objective to kill my prey. However, I fully respect the creature I'm hunting. I clean the animal and process it as carefully as I can. I mount his head on my wall, not to gloat my trophy to others, but to honor the greatness of it. That is how I look at it.
Hunting is something that helps me in all aspects of life including, school, sports and even family. When I have a bad day, week or month, I go hunting. Just being out there makes me happier. So now, at 14, I realize that there is more to hunting than killing. The kill takes a hundredth of the time it takes to hunt the animal down. The chase means as much to me as the kill. Chasing a giant mule deer buck through the hot, beautiful, high desert of eastern Oregon and failing to kill him.....I consider that a great day that I will remember for years. Those tough hunts are the reason why they call it hunting not killing.