Locavores Go Hunting

I am always pleased when I learn that more people are taking up hunting and fishing as activities. I have recounted here the difficulties the young squire and I had when we decided a decade ago to pursue those pastimes since we didn't have anyone to mentor us. Our young miss was the first person I ever heard use "Whole Food" speak to describe hunting; especially for acquaintances and co-workers that had difficulty envisioning her as a hunter let alone condoning hunting as an activity for someone with a college degree. But I have to say I get a particular kick from foodies being driven to hunt as recounted in this recent New York Times article.

There you have it - hunting, gardening and canning have come full circle and are now "hip" from a green standpoint. All I can say is "Spare me".

Update: For those that like to keep track of such things, our young miss, her young man and the young squire have taken six deer this season (two bucks and four does) as of yesterday. The freezers are filling up and the eating will be good for the foreseeable future.

Move Over Uncle Ted

Rocker Eric Clapton is a fan of shooting trips in the countryside - because the outings help him bond with like-minded people.

The star is the co-owner of London shop Cordings, a supplier of hunting and fishing supplies, and admits he often indulges in trips to bag game.

And Clapton is adamant he has learnt a lot from his favourite pastime.

He says, "I'm not really that gregarious. And shooting with groups of people up and down the country has taught me a lot about how to get on with my fellow human beings."

The musician recently cleared out his gun cabinet, selling 13 pieces off at auction in Britain.Clapton insists he had to get rid of the weapons, because he became hooked on collecting them.He adds, "It is following the same pattern as when I collected guitars - I get obsessed, then engulfed and finally narrow the collection down."

The Boxing Day Hunt

From The Telegraph:

"This will be a grand day for traditional England – Boxing Day always is. Folk will turn out in force to watch the merry spectacle of the local hunt, as it mills around on the village green or beside the ha-ha of a country house: mince pies and port; horsemen uncertain how to consume them without dropping whip or reins; cream and tan hounds under the eye of a leathery huntsman; red-coated masters receiving the gratitude of all, as well they might, since making good any holes in the hunt finances falls to them; everyone as smart as guardsmen, the steaming horses seeming to share the sense of anticipation, if not bonhomie, with their riders, as the pageant moves off to follow hounds into the frost-spangled, midwinter countryside."

What is England without fox hunting? The mere fact that it was outlawed four years ago does not keep hunters from participating. Over 300,000 showed up this year.

Talk About Turkeys

Governor Sarah Palin pardoned a turkey destined for the Thanksgiving Day table on Thursday and then ignited a fire storm by giving a three minute interview while two other turkeys were being dispatched over her left shoulder.

Governor Palin should know better by now than to trust any form of media. While she is being flailed by the "candy asses" at the Huffington Post and MSNBC I don't think any of them have questioned the intentions. motivations or integrity of the camera crew. So score one for the media; Sarah Palin did what any number of politicians have done and will continue to do - say something "off color" into a live microphone or be filmed driving a tank.

This kerfuffle also points out a much deeper issue that becomes apparent when urban Americans encounter realities rural Americans take for granted - which often revolves around "food" and how it gets to the table. We are all hunters in this clan and during a recent birthday feast for yours truly our table was graced with elk and venison - a meal truly fit for a king. We are under no illusions about the efforts involved in bringing that food to table because it most certainly did not come shrink-wrapped in plastic from the grocery store. The unwillingness of so many to show even a basic level of understanding about where their food comes from or take any responsibility for what is being done on their behalf is, at best, hypocritical. But to be outraged by the "reality" of the situation is just intellectually dishonest.

Happy National Hunting and Fishing Day

This article is from Ted Nugent and was published in Human Events:

There is a powerful, natural force in the fall air, and I, for one, cannot turn my back on it. I know the origin of "conservatism" and the pragmatic, rugged individualism logic that drives it and us.

As a conservationist, I believe in the wise use of our precious life-giving resources and clearly understand man's critical responsibility to the stewardship of our wild ground and our wildlife.

I learned a long time ago that if I wanted to enjoy a fire at Christmas time, that I had to plant trees in the spring. Not to boast, but the Arbor Day Foundation even gave me, your humble Motor City Madman, a conservation award, and I'm just a guitar player. I wonder how many trees Sting or Dave Mathews planted last year.

I hunt, kill animals, start fires, and barbecue my families' daily sacred protein health food. I bait hooks, catch fish and then cook them in garlic and butter. That’s absolute perfection, just as God intended. Only a disconnected liberal cultist of denial could find fault with my perfect conservation lifestyle that is based on the sound science of biodiversity, sustain yield and responsible, renewable resources hands-on utility. Venison is the rocket fuel of the gods, and I celebrate it daily. It sure makes for some unstoppable fiery and sexy guitar noise.

President Nixon recognized the vital conservation role of hunters, fishermen and trappers when he established National Hunting and Fishing Day in 1972. This Saturday marks the 36th anniversary of National Hunting & Fishing Day, and it is party time at the Nugent camp.

Many Americans don't know that President Nixon even established a National Hunting & Fishing Day or that this Saturday marks its 36th anniversary.

Many people don’t know that outdoorsmen provide roughly 75% of all funds for state departments of natural resources for overall environmental management. Quality air, soil and water come from healthy wildlife habitat, and that has always been our mission statement.

Many don’t know that funds generated through hunting, fishing and trapping licenses, stamps and various other self-imposed fees are also used to protect non-game species, provide areas for bird watchers, and build trails for hikers. You're welcome.

Too many people don’t know that there are more turkey, elk, whitetail deer, geese, black bears and cougars in North America than at any time in our nation’s history. America’s wildlife management system is envied around the world for its overwhelming successes.

Hunters, fishers and trappers demanded this, and we rejoice in our success.You probably don’t know that hunting, fishing and trapping generates more than 30 billion dollars annually to the U.S. economy, 2.5 billion in annual federal tax revenues, 4.2 billion in state tax revenues each year and provides well over 593,000 jobs for Americans. Wildlife has to be counted in the asset column where it belongs, if you have a soul.

You probably don’t know that tens of millions of American families spend hundreds of millions of hours in the great outdoors or that hunting is one of the safest recreational pursuits in America, with far fewer injuries or deaths per capita than skiing, football, cycling, swimming or boating.

You probably don’t know who Pope & Young were, never heard of Fred Bear, and don’t know what the acronyms DU, RMEF, NWTF, FNAWS, NSSF or SCI stands for, even though their conservation accomplishments are Herculean and deserve our respect.

You probably didn't know that hunters provide over 250 million meals each year to the less fortunate by providing a portion of our game to homeless shelters through our non-bureaucratic, non-tax wasting, therefore very efficient Hunters for the Hungry programs. Our pleasure.

You probably never thought about the fact that not one teenage punk gangster has a hunting or fishing license in his pocket. Not one.

Some of you might not know that the 2nd Amendment has zero to do with hunting. The 2nd Amendment was not written by our Founding Fathers so I could go duck hunting. Only a fool would think so.

You don’t know these wonderful things because the outdoor community has not reached beyond the choir to educate anyone about the amazing success story of America’s conservation efforts, activities and programs. Damn shame. I do what I can.

The fault, of course, for such widespread ignorance lies at the feet of rank-and-file hunters and fishermen, our outdoor organizations, and the industries that support and benefit from our conservation lifestyle. With a hunting hating liberal media, it is nearly impossible to find a truthful article on hunting anywhere. Even so, for the most part, our hunting industry couldn't promote a blanket to a naked man in a blizzard. Sadly, Bubba lives, but I'm doing everything I can to beat him back into his cave where he belongs.

In this turbo-electrified, computerized, instant gratification world in which our children are immersed, the thrilling disciplines of hunting and fishing teaches patience, responsibility, humility, persistence and real cause and effect. There is no argument that these are the character traits that mold immature young people into mature, productive, conscientious adults. Look at me.

There are no politics in a deer blind. An omnisciently alert whitetail buck does not care if you are Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative.

It is good, however, to know that Gov. Palin is a real outdoors woman. She doesn't sling a shotgun over her shoulder once a year to mug for the camera in hopes of attracting votes from hunters and fishermen. She actually hunts caribou and fishes. This tuned in naturalist knows pure organic chow when she sees it. She’s the real deal.

This Saturday is National Hunting & Fishing Day. It is the day that signifies yet another glorious hunting season is upon us. It is perfect, and I am in, gung-ho, heart, mind, body, tooth, fang and claw, spirit and soul. Place your grilled venison orders here with me here. Happy hunting season 2008.

In Praise Of Hunting

I found this on the Op-Ed page of The New York Times:

"EVERY year, 15 million licensed hunters head into America’s forests and fields in search of wild game. In New York State alone, roughly half a million hunters harvest around 190,000 deer in the fall deer hunting season — that’s close to eight million pounds of venison. In the traditional vernacular, we’d call that “game meat.” But, in keeping with the times, it might be better to relabel it as free-range, grass-fed, organic, locally produced, locally harvested, sustainable, native, low-stress, low-impact, humanely slaughtered meat.

That string of adjectives has been popularized in recent years by the various food-awareness movements, particularly “localism.” Like many popular social movements, localism’s rallying cry is one of well-founded disgust: the average American meal travels 1,500 miles from field to fork, consuming untold gallons of chemical fertilizer, pesticides and fossil fuels along the way.

As a remedy, so-called locavores encourage a diet coming from one’s own “foodshed” — usually within 100 or 300 miles of home. The rationale of localism is promoted in popular books and Web sites: it leads to a healthier lifestyle and diet; brings money to rural communities; promotes eating meat from animals that are able to “carry out their natural behaviors” and “eat a natural diet”; allows consumers to visit the places where their food is raised; supports the production of foods that have fewer chemical fertilizers and pesticides; and it keeps us in touch with the seasons.

While those sound suspiciously similar to the reasons many Americans choose to hunt, the literature of localism neglects the management and harvest of wildlife. This is a shame, because hunters are the original locavores. When I was growing up in Michigan, my family ate three or four deer every year, along with rabbits, squirrel, ducks and grouse that were harvested mostly within eight miles of our house.

I carried that subsistence aesthetic into adulthood. During my first semester away at college, for instance, my brother and I killed four deer on land that was 11 miles from campus; we never purchased a pound of industrially raised meat. We’d gone local and organic before anyone thought to put those two words together in a sentence."

Welcome to how we live out here in "the country". Our entire family hunts pheasants in the fall; our young miss got a doe during deer gun season; her fiance took an elk in Colorado and a buck here in Ohio during bow season and the young squire came home yesterday after sighting in his muzzleloader in preparation for black powder season. Our young miss was the first person I ever heard use "Whole Food" speak to describe hunting; especially for acquaintances and co-workers that have difficulty envisioning her as a hunter let alone condoning hunting as an activity for someone with a college degree. The young squire mentioned to me the other day that he has not purchased beef in a year - choosing instead to eat venison. Not only can it be used as a substitute in dishes like chili and spaghetti sauce but he actually enjoys venison. It fits his college food budget pretty well too.

You may also notice that I write about many of our "country living" activities such as our chickens, gardening and beekeeping. We live the locavore lifestyle without even knowing or caring that it exists. It just seems to make sense. And unlike many people, we know exactly where a great deal of our food comes from.

It's Like Hitting A Fastball

If you think about it - it's over.

The Gun Nut: "I'm indebted to my friend John Thomas for this one. John is a retiree who teaches rich people how to shoot a shotgun, and we were talking the other day about a client of his who couldn't hit a crossing target.
His problem, said John, is he thinks about it. It's a clear case of analysis paralysis.
Truer words were never spoken. If you want to miss with a shotgun, or a rifle in most cases, just think about what you're doing. Gene Hill used to say that the ideal trapshooter would be a gorilla who knew how to handle a gun; he'd be too dumb to analyze, and recoil wouldn't bother him. "

Zen And The Art Of Shotgunning. While you need to be aware of everything around you when handling a firearm, you can't think about what you're doing when actually shooting. Try to explain that to someone that wants to take away your Second Amendment rights.