A reporter with the New York Times, a vegetarian himself, tagged along on an elk hunt in Oregon. His goal was to report on opposition to the use of lead ammunition. The longer he was with the hunting party, the more he learned about what makes hunters tick, how hunters care for the game they seek and the appreciation and admiration they have for wild animals and wild landscapes.
Here is an excerpt from the article.
At that point in our weeklong trek in eastern Oregon across the 33,000-acre Zumwalt Prairie Preserve, the six of us in the group had been belly-crawling, tightly single file, for a quarter-mile. Wearing heavy backpacks, we looked like overgrown turtles as we awkwardly tried to sneak up on our prey. But elk spook easily and for two long days they evaded us, always managing to see, smell or hear us from what seemed to be impossible distances, well before Chelsea Cassens, our group’s permitted hunter, could get within the 200 yards she needed to make an “ethical” kill shot.
Go here to read the article in its entirety.
(Photo source: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife)