Hunting

Hunting

Hunting is one of the human species earliest traditions, and has been a constant throughout our long history. The act of hunting has followed us through the ages, even into our modern times. Today we can go to a grocery store and buy all the food we may need, yet some of us still choose to hunt. Why is this? For me, being a hunter not only provides high quality food that is healthy, but helps to connect me to nature and the circle of life. In order to be an effective hunter you have to be fully immersed in your surroundings. You need to know the landscape. you have to have great awareness and be a good tracker. Naturalist studies are important as you need to know the animals that you pursue. When and only when all these skill sets come together will you be an effective hunter. Its so much more than being good with your hunting tool. This is also why I choose to hunt with simple weapons I prefer my long bow and wood arrows to a modern compound bow with sights and carbon fibre arrows or firearms. Technology has improved our hunting gear by making it accurate at greater distances. When I hunt deer with my simple longbow the furthest shot I will take is 12 yards. My friend who hunts with a compound bow will make shots out to 60 yards. It takes much more skill to get within 12 yards. A high powered rifle with a scope can easily take down a deer at 400+ yards. Modern hunters are often looked upon with disdain because of “trophy” hunts. This is where a human goes into nature to try and take down the largest, strongest animal. This mentality goes against natural law and is indicative of modern humans. Our ancestors and the of us who choose to hunt in a better way hunted the way wolves do. We never go after the biggest and strongest animals. These are the ones that need to reproduce in order to insure that particular species stays strong. By taking out the strongest animals you weaken the species as a whole. Instead we try and take animals that are healthy, but may be smaller or slower. These animals have less of a chance of surviving winter and by removing them you will strengthen the species as a whole. Its also important to remember that in order to maintain our status at the top of the food chain throughout the years we have removed many predators from the landscape. This has had a negative impact on nature as a whole. Without predators certain animal populations explode. On the Eastern half of the United States there is a massive problem with deer overpopulation. In a perfect world the population would have been kept in check by Wolves, and Mountain lions. For the most part these animals don’t exist there anymore. When there is an overpopulation nature needs to compensate in some ways. One of the first things you will see is many animals die in winter because there is not enough food. Dying from starvation is not an easy way to go. If that doesn’t balance the population you start to see certain diseases pop up. Chronic wasting disease, and Blue tongue are just a few. One time I was exploring a creek in Illinois I rounded a bend in the creek when a horrible smell reached my nose. Within 5 minutes I found 8 deer that had died of Blue tongue floating in the water. They call it Blue tongue because the animals tongue swells up and turns blue. They die in the water because they are trying to drink, but can not take any water in because their tongue swells up. Would this have happened had there been a good balance of predators in the area? Probably not. Another reason why I hunt is to help with the balance. This is not unique to the deer family either. This type of fate can happen to any animal population who’s population gets out of control. The only creature immune to this is human beings. Through Science and technology we have made ourselves exempt form natural laws and in turn, our population has spread North to South, East to West. How long can we maintain this?

Before we talk about how we go about hunting we need to talk about the act of taking the life of another being. Everything we eat from vegetables to animals were alive at some point. This is not something that should be taken lightly. We first need to understand that for there to be life, there has to be death. This is the “circle of life” I was talking about earlier. When something dies, wether by another being, or because of natural causes, nothing goes to waste. a dead animal in the woods gets fed upon by many creatures, from bacteria to coyotes which help to break it down. the food it provides keeps all of these creatures alive. Nothing gets wasted. All life is important and special, From the tiniest insect to the largest whale, They all fill a niche. Life is Life. Even though we tend to think a human is a “higher” life form When in reality there is not much genetic difference between us, and every other life form we share the Earth with. Therefore we should only take the life of another being when there is a need, and if we are going to take a life we owe it to that being to use that life well. When I hunt a deer I don’t just do it for the meat. I will tan the Hide to make clothing, and I will use the bones to make tools. We must have a respect and reverence for all life. Because of our modern food system most people do not hunt, or raise animals on a farm for food. We have also removed ourselves from the circle of life and death. In fact many young children don’t realize that the packages of meat you buy at the store came from a living animal at one point.

Survival hunting techniques In this book we will mostly avoid discussing advanced hunting tools. Since most of us do not carry a bow and arrows on us all the time, when we find ourselves in a survival situation we will have to use very simple techniques for hunting. Keep in mind that when we are in a true survival situation that food is out last concern. Shelter, Water, and fire will be our primary concerns. Most people can easily go at least 3 weeks without food before we would start to notice any adverse effects. Thats not to say you wont be hungry, but you will still be able to functions. However, once we have Shelter, water to drink, and a fire going we will spend 70-90 percent of our time hunting and gathering food. Wild edible plants are a viable food source, but only during certain times of the year. In our modern society we have the ability to be a vegetarian if we want because our global food system can provide us with plant matter to eat all year long. However, if you are in a survival situation, especially in winter, you will have to eat meat in order to survive. Even if you don’t eat meat, its important that you learn hunting skills in case you ever find yourself in need of them.

There are 2 ways to hunt. Passive hunting, also known as trapping is one and will be covered in a different chapter. Trapping is a passive means of hunting. After I set a trap and leave it, that trap is doing the hunting for me. I can set 10 traps and be hunting in 10 places at once.

Active hunting means that you are wandering around or sitting with 1 hunting weapon. Both are important and very useful. This chapter will focus on active hunting.

Before we focus on a specific hunting technique, lets delve into some of the other important skills of the hunter. Two very important subjects, Stalking and movement, and camouflage will be covered in other chapters. They are incredible important because if we cant be stealthy and blend into nature, we will never get close enough to animals to hunt them. Another hugely important skill is being a good naturalist. Its very important that we spend time learning the lifestyle and habits of many animal species. You need to know what environment an animal lives in, what its primary food sources are based on the season. What does the animals tracks look like? What types of sign other than its tracks does it leave behind? When and only when you understand the subtleties of an animal will you be effective in hunting it. This is one of the things I love about hunting. You need to learn, and become proficient at so many different skills!

MAKES

Pick a few different animals in your area that you would be able to hunt if needed and do some research about them. Study their life cycle, what their tracks look like, and what foods they eat.

MISSIONS After you have done your research, go out and try and observe them in their natural habitat.

The only hunting tool you will ever need!

Humans and our ancestors have been hunting for a VERY long time. In that time we have invented many different hunting tools. One of the simplest, and probably one of the first is the Throwing stick. While more advanced hunting weapons like bows and arrows are great, they take a lot of time and skill to make, think about it! In order to make an effective bow and arrows you need a good sapling to make the bow from and the time it takes to make it, you need some strong cordage for a bow string, you need many straight arrow shafts, and don’t forget about rock or bones that you have to make into arrow heads! When and only when all these parts get worked and put together do you have an effective tool. If you are lost in the woods you will not have the luxury of the time needed to make one of these advanced tools. It only takes a short amount f time to find and collect a perfect throwing stick! There are many types of throwing sticks found around the world. It was a universal hunting tool, meaning peoples from around the world use it. They have found throwing sticks in pharaohs tombs in Egypt, Rough sketches of humans using them have been found in ancient drawings inside caves in Europe and Asia. From a basic stick taken off the ground and used as is, to sticks worked and shaped to look like boomerangs it has been a tool that has been useful to us as long as we have been hunting. Another thing that makes this such an effective tool is that because of the way our upper body is deigned through evolution, we are naturally good at throwing things, in fact I once read a paper by a scientist who theorized that the main reason our upper bodies developed the way they did, was because our early ancestors used throwing weapons so often! The throwing stick was primarily used as a small game hunting weapon. By small game I mean animals such as Rabbits, Squirrels, Marmots, and Grouse to name a few, However, there were certain groups that adapted the Throwing stick to hunt much larger animals. I once read a journal entry form a Spanish explorer who was visiting a tribe in what is now California. In his journal he wrote ‘a type of club in the shape of a well balanced cutlass which they use in war, but also in the hunting of Hares, Deer, Antelope, and coyote, throwing so far and with such aim they rarely fail to break the bones of animals that come into range’. They types of sticks used for the hunting of large game where shaped to be wide, curved, and have a flat profile. this allows them to fly great distances without losing energy. In order to start learning this skill, we will start with something that it more basic.

MAKES Do some research on throwing sticks. check out the many types and designs that were used from across the world.

Find the right stick For a wilderness survival situation, we will be using a very basic stick that we collect off the ground, or break off of a tree and use with little or no modification. Before we talk about how we are going to throw them we need to gather the perfect stick!

The ideal throwing stick should be the length of your arm, from armpit to wrist and as straight as we can find. as far as thickness goes, it should be about as thick as your wrist. Also, make sure to gather a sturdy stick. It should not be rotted or falling apart and ideally it should be the hardest wood you can find. If the stick you choose has any Branch nodes, or rough spots that will hurt your hands when you throw it, use you knife to carve them off, or find a rock and abrade them until smooth. This is important because we want the stick to be as aerodynamic as possible. the less aerodynamic the stick the slower it will fly through the air, and the noisier it will be. Remember that many species of animals that we hunt with a throwing stick have very good hearing. If your stick is loud flying through the air chances are the animal will be gone by the time the stick reaches the spot where the animal was.

Lets throw!

How to properly throw the stick is more important than the stick itself. One of the great things about throwing is that it is an internal skill. What does that mean? It is sort of like riding a bike, once you know how to do it, no matter how long you go without doing it you will always remember how! if you have not done it in a long time you may be a little rusty at first, but it wont be long till you have the hang of it again. It is true that any kind of throwing practice will make you better at throwing stick, but in order to be an effective hunter you can not throw your stick the same way you would a ball or a rock. The reason for this is that in order to throw a ball or rock with any amount of force you need to “wind up”. If you have ever seen a pitcher in a baseball game throw a pitch then you know the wind-up is what allows the pitcher to throw at the speed necessary to try and strike the batter out. While this is all well and good in baseball, if you try and do this while hunting with a throwing stick 9 out of 10 times the animal will see the movement of the wind up and run away. Many of the types of animals we will be hunting with a throwing stick don’t have the best eyes for picking out details, but what their eyes are very good at is picking up movement. Especially quick movements. It is a defense mechanism to help them notice a predator as its about to strike. Therefore, in order to properly use a throwing stick for hunting we need to learn how to throw without the wind-up.

You grip the stick with your dominant hand. Hold it all the way down at one end. Stand sideways to your target. This prevents the animal from seeing your human profile. Keep your feet shoulder width apart. keep your weight on your back foot. Hold your stick at waist level, or at chest level and rest the other end of the stick on your shoulder.

Remember we want to throw without winding up. we achieve this by using the mechanics of our bodies to generate the necessary force. When you are ready to throw; Transition your weight forward and Twist your hips away from your target, this start the motions need to throw the stick. as your hips are twisting, swing the stick forward parallel to the ground Snap your wrist when you release the stick and pivot on your back foot.

The locomotion you generate using the weight transfer combined with twisting your hips is what generates all the energy we need to throw our sticks with enough force to quickly dispatch the animal. Remember, the goal is to be able to throw the stick hard, with as few moments as possible. In order to get the movements in our muscle memory it is a good idea to practice going through moments in slow motion. This will give us a good foundation to build from.

Practice practice PRACTICE! Its nearly impossible to get good at any new skill without practice. When it comes to the throwing stick, or any hunting tool we need to practice till we become “Instinctual”. What does this mean? Since primitive weapons do not have sights that help you aim you need to practice till you get to the point where you are not aiming, and you can hit your targets without thinking about it. I have found from personal experience that if you need to take the time to aim, chances are you have already missed your opportunity. You need to be able to throw accurately without thinking about it. This only happens through diligent, effective practice. So what are the best ways to practice the throng stick? Thats easy! ANY type of throwing can help you be better at throwing stick. Being able to hit targets is all about getting your brain to tell your arm how much force, and what direction to throw. While throwing small pebbles into a bucket might not help you learn the form needed to properly throw a stick without winding up, it will help to condition the brain in hitting targets.

Before I get into some practice techniques lets talk about safety. We don’t want to injure ourselves or anyone else. Whenever you practice throwing make sure your range is “safe”. Make sure all other people around are not in front of you. The only thing in front of you or “down range” should be your targets. If you have any family pets, make sure they are in a safe zone. If you are practicing with a group of your friends, make sure anyone who is not throwing at the targets is standing back. Another important thing to remember when practicing in a group is that DO NOT go collect your sticks after your turn throwing. Instead wait for everyone in the group to throw their sticks. once everyone has thrown, then go as a group and collect the sticks. I cannot stress how important safety is. I have been hit by a throwing stick before and it does not feel good! Practice methods Target range Set a few targets out in your yard at different distances. since the throwing stick is a close range weapon the closest target should be about 8’ and the farthest 20’. Make sure you have a few sticks to throw. This is a good method for when you are first learning. It will help to build your muscle memory and start you down the path of becoming instinctual. However, this method does not take into account all the variables that you will encounter while actually hunting, so it is important that we vary our practice techniques. A variation we can use when practicing by ourselves is to set out one target. Throw your stick at it. wherever your stick lands that is the next place you throw from. It is important that we practice throwing at various distances. Once you have the basics down, we need to continue to challenge ourselves. This will make us better throwers, which brings me to the next practice method.

Walking range This is the best possible method once we understand the basics and have developed good technique and form. The reason why this method is great is because it simulates actually hunting and all the factors that you need to be aware of. How this practice method works is simple, take you stick into the woods and pretend you are hunting. Instead of Throwing your stick at animals you will throw at stumps, fallen branches, or anything that is not alive and is on the ground. We don’t want to throw at living trees or bushes as our sticks could damage them. When we are wandering through the woods practicing we want to become the hunter. Stalk around as you would while hunting. Practice at different distances, throw up hill, downhill, and side hill. This is the type of practice that will make you an effective hunter.