Post by Jamie Brooks 1John5:13 on Jun 12, 2013 21:46:54 GMT -5
I know very little about hunting, but I have killed a lot of animals. A clean kill is a must! I came from a broken home in the inner city, so I spent a lot of time with my grandpa. Heck, he was old then. He was a hard working hillbilly from the hills of Kentucky. He had a house in the inner city with a double lot. He brought the farm to downtown Indy. We had lots of animals, and they were all for eating. I remember thinking that my grandpa was cruel to animals, because he killed so many. He’d eat anything, and every part of it. I remember eating squirrel brains out of the squirrel’s skull. It was fried though, everything was …with pure lard from Porky Lane. Now that I think about it, I’m not sure where he got that squirrel; he didn’t hunt. I know we had big rats; it could have been a rat. I wouldn’t have known any difference and he sure wouldn’t have told me. Back then, we ate what was put in front of us and didn’t complain. We were thankful for it!
The only time I remember my grandpa being angry with me was on my first attempt to kill a rabbit. I was about 10 years old and really wanted to whack one over the head like he did. He handed me the rabbit and the hickory. He told me to take a good swing and hit him at the base of the head. Oh, I was excited to get my chance! Holding that rabbit by the back legs, his head stuck out making a good target. I took a big back swing, but in the middle of my down thrust I got weak kneed. The impact just hurt the rabbit. No curse words were uttered, but he was angry. “Give me that thing!” He said with frustration in his voice. He killed the rabbit as quickly as he could. It was then that I learned that my grandpa wasn’t cruel to animals. It was cruel to hurt the animal, not to kill it.
I will never take a shot at a running deer or one behind brush. If it’s not a clear kill shot, I won’t take it. I remember the guilt and inner pain of hurting that rabbit like it was yesterday. I’ve accidentally hurt animals since, and my first thought would to kill it quickly, so if you ever break your leg around me, you know what my first thought will be …maybe this is why I don’t have any hunting friends???
Have fun, kill and eat good but don’t make an animal suffer by taking a bad shot.
The only time I remember my grandpa being angry with me was on my first attempt to kill a rabbit. I was about 10 years old and really wanted to whack one over the head like he did. He handed me the rabbit and the hickory. He told me to take a good swing and hit him at the base of the head. Oh, I was excited to get my chance! Holding that rabbit by the back legs, his head stuck out making a good target. I took a big back swing, but in the middle of my down thrust I got weak kneed. The impact just hurt the rabbit. No curse words were uttered, but he was angry. “Give me that thing!” He said with frustration in his voice. He killed the rabbit as quickly as he could. It was then that I learned that my grandpa wasn’t cruel to animals. It was cruel to hurt the animal, not to kill it.
I will never take a shot at a running deer or one behind brush. If it’s not a clear kill shot, I won’t take it. I remember the guilt and inner pain of hurting that rabbit like it was yesterday. I’ve accidentally hurt animals since, and my first thought would to kill it quickly, so if you ever break your leg around me, you know what my first thought will be …maybe this is why I don’t have any hunting friends???
Have fun, kill and eat good but don’t make an animal suffer by taking a bad shot.
