Returning from the hunt circa 1975

Here in Montana we are nearly three weeks into the firearm deer and elk season and it’s been over two months since archery season opened on September 5th. This state is a hunter’s paradise with plentiful game, long seasons and an abundance of access to an expanse of productive lands both public and private. As in many parts of the country, the hunting culture runs deep in Montana.

As I’ve discussed here before, I was raised in that culture and I hold it near and dear to my heart. That being said, since moving to this hunter’s paradise my passion for the sport has diminished. I hunted hard for the first several years we lived here and was able to harvest a couple of animals however I felt less and less compelled to hunt each season. I attribute that to a lack of knowledge about and comfort level with the places I was hunting and more importantly to the fact that for whatever reason, I haven’t really cultivated relationships with folks with whom I might have the opportunity to hunt, due in part to the fact that I’m simply not that passionate about it anymore.

My son was going into the sixth grade when we moved to Montana, an ideal age to get him interested in the sport despite the fact that my attempts to spark his interest in hunting back in Michigan were mostly unsuccessful. It’s simply never been his thing and that’s ok. Credit to him, he did take hunter safety and he did take an interest in archery and he did hunt with me on occasion but it just never really took. Had he formed a real interest in hunting I’m sure I’d be writing a different story today but as it is, his lack of interest likely contributed to my waning enthusiasm for the hunt. Just to clarify, he’s not a fan of fishing either but that has not curbed my enthusiasm for and obsession with trout fishing in Montana.

I share this with you as background for my thoughts today regarding opening day of firearm season back in Michigan.

November 15th will always hold a place in my heart as opening day and unlike what I shared last week regarding Election Day and not having ever taken a day off of work or school to vote, I took many November 15th’s off of school and work to hunt on opening day.

I know this OPENING DAY thing is a part of the hunting culture shared by all of those who grew up in hunting families and I know this sentiment is alive and well here in Montana but my experience with this is from my past and not so much a part of my present. It’s for this reason that every year around this time I can’t help but think about the past. I can’t help but think about all those opening days spent in the Michigan woods with my dad and later with our circle of hunting friends after my dad was gone.

It makes me happy to think about those days and there’s a part of me that very much misses those experiences but I’m ok with that. It’s a part of my past I wouldn’t trade for anything, a part that I doubt will ever be replicated here in this hunter’s paradise of Montana but again, I’m ok with that.

Last year was the first year I did not hunt. This year was the first year that I didn’t even buy a hunting license. My hunting outings here, especially those last couple of years I hunted, felt forced and my heart was simply not in it.

That being said, if I had the opportunity to go back to Michigan to hunt with my life-long hunting friends as I did a few years back, I’d do it in a heartbeat and the spark would be rekindled. So obviously, as it is in so many cases, it’s not the activity itself but rather the relationships that make the experience.

So to all those arriving at deer camp in the Michigan woods this weekend, to all those all around the country to whom fall hunting is a highlight of the year, and to all those who’ve spent the last two months afield here in Montana and who’ve got a couple of weeks yet to go….best of luck and happy hunting.

We share a passion for traditions I pray we never abandon and while I’m at peace at this point on the outside looking in I will always have respect and reverence for the sport and I’m hopeful that at some point I will return.