Heed the call of the wild

Graham Downing explains why every shooter should experience the thrill of pursuing truly wild duck and geese at least once in their lives

- Graham Downing

Long before the first farmer raised livestock or scratched the soil to plant a row of corn, we humans were hunters. We sniffed the wind and followed the trail of bird and beast to seek out and kill our food. We rejoiced when we were successful and looked with respect and awe at the dead creature by our feet that would provide ourselves and our families with the next meal. It is probable that humans multiplied and spread across the earth by following the animals they hunted — the migrating herds of bison and deer seeking out fresh grazing. Hunting is at the very heart of the human story and, deep down, we are all still hunters.

In these very different times, many of us continue to hunt. We do not need to do so in order to eat; we hunt for recreation in its truest sense — the refreshing of mind and body by getting outside into the natural environment of wind and weather and exercising those hunting skills that remain within us.

For many of those who shoot live quarry today, the principal skill that is practised is but a small part of the totality of hunting expertise — the ability to hit a target with a projectile. It’s a pretty essential skill. If he could not strike down his quarry with arrow, spear or stone, our ancestor’s toil in seeking out and getting within range of a bird or animal was in vain. Similarly, today we will have a rather miserable time in the field if we miss with every shot that is taken.

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