ACCEPTANCE
“A me piace andare a caccia al cervo con l’arco e freccia”
“Is that right?”
I seem to ask this question a lot to my soon to be Australian/Italian bride. The answer to my question was, “yes, I know you like hunting deer with your bow and arrow”.
My Italian vocabulary seems to centre around hunting and food; I have a love for both, as one is the product of the other.
As I sat there at the dining table looking at the centre of each plate and the lean pieces of venison that were being savoured by these non hunting people, I raised another piece of meat to my mouth and felt its texture and the unique flavour. As I chewed, my memory drifted back to where this meat had come from and how it had made its way on to my plate. I thought how beast and man had met in time, how two worlds separate to many modern people had been linked together by an object; an arrow crafted by one to take the life of another. How it had served its purpose through the persistence of practice and the ingraining of form.
Sitting there recollecting, I realised that I owe that deer to those exact things, ingrained form. For as I stalked that young bedded Rusa deer, he was unawares to my presence and my intensions. The smell of the damp grass being pushed towards me by the steady wind confirmed what my eyes were seeing was real. I was 20m from a deer, but not just a deer, it was a culmination of many things, dreams, goals, maybe even fate. All these things had brought me to this point and it was now time to see what the outcome would hold for me.
I raised my bow into the vertical position and eased out from behind the bush that separated our lives, as it was time for us to cross paths on this mortal coil. As I drew, he still wasn’t aware that it was time for us to meet and as my introduction of carbon and steel parted the air above his back, he jolted to his feet and made a little distance before looking back to enquire who this stranger was seeking acceptance into his life.
But this was to be the error of his ways for I had a different idea on how this encounter was to end and the sound of my second arrow punching through his diaphragm, through one lung and into his spine, again confirmed what my eyes were seeing. He dropped on the spot due to that second arrow, a second arrow that came without any hesitance, just ingrained form and process. I can’t recall any conscious thought from the loading of the arrow to the release, and this is what realised my dream.
Another arrow was quickly dispatched and took him from 15m through the chest, entering from the last rib and pushing into the dirt through his brisket bringing our paths together to run parallel and committing us both to the journey ahead.
Although this journey was to involve us both, it was my turn to honour this animal and make his death worthwhile, for I have dreamt of retrieving my bow shot game and going through the hardship to transport it from his world into the modern world we live in today.
Little did I know that by carrying this deer out, if only for a short distance, I would not only be carrying out bone flesh hide and memories, but a product of what I love that would bring together the people in my life in such a positive way.
The memories of that hunt etched in my mind for evermore have been embellished
By the addition of the post hunt scenes, which comprised of watching my soon to be wife slowly work my drop point knife down the leg of my first bow shot deer, taking the upmost care not to ruin my prize, as she knew how long I’d dreamt of taking a deer with my longbow.
As she slowly separated hide from flesh, I marvelled at how lucky I was to find a girl like this and at how determined and elated she was at the thorough job she was doing skinning and butchering her first deer.
Content with the realisation and the memories of this deer and its transition from fauna to food, I continued on with another piece of the bounty it had provided for me and the people dear to me, with a quick glance up I received a smile and a nod from the people around me and I knew that what I’d done had been appreciated.
Since my last article, I have had the pleasure of meeting some of the best bowhunter’s Australia has to offer and I have been in awe of there achievements, not just as hunters, but as genuine people.
They have inspired me in so many ways and increased my passion for bowhunting through stories and information, freely given to appreciative ears.
After being here for nearly 3 years now, I have fortunately made some good friends of whom I’ve hunted with and hope to enjoy more hunts with in the future. And I would like to thank them for the knowledge they’ve been so forthcoming with and their acceptance of a hunter that is passionate about bows and arrows.
Cheers
Mark.
Topic: ACCEPTANCE (First deer) (Read 581 times)
