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Hunting is Healing

midwesterncrosshair

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Nov 29, 2018
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180
Location
Western Illinois
I thought it would be cool to hear some other peoples stories on this subject.

So I'll start off with two and hand the mic off.

It was 2015 when my father was on a rifle hunt for elk near Craig Colorado. He was hunting with his brother riding a 4 wheeler on a trail and he said he was only going walking speed. With 2 people on it it didn't take much to flip it as he crept over a tree root. My uncle did the duck and roll and my dad not knowing his brother side rolled out of harms way tried to prevent the 4 wheeler from crushing his brother. The handlebars came down on his pelvis hard and after getting the machine off of him he couldn't walk. He was flown to the nearest hospital because of the fear of internal beading. X-rays showed his pelvic bone was broke in 3 places and his urethra was severed, meaning he was urinating inside his body and infecting his body and when he could pee it was only blood. They re-connected his urethra using a catheter so he would no longer infect his body. Though still needing surgery to put it back together fully he was flown back home to NE Wisconsin and was on bed rest for awhile. He became depressed and while fighting infection and being stuck in bed. When Wisconsin's rifle season came he was healed of infection and could barley walk yet but was determined to get out of the house and hunt deer. Having my mother set a table in the back yard with a chair and his gun rest the old bugger got a nice buck opening day and that was the turning point of being rid of the depression and making a faster than expected recovery. His urethra healed without surgery. Sis and Mom helped drag and clean the buck and since then has gone back out west to hunt but no more 4 wheelers.

For me it was a little over a year ago when I when to South Dakota for a pheasant hunt with some college buddies. The day I left Grandma had a stroke and wasn't expected to make it through the next few days. So on the drive out there I was mentally preparing myself that my grandma could pass away at any minute of any day. Morning of day 4 came and I didn't take a shot at a bird yet in the trip, but right as we were about to start a run my mother called. I was sure I knew why she was calling as I had mentally prepared myself for the phone call. But the call took my breath away as I was being told my uncle passed away of a heart attack only hours ago at the age of 50. That morning I wept but later that day on the last run of my trip I got my limit and personally I cant explain why I felt a sort of healing from getting my birds that day.

I kinda feel like the big man upstairs knew what I was going through and gave a little gift.
 

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My father in law passed away in 2015. He and my husband were very close, and everything they did revolved around hunting. By extension, hunting was our connection as well. I really think spending time in the field with people forges the closest of bonds. Anyway, his passing was sudden and very unexpected. Hunting season rolled around a couple of months later, and it was tough. Extremely tough. So tough that we have not returned to most of the places we used to hunt with him. Most of them were places my husband had grown up hunting. Just can’t do it.

That year we did hunt our usual antelope spot. Filled our tags but everything seemed dull and hollow. When deer rolled around, it seemed that maybe some new territory might help us start finding our way. I had been eyeing a spot for a couple of years that looked really good, but we had just never made it in there. We went out on a cold morning, with just a dusting of snow....one of those mornings that just feel like a deer kind of day. Long story short, I ended up with this guy.

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The nicest whitetail I’ve ever taken. It really felt like the Old Man was there that day, and it was the first time in several months that I felt like things were going to be ok.

We’re still exploring and learning new places, and I feel like that has been fairly therapeutic actually. I still feel like he’s around sometimes when I’m hunting. I can almost hear his voice in certain situations and sometimes it just cracks me up....he was known to get fairly “animated” in the heat of the moment.
 
That is a beautiful buck. Congratulations on having hunt that was successful on so many levels.
 
Great stories!! I'd give about anything to be able to tell my dad about my and the boys hunts. He's been gone 10yrs last month...
 
Sorry for those losses, gents, but thank you for sharing. There is absolutely no question in my mind that hunting, or most time spent outdoors, is healing. I was blessed to be able to hunt with my 83-year-old dad and my son (19) on his first whitetail hunt this year. I don't even like thinking about how/if the three of us will hunt together again. The time is priceless.

There are countless organizations helping veterans get outdoors, often to hunt, with good reason. Here is my take, I'm bad a cut and pasting while keeping formatting and pictures, so it's linked below:

https://davestories.wordpress.com/2013/10/26/fresh-air-poisoning/

Dave
 
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