Most hunters first experience hunting in the role of a beater, but for me, it was individual hunting. I am very lucky because the house where I live is part of a hunting area. As soon as I step out of my yard, I can hunt. There are chickens in the yard that foxes try to catch. What is one to do? The fox must be hunted! I do not have such a vivid beginning. Now, when I teach new hunters, they have a collective initiation process, their first memorable hunt they have travelled to. But I was already there the whole time.
All the most vivid sensations come before the moment the trigger is pulled. And the most exciting is stalking, when you are truly competing with the animal on every level. After the shot, the work begins; often it is heavy, difficult work. Another surge of adrenaline comes at the moment I reach the game.
Photo: Donal Boyd