It's In Our Hands
Deepening our connection to nature
The greatest gift a hunter receives is the connection to nature and the land. It’s felt by us all in some form or another. It's what drives many of us to do what we do.
Many people never experience these things and the emotions that run alongside them. With the world's ever-increasing sanitisation, it's never been more important to get our hands dirty and find moments of inspiration and solace in nature. For a human, our connection to nature and our food is never more real than when we’re pursuing it. When we can observe it in its natural habitat and when we are part of that natural order of life and death.
I for one love being out in bad weather. As a hunter and outdoorsman I feel most alive when I’ve just pulled up at hunting permission, everyone still in bed, the wind blowing and the frost thick. I crave these mini morning missions and days in the woods, hills or mountains. It's what I live for.
The struggle for land access and the opportunity to hunt in the UK
For many hunters in the world accessing hunting comes fairly easily. But for us in the UK it can be a struggle. After all, half of England is owned by less than 1% of the population. And half of Scotland is owned by fewer than 500 people. Alongside these facts, there is certainly a general move away from Type 2 kind of fun. People want instant fun. They want comfort and ease and are often simply too busy to have time to get connected. Hunting also has a stigma attached to it, that stops many people from pursuing involvement in it. It's seen as a pastime for the elite. This is wrong and must change.
Get your face in nature
As humans we need a purpose. We need to feel alive. We need to get our faces in nature and experience the joy of wild places and wild food. The handful of hunters relative to the UK population get to experience, learn, feel and see our wild areas uniquely, with purpose, through passion.
No part of us gets closer to the blood and guts of life than our hands. They load our rifle, haul our packs, cling on to branches or help us scramble up hills. They get smashed about, they do it all! Arguably our closest connection is made through them. This is why I find hands fascinating. They tell a story like no other.
Don't frown upon us, celebrate what we do and how we live
Our relationship with the land we hunt in and the animals we pursue is often overlooked by people that frown upon us or don’t understand what we do. When serving up meat in my house, I know where it came from, how it died, what species it was, roughly how old, its weight. I know how the animal's hair felt and how it smelt. This type of connection simply can't be bought from a shop. It’s the kind of connection only a hunter can gain. It’s the reason why I hunt and for me it’s the most important aspect of hunting above any other.
I hope this short piece displays us hunters’ deep connection with the land and its wild beasts we pursue. If you feel inspired to find this connection for yourself then even better!
We hope to be showcasing this connection later this year with - The Hands of Hunters series.