Thanksgiving, at least in my mind, has a close connection with hunting. I think it is a common tradition to take advantage of the long weekend and gathered family to go hunting. Also, the general hunting season ends on November 29, and much Thanksgiving hunting has the air of desperation (in fairness, the holiday in general is an odd combination of relaxation and stress). Going hunting is a holiday tradition as important eating too much, arguing politics, and watching football.
Personally, my experiences with hunting tend to be more fodder for a Pat McManus story than anything else. I very much enjoy the wandering through the wilderness part of hiking, but the stealth part of hunting is completely foreign to me. The deer, or gopher, or target, in my gunsight is in far less danger than the surrounding trees and dirt. So I am afraid that I can contribute very little to a blog that is supposed to be about hunting. So I have decided that the best thing I can do is to direct you toward this November 1978 issue of Field & Stream, which features one of McManus’ first columns and, in my opinion, one of the best hunting stories of all time.
If you are more the listening type, you can watch actor Tim Brehens perform “My First Deer and Welcome to It” on YouTube.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving, and happy hunting.
