I have been reflecting quite a bit about my passion for hunting and the place it has in my life. With the archery deer season right around the corner, it’s a good time to take a look and reflect on the sport I have enjoyed since childhood and am getting ready to enjoy yet again.
What I have learned from my reflections is that the practice of taking to the woods in search of a game animal runs deep. I shouldn’t be surprised, given my background and lineage. My grandfather, Lawrence Kramer, prowled the woods and waters of Meeker County west of the Twin Cities and near his hometown of Litchfield. He fished, hunted and trapped, not just for sport, but to put food on the table. He and my grandmother, Ruth Kramer, lost their farm during the Great Depression, and he had to find ways to feed his family of eight children. My mom, Eunice, was the oldest.
When my mom married my dad in the 1950s, Lawrence Kramer took my dad out and taught him the skills needed to be a good hunter and fisherman. Those skills eventually passed down to my brothers and I. We got to fish a few times with Grandpa Kramer before he died in the early 1970s, and I feel proud to continue his legacy today.
Like him, I like to put food on the table, and I have been fortunate to do so many times. I never tire of a meal of venison wild turkey. And, I like to throw in a few meals of pan-fried walleye. In addition to hunting, I also like to go fishing, and I have had many great adventures on the water.
I’ll be honest, as much as I enjoy the sports of hunting and fishing, they wouldn’t hold much meaning without the table fare that comes as a result. That is why I will never consider myself a trophy hunter. Don’t get me wrong, I like a big buck as much as the next guy, and I have mounted two nice ones. But, I experience a deep satisfaction when my family is able to partake in a wild game dinner.
To me, nothing beats the enjoyment of knowing I harvested what our family is going to eat. That is a big reason why hunting is so important to me. Oftentimes, when our family is eating a meal that I prepared, I will stop during the meal and look around the table. When I see my wife and kids enjoying it, I am filled with pride.
I also have served wild game to my friends, and I try to invite my parents over, too. My dad loves it, my mom tolerates it, but she is willing to at least try everything I make.
With my birthday coming up next Tuesday, Sept. 22, my thoughts are turning to the potential outdoor adventures coming up this fall. I won’t be able to get out for the archery opener this year, but I hope to be in one of my stands when the whitetail rut kicks into full gear in late October and early November. That is prime time to be in the woods, and it’s a beautiful time to be up in a tree, even though the leaves will be down by then.
I would do well to appeal to St. Hubert, the patron saint of hunters. I ran across a good article on him on a website called The Catholic Gentleman. There is a story about his life, plus prayers hunters can pray.
Asking the intercession of St. Hubert could be as important as tuning your bow or placing a new tree stand.