Global Sports: The Importance of Learning How to Hunt

Friday, November 9, 2012

The Importance of Learning How to Hunt

By Chuck Hume


To survive certain situations you may be required to obtain a food source and for your immediate needs, the quickest way to obtain food is through hunting. However, hunting requires a certain level of training and skill sets. You must know how to find game, have the means and skills to kill that game and then process it for consumption. If you do not have these skills and you are in an extended survival situation, you will suffer the effects of malnutrition and even possibly perish from lack of food.

You must have the weapons and the skills with that weapon to hunt if you expect to bring down any game. You can use firearms such as a shotgun or crossbows for hunting. You may want to practice with both because ammunition in a crisis may become limited whereas, if the bolt is not damaged when shot from a crossbow you can retrieve it. Knowing where to hunt is important for a successful hunt. All animals must have a water source and they will use that source daily so any waterways are a good starting point for finding game.

Once your food supply is stopped or even disrupted, it will not be long before food becomes critical. Not having the ability to hunt means you will go hungry, so learning how to hunt now may very well save your life later. Evaluate your environment and choose your weapons. Shotguns are the preferred choice by many because of their versatility. Shotguns can be used to hunt small and large game, from rabbits, ducks, geese, squirrels, deer and on up to even larger game.

Having the right weapon and ammunition is important because, you can damage edible parts or not be able to bring the animal down because you chose the wrong weapon or shell. You must also keep in mind where you are hunting. Firing a weapon in populated areas can lead to accidental shootings so, knowing how to properly hunt not only provides you with food it can also prevent accidents.

Not having any hunting skills simply put, means starvation for you and your family. To ensure no one starves you should begin a training regiment in a safe environment such as at a controlled shooting range. Learn your weapons capabilities, and work on accuracy after you have learned how to load and reload. Once you have the basic skills mastered you can begin hunting where failing to find anything only hurts your pride.

You must learn the habits of the game you are hunting and the most likely places to find game. All this knowledge comes with experience and being in the environment so you can observe. Do not load yourself up with weapons and think the more you have the more game you will come back with.

You can use birdshot for small game, buckshot for bigger game to include deer and slugs for larger game such as moose, elk and even bear. It is recommended you have a smaller caliber rifle for squirrels, rabbits and other small game to prevent damage to edible parts, but it does require more shooting skill to kill small game with a .22 caliber. Birdshot and buckshot once it exits the bore will expand into a shot pattern covering more of the target (depending on the choke setting) so you may not need as much shooting skill to bring down game with birdshot.




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