Letter From a Young Hunter “To Anyone Who Just Doesn’t Get it”

I ran across a great little note written by Lyla Luoto, a member of Michigan Youth Conservation Council. It’s called “Why I Hunt: An Open Letter to Anyone Who Just Doesn’t Get It.”

Most hunters have a tough time explaining why they hunt and why hunting is so special to them. This young lady has done an admirable job.

We are natural, biological creatures, and I believe we are engineered to love and connect with nature on a very deep level. I believe nature is a very important component to our intellectual, social, emotional, and spiritual development. This is an element of life that many people have lost touch with, or have never been in touch with.

She expounds:

People in today’s society mindlessly eat hamburgers from McDonalds and pick up a package of chicken breasts from the super market every day. Do they ever stop to think about the cows and pigs that were killed to feed them? In most cases, no.

She also addresses the hypocrisy of many anti-hunters:

[T]here are far too many people that will gladly eat a McDouble, but will spit on hunters for shooting a deer. I believe that if I am going to be someone who eats meat, I should be able to kill an animal I am eating with my own hands; otherwise I would feel like a hypocrite and a coward.

Lyla strives to clear things up for non-hunters who think we hunters are bloodthirsty savages:

I don’t do it for the ‘thrill of killing’ I don’t do it to get the ‘biggest trophy.’ If you talk to a genuine outdoorsperson that hunts, you will find it is about something much bigger than that. It is about respect, connection and consequence. I hope people can see that. So happy hunting to everyone. Stay safe, and remember to respect Mother Nature and the life that you are taking.

Well said indeed! Check out the full article to read the entire letter – it’s well worth it.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.