When you want to start a new hobby, everything seems elementary. For example, you decide to start painting. What do you need for this? A canvas and some brushes. And this is a simple look at this question. After all, when you sit down to make your first drawing, you realize that you need an object to paint, then you need to understand depth and light, and questions arise about technique, how to place your hand, and so on. If you are fascinated by a seemingly ordinary activity, it risks soon turning into your craft, and the more you learn and practice, the more you can become a master.
This analogy can be used in any business. To see how wrong we are with our superficial attitude to some activities.
Once upon a time, hunting, or rather hunting skills, were critical skills that could provide a person the opportunity to survive. Animals were a valuable source of resources: food, skin, fur, and bones, which were used to make tools, weapons, or jewelry. And so on. These skills had to be passed down from generation to generation. No one was born with them. People acquired them with blood and sweat, sometimes paying for this knowledge with their lives. Although times have changed, the craft has remained. For some people, it may seem like an ordinary pastime of restless men, but hunting is a complex of issues, skills, and knowledge without which it is simply pointless to go even on the first hunt. It has its tools, rules, traditions, and laws.
So the conclusion that can be drawn from this is that you cannot just want to take a gun and go into the forest. You can learn more theory before taking the first step on this path. And today, we intend to cover one of the most important theoretical issues. Types of hunting.
Why you need to know this and how understanding this issue will help you in the future. Everything is simple. First, you will understand what you like best. Secondly, you will know what to hunt, how to do it properly, what weapon to choose, in which regions you can hunt, etc. One answer will create a series of logical questions to which you need to find the information you can control.
Of course, you can do without theory if you like. However, in this case, your path will be much longer, and there will be many more disappointments and failed attempts.
The different types of hunting
Usually, when you look at a large amount of information, you feel a little uncomfortable. After all, there is so much to memorize and understand; you must learn to apply the theory in practice. However, it would be best not to forget about such an engine of your achievements as interest. If you are interested in this topic, you will succeed.
Hunting is the process of finding and pursuing prey. But we can classify it according to the purpose of killing the animal. And here, we can distinguish three main types: therapeutic hunting, commercial hunting, and sport hunting. Below, we will describe the main points, their meaning, and where they are familiar.
Quite often, you can find many articles on the Internet with angry statements from activists who oppose the killing of animals. The idea is noble but only sometimes practical due to the limited understanding of hunting culture in general and the denial that humans are also an integral part of the ecosystem that significantly impacts the environment (of course, only if it is controlled). And history knows many examples of when humans have harmed and saved the ecosystem through their intervention. Thanks to the lessons learned from previous failures, therapeutic hunting is no such thing. It was created to preserve different groups of animals. Because not only people are hunters. We only follow the rules of the world around us.
For example, a dangerous representative of the predatory world is the Burmese python found in the Everglades, Florida. It is a severe threat to the population of animals in wetlands. These reptiles grow up to 20 feet long, so starting in the 80s of the last century, they invaded the territory and began to eat small mammals, which were almost exterminated. Since they pose a severe threat to the ecosystem, and there are no predators to kill them, human intervention is logical. Therefore, they are hunted to preserve the landscape and the population of local animals. That is why therapeutic hunting is so important. Its goal is to maintain the balance in nature.
It is important to note and emphasize that for any of these types of hunting, even for a good purpose, you always need permission from particular institutions governed by international laws or the laws of your country.
Commercial hunting is the killing of an animal to obtain the resource of which it is a carrier. That is when a person ends up with meat, fur, etc. At first glance, this is a long time ago in the modern world, full of modernization and incredible new technologies. Any delicacy can be created with the help of molecular cuisine. But this needs to be clarified. This kind of hunting is still popular among tribes and those who live without access to the benefits of civilization. This is not practiced in the "first world" countries. Although for example, Alaska is the only state in the United States where commercial hunting still exists. It is also common in some parts of Botswana and Namibia.
However, while there are perfectly logical reasons for such activities to exist still, the following type of hunting still needs to be more controversial. Because the purpose of sport hunting is entertainment and imitation of traditions. In terms of technique, means used, and the product the hunter receives at the end, it is no different from the previous two. Nevertheless, it still exists and is practiced by many men and women around the world. In every country, it is controlled by domestic and international laws, and compliance with them can cost you dearly.
Despite its ambiguity, sport hunting itself branches out into many other categories. To begin with, there is collective and individual hunting.
During collective hunting, a group of people gathers. Usually, this happens on the territory of specialized lands where all participants can be controlled. After all, you must understand that you are now responsible not only for yourself and your safety but also for the safety of your friends and dogs if they are present during the game. Everyone should stay in the area where they were left, remember the location of other team members, know when to shoot and when to refrain, etc.
If you hunt alone, it does not mean that you have less responsibility. You have to be well prepared. There will be no one around to back you up. You must ensure you have all the documents and get permission to play; check the details you will use, their serviceability, condition, autonomy, damage, etc. Of course, you shouldn't take an unprepared puppy on such a trip to avoid harming yourself or the animal.
But the main thing in this matter is that these two categories branch out further. And their classification is due to several reasons, such as the game hunted, its species and size, types of weapons, terrain, seasons, time of day, etc.
But whatever you choose, your goal is to get new sensations and an authentic hunting experience. And if everything already seems ordinary to you, then below we will give examples of those types of hunting that may well be a new challenge for you. Of course, if they are allowed by law.
Unusual types of hunting
Regardless of the individual characteristics of some types of hunting, it will depend on the previously mentioned factors.
Deer prey by wolf hunting
Deer is the most popular target in hunting. Getting such a trophy is a success. However, it can also become a routine. You know the animal's habits, the nature of its behavior, and so on. If you are already a hunter with much experience hunting this mammal, the following method may interest you.
Only this time, you're not focusing on the behavior of ungulates but on wolves. The following manipulations are tricky but possible. You need to know when predators hunt for food and where they will most likely be found. In modern realities, such hunting is best done in the early morning. Then wolves are most active, increasing the chances of achieving the goal. You can use night vision devices if it still needs to be light enough outside. You wait for them to give chase and find their prey, surround them, kill them, and then you make a shot, dispersing the wolves. In the case of a well-aimed photo, you can get deer and wolf fur. Of course, remember to check whether your region's legislation allows hunting for predators.
Our ancestors used this method. This type of hunting became especially popular in the 19th century.
Prey for mammals by hunting a lion or a leopard
A necessary clarification, some of the mentioned unusual types of hunting may be prohibited. For example, the following. But we decided to say it anyway, as it is an integral part of the history of hunting craft.
This method of hunting originated in western Africa in Cameroon many centuries ago. When there were no specific tools for hunting, people used the tools at hand, such as stones or fire. They had to find a leopard or lion pride and sit for several hours, sometimes days, in their ambushes, waiting for the wild cats to hunt. The predator would kill its prey, and the human would only kill it directly. This is what is called "killing two birds with one stone." After all, if a person survived such a fight, he was generously rewarded for his patience because now he had an invaluable source of resources: meat, fur, skin, and bones, from which new tools were made.
Of course, when the Europeans came to the continent and decided to pass this test, this type of hunting underwent some modernization, using firearms. This greatly facilitates the task. In today's realities, this type of hunting is not legal, especially given the risks of reducing the population of these predators. That is why this method can be classified as trophy hunting.
Hunting with golden eagles
This type of hunting has steppe roots. Hunters used to hunt birds of prey. The chicks have been with humans since birth, and people spend a lot of time and effort training them. And only after four years the golden eagles were ready to hunt game for their owners.
Now imagine riding a horse into the steppe, spotting a potential prey, and releasing the bird. The golden eagles, with highly sharp eyesight, spot the target and strike it swiftly and violently. And that's about it. The hunter now has the hunted game and has to thank his assistant with a treat.
This type of hunting is no longer in official use. Therefore, if you want to try it, you will have a long, complex, but exciting path when you have to try to recreate the manipulations of your ancestors to achieve the goal.
Fire hunt
The target of this method of hunting is the goanna, whose meat is considered a real delicacy. It was common among Australian Aborigines. A group of people would surround the area where these reptiles had burrows, use fire to lure them to the surface, and then kill them with a heavy object.
Over time and in today's realities, this is not humane treatment of animals and is therefore not legalized. However, there are exceptions. We have already mentioned therapeutic hunting. Sometimes, when the population of these reptiles grows, and they threaten the existence of other animals, this method can still be used.
On a boar with a knife
Many firearms are banned in Hawaii, so boars are hunted with a knife. These traditions have spread beyond the island and quickly gained popularity in other territories.
Obtaining a permit to hunt wild boar is easy, as it is an invasive species that can threaten nature and agriculture. Hunters can hunt it almost all year round.
A group of people must drive the animal into a natural trap, often small caves from which the animal cannot escape. It can be very dark in such places, so having a flashlight with you is necessary to increase your chances of a more accurate shot and not cause severe damage to yourself or your comrades.
Hunting with a crossbow
When a bow or crossbow was used for hunting, it would seem that given the rapid technological progress and the availability of various types of firearms, what good is such a weapon? However, this weapon still has many fans. For hunters, it is a step forward but a way to experience new emotions and test their skills. When hunting with a crossbow or bow, the risks of success increase significantly, and the distance between you and the game decreases.
But it is also worth remembering that this type of hunting is only allowed in some places. Therefore, before you buy an unusual weapon and add it to your arsenal, you must research much new information.
Everything has its history. And hunting is no exception. Because it is one of those activities that has been around since the advent of man, and although it is undergoing modernization, your goal remains the same. After all, it is your self-realization in extraordinary and extreme conditions where you and nature are face to face, and your task, if successful, is to provide the animal with a decent and quick death, which is also an integral and essential part of hunting for centuries.