Thanks for chiming in, Matthew, and for being a Prius-driving hunter… 🙂

It’s also good to see someone have the same kind of problems getting a buck into a Prius that I have.

Thanks, Matt.

A while back, I saw an article that emphasized the cost of getting started in hunting. That kind of emphasis is unfortunate, I think. It doesn’t have to be that expensive.

And, yes, I sure hope collective, common interests will trump narrower, divisive commitments.

Thanks for chiming in, Aaron. We need more folks like you, seeing these connections and looking for ways to find middle ground.

Thanks much, Somsai.

I agree that there’s significant value in understanding our shared history, as part of creating a better shared future.

This is an excellent piece, and I of course agree wholeheartedly. Perhaps a side benefit to the Prius-driving hunter: it shows that mindful hunting is accessible to anyone. Hunting does not have to be a consumer lifestyle. You do not have to conform to a marketing image to eat venison. You do not need a $35,000 truck, a $10,000 ATV, a $1500 rifle, a closet full of designer camo, a GPS, a trail cam, etc, etc.

I think the marketing image of hunting is detrimental to the activity. It makes it an expensive hobby, not just a part of life.

I have driven home with an elk in the trunk of a Chevy Cavalier (it was skinned and quartered, and fit fine).

Back to the topic at hand: I see these “market segments” or “demographics” as ultimately harmful to the environment. People define themselves by politics or interests, then have to toe the line so they can still belong to that group. Shouldn’t clean water, clean air, abundant wildlife, a livable future for our children, etc transcend? Man, I hope so.

Nice work as always.

Matt Miller

I have noticed in conversation with other hunters, and in the hunting media, a sizable portion of people who hunt to know where there meat came from and to avoid factory farmed meat when possible. I think its a natural evolution of health food consciousness to decide that wild meat is more desirable than factory farmed meat. Also, if animal treatment is a concern when you choose what to eat, one might believe that perhaps hunting is more ethical than domesticated meat to the animal, which can drive a desire to hunt.

Finding middle ground between the left and the right, especially with as solidly divided as we seem to have become as a culture, is a great thing and I too hope we see more Prii with game in the back, and more trucks running on biodiesel.

There’s a great podcast with the environmental historian Randall Williams who wrote a doctoral dissertation called Green Voters Gun Voters – Hunting and Politics in Modern America. https://youtu.be/FBCiNmHpK5w It gets good at about 20 minute mark. Randall gives some good background on where, how, and when the split came about. Not a bad idea to take a look at how we got to where we are in order to figure out a way to go from here. Kinda like a historical GPS.

Not often I hear of a dissertation with a waiting list before it’s published in book form.

Amen to that, Phillip!