Hunting prayers, poems or quotes?

Slyringneck

New member
Hey just wondering if any of you would like share some of your favorite prayers, poems or quotes related to bird hunting. Here is one of my favorites.

"Lord let me shoot clean, kill clean, and if I can't kill clean, please lord let me miss clean"
 
One shot get um bird,
two shot,maybe,
three shots,no get um
 
When somebody asks "Did you see any?"

I say, just a few capons(castrated rooster chicken). I shot at'em and they just capon going...LOL
 
Here's one: Thank you Mother Nature!!

A bit o' doggerel:

He was a huntsman of reknown,
He was a man about the town.
He shot, he fished, his bag he filled.
He hawked, and talked, and lady-killed.
 
"Lord let me shoot clean, kill clean, and if I can't kill clean, please lord let me miss clean"

Very nice, heartfelt, an aspiration for all true hunters.
 
"Lord let me shoot clean, kill clean, and if I can't kill clean, please lord let me miss clean"


I agree with BC, this is classy and reflects the character of a "good" hunter. I'm not so elequent. My favorite quote when hamming it up with my hunting buddies on the way to our spots is "The BS stops when the tailgate drops". It's more or less a humorous reminder for everyone to be quiet in the field, lose the jokes and start treating everything/everyone (including the wildlife and land) with respect.

I often find myself stopping in the middle of a field and simply saying in my head, "Lord, I'm truly blessed to have spent another day doing this." Not much for a quote, but it's something that I can recall saying in many a field.

Good timing on the thread BTW:cheers:
 
"Be worthy of your game." - George Bird Evans.

Indeed another good one and borne from the following by GBE:

"If I could shoot a game bird and still not hurt it, the way I can take a trout on a fly and release it, I doubt if I would kill another one. This is a strange statement coming from a man whose life is dedicated to shooting and gun dogs. For me, there is almost no moment more sublime than when I pull the trigger and see a grouse fall. Yet, as the bird is retrieved I feel a sense of remorse for taking a courageous life. About the time I passed fifty I noticed this conflict becoming more pronounced...
How then, can you love a bird and kill it and still feel decent? I think the answer is, to be worthy of your game. Which boils down to a gentleman's agreement between you and the bird, never forgetting that it is the bird that has everything to lose. It consists of things you feel and do, not because someone is looking or because the law says you may or must not, but because you feel that this is the honorable way to do it."
 
Indeed another good one and borne from the following by GBE:

"If I could shoot a game bird and still not hurt it, the way I can take a trout on a fly and release it, I doubt if I would kill another one. This is a strange statement coming from a man whose life is dedicated to shooting and gun dogs. For me, there is almost no moment more sublime than when I pull the trigger and see a grouse fall. Yet, as the bird is retrieved I feel a sense of remorse for taking a courageous life. About the time I passed fifty I noticed this conflict becoming more pronounced...
How then, can you love a bird and kill it and still feel decent? I think the answer is, to be worthy of your game. Which boils down to a gentleman's agreement between you and the bird, never forgetting that it is the bird that has everything to lose. It consists of things you feel and do, not because someone is looking or because the law says you may or must not, but because you feel that this is the honorable way to do it."

"I often find myself stopping in the middle of a field and simply saying in my head, "Lord, I'm truly blessed to have spent another day doing this." Not much for a quote, but it's something that I can recall saying in many a field."

I experienced the latter of these two quotes several times last year, and though I had never read the first quote above it rang in my heart as I read it the first time! For me, I cannot imagine any way to express myself more eloquently. Well done gents! Never met you but we are of a kindred spirit.
 
Thanks everyone for posting some very thoughtful, aspiring and fun entries. I've been hunting ducks in North Dakota this week. So just getting around to reading everyone's postings. Thanks again.
 
Indeed another good one and borne from the following by GBE:

"If I could shoot a game bird and still not hurt it, the way I can take a trout on a fly and release it, I doubt if I would kill another one. This is a strange statement coming from a man whose life is dedicated to shooting and gun dogs. For me, there is almost no moment more sublime than when I pull the trigger and see a grouse fall. Yet, as the bird is retrieved I feel a sense of remorse for taking a courageous life. About the time I passed fifty I noticed this conflict becoming more pronounced...
How then, can you love a bird and kill it and still feel decent? I think the answer is, to be worthy of your game. Which boils down to a gentleman's agreement between you and the bird, never forgetting that it is the bird that has everything to lose. It consists of things you feel and do, not because someone is looking or because the law says you may or must not, but because you feel that this is the honorable way to do it."

I started to post both paragraphs and probably should have. As childish as it sounds George Bird Evans is one of my heroes. The older I get the more I prefer to be identified as a bird dog man or a bird hunter. I admit there are better writers but none who's writing makes me think as much as Mr. Evans' writing. Maybe Mr. Evans wrote from the perspective of answering not just the "how" question but the "why" question as well. He didn't write at a particular type of reader but he shared his experiences and his thinking regarding those experiences.

I still don't understand why George and Kay didn't come west to hunt the prairies, he could have found enough birds to relieve his frustration at the low grouse numbers.

When a situation regarding dogs or hunting arises I wish every hunter would err on the side of trying to be "worthy of the game" they are pursuing.
 
Not childish at all...I completely understand.
Reading GBE every Fall has been a standard for many years.

GBE was content from Chestnut Ridge to The Valley.
While he made a few out-of-state hunts, home was it for him and he experienced a time of grouse/habitat that enabled home to be enough.

He wrote words that allowed one to recognize and feel....and most importantly, to think.
Regarding the ruffed grouse decline he was way ahead of his time.

He, they, were originals unlikely to be seen again who lived Life very much on their own terms.
Not a perfect man...but who is?
Not a gunny either but he knew what worked in a scattergun for him and he knew what he wanted in a dog and he pursued that with a passion.
One could do much worse than read GBE with an open mind and heart.
 
"Lord let me shoot clean, kill clean, and if I can't kill clean, please lord let me miss clean"

"Be worthy of your game." - George Bird Evans.

I really, REALLY like these two gentlemen. The honor and respect of the sport and our quarry is too often overshadowed by big racks and bag limits. This is a great thread and I'm really glad it was started. I don't have anything poetic to add but to just say thank you. Over the years I've grown, I think, more respectful of the lives I take and it's good to know there are others out there still who share the same level of appreciation.
 
Back
Top