Do you observe any sort of ritual after a successful hunt?

Maybe you have a moment silence and/or utter a prayer of thanks to the Creator for the bounty. Or, perhaps, say "thank you" to the fallen animal? On the other end of the spectrum is the whooping, hollering and fist pumping that is seen on so many hunting videos.

The Europeans (especially Germans) have the "last bite" tribute and hunting cultures all over the world observe their own rituals.

I'm not suggesting that this is a necessity or that it has anything to do with ethics. Just wondering if you are moved to somehow pay tribute to the animal or celebrate a successful hunt?

I was taught the "last bite" ritual when I killed my first deer many, many years ago and still observe it with a thankful prayer when I am successful.

We notch the tag using a foot as a cutting board.

Back in 1992, I shot my first elk in the Little Belts of Montana. My dad took me to the Lazy Doe in Monarch for a Johnson burger to celebrate. Since then I have had many meals there for the same reason.

Since then I have always found a restaurant or have a special meal at the end of a successful day. I went to school in Butte, MT and used to go to the Lamplighter until it closed and then I went to the Derby for a steak.

At the kill site, I take a moment to give thanks, and usually sit for a minute to take it in.

Jeremy

I think the Lord, when I get to the pickup sometimes it take longer to get there than others I crack open a cold Beer and listen to Conway Twitty's greatest hits

Just make sure they're fully dead , then notch the tag and get on with butchering.
Sure I'm grateful but, that's it.

I read elsewhere a fellow that killed a moose poured half a small bottle of Jaegermeister in it's mouth then downed the rest.

George

Lamplighter , shame they closed great prime rib .
I alway's brush the side of the face of the deer , a reverent way of saying thanks .

Most all of the elk and many of the deer we kill are a long way from the road so we get to butchering and pack them out on pack frames. Once that's done we usually have a beer and maybe a whiskey but I must admit we are usually so whipped by the pack out that anyone that can drink more than a beer wasn't on our pack trip.
Most of our "reverence" is shown when we eat it. Part of that is respect to the animal and part is respect shown to the hard work getting it "out" and on to the table.
Don't take that lightly or disrespectful in any sense, we appreciate every animal we work for. Some of the best times I've had is with my kids eating vegetables grown in our garden and eating elk or deer we killed and packed out on our backs, reliving the story of the hunt the shot and the "pack", my friends that is a meal to remember.

I Thank God for the animal and the good life he has blessed me with, and I notch the tags on the butt plate/recoil pad of the rifle I am using.

Check the animal.
Unload my gun.
Smile and the thank the Lord we get to do this.
Take pictures.
Hope someone is handy to help carry it out.
Smile and have dinner...

quote:

Originally posted by farbedo:
Back in 1992, I shot my first elk in the Little Belts of Montana. My dad took me to the Lazy Doe in Monarch for a Johnson burger to celebrate. Since then I have had many meals there for the same reason.

Unfortunately when we went through there in October, The Lazy Doe appeared to be closed. Hopefully, it was just getting some renovations, or the proprietors were on vacation.

To answer BaaE's question, I thank both God and the animal for feeding my family, and I normally do the "last bite," as well.

Beyond that, I do my absolute best to make sure that every edible part of the animal becomes food in the freezer, including simmering the bones for a very delicious stock.

I like to spend a moment with the animals to thank them. I've done this enough that if I forget it in the excitement of the kill I don't feel complete about the whole process.

Mark

I thank the Lord all the time and especially when I kill and again when I get to consume the beast.

I had whitetail steaks last night (rare treat for me since I live in mule deer only country) and was thankful all over again. Maybe I'll have some bighorn backstrap steaks tonight after my grandson's play.

Lots of little silent prayers of thanks are my style.

Zeke

not sure i have a specific ritual. i think the Lord after the shot and pray for a very quick death. when i find or get to the animal i will say a quick prayer of thanks, and give the animal a moment of silence. notch the tag, try to clean it up as best i can for pics, and get to work. just went through this saturday morning with a mulie doe in the sandhills of NE. but there can be fistpumps, handshakes, high fives, hugs, whatever, if i have someone with me. that adrenaline rush has to go somewhere i guess.

I have a few rituals, but they are usually all through the hunt and are not dependent and taking game. In the two states I hunt every year I have seven spots I take the same picture of. I always sit the first half hour in the dark and give thanks and consciously appreciate my country and the rights that allow me to be where I am doing what I am doing. That usually runs into trying to burn in a memory of the sounds and smells of where I am. At the end of every hunt I pray that I am able to repeat the experience at least one more time.

While I like the Waidmsneheil, last bite and other traditions I mostly just thank God and move on.

There will be no fist bumps or high fives. I don't scream or have tears running down my face. It is a serious moment, I treat it as such.

It is very nice to have some time to spend with the animal by yourself. I have seen Robert Flack pet them, I thought this was unusual and then found myself doing something similar after I put them into a good position.

Once in the field a small brandy flask was shared, this was probably as good as life has ever been at that moment.

Once we leave California I look forward to some exciting hound hunting. I know that the roar of the hounds tends to drown out the experience. But there is something special about it as well.

Just me, just what I do. No judgement about those that have a different method or theories.

It is only important to enjoy the hunt.

I always perform three rituals in proper order. This ensures all deities are suplicated and all honors are rendered. These rituals are: the gutting, the dragging, and the hauling.

There ya go!!
You have that figured out just right!

George

After reading these replies it appears that most over the top antics are reserved for those product pimping buffoons on TV.

I'm not one for "over the top" antics but I've become very emotional on a few occasions. My "slam" ram (Stone), my desert ram, my son's desert ram and my daughter's desert and Dall rams and also her hard won trophy elk....to name a few.
It's more of a reverent celebration than a high-5 celebration. It's a time for thanks and reflection.
Zeke

quote:

Originally posted by Ellis Prairie:
After reading these replies it appears that most over the top antics are reserved for those product pimping buffoons on TV.

so very true!

When I know its dead I will take a minute
offer Thanks.
I also try and take "as they lay"
photo's that capture that creature
in all their beauty.
My wife? She has to shed a tear at the
moment, says that its just the fact that
something has died.
Then she sheds her pack frame and bails into
helping with the butchering.

I'm 64 years old and have hunted small and large game since I was 12 years old. Every time I pull the trigger, I feel a bit of sorrow. It is this reason that I say a little prayer for the animal and thank God for the bounty he has provided.

I do take a moment to absorb what all just just happened. I respect each animal I kill. Then have a toast. Cheers.

Although I'm not a football fan I remember the coach of a professional team saying something like "When you get to the end zone, act like you've been there before."

The fist pumping and chest thumping by the "professional" hunters on the TV shows look more like the antics of a kid scoring his first touchdown in Pee Wee football.

Killing a big game animal is hardly a novel or rare experience for any of us. We've "been there before," many times. Leave the showboating to the kids and rookies. In my opinion a quiet tribute or "thank you" is the more appropriate response for an experienced hunter.

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who thinks this way.

Pay your respects, perhaps give last bite, contemplate for a minute and thank the Lord for a good hunt sums up my feelings, then move on with pics, dressing, hauling, etc.

I can't stand all the hollering, shouting, jumping around and those that sound like their having an Orgasm after the shot

I usually give my hunting partner a big hug and a kiss. Then we offer a prayer of thanks and do our best to cleanly butcher the animal salvaging every usable scrap of meat.

I probably should have mentioned my hunting partner is my wife.

Interesting thread, Bill. I've been hunting big game for about 45 years...sometimes even successfully! ...and I still enjoy a few quiet introspective moments after a kill, preferably alone. I've had the misfortune to be present to witness a couple of the TV-hunting-show-style asinine celebrations you mention, but they are thankfully rare; a truly embarrassing spectacle.

I don't pray, give thanks, do the last-bite ritual or have any other particular "thing" that I do. My personal quirk is this: if I have a hunting partner or am hunting with a guide, I don't appreciate having them touch the animal before I do. After all this time, the moments after a kill are still accompanied by an intensity of emotion; I am acutely aware that I have taken an animal's life, and laying my hands on the creature is the culmination of the experience. Don't touch my critter before me, don't rush ahead of me to get there first, don't poke it in the eye or nudge it with a stick to test it, just leave it alone until I am done.

I also handle the animal's carcass with respect. I can't understand the guys (yes, on TV again...) who hoist up the head, twist it around for the camera a couple of times, and then drop it to the ground like a sack of road salt. I've had words with a close relative about that in the past after he did it to a deer of mine, and we have never hunted together since, and rarely spoken.

At home in Scotland I practise the 'Last Bite' and have a moments peaceful reflection.
When hunting boar in Europe our day begins with horn blowing, the last bite is given and the horns play again before we retire to eat.
A certain sense of decorum and respect cements the day and the result in one's mind. Perhaps the knowledge that hunters have this respect for their quarry in Europe is why there is rather less resentment of hunters in Europe than there is in the UK and North America.

While I watched a lady head toward the garage with a hatchet, a basket full of knives, and a sawzall, to "put up" an elk, I don't think she had too many ritualistic thoughts.