Honestly I thought that I wouldn't go through with the kill the first time. I could probably accurately quote myself as saying, "I'm only going to take a buck if it's a trophy, but I'd prefer a doe for the taste." But as soon as I saw that buck in my sights there was no question that I would take him, and he was only ten points. I'm glad I did because I would have chanced souring myself on hunting if I passed on a shot to come home empty handed altogether. Next time I will have the confidence of success behind me and not have to worry as much about gender and antlers, but one of my life goals is to recreate a mount that my grandfather had on his wall. He was a real piece of shit otherwise, but damn it if he didn't have a 16 point buck with a beautiful rack looking down on him like a conquered warrior. I don't even fully understand why that speaks to me so much; my family never hunted. But when I saw that at 16, I knew I wanted to recreate it. Coming up on 15 years later I'm close. It's in my blood I suppose.

The last time I hunted rabbit was in the Grand Teton Wilderness, and I used a rock. They certainly do have a wail, but the Air Force taught me to karate chop the back of the neck for an instant painless kill so I've barely heard it. I learned how to dress an animal on a rabbit, and everyone should learn that way. It's like a meat banana in how easy it is.