The Hunter and his Kill

The hunter’s gun and his skill lies between him and his kill.

        For the writer, Pen and Prowess
   For the Preacher, The word and The Spirit
   For the Teacher, Knowledge and Passion
   For the Fisherman, Fishing net and Bait
   For the Seamstress, Needle and Thread
   For The Mason, Trowel and Level.

My father and a friend of his both in their late seventies had licensed double barrel shot guns while I was growing up. My father had a passion for hunting preying birds, grass cutters and wild pigs. He had an L-shaped bird nest that looked like one leg of a socking and his gun when not in use could be dismantled - butt, barrel and the gun sight.

I imagine a real hunter getting ready for ‘work’. He dresses up. Checks the chamber  and safety lever of his dane gun and carefully selects his bullet. As he straps his sandals, he probably thinks of the wiles of the cunny, wild animals and how he will outwit them. He remembers past kills and near misses. He finally sets out on the bush path but not without whistling for his loyal pally - dog. Ever wondered why hunters keep dogs? I think it's for company and also because of their sharp sense of smell and hearing. They also run errands for the hunter in the forest.

The hunter knows not what awaits him in the forest but he sets out certain that he would bring home a kill. We are all hunters of some sort. With the rising of the sun each day, we go after what lies between us and our target. With the right Pallies, Attitude, Tools and Strategy, one must surely make a kill.