Brown: Go on, try deer hunting this year

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My wife says I’m more of a gatherer than a hunter. She’s not wrong. Like a penguin presenting pebbles to his beloved, I’ve brought home a lot more trinkets and takeout than dead animals over the course of our marriage.

But there are benefits to hunting that would surprise even unlikely hunters. I joined the sport in adulthood and now look forward to this weekend’s opener of the Minnesota firearms deer hunting season with excitement. Even if you’ve never hunted before, there is ecological, economic and even spiritual benefit in what’s happening in the woods over the next three weekends.

I come from an Iron Range family steeped in hunting tradition. Like many such families, venison was part of a subsistence diet during hard times in the past. But by the time I grew up in the 1980s and ′90s, the hunting shack had become more of a wild party than an efficient method to acquire food. For me, hunting season was better spent auditioning for the school play, where I once used a wooden gun to shoot an imaginary rabid dog in “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

This changed in my 20s when I had three sons of my own. Visiting the shack was a great way for the boys to see their grandpa and great-grandpa and to explore the woods. These trips to the hunting shack became an education, not only for them, but for me, too. Two of my sons became interested in hunting. When they were old enough to hunt, I went, too.

To become a hunter as an adult, you must be humble and curious. You’ll be nervous. You’ll need to ask questions. And yes, you’ll probably feel like a kid. But your big adult brain (and wallet) becomes a real advantage. In no time, you’ll be a greenhorn hunter, wondering if it’s worth it to buy female deer urine from the store. It’s called doe estrus. And no, it’s not required.

Regulations and safety are vital, and no serious hunter ignores them. Note the restrictions for the specific area where you’ll be hunting. As a new hunter, or anyone born after 1979, you must complete an online hunter safety course. And locally owned outdoors stores and gun shops want to help you, too. Go in with questions and they’ll tell you what you’ll need and where to find opportunities to practice shooting.

Experienced hunters are happy to help because the number of deer hunters is dwindling, not only in Minnesota but across the country. Too many deer camps now resemble a bunkhouse for unsuccessful contestants on the Golden Bachelorette.

“It’s the times we live in,” said Jared Mazurek, president of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association. “I’d love to blame it all on technology, but I don’t think that can take all the blame. People have lost their deer camps, their family traditions of getting out into the field. All it takes is one generation to stop the tradition, and their kids and grandkids become all the more unlikely to take it up.”

This year’s deer season looks promising, however, and would provide a great setting for a first-time hunt or a prodigal return to the woods. Two consecutive mild winters have allowed the deer herd to recover from a lower-than-average population, according to Mazurek. The wolf population has also shrunk from recent highs, according to the Voyageurs Wolf Project.

Best of all, we’re getting traditional cool, crisp November weather this year. This might inspire more deer to move around. With some nice warm clothing, you can properly enjoy watching your breath form silent clouds.

When deer overpopulate, they forage certain trees and plants out of existence. This affects birds and other animals. Deer arrived in Minnesota only after the destruction of the original white pine forest and have been prey ever since. I’ve hit many with my car but would much rather harvest them responsibly.

For me, it’s about respect. Hunting is deeply personal, even spiritual. You must only take shots you think you can make and avoid leaving an animal in pain. It is good practice, I think, to thank an animal that gave its life, and to treat its body with reverence. If you don’t feel like firing the rifle, or shooting the bow, you don’t have to.

The biggest appeal of hunting to me is the sense of belonging, not only with fellow hunters, but with nature as well. Humans evolved as part of the natural world, observing the seasons of both hunting and gathering. Another tradition suggests that “to everything there is a season,” and I find that marking time through ritual helps me navigate an otherwise chaotic world.