Definitely not the Grocery Store - Deer Hunting 101 with Chef Robin - Update 3

My First Deer Hunt...
Hunting is not like picking apples or like guessing when it's going to rain in Vancouver. It's more like fishing, sometimes your lucky. I was almost lucky on my first hunting excursion last week. Ha. Almost doesn't cut it, does it. This gorgeous bull moose wandered lazily in front of our hunting party. He paused about 70 yards away (well within shooting range) and slowly turned his big head to assess us. I looked at him, he looked at me and, I think, we both understood that I couldn't shoot him. My father and boyfiend (no that's not a typo) didn't think I'd see any moose, so I didn't get any moose tags*, sigh. As well, moose are so rare and otherworldly, I don't know if I could have shot him even with the licence. Deer seem more like cattle. There's lots of them, so it might easier emotionally to shoot one, maybe? I'll venture into the hills in the next two weeks again, and we'll see.
*Tag - a purchased license to hunt a particular animal, cheap for BC residents

So, this session was like hunting bootcamp, then. I learned a bucketful from my father, uncle and grandfather (87!) who came out with me and the girls to wander the hills of the Okanagan. Grandpa drilled us in walking a line to scare up any deer hiding in the hollows. Dad coached me how to shoot from standing without shaking, holding your breath and squeezing the trigger slowly. My uncle passed on his 408 rifle to me and provided his blue water cooler for shooting practice. Helen and I shot the shit out of that nasty water cooler. In the end, it was amazing to be up at 6am and see the sun rise, to be quiet all day and to wander the woods with friends. Stay tuned for next week when, hopefully, the Gods will smile upon me and send me a 4 point!


Hunter photo by Shannon Mendes Photography
Link to Update 2 - Deer Hunting with Chef Robin

Definitely not the Grocery Store - Deer Hunting 101 with Chef Robin - Update 2

In a room full of 20 something boys from the sticks, I passed my CORE hunting program on Wednesday with 97%. Yeehaw! Mark one for city girl. I will say that it was a painfully easy exam for a pass that permits you to kill living creatures. My bloody sommelier exam required 100x more study.

One piercing question has been rolling about my mind since getting my hunting license. Is hunting for food morally wrong? I realize the issue is more complex than this simple question. A lot of if, ands or buts come to mind, but it's an important question for me to consider before diving into the forests. I posted the question to my Swallow Tail facebook group and I got some impassioned answers.

The moral key for me is to cull only the populations of 'meat' that are abundant, sustainable and "happy". I realize that it sounds really hypocritical to say you will only kill happy animals. What the hell is a happy animal? I can only guess by putting myself in it's hooves. An animal that lives it's life free in the forest is my bet for a happier being rather than one stuck in a feedlot ankle deep in it's own shit. Deer is an abundant species in BC, mule deer in the interior alone number around 165 000 which is probably where I will go for my first hunt. The main threat to deer populations is habitat loss. Believe it or not, hunters are some of BC's most effective land conservationists, because they are nature lovers and see wildlife as a fundamental part of their lives. Even with these facts taken into account, the question is still rumbling about in my noggin. Is hunting a good moral option for food? What do you think?

A few quotes from the facebook discussion...
"No one in Vancouver hunts for subsistence and to put added pressure on already stressed prey animals in the wild is way offside. The argument that an urban hunter is somehow more noble than a consumer at Safeway or somehow has a more profound respect for nature is bullshit!!!" - CH

"I have to disagree with CH. One of the biggest threats on deers in a lot of places is overpopulation. This brings on several other issues like bringing predators closer to human settlement, danger of disease spread and more animals being hit by cars. As for the noble argument, to me it is more noble because the animal I'm eating led a more natural life than the cow I could be eating from Safeway." -MB

"I feel that shark hunting for shark's fin soup is definitely on a different moral pole than Kenyan marathon hunting. I feel that each act of hunting can be assessed to have it's own moral value depending on intent, usage, wastage, ecological impact and suffering of the prey." - NT

Photograph by Shannon Mendes Photography

Definitely not the Grocery Store - Deer Hunting 101 with Chef Robin - Update 1

Just a quick update on the ultimate city slicker chef learning to hunt, yes, me. I was forced back to the firing range last week by my friend who is pitching the story to the CBC, she wanted to take some photos of us shooting. I really was not excited to go back as last time I left slightly shaky and pale. My neck was tweaking all week from the kick back on the shotgun and I was seriously doubting my ability to actually hunt ever.

Here's a link the story on my first hunting hurdle - first time to shoot a gun ever.

But I sucked it up and went with my partner in crime, Helen Stortini (of Growing Chefs fame). She was far more comfortable with the kick and even looked like she had fun last time, damn her! We entered the cozy confines of the concrete box that is DVC indoor shooting range. I put on my fat headset for ear protection and we were ushered into the main shooting area where there was at least 3 other people firing. Guess what, explosives are LOUD. I jumped every time someone let a round loose and had to grab some extra ear plugs just to be able to stay in the room. YES, I am a wimp around weapons. I picked up the shotgun, loaded it and went through the mental check list my father had taught me. Cheek pressed against the stock, butt of the gun nestled tight in the crook of your shoulder, stance forward leaning... fire. Hey! It didn't hurt this time. This could actually be fun. I think the key was wearing a thick sweater that cushioned my shoulder from the recoil. Maybe I can do this. To be continued next week when I go to test for my hunting license.

Definitely not the Grocery Store - Deer Hunting 101 with Chef Robin

I am not a girlie-girl, but, honestly, shotguns scare the shit out of me. I got dressed up in my best plaid shirt today to venture out to get comfortable with guns. Shotguns and rifles are the only metal that I'm interested in, handguns are for weirdos and psychopaths (just joking, all you psychopaths out there!).


As a chef, I love venison and I want to be able to kill my own deer. Cause really, when you go to the grocery store and buy a lovely, juicy steak... you are part of an animal's death. Being an urbanite, most of us never get anywhere close to understanding what the cost is of eating the amount of meat that we do. We never think about it (which makes it easy), but there is a huge impact on the world and on our bodies of eating meat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Sorry to get all preachy, that's not what this is about. I just think about my role and awareness in the whole cycle and am not comfortable with it. So this is just my personal, mental challenge. Luckily, I have a solid farming line of uncles, father and grandfather to help me explore hunting in British Columbia.



Today, I got my first dose of reality when I went to an indoor shooting range in PoCo. I've never been good with loud noises and I'm pretty bony (T-Rex arms), this is not boding well, eh. The recoil on the shotgun almost removed my arm from my shoulder. With practice and my dad's thoughtful instruction, I maybe got a bit better, solid aim, but still killing my shoulder with the kick back.

Sunday, I'm going for my firearms safety course and then my hunting license from there. I'll keep you posted on this strange and mind twisting experience as I get closer to the forest, and then, to the table (hopefully, if I manage to bag a deer, I will host a grand fall feast at the supper club). Now, I gotta get me to the gym and pump some iron into my wee, bitty arms.

ps. Just thinking of hauling a super heavy rifle through kilometers of bush, managing to actually find, and then accurately shoot a deer. Then, gut it and pack all 100+ pounds of it out is making me... tired or hungry, I'm not sure which.