September 2021 - 22

peace with yourself and being comfortable
with yourself. "
Aside from the obvious safety issues of
hunting alone - mostly that no one can get
help if you're injured - he never thought much
about it when he headed out.
" I think maybe the focus was so much
on finding and bringing home an animal, "
McWhirter said.
But he does believe hunting alone is when
There is a sense of accomplishment and a unique connection to the outdoors when hunting alone. (Photo by Tim Christie)
But pretending does a disservice to all of us
" There were times
when you wanted to
share what you were
seeing, but also maybe
it's about making
peace with yourself
and being comfortable
with yourself. "
- Doug McWhirter
who are starting. Especially those of us starting
out as adults, as functioning humans who have
largely known what it's like to be proficient
at many tasks. We have jobs, homes with
mortgages, cars and may be raising children.
We shouldn't - we tell ourselves - feel quite
this uncomfortable outside.
But we do because it's so different, and
only experience makes it easier.
Doug McWhirter, Wyoming Game and
Fish Department wildlife coordinator in
Jackson, doesn't remember the first time he
went hunting alone. He remembers his first
times hunting as a preteen carrying his BB
gun chasing pheasants with his dad and uncles
in Kansas. He never shot at anything, but he
could pretend.
His first job in Wyoming in the mid-1980s
sent him alone into the Absaroka Range to
survey bighorn sheep. Ready or not, he had
to depend on himself to make decisions.
" Ultimately I felt at home trundling
around there by myself, " he said. " There were
times when you wanted to share what you
were seeing, but also maybe it's about making
22 | September 2021
you really, fully, realize what your ethics are
as a hunter.
With someone by your side, even the
closest friend or relative, you have someone
to keep your instincts in check. You have
someone to tell you - or not tell you - to
take the shot that might be a little far, cut that
corner or cross that bit of private land. Alone,
you have only yourself to reconcile with.
" Your ethics are what you're doing when
no one else is watching, " McWhirter said.
Often we may not know what those lines are
until we're there.
That's why, with safety advice in mind,
McWhirter and other hunters recommend
trying it out alone. Though most of us, like
myself, don't really have a choice in the matter.
I didn't harvest a turkey that season,
though I walked farther from camp each
time. Without a pair of boots or a backpack
in front of me to follow, I paid more attention
to my surroundings. I listened a little more
intently. I gradually kept my anxiety in check.
I didn't cry again.
By the fall I found myself again going out
alone, this time pronghorn hunting.
We'd spent days bouncing around in the
prairie and foothills near our home in Laramie

September 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2021

September 2021 - 1
September 2021 - 2
September 2021 - 3
September 2021 - 4
September 2021 - 5
September 2021 - 6
September 2021 - 7
September 2021 - 8
September 2021 - 9
September 2021 - 10
September 2021 - 11
September 2021 - 12
September 2021 - 13
September 2021 - 14
September 2021 - 15
September 2021 - 16
September 2021 - 17
September 2021 - 18
September 2021 - 19
September 2021 - 20
September 2021 - 21
September 2021 - 22
September 2021 - 23
September 2021 - 24
September 2021 - 25
September 2021 - 26
September 2021 - 27
September 2021 - 28
September 2021 - 29
September 2021 - 30
September 2021 - 31
September 2021 - 32
September 2021 - 33
September 2021 - 34
September 2021 - 35
September 2021 - 36
September 2021 - 37
September 2021 - 38
September 2021 - 39
September 2021 - 40
September 2021 - 41
September 2021 - 42
September 2021 - 43
September 2021 - 44
September 2021 - 45
September 2021 - 46
September 2021 - 47
September 2021 - 48
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/january-2025
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/july-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/june-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/wyoming-wildlife-may-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/april-2024-e-edition
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/december-2023
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