A Hunter’s Prayer We pray our sights be straight and our aim be true We pray for no pain to the game we pursue We thank you, lord for this land We thank you for the sights from our stands We pray for safety one and all We pray we may return next fall - S. Elliot
It’s that time of year – hunting season. Many people look forward to it all year long! When I grew up it was mostly men in my circle who hunted. That’s not the case anymore. More and more women are taking up the hobby.
I’ve heard that 99.9 percent of the hunt is spent thinking and reflecting; letting the arrow fly is but a small part of the experience! Colin Sackett looks forward to hunting season all year long.
Colin Sackett has been going out and sitting in a deer stand with his dad, Jeff, as long as he can remember. The 2015 Becker graduate is a freshman at Luther College in Iowa. A few weeks before gun season opened, Colin and his dad headed to southern Minnesota to go bow hunting on private land (a nice sized farm) his extended family owns in the bluffs of Wabasha County. He bagged a 10 pointer from 24 yards.
Sackett has hunted by himself for six years. Colin’s father (Jeff) had a serious hunting accident many years ago, but by the grace of God he was able to fully recover. As a result of the accident, Colin’s dad has always stressed the importance of safety and wearing a safety harness when climbing.
Colin prefers bow hunting and his favorite part of hunting is being able to see deer up close and personal. Spending time with his dad and other family is another major bonus hunting provides for him. Colin said: “Taking a deer is not everything; it also feels good to provide really natural, healthy meat to put in the freezer.”
Rebecca Nelson (Palmer) is a 2003 Becker graduate. My family has known both of her parents’ families for as long as I can remember. They are wonderful people. Rebecca loves the outdoors and has been hunting since 2009. She enjoys the peacefulness of being outdoors and the beauty of nature. She works full time at National Vision in St. Cloud, but carved time out for hunting. Rebecca shot a doe near Palmer last weekend. She was hunting with Travis Kozak.
I’ve never gone deer hunting, but I can see why people enjoy it. I love the solitude of being outdoors. Hunting season can be problematic for people who do a great deal of driving (I’m thinking of myself); but for many people it’s an exciting season anticipated all year long. It signals the beginning of the long hard Minnesota winter! Alas, spring will come again.
