A New Hunter and 15-Year Vegan Shares Her Story
Our Timber to Table late season hunts have wrapped for the 2023 season and we feel incredibly lucky to have had such a fulfilling and impactful series of hunts. From youth hunters to vegans and everything in between, it was a memorable set of adventures.
A very sincere thank you to our incredible staff who made it all go…Josh, Chloe, Naomi and Todd were and are all such thoughtful and committed folks.
I’d like to share with you a write-up from one of the hunters who took the time to put down their thoughts on why they went on this hunt. Her story is incredibly powerful, and we’re deeply humbled that we got to guide her on her first hunt.
The reason I want you to read her review goes way beyond tooting our own horn for our outfit. That’s not the point and a self-gratifying slap on the back to us pales in comparison to what her message gets at. Her words are important to read because it truly gets to the heart of hunting and lays out in very easy to understand language why we hunt.
There is valid and legitimate concern about the future of hunting as we know it right now because of political meddling and anti-hunting groups attacking through ballot box biology. I wish every anti-hunter could read Lauren’s write up because it relays what so many people don’t understand about hunting. Hunting is about freedom of choice. Hunting is about self-growth and self-empowerment. Hunting is about independent thought and healthy living. Hunting is about choosing to live within the processes we evolved within vs. thinking we’ve evolved beyond it and are above it all. Why anyone or any group would take away another’s long-standing and mostly beneficial ability to exercise these choices highlights how misguided and misinformed they are in their attempts.
Lauren is a middle-aged resident of Denver, a long-time vegan, and successful entrepreneur. My guess is she will be a hunter for the rest of her years and I hope her story resonates with those of you who read it to the point that you’ll share it with others who are in the anti-hunting camp or with a non-hunter who might be inspired by her story.
Our story as hunters is an important one and it needs to be heard.
As we head into 2024, we must be more engaged and willing to step up for our hunting privileges like never before. I’m grateful and inspired that folks like Lauren are in our camp to serve as a truthful reminder of why we do what we do.
Thanks for reading and a wonderful 2024 to all of you…
I came into this experience as a vegan of nearly 15 years. I ate, shopped, and supported veganism primarily because of how I feel about factory farming, and being sensitive toward animals in general. I also own vegan/vegetarian restaurants and a tofu manufacturing plant, so I have been pretty entrenched in the plant-based lifestyle. However, over the last couple of years I had been thinking more and more about wanting the knowledge and experience of hunting for a multitude of reasons. I have a deep respect for the sustainability of it. I wanted to know how to find, harvest, and process the meat as well as experience what I imagined to be a spiritual component with that type of connection. I had also been considering the bioavailability of meat. I exercise a lot, and I like the idea of the nutritional simplicity of eating meat but getting it in an ethical manner. So, although this was going to be a huge departure from what I have been cultivating over the last decade and a half, I nonetheless was feeling the call more and more strongly until I eventually started looking seriously at guided hunt options in Colorado.
I came across Timber to Table Guide Service as an outfitter that seemed to be ideal for me, a first-time adult woman hunter who wanted to know every part of the process and have an experience that was inclusive to me and my background. I signed up last season and gave myself a year to prepare and work up the nerve. I took some classes, read a lot of books, I went to a ladies’ hunting training camp in central Oregon, and I practiced shooting a lot. I was not sure how I was going to feel about it, or if I could even do it, and then of course preparing for the adjustment in diet was all part of the process leading up to it. That said, Timber to Table lived up to everything that I had wanted and hoped for with this experience. The folks I spoke with and hunted with were all very sympathetic to my journey, and very open minded to my process with it all. The guides were so professional and compassionate, and I really felt at ease going into it.
The day of the hunt, I had not slept the night before and was most worried about taking a bad shot and maiming an animal, or not being able to manage the adrenaline and anxiety when the moment came. I think what surprised me most in the whole process was the notable shift that occurred the moment we began hiking into the area where the elk were. Something in my body seemed to click immediately in a way I have never really experienced, and I instantly felt deeply in tune with where we were and what was coming next. We crept up on a herd and set up to shoot. Looking back, I am astounded at how calm I felt, and how natural it all came to me. It was as if my body took control, and I had almost no thoughts or worry or doubt. When the time came and the shot opened up, it was almost effortless in how it felt to aim and fire a shot. I was able to keep my composure, and once I hit the Elk and saw her going down, I felt concerned and wanted a quick death, which fortunately happened. As we approached the elk, I felt grief and I cried as I thanked her and did my best to honor her. The guides, Josh, and Todd created a space to give me some direction through that in a way that felt supportive and meaningful. Never once did I feel guilt like I had done something wrong, but I did feel grief for the loss of life. I was most grateful for that part of the experience, to feel that I had completed something very human and very natural in a way that felt very profound and deeply connecting. In those moments in the field the world melted away, and I had this feeling of “Oh, this is living. This is where I should be. This moment of connection is it.”
From there we field dressed which was equally significant, and Josh and Todd, led me through the steps and made it easy to learn. The next day, we processed the elk with Naomi, which was an incredible part of the journey, and she taught everything I was hoping to learn. The guides were there for every part from start to finish, and everyone there seemed open and inviting. I left this hunt feeling changed, feeling like a fuller version of myself, and feeling like I got what I came out looking for, one of those rare and needed life changing moments.
When I got home and prepared the elk for the first time every bit of that experience was in that meal, and each day after when I eat the elk, I am more full of appreciation and gratitude for life and for my food more so than I have ever been. I highly recommend Timber to Table Guide Service to anyone starting their hunting journey, and I will be looking to hunt with them again in their other guided services that they provide.
Lauren Roberts
Denver, CO
December 2023