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How do you give thanks?

Just wondering, what do you do to give thanks to the animal you have taken?

As a self taught hunter, it took me years before I was finally able to shoot my first deer and I remember the flood or emotions it evoked. Rejoice, remorse, disbelief and extreme thanks, to name a few. I wanted to do something to thank the deer and let it know that it would not go to waste. I recalled reading about a German tradition in which the hunter puts a sprig of evergreen in the mouth of the deer as a way of showing respect, so I did that as I thanked it. I think the tradition literally means "last bite."

After I settled down a bit, my thoughts quickly turned to "now what? and "how the heck do I get this back to the car?"...

With each deer I have been fortunate to get after that one, I continue to show my appreciation and give thanks. Can't say this is something I have ever seen on any of the weekend hunting shows though :) Am I alone in this? And is anyone else aware of any other traditions?

If that makes you feel good, have at it.

With all respect to the OP....

I don't "thank" the deer, nor do I "respect" the deer. IMO, this isn't about the deer...

My first thought when I kill a deer is "thank you God for a clean kill".

That's my "thanks".

All of the above...its all perspective.. I can tell you I've never said smoked him,danced around the animal,given high 5's (kinda hard by myself)shaken so hard that it looks like I'm in hyperthermic shock knocking loose the fillings from the 3teeth in my f@*kin head or had a big boobied bimbo in a blind with me..a

The sprig thing is a European thing,my pops did it every now and then..somewhere between sommana bitch and u draga da deer I carry da gun..now that I think of it,I've never seen him do that before he slaughtered a pig.. Some American Indian tribe believed if an animal presented himself broadside it's because he's offering himself to you as a gift of life...

N8

I've seen on some of the Discovery shows like Alaska the Last Frontier or Mountain Men. These shows are more about living off the land and not about hunting at all, but it shows how people don't take what God provides for granted.

For me it is about the animal, deer, turkey, pheasant, fish, etc that we've been blessed with, but to each his own.

I have no other tradition that thanking God for the experience. The beauty of nature and the animal I just harvested. Amen!

X2 BBB I give thanks and praise to the animal and the Lord above, it's may way of saying thanks to what I was just offered.

Best of luck this upcoming season and be safe everyone.

Air Leak - Thanking God for a quick, clean kill goes without saying. It wasn't my intention to imply that it's just about the deer. That being said, I'm a lot less likely to let any scraps of venison go to waste. It's hard to feel the same connection to a steak that comes in a Styrofoam and cellophane package.

I wouldn't overthink it too much. Because if you did ... it would eventually sound like this. WTF this poor beautiful animal was just minding its own business, living its life and I just came along and killed it.

Thanking the deer is just a way to make yourself feel better about the situation. I doubt many dead deer will respond with "You're welcome"

Guess you used up all of your "smooth" on that draw...

Taking a life is a really personal thing; JMO, taking a moment to reflect on it is a welcome sign of a little humility, which has become something of a rarity these days.... And acknowledging a little remorse, a little gratitude; recognizing that that animal had the same drive to live that we all do; showing some respect for Our Fellow Creatures or The Rest of God's Creation....

Call it all what you will, but I think it's a lot healthier than imagining that you are somehow above it all. And last I checked, that position was filled.

Now, I will say that I do not look to television for any examples as to how I want to live out my life in matters of faith or religion, and to be honest I don't know if those shows of "thanks" on the "survival" shows are genuine or just something that got scripted in by the PR department.

I usually just have a moment of intense relief once I know the shot was good and that the kill went down clean, and then I'll give things a minute to settle - or resume normal activity.

And yeah, I do give thanks. I give thanks for all of my food when it reaches the table, so it would be pretty odd if I didn't do so in the woods as well....

GF - good point. We say Grace at the start of each meal, and our 8 yr old grandson is always the first to make sure everyone is ready before they put the fork to the food.

Maybe because I'm almost 66 yrs old I've come realize just how blest my life has been and I WANT give thanks more often.

2 healthy daughters, 1 healthy grandson, financially comfortable, great wife, good looks, super smart, humble :) I know, should have stopped at the great wife part.

GF, I guess the point I was trying make is that people can struggle with the remorse side of it. I did as a young hunter. So I guess I try not to think about it too much. It doesn't mean that I'm not thankful or respectful. By the way my draw isn't that smooth. My hand tremors a bit.

I usually pat the beast on the neck or shoulder area.

Then I eat the sumbitch.

Brian LOL. Love how you break it down to the basics!!

LOL!

I thank the good Lord Jesus every time I go out - The properties that I hunt are so beautiful an peaceful I am overcome with gratitude -

I tend to be some what stoic until I actually walk up to the animal. The shot is only part of it, I need to actually walk up on the critter to be sure of what happened. Then I tend to sit down, and thank the creator and the animal. I'm not a particularly "religious" guy. Spiritual, very... but religious... no. When I give thanks, it's about the opportunity to feed my family this amazing food; the opportunity to be "here", in this "spot", "now"; the fact that this animal made a mistake, and will literally be a part of my family and I for ever. It's a gift from nature, and I'm really grateful for it.

I have had a chance with a few friends to see them shoot their first deer or biggest, and there tends to be additional excitement there. I feel the same way about the animal and experience, but I'm very excited for them to have had this experience.

Each to there own - we all experience this differently.

Usually before I even go out hunting. Good equipment. Practice. Scouting. Wait for a good opportunity. Good shot placement. Recovery. Processing. Sharing. Repeat etc...etc...etc...

I do what Brian M, does.

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