In what ways is hunting a ';coming-of-age'; ritual?

The traditions were/are different in various parts of the world but basically it was about a boy proving that he was brave enough, strong enough, smart enough and skilled enough to provide food for a family and for the tribe. Once he could demonstrate his abilities in such a way he was considered a man, though there may have been additional rituals he had to undergo depending on which culture he belonged to.





Any modern day adherence to hunting as a coming-of-age ritual is a hold-over from the hunter-gatherer past we all share.





Besides hunting/fishing/foraging makes you appreciate the cycle of life more. Modern people are for the most part completely cut off from any understanding of how food is produced. If something drastic were to happen and the food delivery trucks stopped showing up at your local store, could you feed yourself?In what ways is hunting a ';coming-of-age'; ritual?
';With great power comes great responsibility.';





Guns have power. With handling guns, comes great responsibility. When your Dad/Uncle/Grandpa takes you on your first hunting trip it's like them saying, ';Hey, I think you're mature enough to handle a big responsibility.';





Making sure you don't blow your Dad's head off is a great responsibility. That's why ';they'; don't let kids under 12 hunt, as they're not quite old enough to handle.In what ways is hunting a ';coming-of-age'; ritual?
Hunting is not a ritual, it is a sport in which a young up and coming man can be trained to be trusted with a firearm, and kill an animal for food. It is a fact that 80% of the wildlife will die, regardless, and so it only makes sense to harvest some of them. I just took my 14 year old son through the Florida Hunter Safety Program this past weekend.





Becoming a successful, responsible, and ethical hunter takes skill, patience, and cunning. Learning how to clean and process your harvested game also builds a skill that will serve a person all of their life.
Because a man ought to be a might hunter/warrior/provider for his family!





And I wouldn't trust a rifle in the hands of kid! You should be a certain age- a bit older, to hunt safely.





And you can see the correlation to women desiring the best hunter because what do women want today in a man? A rich enough one, so as to keep his family and woman well off!
Learning to provide for your family is part of ';coming of age';. Hunting is part of the historic way of doing that. If things go to he__ in a handbasket as the Obama admin. seems to want, those who don't know how to hunt and fish will be much worse off.





.bh.
It's not anymore. When there was actually some sort of element of life threatening danger, but humans have too much firepower at this point.
The first 'ritual' should be a gun safety course. That is what we did with our boys. They are now responsible gun handlers.
Once you can hunt, you can provide food. So if the economy collapses you will still eat.


take care.
If Dick Cheney doesn't shoot you in the heart - you get to be older.