Author(s): Bomb Grant

Hunting

Dances with Boars is a personal collection of stories about learning the rights and wrongs regarding hunting. Learning from guys that had gained their skills over a lifetime of hunting. Make a mistake and they would not be shy about pointing it out. You learned from the experience and tried hard not to make the same mistake again. This from guys that took the time to show kids how things were and were prepared to let them tag along even though it cut down the options available to them. Later when the author as a parent takes his own kids hunting, his kids get to recount their experience and demonstrate that although the unwritten code of conduct does vary from one individual to another basically the rules remain the same. Times have changed the world around us but our kids are still learning the same things as their parents did and together they hold the same things dear. In between are stories of hunts with friends, work colleges and strangers met along the way. The stories move from the back block of Nelson, to the wide open spaces of the Canterbury area, to the Marlbrough Sounds and the central North Island. In reality the only way to learn the rules is to go hunting, as often as possible.