My Post originally submitted on Friday June 5... let's try again!
Sorry to disagree Lloyd, but you are "all wet here", and I''ll tell you why.
I think the urge to hunt is a genetic or inherited trait that comes from the earliest humans, especially those who were successful enough to survive. They learned that simply foraging for seeds, berries, roots, and the occasional dead fish or rotting critter carcass wasn't always enough. The most successful humans learned to pursue protein, and also learned to trap and use primitive weapons. We don't see any cave paintings of people gathering seeds. They are throwing spears at bison or mastodons. Learning to make fires and to cook that meat protein jump started their intelligence, and made them even more efficient. The best hunters were the leaders, and also the best warriors. Also most likely to pass along their genetics. But like all genetics, not all traits are distributed equally among the population. That might explain families with multiple offspring where some have a strong desire to hunt and shoot, while other siblings show little or no interest, regardless of economic status, or whether hunting is a traditional family interest.
For many centuries, even before the invention of firearms, hunting was considered to be a Sport of Kings and Nobility. They had the wealth and the time. They controlled the land and owned the game in many places.
We see the evidence that hunting and shooting encompasses all economic spectrums. There are the so-called "Best Guns"... very expensive and embellished, that only the very wealthy can afford. And there are the low grade guns and everything in between. Literally something for everyone, no matter how rich or how poor. The famous African Ivory hunters and Indian tiger hunters were well heeled men. When we read their books, we see they use Hollands, and Rigby's, and Purdeys, while their trackers and porters might have cheap crude muzzleloaders.
Then we see people who likely never experienced economic hardship, yet become avid hunters and shooters. Think about Teddy Roosevelt. A more recent example would be Eric and Donald Trump Jr. They were raised in New York City, a Liberal hellhole where guns and hunting have been demonized for decades. Their wealthy father, our pro-2nd Amendment President, was never a hunter or shooter, but two of his sons love guns and hunting after a very limited exposure while visiting their Grandfather in Czechoslovakia.
Among my own family, and among the families of my hunting and shooting friends, I see some members who have an almost insatiable urge to hunt and shoot, while others raised in the same households show lukewarm interest, or none at all. Over half of my male cousins do not hunt, and I'd guess that some may have never fired a gun.
Your "City Mouse" vs. "Country Mouse" theory certainly enters into it, mostly because there are millions of kids, especially in recent decades, that simply don't know what they don't know. Many of them would likely love hunting and shooting if they had not been raised or indoctrinated to oppose it. You and I were raised in places where hunting season is practically a National Holiday, and where a .22 rifle was a cherished gift from Santa. Meanwhile many city kids are taught that guns and hunting are evil.
It wasn't alway that way though. There used to be more hunting and shooting shows on TV back when you were lucky to get 5 or 6 channels. Large cities were once full of hunters and shooters, and they were home to some of the finest gunmakers and sporting goods concerns. We see those paintings of big city train stations filled with hunters heading north to go grouse hunting. As those urban centers became bastions of the Liberal Left, things went south in a hurry. It simply isn't enough for Liberals and anti-gun Democrats to hate guns and hunting, and to avoid it themselves. They feel they have the right and duty to impose those feelings on everyone everywhere.
So like it or not, it becomes political. And the sooner we recognize it, the better chance we have to keep it... in spite of the insurgents within who are here to help destroy it.
