>>1881855Finally, John says Sho is ready to go hunting, and they go out to his parents' property. Sho accompanies John but isn't armed on their first hunt, and they just sit in a deer blind 'since it's your first hunt'. They can't talk since they need to be quiet, it's cold, nothing is happening, but Sho finds himself enjoying sitting in the blind anyway even though he should be bored because he's anticipating the hunt. Finally, after several hours in the blind, a feral pig comes along. Sho feels his heart begin to race, adrenaline pumping, his palms getting sweaty in excitement and anticipation as John carefully aims the rifle and disengages the safety.
BLAM.
The pig drops. John waits a minute to be sure it's dead before leaving the blind, and has Sho help him carry the pig back to camp, where he teaches him how to skin, gut, and butcher the pig. Sho is slightly grossed out, but it's not like he hasn't handled raw meat before, and he's gutted fish. They bag the meat up and put it in the ice chest, and then John fries up some bacon from the pig on the spot and has Sho try it. It's delicious.
Subsequent hunting trips have John teaching Sho how to stalk, tracking animals, following trails, identifying hoofprints, feces, and other spoor, and Sho really gets into it. John also passes along hunting ethics and safety rules, outdoor lore, and bits of trivia about American frontier history and wildlife. Together they harvest a couple of turkeys, a deer, and a rabbit.
Finally, Sho thinks he's ready to try taking game himself.
