"If I could shoot a game bird and still not hurt it, the way I can take a trout on a fly and release it, I doubt if I would kill another one. This is a strange statement coming from a man whose life is dedicated to shooting and gun dogs. For me, there is almost no moment more sublime than when I pull the trigger and see a grouse fall. Yet, as the bird is retrieved I feel a sense of remorse for taking a courageous life. About the time I passed fifty I noticed this conflict becoming more pronounced..."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Bird_Evans
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
George Bird Evans
George Bird Evans (28 December 1906 – 5 May 1998) was an author, an artist, a dog breeder, and a sportsman. Evans' most notable contributions are in the area of upland gunning with English Setters. Over the course of his career, Evans authored over two dozen books and several hundred magazine articles on this subject, becoming one of the world's foremost authorities on upland gunning and bird dogs.
30 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by George Bird Evans →
Related Quotes
"Much of the pleasure of shooting is what accompanies it and sharing it all with a good friend."
"And if gunning over an intelligent handsome setter enriches my sport, certainly a hearthful of them on a winter eveni…"
"I want there to be woodcock forever flying over in October, and solitude, and Hunter’s Moons. But most, I want there …"
"Be worthy of your game"
"How then, can you love a bird and kill it and still feel decent? I think the answer is, to be worthy of your game. Wh…"
"If you can approach shooting as something to be enjoyed, not a frustrating obsession, it can enrich your life."
"I think we are drawn to dogs because they are the uninhibited creatures we might be if we weren't certain we knew bet…"
"My gun diary indicates how many grouse were moved each day these dogs hunted, each productive point they made. For me…"
"The man must learn to know his dog as a personality, not a formula. I have no objection to a grouse dog swinging on h…"
"If a man’s life is not long enough, a dog’s is even shorter and anything you can do to make that fuller is worthwhile."