(Photo Courtesy of Brady Ahern)Wildlife restoration ecology sophomore, Brady Ahern has been hunting his whole life and continues to hunt on a regular basis for many different species in Arizona.
Ahern said he was raised to appreciate the outdoors and wildlife, and he wants to share his love of the outdoors through a new group for any interested hunters, AzHeatHunter.
AzHeatHunter is a small group of people who hunt, and those leaders are also looking to open an outfitting service where they can guide people on hunts.
“I believe we will be successful with this because we know how to find big game animals,” he said. “And we are willing to spend the time in the field to provide someone with a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Ahern said what he loves about hunting is the chase, because the ability to go after a wild animal sends his adrenaline through the roof. He said the meat from a kill is amazing because it’s natural and tastes good.
He encourages students to hunt, because hunting supports conservation with the money for licenses and tags.
(Photo Courtesy of Brady Ahern)Most people don’t know it, but mountain ranges and deserts surrounding the Valley are full with deer, elk and bears, Ahern said.
Pima Community College freshman Adam Norwood said he has never been hunting but always wanted to, especially because he is from Michigan, where hunting is more popular than it is in Arizona.
“All my years living in Michigan, I’ve never been hunting,” he said. “But now it has kind of caught my attention, especially since these guys have been hunting there whole life.”
He also said he doesn’t even know if he would have the heart to take an animal’s life when the opportunity is given. But maybe the AzHeatHunters could teach him a few tricks to help calm his nerves and successfully get a kill.
Interdisciplinary studies sophomore Brennan Thompson is from Pennsylvania and has been hunting before but prefers fishing. He said with hunting you hunt to kill but with fishing you can catch and release.
“I usually just catch a fish and take a picture with it, then let it go,” Thompson said. “I feel it makes fishing more of a hobby or sport than hunting.”
Thompson also said he would love to go out with the AzHeatHunters for a trip to experience the hunting out here in Arizona.
Thompson has hunted before but would rather fish, because he said animal populations today are at an all-time low. He also said most people who hunt are a bunch of ignorant people who know nothing about the environment and just go out to kill whatever they can shoot.
“Hopefully (AzHeatHunters) can teach people the correct way to hunt,” he said. “And I hope they add fishing too, because it can be just as fun as hunting and doesn’t necessarily include killing the fish.”
Reach the reporter at William.a.parker@asu.edu
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