This Chevy Trailblazer is sure strapped down with some venison, isn’t it? A cause for celebration? A reason for rejoicing?

That’s what we thought. This was the scene after a successful Illinois gun-hunt for the Deer & Deer Hunting Television crew this past November. We obviously weren’t expecting to have that much success, otherwise we would have towed a trailer down from Wisconsin. Still, it was a fun hunt, and all of that meat was given to venison-loving families.

We just assumed all deer hunters love a good success story, so we posted this photo on our Facebook page. That’s when the hate mail started showing up.

“Greedy!” one guy wrote.

“They should be bagged with only the head sticking out!” wrote another. “That way (it) doesn’t offend anyone who is a deer lover!”

“I hope you don’t see anything next year,” someone else wrote.

I’m not going to get into the logistics of trying to jam a half-dozen deer into a Trailblazer, but let’s just say it doesn’t work. But that’s beside the point. The fact that more than 700 people “liked” the photo shows there’s hope for all of us who embrace the natural lifestyle.

GRAPHIC VIDEO: Truck Hits Deer and Throws it Over Bridge

 

This isn’t about bragging. It’s about not apologizing for using what nature provides us. As society inches more toward a sterile, store-wrapped existence, hunters are one of the last bastions of rural America. We do our own killing, thank you very much, and we do it with a clear conscience.

I haven’t bought beef from the store in years. Sure, I love a good sirloin or Angus burger, and I will occasionally eat them while dining out at restaurants. Those indulgences are exceptions. Venison is my family’s reality. It goes well with the peas, carrots, squash, broccoli, potatoes, garlic, sweet corn and green beans we plant, cultivate and harvest annually from our garden.

If you can believe it, some urban areas have tried to enact self-righteous bans on hanging deer and other wild game on meat poles. One Ohio councilman once said such scenes are “offensive to people of normal sensibilities and could have a deleterious effect upon children.”

Maybe that same councilman can pass a law that bans radio stations from letting my kids listen to Ke$ha and Rhianna on their way to school.

Even I know that’s ridiculous. After all, if I don’t like the music, I just change the channel. So, if some folks don’t like to look at 700 pounds of pure protein strapped to my truck, they can look away and think about something else.

Like trying to find those stray McNuggets® at the bottom of that bag wedged between their knees and the steering wheel.

Now, if you’ll excuse me — to borrow a phrase from Jason Aldean — “I’m just ready to ride this Chevy …”

What do you think about displaying dead deer publicly? Check in with your comments below.