Do You Hear What I Hear?

I am not a lucky person. Usually when things go right for me I start keeping my eye on the skies. Not as a means to praise god for my good fortune, but more to lookout for falling planes that will be landing on me. So when I actually woke up only mildly late for the first day of deer season I had expected the usual rush to the woods. Being a working fellow all my life I regularly had to pull the late shift before embarking on an adventure. This day was turning out to be no exception, and I cursed my boss as I tried to put myself together as I drove to the area I was hoping to hunt.

The first week of December in central Pennsylvania can be a fairly cold time to be in the woods. Yet this was the year of the rainstorms. The heavy rain slamming my windshield made the early morning drive that much more precarious. It was the kind of morning on which most normal people would’ve rolled over and went back to sleep. I can honestly say there have been very few times I was ever accused of being normal. Unlucky, yes. Normal, no.

Parking my jeep in the usual secluded spot I began to get the last of my gear. It was here I realized I had not thought to get any of my rain gear. “Way to go you moron” was roughly what was going through my head. But I was committed. I was determine to go hunting come hell or high water. The high water part was starting to look like the more likely prospect. Rifle, shells, knife, drag rope, hot seat, hat, and snickers bar all locked and ready to travel, I set out for my favorite hunting spot.

I slogged my way through the drenched trails and managed to make it to my spot about forty five minutes before the sun came up. I was soaked to my waist and to the bone before the sun even came up but I still managed to go to sleep within minutes of getting in my stand. The rain had stopped by this point, but it was still cold and now damp to brighten my sleep deprive spirit. But any worry was already washed away, almost literally. I was hunting and nothing was going to bring me down.

I opened my eyes as the light was just perfect that I could safely shoot. I’m not sure how but I so often have a way of doing that. I had my snickers bar, which as far as I am concerned it’s the true breakfast of champions, and did my best to clear the fog in my head in anticipation of my firt sighting of the season. Not having a lot of luck at anything I really didn’t expect to see anything any time real soon. Because of this fact it was a mere matter of moments before my attention began to falter and I slipped into a overworked-human-zombie-like-state.

It was sometime about eight that morning when the sharp snap of a branch brought me back to the soggy, half-frozen world of the living. Without thought I automatically went into full predator mode and focused on the nice sized ten pointer traveling the trail towards my stand. To this day I don’t know what he was after but this deer was a man on a mission. He put his head down to the trail and I had my rifle up and trained on him in the most silent of blinks of an eye. He kept on his path and I rhythmically settled my scope on him and followed his every move, waiting patiently for the best position for a humane kill.

The cold was gone. The lack of sleep was a distant memory. The discomfort of being soaked to the bone was less than a minor inconvenience. All that existed in the whole world was me and this lone animal. He continued down the trail and made the turn I had been hoping for. With a smooth, almost spitritual, squeeze of the trigger I made my shot, and watched in quiet confidence as the buck went down in a nearby brush pile. The report of the rifle barely registered in my ears. Time had shifted as the thirty to forty seconds this whole process took felt like twenty minutes. The recoil of the rifle went unnoticed as I watched my prey fall. It was a perfect day, even by my standards.

While on a fishing trip with my brother-from-another-mother some years later, having nothing particularly better to talk about, we had discussed why people react so differently when hunting versus shooting their rifles at the range. Both Scott and I had been safety range officers and were no strangers to firearms. Scott, being educated in law enforcement and an absolute warrior with his Glock, was able to give me a little insight into this question. Me, ever being the obsessive-compulsive nerd, had to dig deeper.  

So, here’s the basic nuts and bolts of how it works. Essentially, the adrenal gland comes in a set of two and they are situated on top of each kidney. These are hormone producing glands that serve a wide array of purposes. But I’m not going to go into all that. We’re looking at stress. The adrenal glands are designed to handle stress on a short term basis. This is why job stress can have such profound effects on your health. Simply stated, we are not designed or wired to handle that kind of maltreatment. We are fight or flight kind of animals.

It’s the limbic system I am referring to when I say we operate on a fight or flight basis. The limbic system is a part of the brain that took about forty-thousand years to develop in humans. When a human is placed in an escalated situation, such as an approaching animal, the hypothalamus kicks in and tells the adrenal glands to start production of adrenalin. This sudden, and elevated, production of adrenalin is where we get the adrenalin rush from and it is the body’s way of preparing for action.

When the adrenal glands receive the message to get to work, they automatically produce adrenalin by converting the amino acid in tyrosine into dopamine. The resulting dopamine is then oxygenated and becomes noradrenaline which is then synthesized into adrenaline. The fresh adrenaline then moves through the body via the circulatory system and binds to receptors on the heart, arteries, pancreas, liver, muscles and fatty tissues. The adrenaline then limits the production of insulin and causes the body to metabolize sugars and fats which can be used as fuel in a fight or flight situation. This burst of freshly metabolized fuel is also part of the rush.  At this point you can consider yourself adrenaline rushed.

This is the part where your pupils dilate, your sense of time seems to change due to the general elevation of everything in your body, and the blood in your body will begin to shift from non-essential areas to more vital areas. The blood is the important factor for the purposes of the question we set out to ask. Your body will naturally try to protect its vital functions, which is why it pulls all your blood to the core. That also means the blood has drained away from everything in your ears.

The ear is another amazing feature to the human body. Many folks I’ve talked to think it doesn’t do a lot more than provide audio reception for the brain. However, the ear plays a much larger role in our ability to function. It is connected to the throat and nose, and helps provide balance and assists in other aspects of a person’s ability to orientate themselves. When in fight or flight mode there is a subtle change in the ear that causes it to be less receptive to noise. While the blood isn’t completely drained away, there is enough change to make the ear function differently. At this stage the ear isn’t necessarily functioning less efficiently, it’s just functioning differently.

So, there you are. You’re rifle is at the ready, you’re focused on your prey, it’s the moment of truth. All of a sudden you’re nice and warm because your heart rate has been elevated and you’re moving more blood. Your vision is sharpened and time seems to pass differently because of the activity in your brain. You make your shot and the rifle sounds dulled because all the extra blood is pulled to your core as your body makes preparations for action. You barely feel the recoil of your rifle because your muscles are energized. It’s the perfect rush being delivered during the perfect storm of physiological activity.

Everything else is the result of your body making every effort to reorient itself to your normal operating levels. After the vital moment, when you’ve successfully stopped your prey’s vitals, the euphoria and shakiness is partially a result of various chemicals produced in your body to counter the extreme impact of the adrenaline. How quick the rush passes is purely determined by the individual. Whether it be a successful hunt, dirt bike ride, wild sex, a rock concert, firearms training, or anything else exciting the prospect of an adrenaline rush is too tantalizing for anyone to resist once they’re hooked.

Despite the exhilaration of it all there is that sad, dark, serious side that has to be considered. It always seems whenever we are having fun there is always someone who comes along and reminds us its time to get serious. But when it comes to safety the only true dark side when it is disregarded and something unfortunate happens. All the heightened senses and rush from the adrenaline can make people forget themselves. I can’t caution people enough about this.

When the adrenaline is introduced in the blood stream and crazy things start happening in the body is usually the moment where all rational thought goes out the window and splatters on the street below. This is when we see bad car wrecks, hunters shot in the woods, sunken boats, accidental pregnancies, and thrill seekers falling off of balconies. This is when not driving faster than your guardian angel can fly, checking your target, looking for rocks in the water, using protection, staying away from the edge all become mere afterthoughts. Unfortunately, there is no amount of pacing, practice, rhythm, observation, or caution that can be more valuable than good, old fashioned using your head. The only thing worse than a dude with beer muscles is an adrenaline junkie looking for a fix.

Safety is the best investment you can make when you go out of your house. Always clear the shells out of your rifle or shotgun. Wear a hat, glasses, and ear protection when shooting. Buckle your seat belt and don’t text and drive. Wear your orange vests, life vests, and bullet proof vests. Don’t drink and drive, drink and shoot, drink and boat, or drink and hunt. Check your target and never put your finger on the trigger until you are ready to make your shot. Store weapons away from children and never store a loaded weapon. The list goes on and on. It’s best for you and your family to be safe at all times.

Anything can happen to anyone. If you or someone you know shrugs off safety advice, no matter how many times it’s been said before, then that that person is too comfortable and is a danger. We’ve seen how adrenaline works and many of us have felt that rush, the important part is to protect yourself and your family by being proactive with your safety precautions before your next trip seeking an adrenaline rush. Be cheap, have fun, and be safe, folks.