Hunting Course Emphasizes ‘Immersive Humanity’

Some make northeast Washington their destination for hunting wild game such as elk, deer, bear, and turkey. Armed with a bow or a gun, these hunters may join a local outfitter who knows the wilderness well. Bruce McGlenn, founder of Human Nature Hunting, located on 330 acres south of Kettle Falls and along the Columbia River, near Rice and Monumental Mountain, aims to stand apart from the lists of guided hunting par- ties. “I practice what I refer to as ‘immersive humanity,’” explained McGlenn.

“With Human Nature Hunting, we are getting back to how humanity is and stepping out of the consumer lifestyle. We take responsibility for life and death and the energy of the animal we put in our body. The experience can be challenging and emotional, but that’s the point.” He added, “Rather than hiring a hitman to kill for us, we take the life ourselves. It’s a tricky topic, because people have strong opinions about hunting.” Each class at Human Nature Hunting lasts five days, and McGlenn said participants may stay on the property. Instructors rotate throughout, teaching seminars on ethics and natural resources. McGlenn said, “We ask the essential question: ‘Who am I to be taking the life of an animal?’ The community component is very palpable, the camaraderie and the awareness of life and death.”

He said he already has nine classes scheduled for 2027, and they usually fill between fall and winter. “Hunting is a practice. The brain is flexible, and we can change and learn from practice. I learn something new every time I go out there,” McGlenn said. “In my classes, we primarily work with people without experience or equipment. At the end of the course, these people can shoot a rifle or a bow and skin an animal.” McGlenn said he teaches that hunting is more than just a sport. “Hunting is a part of a whole that has been plucked out of today’s culture. Philosophical ideals are a very important part of the class. This is not a hunt. If you are eating meat and not killing the animal yourself, then you’re just paying someone else to do it.” Teaching others to provide their own meat is an important aspect for McGlenn. “Most of the money in hunting is made through outfitting. We are not outfitters. We are coaches, instructors. We teach a man to fish rather than give him a fish. The intention is not to take a photo or a trophy. The intent is to learn the skills.”

McGlenn said he started volunteering for the Washington Outdoor Women in the mid- to late 1990s to teach a class on hunting basics. He founded Human Nature Hunting in 2016, drawing on his experiences hunting in backcountry on foot in the Washington and Montana Rockies. He shared that he hunted at elevations up to 8,000 feet in sub-zero temperatures. “It took a while to acclimate, then get into the hunt and awaken the senses. It’s a much different experience to walk into the woods with the intent to hunt. The senses are clear, sharp. Whether I shot something or not, I felt like a million bucks. Specifically, it was the act of being in the hunt, not necessarily the killing.” McGlenn said he took time off from his profession in engineering to pursue this career, and shared that his family has been involved from the start.

“My wife, Sarah, is an integral part of Human Nature Hunting and brings to us a unique perspective.” Sarah McGlenn said she had been a vegetarian for 12 years prior to meeting Bruce McGlenn. She met him while living in Tonasket and working as a midwife. “I had been on a spiritual path of meditation and not killing living things,” she explained. “After spending time with Bruce and accompanying him on hunts, I arrived at a similar philosophy that birth and death are both points along the life cycle, sacred elements that are essential.” Sarah McGlenn brings her experience with birth as a midwife to the discussion of the meaning behind the hunt. “Death is required to feed the cycle of life,” she explained.

“There is no escaping death. We see the cycle of life and death everywhere in our ecosystem: in the falling dead leaves that feed new life. This cycle of life and death occurs whether I eat meat or not. Death is not bad; it is not something to be avoided at all costs.” She continued, “When we kill an animal during a hunt, we acknowledge that this was a living animal, and now we are eating it. It is important to acknowledge what we will do with our lives that are sustained by the death of this animal. Something is lost when we don’t acknowledge the cycle of life and death.” Bruce McGlenn said he plans to share his hunting knowledge with his children as well. “I have two daughters (1 and 3 years old). I will teach them about hunting as soon as they are able to go.” In each class, McGlenn said participants will learn how to butcher and field dress a farm animal during the course. The philosophical elements and respect paid to the animal are part of the conversation that Bruce and Sarah McGlenn lead throughout the event.

Human Nature Hunting also offers a scholarship program for those who cannot afford the fee, McGlenn said. They generate funding through grants and donations from alums who want to pay it forward. People who are interested in Human Nature Hunting may contact Bruce McGlenn through the organization’s webpage, humannaturehunting.com.