Happy Holidays! It’s a great time of year. The same thing that makes hunting great also makes the holidays great: being with family. During this time of year St. Nick is a pretty popular guy and I actually thought about having him be the subject of this week, but in the end I decided to tie up the loose-end teaser posted online last week. Who is St. Hubert?

He is best known as the Patron Saint of Hunters. He is also known as the Patron Saint of archers, dogs, forest workers, trappers, huntsmen, opticians, mathematicians, metal workers, and lastly smelters. But he wasn’t always a revered saint; in fact, he was quite the opposite. While the faithful were off to church, Hubert went off to the woods. 

St. Hubert was born in Toulouse, France, somewhere around 656 A.D. and he passed in 727 A.D. He was canonized (became a Saint) in 1744 but there are also reports that he was recognized in 743. The Feast of St. Hubert is celebrated every year on Nov. 3. That date was picked to coincide with the onset of the deer rutting or mating seasons, which are typically the best hunting days of the year. 

So how did this lowly person become a celebrated patron Saint? St. Hubert was a passionate hunter and his genuine “come to Jesus” moment happened on Good Friday when he was out hunting and came across a huge stag buck. Legend has it that the rack was huge and in-between the massive horns was a vision of a crucifix. He heard a voice say to him, "Hubert, unless thou turnest to the Lord and leadest a holy life, thou shalt quickly go down into hell." And just like that, Hubert mended his ways and turned to a life of religion and faith.

Have you ever seen the logo of the German liquor Jägermeister? St. Hubert’s encounter with the massive stag and crucifix were the inspiration behind the iconic logo. Jägermeister literally tranlsates to “Master Hunter.” The words along the border of the logo are a German phrase that loosely translates to, “This is the hunter’s badge of honor.”

Hubert is honored among sport hunters as the originator of ethical hunting behavior. In some versions of the story, the stag is said to have lectured Hubert to hold animals in higher regard and have compassion for them as creatures with value in their own right. For example, the hunter ought to only shoot when a clean, quick, and therefore humane kill is assured. He ought to shoot only old stags which are past their prime breeding years and forego a much-anticipated shot on a trophy to instead euthanize a sick or injured animal that might appear on the scene. 

St. Nick may be the more popular today and tomorrow but when I’m sitting in my tree stand, you know who I’m throwing a shout out to.

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