I will say that in my experience hunting with a dog, having the dog come on point, flush a bird, and me doing my part in shooting the bird cleanly for a perfect retrieve to hand, those times call upon some primal 'rightness'. I feel like all of the participants are doing what we're 'supposed to' be doing, what we were made for, what millions of years of ancestors were pushed to become, and that evokes a certain deep satisfaction.

I grew up working on a farm and I can say that, personally, I don't like killing. Walking up to an animal that you've raised yourself, that has relied on you for food, shelter, and care, and putting a bullet in it's head is not something I enjoyed. At all. But if we wanted bacon, well, that's where you get bacon.

In both cases the killing is a by-product of the process and I find justification in the thought that the grouse's habitat and survival is dependent on my efforts at conservation (I'm a member of the Ruffed Grouse Society, Ducks Unlimited, etc. and I volunteer time and money to help reclaim/restore native habitat) and that, for example, if cows were not domesticated they might well be extinct like the aurochs. But, in both cases, I would prefer it if the animal could get up, say 'Good show' and hand me a package of grouse tenders or a rump roast, then go on their merry way.