The only hunting I have done is with a car!
I was driving home late, alone, from the airport last year, and as I came over a hill, a cow elk was standing in the middle of the road. I quickly braked, and had almost come to a stop, going around her, when she turned at the last minute, and hit the side of my van. It broke her two legs. There was very little damage to my car (although the insurance totaled the van! My husband was able to fix the damage for 100 dollars, and we got a check for 2700!)
Anyway, the elk was lying in the middle of the road, just crying and bawling, and it was awful! I called the sheriff's dept, because I had no way to put her out of her misery. 15 minutes later the officer showed up. Her two front legs were broken, and he put her out of her misery. Then, he came back to my window, and asked if we wanted the meat, as here in this state, if the officer approves that the animal is safe to eat (without a lot of glass or damage to meat), then you can take the animal home to eat as road kill. So, of course, I did want the meat. Then the fire truck then showed up, and a bunch of guys were standing around looking at the elk, and two of them specifically came to me, and asked me if I really wanted the elk, because if not, they would take it ... lol. I said no, my husband was coming.
So, that road kill elk provided us with the most amazing, tender meat all winter. We ate a lot of steaks, roasts, backstrap, and ground meat. The ground elk could be fried, and did not stick to the pan! We were all amazed at how much better elk meat tastes than deer, in fact, anyone who tried it, liked it better than beef, it was that tender!
So, this year, we have our own property that has an elk herd that crosses it! We are quite excited, and hope at least one of us can get an elk, and of course deer. We also have wild turkey on the property as well...
It is definitely a family workout to process the meat! But oh so worth it all through the winter when your freezer is full of meat!
Raynaud's syndrome is definitely a tough one. I think my daughter has it. Her hands and feet turn blue if she gets cold at all. There is really not much you can do for this, except try to keep them from getting cold, which is impossible when you are processing meat!
I will keep you posted on how the hunting goes... hunting season started yesterday here for spikes... and we may try to go out this weekend... Lord help me! I don't know about shooting a living animal as I've never done it, although I am trying to look at it from the perspective that the meat will not go to waste. I like your idea of thanking the animal for its life. That helps keep the right perspective when you are in the midst of doing all the processing!