In today’s world of video games, YouTube, and iPods, many college students find themselves spending weekends holed up in front of the blue glow of their computer screens, isolated from those around them by headphones and hectic schedules. One Penn student, however, escapes from this world every once in a while, to spend his weekend like a modern-day Teddy Roosevelt might: hunting with his fellow men in the great outdoors.

Hunting has long been a pastime for those seeking the thrill of the chase, the challenge of the perfect shot, and the chance to participate, just as their forefathers did before them, in one of the world’s oldest rituals. For junior Peter Handy from San Jose, CA, this chance came early: his father took him hunting for the first time when he was just eight years old. It soon became a regular weekend activity, with Handy, his brother, and his father visiting several different hunting clubs regularly throughout California, as well as in various other states.

At each club they visit, small game is the target. This includes animals such as pheasant, ducks, geese, quail, partridge, chuckar (a type of bird), and boar. Each day follows a similar schedule: get up early, eat a big breakfast, hunt until noon, come in for lunch, head back out around dusk to shoot for a few more hours, followed by a late dinner and bed. “What I really like about [hunting],” says Handy, “is that it’s just vacation-like, very relaxed.”

Even the dogs get to come along – Handy’s two Gordon setters are trained hunting dogs. Their job is called “pointing.” After sniffing out game in the brush, the dogs lift one paw and “point” with their noses in the direction of the animals. The hunters then know to go rustle the bushes, and shoot the game as it flies out. The dogs then collect the game in their mouths and bring it back to the waiting huntsmen.

What about those who would contest hunting as cruel and barbaric? “The way the animal is killed is humane,” says Handy. “You shoot the bird, and it’s done. No suffering. Plus,” he adds firmly, “we eat 100% of what we kill. We only shoot what we can eat.” And eat they do – anywhere from a dozen to twenty people, mostly men, come up to these types of clubs each weekend. Many are father-son groups, or “old men with their dogs, who’re pretty much like children”.

Much of what Handy loves is the camaraderie that members exhibit with one another, as well as the friendliness of locals. This sense of family and community is what keeps people returning to the same places year after year.

“Will I bring my own kids hunting? Absolutely,” says Handy. “Sons, daughters, both. Of course. My favorite thing about hunting is getting to spend time with my dad and my brother.” And while hunting may not be for everyone, most people would agree that quality family time, at the very least, beats hanging around campus staring at a computer screen for yet another weekend.