Disagree on a couple items.
If some want to call it purist, they have good reason. However, it goes behind shooting skill. It encompasses Dog work, getting a pup or new Dog, training, the excitement of going. The point or flush, retrieve on land or water, and the appreciation of when they accomplish an extraordinary difficult situation. The Dogs own enthusiasm and desire for the hunt. And when and if a Dog figures out their place in the the puzzle of Bird, Dog, gun.
Without the Dog, I wouldn’t spend thousands yearly on Upland hunting. I’ve been known to go out without the gun at those times when I’ve killed enough for the time being. And I knew one individual who gave up the gun completely. He said, “We can’t point him tomorrow, if I kill him today.”
The shooting is not the entire reason for the doing.
Addition: Years ago I was introduced to a “purist” in Arizona. His passion was chasing Mountain Lions on horseback while his pack of Dogs were on the trail. He cared less for the shooting. Went out with him one day, no Mountain Lions were cornered, but it was a hunt with some serious Dogs.
Not being all that comfortable horseback, and hanging on when the Dogs got hot, gave me an appreciation of his purist form of hunting.
