Nice shot, but it doesn’t count unless you’re wearing a farm implement hat.
Have you started thinking about fall hunts yet? I have and like most, they revolve around big game. Statistics prove it so don’t deny it. We love big game hunting.
That’s great, but it’s also a shame. According to the 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, there was a 12 percent decrease in the number of small game hunters from 2001 to 2006.
Why is that a shame? That’s where most young hunters cut their teeth. It’s where they learn to handle a gun. It’s where they acquire their stalking skills while watching the twitching nose of a bunny. It’s also where they acquire their taste for wild game via a fried squirrel entrée.
I was reminded of one of my first small game hunts from a DVD present my mother gave me last month. She recently went through my deceased grandfather’s old film library and converted the film to disk. My kids about peed their pants at how hokey their dad looked while bragging about his first pheasant. My red hunting attire, thanks to my father’s implement dealer giveaways, was also the brunt of a joke or two or three.
The short clip was a great trip down memory lane, but it reminded me again about how important it is to get our kids out. Whether it’s for squirrel, cottontail, pheasant, quail or dove, make a date for a small game hunt.
Now if I can only remember where I stored that International Harvester attire I might make a killing on E-bay.
Mark Kayser
Comments on this entry are closed.