The local chapter of Safari Club International used to hand out bumper stickers saying “Hunt with your kids, not for them.” It is a very prophetic statement. When I was just a child I met a family whose daughter disappeared. She was gone for a couple of weeks and I was able to witness firsthand the anguish this family endured as they searched for her daughter. I sympathize with anyone who has been through this. In this case there was a somewhat happy ending as the girl came back but I know there were issues that needed to be resolved. So when I first saw the SCI sticker, it hit me.
Fast forward several years and my youngest son is about to go on his first adventure to become a hunter. He and a friend from school signed up to take the hunter safety course and I can tell you my heart swelled when he went both days and got his certificate. A few days later we purchased his first hunting license and began making plans for our first trip into the woods as a father and his hunting team.
The squirrels were going to be our first hunt. We have a cabin in Allegany’s and you can find all kinds of squirrels there. And we’re also blessed with a lot of nut trees, so finding them is pretty easy too. We arrived at camp the night before and built a fire in the wood stove. October in Western New York is a beautiful time to be in the woods, but the nights can be quite chilly. Once the blades started to power up our ecofan, we were in business with lots of hot air circulating through the eco fan. If you haven’t seen one of these yet, they are unique in that they produce their own electricity. I have been using one for several years. Back to the hunt.
My son has had a lot of practice shooting targets with his .22. I started all of my very young children getting used to firearms and teaching them respect for the gun and its intended purpose, so when we left the cabin early that October morning I knew I was ready. We hiked about a half hour up the hill to be among some beach nut trees. We settled into one that had fallen over and was just the right height for a seat and began our wait. The first thing that appeared was a young doe. She didn’t seem to mind that she was sharing the woods with us that day. She rummaged around a bit and then went through the designated rounds. I soon saw a large black squirrel scurrying around collecting its morning feast. My son also saw it and asked if he should shoot. I asked him if he was ready and he said yes. A drink later we had our first squirrel of the day. He was anxious to get the animal back, but I told him to stay still and remember where the squirrel was. About five minutes later a friendly gray squirrel showed up and met a similar fate. We waited for a while when it became clear that something was coming up the hill. At first we weren’t sure what it was, but soon several heads started bobbing up and down and we saw several turkeys having a bit of a breakfast as they walked up the hill. It was not turkey season, so turkeys were going to get a free pass, but it was certainly exciting to see them and share this moment with my young hunter. We waited until the turkeys had passed out of sight and proceeded to collect our prey for the morning.
As we walked out of the woods, I will never forget what my first hunter who had just caught his first two squirrels asked me. He said, “Dad, what caliber of gun do you need to hunt Elk?” I still laugh every time I think about it. Hunt with your children, not for them. I hunt, therefore I am.
