So just out of curiosity, how many Bowhunting.com members have taken the time to introduce a kid to the outdoors and/or hunting?
My 2 1/2 year old goes with me every saturday to the indoor range and helps retrieve arrows. She also talks about how the "Deer fall down in grass?" Looking forward to her shooting with me in a few years. I have also started the prelim information about getting a Centershot program at out church. On a side note...i got my wife into archery this past weekend. She loved it and she's comming with again next weekend, and will most likely be ordering up a bow for her!!
Well I am only 20, but I introduced my best friend to hunting over 4 years ago and he is as crazy about it as I am.
Awesome, I got my wife into archery last year and she wants to hunt turkey next year also. I have been working on my nephew for years and it finally seems he is coming around. Hey, my nephew told me even if it doesn't work out he wants to start doing some wildlife photography and I can live with that. By the way Ventvisor starting an over all program like that is really neat!
Definitely, my son, one of his friends as well as my wife. My daughter is a little young yet to hunt but will go with me on her first turkey hunt this spring.
Quite a few I helped run a summer camp for kids where we taught them archery, shooting, hunter education and just about everything else outdoors. At the end of the camp we hunted for Sika and Axis doe for two days. We had around 100 come through the camp with around 50 never having hunted before. It was myself and five other consolers.
That sounds like my kind of summer camp Jim! I don't rifle hunt, and in NE we can't bowhunt during rifle season. I make it a point to try and get a couple newbies out every year during that time. Last year I helped two first timers take their first two deer each. They used the rifle I inherited from my Grandpa. I believe that rifle has accounted for 12 first time deer kills. I also sat with my sister last fall as she took her first two archery deer. Last summer I started having a few guys come out on wednesday nights to shoot at my place. Pretty quick we had over a dozen guys every week, most of whom had never taken a deer with their bow. Most weeks after it got too dark to shoot we'd come inside and B.S.. The new guys were full of questions, they loved looking over and asking questions about my gear and talking about the pro's/con's of different equipment. We would also spend time on google earth looking over everyone's properties. It really made me realize how giving just a little bit of your time can really shave years off of a newcomers learning curve. I was also more than happy to go help a couple of these guys bloodtrail and recover their first deer, one of which was a really nice buck.
I tried with my own daughter, but she is more of a Mall Girl than a Woods Girl.:D But I did help out in the Bowtech Trailer a few times last year and we had tons of kids come through there. Some had never shot a bow before. I hope a few of them take up the sport. I also helped Christine at the bowfishing shoot at IL Free Fishing Days last year. I couldn't begin to count how many kids went through the line that day. http://forums.bowhunting.com/showthread.php?t=4343 I think I had a little to do with my nephew getting into bow hunting, but more inderectly.
One...my son. This was opening day 2 years ago as he sat with me in my blind while I hunted. 2 hours later... Shed hunting last year... And his birthday this year... Sorry for those who have seen these pictures a million times but I'm proud.:D
My older brother pretty much got me into bowhunting, and we both pretty much got my younger brother into hunting. Then we has to go and out do both of us this year.
I have helped get a lot of kids started in Archery down through the years, including my 2 daughters. I hope to start my 4 Grandsons in Archery in the next few years. Some stick with it, and some don't but IMO most will eventually come back even though they may wander away for a few years. One young man I had played a part in getting started just took 2nd at Vegas a few weeks ago out of I believe approx. 500 shooters. Wish I could take credit for his shooting ability, but I'm afraid not He was a natural in many ways and worked hard to learn to shoot correctly. When it comes to paper competetion he has Ice Water in his veins! Dan
I try to involve them with fishing and hunting as much as possible, all three of them. I also helped one of my special education students get his hunting license when he was 14. I found out the class times and called the instructors to let them know he was coming, because had some odd behavior at times. He was so proud when he received his VA hunting license that he brought it to school laminated and showed me. I had to hold tight because I almost lost it. I miss that kid.
I got my wife and step-son into hunting and fishing. My step-son got my wife into bowshooting and that got me into bow shooting and all of us into bow hunting.
1 My son is five now but he got his first recurve at 4. He shoots with me atleast once a month at the pro shop.
