Hello everyone, I don't know about you but I love podcasts. One of my favorite podcasts out there is the 9 finger chronicles. Recently Justin Zarr was on the podcast talking with Dan about the decreasing amount of hunters. They brought up a lot of great points, and I agree with them on many levels. I believe as hunters it is our responsibility to introduce the next generation into this lifestyle we live. I have actually just recently started a new company in hopes of doing just this. This is not a "hunting show" or anything of that sort. It is more of a lifestyle vlog, that shows my family and I living the outdoor lifestyle. If you check out the video below, it describes my hopes for the company and what my goals are. After listening to the podcast though, it really hit me hard how important it is to get others involved, and to paint hunters in a positive light to the public. And I realize if I want to take part in this, I am going to have to do a whole lot more than produce videos in hopes of inspiring others. I think that is a good start, and I will continue doing so. But I would be interested to hear some ideas on what you think would be good ways to get others involved, especially kids? Some things I have thought of right away were holding an archery shoot for children. Allowing them to come and shoot bows, win prizes, maybe have a handful of experienced archers there giving out tips. I am not sure of the legalities of this and how it would work, but it is something I am looking into. I have also thought of holding a fishing tournament. Even though it's not directly bowhunting related it is getting them into the outdoors. What ideas do you guys have? What are some ways we can get these kids off of their phones and into the outdoors?
my thought is with all of these mentor programs getting the kids in the woods at such a young age is burning them out quicker. kids hunting at 7 or 8 yrs old is just too young. they don't have the attention span at that age. clamp a gun in a lead sled then put the scope on the deer and let them pull the trigger isn't that big of a deal for a 7yr old. they just don't realize that they have just killed something and what it meant once they pulled the trigger. I think it is more bragging rights for the parents than it is for the child. my son is begging everyday to take him hunting and he just turned 7. I told him not until he is 12. so I compromised and agreed to take him shed hunting, hang stands, and put minerals out. I am trying to get him excited to go instead of me being excited to take him. I tell him all the time he has a lot of other things to learn about the preparation before he can go out hunting in the woods. we are just taking it slow. right now he is having a blast plinking with his .22 and shooting his bow.
That is a very different point of view but one that I understand completely! I think part of the reason I am so ate up with bowhunting is because my dad didn't take me hunting with him until I was 8, even though I was begging when I was 4. And he didn't let me take my own weapon into the woods until I was 12. So part of the excitement for me was the anticipation until I finally turned 12 to hang out at deer camp. That being said I think it is important to get these kids at least introduced at a young age. By the time kids turn 12 a lot of times they are involved in year round sports, and many other hobbies that can consume their time. Not that sports are bad, I will let my son do whatever he chooses as long as its a productive and safe hobby. But also, I was offered my first beer at 11 and my first hit of weed at 12. Luckily I knew if I was caught i wouldn't be allowed to go hunting that year, so I made the wise decision to go hunting instead! I always liked the old saying "Teach your kids to hunt and they wont have enough money for drugs."
I'm sure at the time you didn't realize that you might have made a life saving decision. we have our whole lives to hunt. I'm not sure why so many people are in such a hurry to start so young?
too many of my friends already burnt their kids out and their kids have quit. I remember the anticipation of finally turning 12. that meant I was old enough to go hunting with all the adults. I finally could go home and tell hunting stories like my brothers and uncles. still to this day I can remember most of my hunts. I can't remember only a few things from my 6 or 7 yr old days. this goes beyond hunting. I am the same way with sports. I see too many kids quitting when it comes to the high school level because they are just tired of it. like I said earlier we do plenty of other things that relate to hunting. imo a 7 yr olds brain just isn't developed enough to be pulling the trigger and understanding what he just did. I lived so far a very successful hunting career with no regrets. I have no desire to live my dreams through my kid. on top of that, with all of this crap going on in school I don't need something stupid happening. 5 kids in my school district have already got the boot for making a threat. I'm just being careful with him being so young.
I think one of the main problems is “keeping up with the joneses” and if you don’t then other hunters talk down on you. If you don’t have the best of the best then you get belittled, but hunting has turned into a rich mans sport. The “old ways” of hunting camp are gone and that’s one of the big problems. Kids these days don’t have the attention span for hunting. They are so used to technology and instant gratification that sitting in the cold for 5 hours looking at nothing has ZERO appeal to the majority. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
IMO opinion, kids need to be old enough to completely understand what they are doing in all aspects. They need to understand they are taking the life of an animal and it's not just for the sake of doing it. Perfect example was a week ago. I took my buddy and his son hunting for the first time. His son is 13 and they had both just recently gotten their licenses and wanted to start hunting. Turkey season is a perfect opportunity and I scout the property I hunt well and know what the birds do. We weren't in the blind for more than 30 minutes for the youth opener and here they come. A hen and jake come walking through just like I had seen them do and hoped they would. Kid was patient and waited for a good shot and took it. Boom! Dropped the jake right where he stood, and then says "Ya, in your face" excitedly. My buddy and I look at each other and then look at his son but didn't say anything. We get out of the blind and walk over to his bird and he's still excited but had a little less excitement at that moment. We looked over the bird and I gave him a big high 5 and congratulated him on being patient and waiting for a good shot but neither my buddy or I said anything to him about his comment. I could tell something was just a little off. Took some nice pictures and then headed home. Once we got home I showed him how to clean the bird and he did the rest of the work. No jitters about the blood or anything like that. Then we wanted to watch the video. Downloaded it to my laptop and watching it, the kid hears his own comment for the first time. First thing he says is "That was messed up. I shouldn't have said that." I told him that's exactly what I was hoping to hear and then we talked a bit more about what hunting is and having respect for the animals we hunt. I made sure to reinforce it's ok to be excited when you when you get an animal. I still am and if we don't get excited, there isn't any point in doing it but we must have respect for the animals too. He totally got it. So after a lengthy story my point is I don't think a 7 or 8 year old would have figured this out on his own the way he did. I also can't say a 7 or 8 year old would have initially reacted in the same way but if they did, they wouldn't have realized it on their own and understood it better when it's explained to them. I was like many of you. Turning 12 for me was a right of passage to hunt with my dad and our friends and not be one of the "kids" any more. I was more excited to get my hunting license at 12 than I was to get my driver's license at 16. All I wanted to do when I was 7 and 8 was play with Hot Wheels and GI Joe's. I wouldn't have understood hunting and the responsibility of it at 8 the way I did when I was 12. Anyway, this is just my experience and not all kids are the same.
