Aaronhome27
Sharpshooter
I posted this on another hunting sight but wanted to share here as well.
I have two sons 10 & 16. I had the chance to take both of them out hunting this year for the first time. My oldest was able to take a deer while my youngest took a shot at one and I decided he was just not ready. He practiced quite a bit and was a good shot but with the added pressure of having a deer in front of him he just couldnt quite get it done with a deer at 30 yards. In an effort to keep him from injuring a deer I decided that he needs more time in the stand with me observing before he should take another shot at a deer. He was okay with it and understood. Next year he should be ready to take that shot.
With that said I thought I would share a few stories my oldest told me about his friends from school and how they were hunting. The first story my son told me about was from a second year hunter that was bragging about taking 2 deer on the same day. My son thought this boy was a mighty hunter until we sat and talked about ethical hunters and what it means to respect the game you are hunting. My sons friend was telling him that he was given 12 slugs to use on opening day to use in his semi auto shotgun. He had a group of deer step out around 100 yards away. The boy started bragging about just opening fire at the group of deer and speed loading his shotgun until he was out of ammo. He thought he might have gotten 4 deer by the time it was all done but they only found 2 of them. My son was telling me how proud this boy was of what he had accomplished. The next story came from another one of his friends that also hunts. This boy was bragging about taking a double with one shot. He was bragging about how good he was for almost getting both deer. He said he shot the front deer and passed through it and the shot took the leg off of the deer that was behind it. They never did find the doe in the back but when it took off it was missing a leg or something to that nature. Needless to say I was sick to hear these stories and could not help to wonder what the fathers of these boys were saying about what they had done. It is my hope that the next generation of hunters are not being taught that this kind of hunting is okay. I spent a long time talking with my son about ethical hunting and the respect for the game that we are hunting. I also explained to him why I only use single shot firearms when I hunt. I explained that we would only be using very accurate single shot firearms when we hunt because if you are taking a proper shot it will only take just one shot. He proved to me that he was only willing to take an ethical shot when we were hunting. He passed several deer while out for the first time waiting for the perfect shot. All the while knowing we might not get a chance at another deer. His first deer was a perfect double lung center punch shot. I made sure to let him know that I was proud of him for the deer but more proud of him for taking the time to make a good ethical shot and letting the questionable shots go. I told him that is what truely makes a great hunter.
I have two sons 10 & 16. I had the chance to take both of them out hunting this year for the first time. My oldest was able to take a deer while my youngest took a shot at one and I decided he was just not ready. He practiced quite a bit and was a good shot but with the added pressure of having a deer in front of him he just couldnt quite get it done with a deer at 30 yards. In an effort to keep him from injuring a deer I decided that he needs more time in the stand with me observing before he should take another shot at a deer. He was okay with it and understood. Next year he should be ready to take that shot.
With that said I thought I would share a few stories my oldest told me about his friends from school and how they were hunting. The first story my son told me about was from a second year hunter that was bragging about taking 2 deer on the same day. My son thought this boy was a mighty hunter until we sat and talked about ethical hunters and what it means to respect the game you are hunting. My sons friend was telling him that he was given 12 slugs to use on opening day to use in his semi auto shotgun. He had a group of deer step out around 100 yards away. The boy started bragging about just opening fire at the group of deer and speed loading his shotgun until he was out of ammo. He thought he might have gotten 4 deer by the time it was all done but they only found 2 of them. My son was telling me how proud this boy was of what he had accomplished. The next story came from another one of his friends that also hunts. This boy was bragging about taking a double with one shot. He was bragging about how good he was for almost getting both deer. He said he shot the front deer and passed through it and the shot took the leg off of the deer that was behind it. They never did find the doe in the back but when it took off it was missing a leg or something to that nature. Needless to say I was sick to hear these stories and could not help to wonder what the fathers of these boys were saying about what they had done. It is my hope that the next generation of hunters are not being taught that this kind of hunting is okay. I spent a long time talking with my son about ethical hunting and the respect for the game that we are hunting. I also explained to him why I only use single shot firearms when I hunt. I explained that we would only be using very accurate single shot firearms when we hunt because if you are taking a proper shot it will only take just one shot. He proved to me that he was only willing to take an ethical shot when we were hunting. He passed several deer while out for the first time waiting for the perfect shot. All the while knowing we might not get a chance at another deer. His first deer was a perfect double lung center punch shot. I made sure to let him know that I was proud of him for the deer but more proud of him for taking the time to make a good ethical shot and letting the questionable shots go. I told him that is what truely makes a great hunter.
