I peered over the mound we were hiding behind. The small rise in elevation along with the brush growing on top of it gave us some cover. I clutched the rifle in my hands and mostly held my breath, afraid my excitement may alert our target, a big fox squirrel about 75 yards away.
We went over our plan to get closer in whispered tones, barely noticing the golden late October afternoon that was setting the stage for this little rodeo.
Time has robbed me of some of the details of this day, but I remember it was decided that Dad would take the shot on this one. I cared not in the least; I knew this was our best chance to collect this trophy, and I nestled down into the ground cover as he settled in for the shot. At the snap of the little .22 round, the squirrel fell — and I jumped up with a shout of joy and went tearing up the hill.
We had done something together in the realm of what we loved: hunting. We had planned and crawled and schemed to get into range and made it work. This was around 60 years ago, but I can remember feeling pretty close to Dad at that moment.
In reflecting on this, I can’t help but think how things would have been different for me if he hadn’t taken me along from the time I was very small.
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If my dad had not been a hunter or hadn’t taken me afield so much, would I be where I am today? Maybe, but I think probably not. I would not have grown into the ravenous hunter and firearms enthusiast you see before you. I may not have went on the path to become a DNR law enforcement officer for 36 years, and I probably would not have started writing about hunting, guns and the outdoors. Whether this is all good or bad, I don’t know, but it is too late in the game to change anything!
The die was cast for me early, and there never was really any doubt I would follow the trail of a hunter. But what about all the grubby little kids since then and the ones coming up today?
Your own father introducing you to the world of the hunter and teaching you as a mentor is the best way possible to start down this path. But what about all those who don’t have this luxury? (When you are a kid, you don’t think of this as a luxury, but it is just that.)
As we have discussed here more than twice, there are a gang of young people out there (and some not so young) who would love for you take them hunting. They don’t care how good you are, how much game you take, or how shiny your truck is (or isn’t) — they just want to go. They want to go to the woods and waters and explore the outdoor world that fascinates them. You are their mentor and guide who shows them the way.
AP file photo by Chris O’Meara / The memory of a fox squirrel stands out in Larry Case’s mind when the “Guns & Cornbread” columnist thinks about how hunting with his father helped blaze the trail that led to a career in the outdoors world.We have also discussed here before the situation with organized events intended to introduce young people to the outdoors and hunting. I am all for these events, such as Youth Day on the Range, the National Wild Turkey Federation’s Jakes Days, and many other similar activities. These are all good; we need them and should continue to do them.
The problem is, in reality, these gatherings may not move the meter very much on the side of getting new hunters into the woods. We have a big day at the event, the kids get to do a lot of well-supervised shooting, and they are exposed to hunting and the outdoors in a positive light. How many of these kids take this experience and move on to actual hunting is hard to say, and this is what we need in this day of dwindling hunter numbers: more boots on the ground and in the woods.
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The hard part of all this is what these fledgling hunters need is individual attention in getting them to the squirrel woods and the deer stand. If there is no dad to do this, then you, the volunteer mentor, have to fill the void.
Like many things in life, this is much easier said than done. Taking on novice hunters, young or old, is time-consuming and sometimes complicated. You usually have to pick them up, take them to the hunting ground and often supply some gear and guns to get them started. It has been my experience that most hunting mentors don’t mind doing all this because they love to pass on what they have learned from a lifetime in the woods, probably from their own dad.
So here we are at Father’s Day. Like always, if your dad is still with us, you had better at least go see him or give him a call. If you are a sportsman (this means girls, too), did he introduce you to the wonderful world of .22 rifles, shotguns, cold-nosed beagles, catfishing? I bet he did. Call him and thank him for that.
And remember what the guy on the “Guns & Cornbread” website always tells you: “Keep your guns clean, your knife sharp, and take a kid hunting.”
“Guns & Cornbread” is written by Larry Case, who lives in Fayette County, W.Va. You can write to him at larryocase3@gmail.com.