Be a hunting recruiter, take a newbie

[Castincowboy]

As a avid hunter and a guy who's made a large part of his living from the hunting & fishing industry I am pretty passionate about the longivity of our hunting heritage.

Please read my article and feel free to comment. If you agree please share the link with others.

http://www.examiner.com/x-30256-Calg...ewbie#comments

Please consider subscribing to my articles. You will only receive a notification each time I publish. I don't publish to Examiner.com for the pay... but to help promote our hunting heritage in Canada!

As always I appreciate the support!

[timba]

that was good,I started taking my kids out shed hunting this year and we all go check the trail cameras together.There to young to hunt but I think I'm off to a good start with them,they love to go check the cameras and my little girl(5 years old) wants to go out every night and shoot here little bow

[Stinky Coyote]

my 3 yr old did a couple shed hunts/camera card changes this year and i'm going to take one of the neighbors kids this fall for his first deer, i love taking people out

[bigoldan43]

Originally Posted by timba

that was good,I started taking my kids out shed hunting this year and we all go check the trail cameras together.There to young to hunt but I think I'm off to a good start with them,they love to go check the cameras and my little girl(5 years old) wants to go out every night and shoot here little bow

Good for you Timba. Enjoy your time with them. Some of my fondest memories are taking my kids out. They're all grown up and have run away from home now, but I sure like to remember those days.

[Frans]

Originally Posted by Castincowboy

I don't publish to Examiner.com for the pay...

Ain't that the truth.

[iliketrout]

I'm looking to tag along on a goose hunt this fall. I have some floating decoys and an old hunting canoe and have access to 2 dozen field decoys, if anyone is interested in showing a newbie how to call/shoot geese.

So...if anyone is interested, please send me a PM. I'm in Calgary but will travel.

[Knotter]

My 3 year old is going on her first scouting mission on Friday. As for a newbie - I have my brother in law lined up for his first hunt this year.

Thanks for posting the article.

[swifthunter]

I have probably got a dozen guys in there late 20's started hunting in the last 2 years. Its fun to see someone go on there first hunt. theyre excited way before and just bag to go again, plus you seem like a god because you have taught them all they know lol

[Castincowboy]

I'm not surprised but, it sure is nice to hear about the quality of guys on this forum. Showing the ropes to a newbie is good for us and GREAT for our sport. As I mentioned it increases our numbers giving us a louder voice to the law makers and to combat the anti's!!!

I do like hearing these stories of forum members regularily bringing in newbies into our sport!

FRANS: I feel your pain!

Keep sharing the great on-boarding stories and suggests guys!

[Ryry4]

Great article. We need to do everything we can to get our youth educated to hunting and out there enjoying it.

[Ryry4]

Originally Posted by swifthunter

I have probably got a dozen guys in there late 20's started hunting in the last 2 years. Its fun to see someone go on there first hunt. theyre excited way before and just bag to go again, plus you seem like a god because you have taught them all they know lol

I hear you, I've got a couple friends hooked on it to in the last year.

[Chet]

Great work Castincowboy! Helping a new hunter out is so rewarding for everyone involved. Here a few pics of my first timers from the last few years:









It is encoraging to see how many people on this board have started people out. I love those threads and pics of new hunters. Let's make some more of them!

[Castincowboy]

Way ta go Chet! There's one common trait to each newbie in your photos.

A huge smile and since of satisfaction!

It is a great feeling to pass on some of the simple techniques and skills that were passed on to us to get us started in this hunting we call passion. (maybe I've got that backwards... nope I don't!) Like a great old cowboy song said, "We owe to the ones that went before us".

[Stop Staring at my Rack]

Great article! You are a very talented writer, you definately have a passion for hunting.
This is what it's all about, my family and I take out new hunters every year. In fact we have taken 45 new hunters out hunting in the past few years , we helped them get there hunting liscence and even drove most of them to the F&W office to challenge the test. 12 took the course, and 23 have now taken the firearms course.Of thoes 45, 44 harvested a deer the first year, and 41 are still avid hunters!
We will be taking out 4 new hunters this year and are honoured to do so. Hunting is our heritage and being able to pass this on to the younger generation, or the young at heart is what it is all about. God has blessed us and what better way to appreciate this than to share....

[Castincowboy]

Hey thanks S.S.A.M.R. (much easier...)

You're family and you are awesome for helping out some newbies. I've gotten so many positive comments, PM's e-mails, etc. It's nice and very necessary to have the support of my hunting community! Thanks!

[Castincowboy]

OK so let me appologize for boring some of you with this but, I got one negative comment on this article and HAVE to share it with you all. A link of my article was shared on another on-line social media site. My AWESOME wife was first to respond then I took over.

I've changed the names to protect the identity of the ill-informed complainant. Before you ask why I was so polite to her the answer is my wife grew up with her and besides it's best to be professional in such situations. The sarcasum you'll see just comes naturally to me


CLUELESS: Take a Child HUNTING??!!! Is this a joke??

Way to go......Ok Jr...let's go out and splatter some small creatures brains all over the place!!! Great way to train the future killers of the World!!!

Shouldn't we be teaching our Kids respec...t for life and compassion and not to be Bullies??

You'll have to share your recipe for Squirrel stew with me! ;P

MRS. CASTINCOWBOY: no it's not a joke. Gophers are a pest. they dig holes, animals break legs because of them. Farmers are happy that someone is willing to shoot them.
We do teach our children respect for life and compassion. My husband teaches them abo...ut the outdoors, wildlife, the circle of life, fishing and shooting. They understand why gophers are a pest, why some wild life needs to be thinned out.

My children are sweet and kind, they LOVE animals and not in anyway any type of bully and I doubt they will grow up to be any kind of serial killer just because they have an interest in shooting guns/bows.

CASTINCOWBOY: Well said Hon! This is a major component of teaching out children "respect for life and compassion". Is the farmer/processor that raises then kills and butchers your chicken/beef/pork a bully?

The only reason that the government has opened a... LEGAL hunting season for ANY animal including gophers is that biologists have performed studies and ascertained that the population levels are far too high for the given area of habitat. The resulting over population leads to starvation, disease and complete annihilation of the species in that given area. Allowing that to take place would be cruel and inhuman.

In countries that have bowed down to pressure from ill-informed animals rights groups have simply had to hire public employees to go out on tax payers money and "cull the herd". Simply but we must control the numbers where necessary of our wildlife to ensure the continued health and propagation of the species. Economically speaking it makes more sense to allow hunters to PAY for the right to thin the herd then hire governmental employees to do it. BTW: just to advise, hunters in Alberta MUST receive certified hunter education/training before being granted the RIGHT to purchase a hunting license.

Thanks for asking the question. I love discussing this and dispelling untruths. I'm glad my Wife and I had the opportunity to explain the reality of hunting and hopefully shed some light on it for you and anyone else who reads it. Have a great day!

CLUELESS: WOW! Talk about hitting a nerve! I wasn't trying to imply that you were bad Parents, just that it seemed a bit strange to take little ones to 'play' {safely} with guns and kill stuff. Just seemed like an accident waiting to happen.

And ye...s, I do think most Farmers are Bullies......have you seen that movie Food INC??? {I dare you to watch it.} It's quite horrible what people do to the World just because they can and think they have the right to.

I also think that it's not quite a fair fight to dress up in camo and use high powered weapons with scopes on creatures that don't even know what glass is. Bows are better -but- in this day and age of massive food availability it's not reallly necessary to hunt. 100 years ago sure......maybe in some countries if you live in a hut, ok -but- here?? Why would one want to eat wild meat that is full of worms anyway?

Creatures only become pests when their natural predators are somehow taken away and Nature gets unbalanced......like when people keep spreading out into the wild and take their habitats. {Like in Banff} Can't they just shoot targets if they want to shoot something? Does it have to be a living thing that wan't harming them? Maybe it would be more 'sporting' to kill it with your bare hands.....that's 'Manly' right?

To each their own I guess. Stay safe.
P.S. What do you do with the dead Gophers??

CASTINCOWBOY: No you did not hit a nerve. I have encountered people who have not done their research but comment based solely on emotions like you before. As I said I enjoy sharing the scientific realities to whom ever would like to know and discuss. It's all good with... me!

Please don't use words that I did not. I did not say "play with guns", any where in my post or my article which you apparently did not have a chance to read yet. I am the world's biggest advocate of firearms safety. And by the way, yes I am a bowhunter too. Ignorance of knowledge as to how to handle a firearm is where accidents happen. Maybe we should all learn safe handling of firearms... Just a thought.

I fully support your right to not enjoy the killing of animals. In fact, I'd die for your right to make that decision. I have seen Food INC. and now I assume that you have stopped consuming or allowing your children to consume any beef/pork/poultry or fish. It would be highly hypocritical of you to call farmers (and by default, ranchers) bullies if you consume their product, now wouldn't it? Whenever someone enjoys a steak, chicken, fish, or any animal product someone HAD to KILL that animal! Now you don't need to have been the one to do the killing and I don't blame you if you did not want to do it. But, don't call those who do YOUR dirty work Bullies. It is highly hypocritical.

As far as your comment about hunting not being necessary I'll have to draw your attention to my former post where you may have missed that scientifically based explaination. Please re-read it. I'll wait...

As for your question on what happened to the gophers (again it is explained in my article, but, I will repeat it again for you.) There is a very grateful and fat hawk on the property who enjoyed us doing HIS dirty work for him and he did not accuse us of being bullies either!

I do agree with one of your comments. "To each their own" but, I don't force my belief's on others. If I did I'd insist that you MUST join me in gopher hunting. However, if you are at all interested in experiencing it first hand I certainly extend the offer to join us any time you wish.

Take care!


I just had to share this conversation with you folks. Is it just me, or should some people NEVER breed?

[KWO]

Good response. I fear I would not have been able to respond with the class that you did.

- Kerry

[Pudelpointer]

Your response was well worded and calm, and arguing from facts not emotion. However, I believe there is one small issue with the following:

"The only reason that the government has opened a... LEGAL hunting season for ANY animal including gophers is that biologists have performed studies and ascertained that the population levels are far too high for the given area of habitat. The resulting over population leads to starvation, disease and complete annihilation of the species in that given area. Allowing that to take place would be cruel and inhuman."

I do not think you understand wildlife management, it is not about managing wildlife at all, it is about managing people. Season/quotas are not set to prevent "over population" of wildlife in a biological sense, but in a political/social sense. Are wildlife populations are far lower then the potential carrying capacity of the landscape, they are kept there through hunting and other land management decisions. The populations are kept low (very low in some cases) for one reason: social acceptance of wildlife impacts, i.e. crop damage, vehicle collisions, browsing of reforested areas.

There is some truth to your assertion in that a lack of predators (again, populations kept low because of human intolerance) can allow for ungulates and such to reach high population densities in some areas, but that is easily solved when you allow predators to return to ecologically appropriate densities, such as wolves in the Clearwater area.

We kill wolves so we can have more elk and moose to hunt, we kill more elk when they begin raiding farmers hay bales and crops. Do elk starve to death when there are too many of them? Of course, but that mostly happens because we do not tolerate them on their historic wintering ranges, because now we raise cattle there.

I understand the argument you were trying to make with this lady, but I think there is a widespread misunderstanding of what Wildlife Management is, and what it is not.

Otherwise, good discussion.

[timsesink]

well said! Almost every time I go out I take a newbie, gets a little old sometimes but I love to sse the fun they're having!

[outdoors forever]

I was taking a new hunter out two years ago. We were using my jeep, my .243 Ruger, my friends land, I spotted the buck and got him set up with the shot, I field dressed the deer, skinned and cut it up, hung it in my shed, and dropped it off at the sausage maker. The only thing I didn't do was pull the trigger! ( the guy was a town kid and didn't know how to do anything!!! ) The kicker? The buck he shot was a 160 class buck with split brows and sticker points! Lucky!!!!
And you know what? I could not have been happier doing what I did for him. He had such a sense of pride and excitement, and it carried over for me - I was just as excited and happy as I would have been pulling the trigger. I love hunting with newbies - you can't make that kind of excitment up!

Good thread, cowboy, and good article!

[Chet]

I was just as excited and happy as I would have been pulling the trigger. I love hunting with newbies - you can't make that kind of excitment up!

That sums it up dude! Well said.

[mudbug]

Great article & thread

[slough shark]

This is a great thread and I hope more people read it, me and several of my friends have been taking 5-6 boys out every year on a 4 or 5 day hunt. It is an absolute blast around camp and out on the hunt, the boys have a great time and we are usually quite fortunate to take a number of animals. If I can make any recommendations if you are considering this make sure you take out the boys numerous times shooting and have them practice shooting from different positions rather than from the bench. In particular focus on prone or use a bipod as most 14-16 year olds aren't strong enough to hold a gun steady enough for an ethical clean shot beyond 100 yards especially when struck by buck fever without all the help they can get being steady. As well if at all possible Mule doe tags are fantastic they are typically some of the easiest to target as they are generally more visible and curious. Hunting is a great tradition and it is great when we are able to pass it down to the next generation, it teaches respect for guns and as well respect for the wildlife and the rest of nature. Happy hunting all

[Castincowboy]

Pudelpointer : I agee with everything you said. You're very well versed on wildlife management, likely much more so than I. However, I was arguing with a mental midget and had to dumb it down a lot!!! It was easiest to type and obviously she did not comprehend any of it anyway...

Slough Shark : Excellent points and I have done just that. My own boys (10 & 11 yrs.) have been shooting for a little over 2 years now. They've only started shooting gophers this year. Same reason you state. The firearm although only a 10/22 is too heavy (we had a secure rest in the field) and I felt their mental maturity was lacking slightly until this summer. Great kids, but, each kid matures and pays attention at a different rate. I'm glad I waited as I am impressed with how they handle the firearm after 2 years now. Makes this Dad proud!

In fact, I heard my son reminding his buddy (who was TRULY a Newbie) about firearms safety. Controlling his breathing etc. Talk about a proud moment when your sons ALREADY starts passing the positive lessons down to another person right in front of you!!