Landon with his doe this year.
I never thought I would be a deer hunter. I didn’t do it as a child, nor as a young man. But now I am a father. God chose to give me a third-born son who had a great desire to hunt and fish. We live in a rural area where deer hunting season is a community event and water-cooler fodder at church and family events. So we now look forward to the hunting season throughout the year. We enjoy the hunt and here are some reasons I find it valuable for my kids.
- It gets them outside. Anytime kids can be outside and away from electronic devices, I am in favor. I don’t let them play any device while hunting either, except when they were really young and the hunt got too long.
- It toughens them up. Deer hunting involves cold temperatures, early mornings, and guts. It helps them be tougher!
- It gives me quality time with each child. With four kids I rarely get to do something with just one child, but deer hunting allows me to sit with each child for an extended time.
- It teaches them patience. In deer hunting you have to sit for extending times and regularly end the hunt empty handed.
- It teaches them preparation. They enjoy having a game camera out before and during the season. They put out supplements and feed. They get all their gear ready for the hunt.
- It teaches them gun safety. The most important part of hunting is properly using the dangerous firearm. They learn about the rifle, how to handle it safely, and proper shooting of the weapon.
- It teaches them the deadly force of weapons. So many kids only use guns on video games. They constantly shoot others on games. Obviously this is not reality. Hunting helps kids realize the deadly power of a weapon and responsibility of killing an animal.
- It teaches them how to process the deer. They learn to deal with the blood and guts of the deer. This year we processed the deer ourselves so they spent hours cutting the deer up and grinding meat. We learned how to make jerky and summer sausage.
- It binds us together as a family in the excitement of the hunt. We all enjoy the excitement and energy of talking about hunting together. We enjoy working together on processing the deer.
- It gives them a sense of accomplishment when they are successful, and helps them deal with disappointment when they fail. It is called ‘hunting’ in that there is no sure thing! They may miss. No deer may come. Or they may kill a huge buck. You may shoot one, but never find it. There are all kinds of scenarios.
I guess I can sum all of this up by quoting Austin, my 14 year old, “It’s lots of fun!”
