[12GaugeShuggoth]

There is so much more to hunting than shooting at the animal

Ding ding ding, there it is. I think that's the biggest piece of the puzzle that too many young (and sometimes older) hunters seem to miss. Yeah it's nice to bring home that buck with the big antlers, but that's just one part of the experience.

I was lucky enough to be raised in a hunting and outdoors household and had 3 very experienced hunters to show me the way. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of getting home from school, throwing on some woods clothes and heading to the woods my mom and uncle. My "sick" days home from school were usually all used up during deer season , and I distinctly remember taking the tag from my first deer with me for show and tell. I wanted to take the shotgun to show everybody but mom wouldn't let me for some reason

The biggest thing my 3 mentors did to help me grow as a hunter, was to always try and let me make the big decisions. They'd offer advice and bits and pieces of knowledge, but the final decisions would be left in my lap........that way if nothing went as planned I couldn't blame someone else for my own mistakes. And they always made sure I understood that getting that deer was just one part of a good day spent in the woods.

I've had the great fun of helping to show someone else the ins and outs over the past couple of years, and it's been just as much fun as actually doing the hunting myself. Everyone needs some help in the beginning, and we should all should be willing to share and help out when we have the chance.