One of my favorite things about fall is getting ready for deer firearms season. This means dusting off some guns that haven't seen any action for awhile and getting things dialed in for when the season comes. Yesterday, my buddy Corey, Wendy, Collin, Mason, Cody, and I all headed up to our family farm. The crops had recently been taken out of the fields and that opened up some shooting lanes for us. We started close with some small caliber rifles and pistols and then gradually worked our way back and shot some black powder and bigger bore rifles. We then stretched the legs of our deer rifles to make sure they are accurate and ready to roll during youth season and adult firearms season.
It was a fun, safe, and wholesome day at the farm and I love days like yesterday. We shared a lot of laughs and I think everyone learned something about safety as well as shooting. While I will not ever force my kids to hunt or go fishing with me, I want them to have an understanding of how a gun works and the respect that they deserve. I often tell them that they are tools, albeit tools that could hurt or kill someone if used incorrectly. I liken them to saws as well. If you run a saw carelessly, someone could get hurt or die. After yesterday, I think my kids have a little more respect for firearms and what their capabilities are.
Make no mistake about it though, I am a fisherman that hunts...not a hunter that fishes. I'm not great with a gun and I'm not an above average hunter. I am much more comfortable and confident in a boat with a fly rod in my hand. I still love to hunt though. I only hunt during the firearms portion of the season because I don't have the time or equipment to get extremely accurate with a bow. Honestly, I'm scared to bow hunt because I am terrified that I would put a bad shot on a deer and make it suffer and slowly die for two weeks. If I'm going to hunt an animal, I want to put it down in the quickest way possible with as little suffering as possible. I've let a lot more deer walk by me than I have shot.
If you think about it, hunters and fishers are some of the biggest conservationists. We care about nature, harvest enough to eat, and try to maintain healthy environments because we love them. I love deer, bass, trout, etc. I appreciate the beauty and abilities of those animals immensely and just enjoy being around them more than actually harvesting them. At the same time, when I do harvest an animal, I do the best that I can to make sure nothing goes to waste. That means tanning hides, donating meat to friends, and respecting the fact that I took an animal's life for me to continue mine.
I don't want anyone to thing that I am some sore of bloodthirsty, killing machine. That couldn't be further from the truth. When hunting and fishing are done with respect and follow the regulations set forth by the state, it is a beautiful thing. Unfortunately, that beauty gets overshadowed by poachers and sometimes glorified by social media. In the end, it is up to each one of us to decide the part we play and how we appreciate nature. The good thing is, the place that you have in the outdoors, is totally up to you!
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