There are a variety of Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks programs designed to recruit new hunters and anglers. All efforts are in response to a declining trend in the number of Kansans who purchase hunting and fishing licenses, as well as the desire to see our outdoor heritage passed on. But the positive impact of teaching youngsters about the outdoors may go much deeper than merely passing on a heritage.

Monday, January 24, 2011

It's Not About Birds In The Bag


I enjoyed a great quail hunt on Sunday, but the quail hunting isn't what this entry is about. I hunted near the town I grew up in with one of my best friends from high school. I only live 30 miles away, so Rex and I hunt together several times each year. We forged a close friendship hunting and fishing together through our teenage years. Growing up in a small southcentral Kansas town, we were rarely bored. We were always out enjoying the outdoors. Without hunting and fishing, we might have been doing less desirable things. I feel lucky to have had those opportunities.
On Sunday, Rex, I and another friend found four coveys and three of us killed seven or eight quail. Not a bag to brag about, but it was a beautiful afternoon, and it was fun to talk and watch the dogs. But the highlight was finding a elk antler dropped last year. There are few bull elk wandering the countryside, and one passed through this piece of sandhills last winter. A successful hunt is more about the people and land than it is about the game taken. What a day!

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