Youth Season Primer

The upcoming youth pheasant and quail season (Nov. 5 & 6) is the perfect opportunity to introduce a young hunter to bird hunting. Even though bird forecasts aren't stellar, there are still birds out there, and getting the first shot at WIHA and public areas is a huge advantage. Hunting pressure during the youth season is always light, so the odds of finding a positive experience are high -- for both youngsters and mentors. When I started hunting 40 years ago, we didn't have a youth season, but I was lucky enough to be included every opening day. I learned by watching and listening, and I wouldn't trade my experiences for anything. However, hunting in a big group of seasoned adult hunters probably won't provide a young newbie with the best opportunity. Every opening day group has a couple of quick-draw shooters -- those who'll try to kill birds before anyone else gets a chance; a young hunter can't compete with them. And a big opening-day hunting party with yelling, dogs running wild and general chaos may fluster a new hunter. Contrast that with an adult mentor or two, a couple of young hunters and a couple of dogs on the ground during the youth season, and you can see which will be a better initiation to bird hunting. The youth season is also a great opportunity to scout new areas and give the dogs a warm-up hunt. A youth season outing will give a young hunter an experience he or she will never forget. Never underestimate the power of passing it on.

The Promise Of A Puppy

A friend emailed me yesterday, giving me a brief answer to a question I had emailed him earlier in the week, but then he got to the real reason for the email. He announced that he'd just picked up a five-month-old wire-haired pointer. I could sense excitement in his message, and there was optimism in his words. It's funny how a new hunting dog can do that for a hunter. For true dog people, the promise of puppy is about future hunts but also about companionship, joy and optimism. My Lab, Creede, has a lot of gray in his muzzle -- kind of like me -- but he still loves to hunt with me, and he's a loyal and fine companion. But I'll never forget the sheer optimism I had when he was a puppy and he trotted back and placed the training dummy in my hand or when he retrieved his first pheasant. Hunting has been only a small part of our time together, but it provides a purpose for both of us. Something to look forward to; something to remember. A love of hunting dogs is all part of the hunting heritage.

Duck Music

I enjoy hunting ducks, but I'm not a duckhead who lives to hunt waterfowl. I mostly hunt ducks to get the Big Black Dog out or to spend time with good friends, several of whom, by the way, are duckheads. I recently hunted Cheyenne Bottoms with  a couple of those friends, one of whom is partly responsible for my love of duck hunting. He is another one of those mentors I've been fortunate enough to have known during my life, and he became a great friend in the process. I met Jim 25 years ago at an Outdoor Writers of Kansas conference. The meeting was in Great Bend and on one morning, members traveled to Cheyenne Bottoms to hunt. There was very little water that year, but good numbers of Canada geese were  feeding on wheat growing in the dry pools. I was young and inexperienced, and I brought hunting clothes that would have been appropriate on the day we arrived. However, I was drastically underdressed on the morning we hunted because a cold front had arrived in the night. Fortunately for me, Jim came prepared. In his van, he had extra jackets, hats and even gloves, which he offered and I gladly accepted. As we sat in the blind, I asked Jim 50 questions about goose hunting, but the calling aspect is what really fascinated me. When he tired of my questions, he handed me a call and coached me on how the make it work. When a flock of geese approached, I tried to hand the call back to Jim, but he winked and said I could do the calling. He told me when to make a few basic "honks," and the geese actually flew by in range. Of course in my hyper-excited state, I missed my shot, but Jim dropped one. Later, Jim coached me on the different ways to blow a duck call. I was hooked and have been trying to sound as good as Jim ever since. I enjoy calling, and the thrill I get when mallards turn and set their wings in response to my calls is part of what keeps me duck hunting. I owe that feeling to Jim. I also enjoy spending a morning in the blind with Jim and will count last Saturday has a highlight of the fall. My outdoor experiences have been enhanced because Jim was willing and generous enough to give me a little coaching that morning in the goose blind (and a pair of gloves). I am forever indebted to him. If you don't think passing it on has an impact, think again.

Hunting Traditions

When I first started hunting exactly 40 years ago, all I knew was that I couldn't wait for opening day. Then I couldn't wait for the next Saturday, then the next, and so on. As I've said, from the first second of my first hunt, I knew I'd found something I would do the rest of my life. What I didn't realize back then, was that I was developing relationships -- with my father; my grandfather; my best friend, Rex; my colleague and mentor Gene; and my cousin, Brad, who is like a bother to me. Those people I hunt with have become my closest friends. That's just how it works. You want to hunt with someone who has similar thoughts and interests, but most of all, you want to hunt with someone you can trust -- with your life. Over the years, you weed out those you can't trust and gravitate to those you do. They stick. But the other thing that happens, slowly, is that you develop traditions. A spontaneous hunt is organized, then it happens the second year, then a third, then you set the date and plan for next year's hunt at the end of this year's trip. Hunting is about traditions, and most of us develop strong feelings and loyalties to those traditions. The traditions alone enrich our lives, providing something to remember and to look forward to. It doesn't matter that our bird numbers are poor this year. Brad's coming, and we'll hunt. We'll grill steaks, walk the fields and laugh at old stories. We'll hunt hard, but most of all we'll enjoy each other's company and revel in the experience. I can't wait.

It Takes A Community

The Council Grove Outdoor Youth Event I blogged about last week is a perfect example of how a high-quality, successful Pass It On outdoor skills day should be conducted. The day is the brainchild of Council Grove area manager Brent Konen, who is professionally and personally invested in the effort. Brent knows such an event is important to the mission of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. We have to get youth involved in outdoor recreation for the sake of our outdoor heritage and our agency. Most KDWPT employees are involved with one or more of these events every year because they understand how important they are. And most employees have a personal commitment to these efforts because they understand how discovering a love for the outdoors impacted their own lives. Brent tells the young participants about a similar event he attended as a youngster in Nebraska. He's making sure youth in his area get the same opportunity. But Brent also knows he can't conduct such an event alone. Like every successful Pass It On event, help from the local community, conservation organizations and other KDWPT employees is necessary. Brent teaches Hunter Education locally, and several of his fellow volunteer Hunter Education Program instructors are there to help. Members of the Flint Hills Chapter of the Quail and Upland Wildlife Federation donated hotdogs, hamburgers, along with the fixings, and members showed up with a grill and cooked lunch for everyone. KDWPT employees included game wardens Randy Benteman and Jesse Gehrt, who ran the archery station; Hunter Education coordinator Kent Barrett, who ran the pellet gun range; myself and retired Hunter Education Program coordinator, Wayne Doyle, who ran the wingshooting stations; and of course Brent. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened a secluded, safe area for the event and provided picnic tables. It takes a community to make these events successful, and the benefits go much deeper than merely recruiting new hunters. I'll bet most of these kids will remember this day for a long time, and some will be inspired to go hunting this fall. And I'll bet a few discovered something that will impact the rest of their lives. One or two may even grow up to be a wildlife bioligist or game warden. Wanna bet?