Post by united289 on Oct 25, 2005 11:33:09 GMT 12.75
Oct 22, 2005
My first hunt with my father
With such a dreary day I was setting here doing some thinking of past hunts that I have been on. Some were very interesting and some as not. Never the less I still enjoyed each every hunt. With this I began to think of my childhood and of some of the hunts that my father and I have been on. As a child growing up my father always went hunting in the early mornings with friends and family. As I watched my father drive away from my bed room window I dreamed of the time I would be able to go.
Well, the time came. I was ten. The first time I got to go. We went squirrel hunting. That was dad’s thing, that and rabbit hunting. The only thing I didn’t like is I didn’t get to carry a gun, but I still got to go. When we got to where we were going to hunt, my father told me that we needed to be as quiet as we could. This I knew sense he had taught me a little about hunting. You see my father taught me about hunting while I was growing up and eager to get to go on my first hunt. I remember thinking why is he teaching me all of this and I am not getting to go hunting. He taught me things like, the importance of wildlife management, how important it is to respect the wildlife and its habitat, and only take what you need or will use and not be wasteful. Well we got out of the car. I noticed dad got the gun out of the case and we crossed the creek. He then loaded his gun. He said son, never load your gun till you are where you want to hunt and things is safe to do so. As we slipped thru the woods my father stopped, said look there in the trees. See, there, in the trees, a couple of squirrels. We watched for a while as they worked, and was storing nuts for the winter months a head. My father said son, watch and learn. We are not going to shoot these. I thought, what, why are we out here for? So we watched for a while, then we quietly slipped away to another part of the woods. We set down on a log to relax a little. My father whispered to me, hear the woods talking to you. Hear the piece and quiet. I thought yea it is nice. Never really understood what he was talking about until some years later. Then we heard a ruckus being raised about 25 yards or so from where we were setting. My father said set still son. Then we saw a nice fox squirrel. Dad took careful aim and bang the squirrel fell. He just stood there. I said let’s go get it. He said be still. About a couple minutes later there was another one. He shot it. My father then said okay we can now go pick up our kill, but quietly. We walked over to where they laid. He said, now let’s be thankful for what the wood’s has given us and be thankful to the lord. Then we left he woods the same we way we came in, quietly.
Well that has been 33 years ago. Those lessons and that hunt still in bedded in my mind this day. It wasn’t till some years later that what my father had taught me had come to a full circle. I was able to pass my father’s lessons down to the to the younger generation including my own kids. I have sense developed my owed way of hunting, but have never left those lessons taught to me by my father. My father is 88 years old now. He is not able to get out much now. When I go out hunting, he is always waiting for me to hear how my hunt went.
Dave Shackle
My first hunt with my father
With such a dreary day I was setting here doing some thinking of past hunts that I have been on. Some were very interesting and some as not. Never the less I still enjoyed each every hunt. With this I began to think of my childhood and of some of the hunts that my father and I have been on. As a child growing up my father always went hunting in the early mornings with friends and family. As I watched my father drive away from my bed room window I dreamed of the time I would be able to go.
Well, the time came. I was ten. The first time I got to go. We went squirrel hunting. That was dad’s thing, that and rabbit hunting. The only thing I didn’t like is I didn’t get to carry a gun, but I still got to go. When we got to where we were going to hunt, my father told me that we needed to be as quiet as we could. This I knew sense he had taught me a little about hunting. You see my father taught me about hunting while I was growing up and eager to get to go on my first hunt. I remember thinking why is he teaching me all of this and I am not getting to go hunting. He taught me things like, the importance of wildlife management, how important it is to respect the wildlife and its habitat, and only take what you need or will use and not be wasteful. Well we got out of the car. I noticed dad got the gun out of the case and we crossed the creek. He then loaded his gun. He said son, never load your gun till you are where you want to hunt and things is safe to do so. As we slipped thru the woods my father stopped, said look there in the trees. See, there, in the trees, a couple of squirrels. We watched for a while as they worked, and was storing nuts for the winter months a head. My father said son, watch and learn. We are not going to shoot these. I thought, what, why are we out here for? So we watched for a while, then we quietly slipped away to another part of the woods. We set down on a log to relax a little. My father whispered to me, hear the woods talking to you. Hear the piece and quiet. I thought yea it is nice. Never really understood what he was talking about until some years later. Then we heard a ruckus being raised about 25 yards or so from where we were setting. My father said set still son. Then we saw a nice fox squirrel. Dad took careful aim and bang the squirrel fell. He just stood there. I said let’s go get it. He said be still. About a couple minutes later there was another one. He shot it. My father then said okay we can now go pick up our kill, but quietly. We walked over to where they laid. He said, now let’s be thankful for what the wood’s has given us and be thankful to the lord. Then we left he woods the same we way we came in, quietly.
Well that has been 33 years ago. Those lessons and that hunt still in bedded in my mind this day. It wasn’t till some years later that what my father had taught me had come to a full circle. I was able to pass my father’s lessons down to the to the younger generation including my own kids. I have sense developed my owed way of hunting, but have never left those lessons taught to me by my father. My father is 88 years old now. He is not able to get out much now. When I go out hunting, he is always waiting for me to hear how my hunt went.
Dave Shackle