Posted 1:57 am Sunday, October 19, 2008
Special Deer And Duck Weekends An Introduction To Outdoors
It is easy to pick out the parent whose child just scored a touchdown, hit a home run or scored the winning goal in a basketball or soccer game. That same smile crawling across their face can also be evident when the child takes a nice buck or drops a first mallard.
That same smile crawling across their face can also be evident when the child takes a nice buck or drops a first mallard.
Almost everyone who has experienced it says it is better than having done it themselves.
If our youth are the future, then the youth hunting days coming up Oct. 25-26 in Texas are as important as they get. On those days most of the woods and waters across the state will be open to the state's younger hunters -- 16 and under to hunt deer and turkey and 15 and under to hunt waterfowl.
Coming just a week before the regular season opener for deer and waterfowl everywhere, except the Panhandle, (the youth-only season for the High Plains Mallard Management Unit was this weekend), participating in the special youth weekend can be difficult. For some it is made harder because they have to choose between ducks and deer.
Coming just a week before the regular season opener for deer and waterfowl everywhere, except the Panhandle, (the youth-only season for the High Plains Mallard Management Unit was this weekend), participating in the special youth weekend can be difficult. For some it is made harder because they have to choose between ducks and deer.
A DIFFERENT HUNT: Pete Thompson of Tyler takes his granddaughter, Emily Bitter, on a tour of the family’s ranch in Llano County. Thompson took his daughter, Marlo, hunting when she was young and she expects to pass that tradition on to her daughter in the future.
Tyler's Marlo Bitter grew up deer hunting with her dad, Pete Thompson, at the family's Prairie Mountain Ranch near Llano. Although she spent days in the deer stand with her father, it wasn't until after she met her now husband, T.K. Gorman baseball coach Jarrod Bitter, that she took her first deer. She still credits the time with her father as the genesis for her hunting that culminated last season with a career-best 10-pointer.
"It was him," Bitter said of her dad's influence on her hunting. "I grew up around it my whole life. I influenced my husband."
Bitter said she can recall going to the ranch for years beginning when she was just 3 or 4 years old.
"I had a .22 to shoot at targets. I got to wear boots and got to see things you don't see in East Texas, like rattlesnakes," Bitter recalled.
A typical teenager, she found other activities to take up her time for a few years, but started going back and actively hunting as a high school senior. Now a mother of two, she said family trips to the ranch are anticipated outings. With a new baby, the number of times she gets to go or hunt may be limited. This, however, could be the year she takes her oldest daughter, Emily, to the stand for the first time.
"She is already excited. She gets to wear camo and there is a little boy in her class who always talks about deer hunting," Bitter said. She added thanks to granddad the youngster already has a rifle, but may have to wait a few years before she is able to handle the .270-caliber gun.
Bitter's goal is to just get her in a stand close enough to see some deer. With her daughter there, it may just be a photo hunt.
"It is just getting outside -- having a place to go that has been in the family so long. It is so relaxing just to get out and watch the deer. If you are not interested in killing you can still have fun taking pictures. It is almost as much fun to sit in a blind and see what you can get a picture of or get on video," she said.
There is no manual on how to introduce kids to hunting, although there are authors who say that hunting and fishing is an important component missing from the life of youngsters today.
Supporters say going hunting helps kids turn out better. The truth is being around their parents, grandparents or other positive role models is what makes the difference, not whether they shoot a turkey, a deer or a duck. That just makes the trip more fun and rewarding.
It is hard to say when a youth is old enough to hunt. That depends on the youth. A wise parent will know when the time is right for the child, and it won't be on the parent's timeframe.
It starts with being able to handle a gun. If they aren't big enough to hold it they aren't big enough to shoot it.
The second part is mental preparation. Not every child matures at the same rate, and while some may be ready to hunt at 8 or 9, others may not be ready until much later.
However, almost any child is old enough to go and spend some time in a deer blind. After all, it is nothing more than an adult's tree house. Keep it fun, bring food, bring blankets and again, remember you are dealing with the patience of a child, so you may have to keep the trip short.
