the old hunting cabin

have you ever thought about what athletics do for children? anyone that has been involved in youth athletics (at any level) could rattle off a handful of responses. camaraderie. how to win. how to lose. how to deal with a personal failure. how to work as a team. hell, i could go on naming benefits for days. if you have wondered why people like to hunt, you can apply the same reasons to the sport of hunting.
l...l...l...let me preach on it.....
the rrw learned alot of life's lessons through all different types of sports. if a young man is never around others, how can they learn to be part of team? how can they learn important things like wisdom, that can not be taught? well there is trial and error, but wouldn't you rather they learn from some else's previous mistakes? hunting with a club is alot like that. missing a deer, and unstead of beating themselves up over it, a few good hearted jokes and some one else reminding them that just about everyone does the exact same thing, helps a boy reconcile the event and quickly get over it. that is just like life. you win some-you lose some, just like every one, but why dwell on a failure? also, this will only make their first successful harvest that much sweeter. i really enjoy seeing sons hunt with their fathers. the hunters that i know would rather let their son take a shot at a deer, than for themselves to personally kill a trophy.
even skinning the deer is a lesson to be learned. no one instinctly knows how to skin a buck, it's something that needs to be taught. have you ever seen a boy's pride when he talks about his first deer? the pride is the fact that this boy has taken the time, to scout a location, put in hours in a tree stand and to actually be a good marksman when the opportunity finally presented itself. no hunter i know, rides the road just looking to shoot a buck illegally. much less teaching their son to do the same. i personally resent anyone's accusation of my friends being roadhunters. this is not the case. if they had kids they would know, you teach your kids to play by the rules. winning by cheating, is not winning at all.
contrary to one person's opinion, i do not hunt. but i love to just get around them and be part of a team, to laugh at the stories or to be the one, at which they all are laughing. don't get me wrong, it is great to donate to hunter's for the hungry, or just to provide some portion of venison to an elderly person. (every single deer harvested is put to good use) but what i really enjoy, is actually feeling like i contributed to something bigger than myself. a group. a community. a family.
peace out!