Can someone in MO help this mom?

[fishdoggydog]

I saw this letter in a newsletter from whitetail.com and thought of the great folks on Huntchat forum, and maybe an answer to the problem. Here is the letter, no need to point out some issues, I see them as you will also.

Hi Johnny,
Thanks for letting me be a part of your newsletter. I really enjoy your site and all of the stories and tales!

I come to you needing a little help. You see I live near KC, MO, and we just had our youth hunting weekend, Oct. 28 - 29th. I am not fortunate enough to have private land for my son to hunt on, so we hunt on public conservation land.

I have been hunting this particular spot for over 4 years, and this was my son's 3rd year hunting. He was really excited that this would be the year that he finally got a deer, even if it were a doe.

The corn was uncut so we faced disrespectful duck hunters stomping through the woods right in front of us (less than 100 yds away) shooting their shotguns off in rapid fire trying to get their birds, and we came across more than 5 bow hunters.

Needless to say I sat with my 11 year old son for all 4 hunts, completely sent free, on the ground and in the air, freezing our butts off and watching him cry his eyes out in frustration saying his contacts were bothering his eyes, he wasn't crying.

Sunday night, during his last chance to hunt, we scared up 2 does. He put his riffle up, ready to shoot, I was hollaring at him to SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT!, and as they were gone, he put the gun down and looked at me and said mom, I couldn't shoot her, I couldn't see her kill zone, and I wasn't going to shoot her in the butt, you told me only to shoot if I am sure I can kill it.

I felt horrible. I was ready to comprimise all I had taught him about one shot one kill, hunting ethics and everything else just for him to have a chance at getting one. I told him I knew that was what I had said, but that I just wanted him to get one so bad that I didn't care if he just shot it until it was dead. He hugged me and said he loved me.

Maybe it's just me being a mother, wanting the best for my son, but I think it is more than that. Where is the respect for the kids? Not all of us are blessed with the good fortune of private land. Not all of us can afford the thousands of dollars it takes to join a hunting club. I did last year, they promised it would be fine for me to hunt with my son, that they had tons of land for deer hunting and so on. But the truth to the matter was, that unless you were part of their good ol boys club you got last pick for everything. We got the worst spots and then were told that it was a liability to have the kids hunting and it wasn't allowed. I canceled it, and lost over $2,000.00.

Here is my question for the other hunters out there, and the Conservation Department too: Since the kids only get 2 days to hunt, why can't we make it so that they are the only ones allowed to hunt for anything during those 2 days? Or why can't they designate the larger areas for deer hunting to only youth hunting during those 2 days and designate other areas for other types of hunting?

It is hard enough being a mother raising boys on my own, trying to keep them out of trouble and on the right track. Being a female hunter I am already in the minority, but then trying to share that sacred bond of parent/child hunting as a mom is even more difficult. I am so frustrated, and disappointed for my sons 3rd year deer-less that I don't know what else to do except ask for help.

I promised him that I would find private land for him to hunt next year. If you have any recommendations or suggestions, or if you know of anyone I could pay, please let me know. It took me the entire 2 hour drive home Sunday night of me talking to him, to get him to agree to give it one more try. He wanted to quit and just give up. I am heart broken.

Thanks for listening.

Nichole

[fabsroman]

Hunting is not all about killing. That is what so many people miss about the sport. I have spent many a day in the field with my dad where we didn't fire a shot. Heck, that was how our last hunt was spent. We set up the decoys and everything and didn't get to shoot at a single thing. It was still a great day.

The other holes in the story are insane (e.g., duck hunters going through uncut corn to kill ducks). Also, I don't know many hunters that would not be more than happy to help a kid out in the field, especially in a hunt club.

Okay, I could write a book about how stupid that letter she wrote is, but I have to get to sleep.

[Andy L]

My BS meter is bouncing hard to the right......

Why would duck hunters be stomping thru uncut corn? I dont duck hunt or hunt where ducks are. Is this a common practice?

Also, we about burned up during the youth season. Had to wrap my boys deer in a tarp with bags of ice in the cavity and park in the shade til the locker plant opened. I doubt they were freezing their butts off.

Just the way thats written, I think shes lookin for something more?

JMHO

Andy

[fabsroman]

Regarding the ducks, that is my point exactly. Waterfowl hunters do not go walking through uncut corn to look for ducks because they just are not there. Now, dove hunters could be walking through uncut corn because doves are in there. I have done that plenty of times myself.

I don't think this mom "hunter" has much experience because she would know that most of the deer would hide in uncut corn all day long and never even present a shot to someone waiting outside the corn in a stand. Now, with people walking through the corn she and her son might have stood a good chance of getting a deer.

The entire letter seems weird.

Andy, you should offer to take her and her son hunting so we can get a first hand report on this matter. LOL

[DaMadman]

Originally posted by fabsroman
Hunting is not all about killing. That is what so many people miss about the sport. I have spent many a day in the field with my dad where we didn't fire a shot. Heck, that was how our last hunt was spent. We set up the decoys and everything and didn't get to shoot at a single thing. It was still a great day.

The other holes in the story are insane (e.g., duck hunters going through uncut corn to kill ducks). Also, I don't know many hunters that would not be more than happy to help a kid out in the field, especially in a hunt club.

Okay, I could write a book about how stupid that letter she wrote is, but I have to get to sleep.

You know what Fabs I think the older you get the more you P*SS me off. The comments yo made were unnecessary and heartless.

I know for a fact that it is hard to find property to hunt and if you hunt on public land it is a free for all and chances of killing a deer on public land drop a hell of a lot over the private land that you and I have the PRIVILEDGE to hunt.

So maybe they weren't duck Hunters, maybe they were qual hunting or dove hunting, the point still remains that people that hunt on public land can and are a lot of times discourteous to other people hunting around them.

I have an Uncle that used to hunt public land at Cedarville State park and after opening day of deer season the rest of his week was full of beinging interupted by other hunters walking through the woods noisely,, people Squirrel hunting and shooting squirrels within 30 -40 yards of where he was in a portable deer stand trying to deer hunt.

The thing about her joining the hunt club and the club telling her that it was a liability to have children hunting on the property was probably an excuse because they didn't a woman hunting with them, believe me I have hunted with people like that before.

As far as hunting not being about killing, you are right but if the kid has been deer hunting for 3 years and hasn't gotten a deer yet, that can certainly be a big dissappointment to a kid.

anyway, I feel sorry for the lady and her son and hope that I never find myself in the position that the only place I have to hunt is public land. I sincerely hope someone helps her out and she finds a decent place to hunt

[Andy L]

Fabs, if I wasnt married, I guess a feller could advertise and request an application complete with pictures, of mom. LOL

[Lilred]

All ya'll made good points...the main problem I see is that she might be pushing him a lil too hard? She was hollerin at him to shoot? Most folks dont holler when there is deer around.
I can relate to the hunt clubs, nobody will let me in either cause i'm a woman....but then again...the majority of hunt clubs here LOVE for the yunguns to hunt and they can join fer free if their parents are in.

I tend to fell sorry for her and her son. As a mom, I'm sure she means well...but she sounds very inexperienced (esp the hollerin part) and that probaly is a factor in why the kid aint got him a deer yet.

Again...as a mom...I would hope that she is teachin her son that i aint all bout killin. But the again, gittin a kid to stay involved in anything over 2 hours is a job...so I can imagine that he would be really flustered. Hopefully someone out there will offer him a guided hunt at a discount price er somethin...cause I think mama might need to stick with other things. Better yet, they could learn together.

[petey]

If they wanted to kill a hog in OK, I know some board owner who wouldn't mind footing the bill to get the boy one with a ol Rick and Have Hog Dogs Will Travel. I'd want rights to the video footage though, for the upcoming Huntchat Hunting show.

Of course Mrs. Huntchat sometimes thinks my kindness extends a little too far.

[Lilred]

Petey....want some details on that show!!!

[fabsroman]

DaMadman,

The older you get, the more you piss me off. LOL

I used to have two pretty good farms to hunt on. Now, one is being developed and the other has deer hunters on it almost every day of the week. I guess I shouldn't hunt doves or waterfowl on that farm because I am being discourteaus to those deer hunters out there.

Me, I walk into fields prepared to hunt deer or waterfowl, and feel slighted when I see all the hunters orange in stands. I feel like I am intruding on their hunt, but then I think why don't they feel like they are intruding on my hunt?

Yeah, public land sucks, but private land isn't all too great either.

Make the most of what you have and stop crying about it. The farm I used to hunt a lot that is currently having half of it developed has a good story to it. It is close to 200 acres and there are normally 10 to 15 guys that hunt it the opening day of deer firearms season. Mind you, it is in the rifle zone. Well, I got there late one opening day and everybody was already out in their stands. So, to be a nice guy I just went out back of the house to see if anything would come my way, knowing that the chances were pretty slim. I sat myself down at the base of a tree, clothed in blaze orange coveralls. For over 3 hours I struggled not to fall asleep. Then, out of nowhere a nice 6 point came within 100 yards. He came down off the mountain where everybody had been hunting and I was wondering how he got through. After shooting him, I found out that one of the new guys got out of his stand at that time and started heading down, forcing this deer out of its bedding area and down the mountain. Yeah, everybody was pissed at me for being lucky, but guess what, I went out even though the conditions weren't in my favor, I stayed put longer than the new guy, and I got a deer.

The first time I went deer hunting, I killed my first deer within 20 minutes of being on the stand. The next deer took me three years to get and many, many days in stands cold out of my mind because I didn't have the nice clothes to keep me warm.

It took me about 3 years of dove hunting to kill my first dove and another 3 years of pheasant hunting to kill my first pheasant.

If this lady wants to her son to be successful at hunting, I suggest that she do some type of hunting where the child will see some action. Big game hunting is a tough one to start any child out on. She should take him squirrel hunting, dove hunting, rabbit hunting, or whatever. Some type of hunting that will have him shooting and bagging game.

Would you take your child on a bighorn hunt as his/her first hunt? How about a bear hunt? Start small.

I don't blame the other hunters. They made plans to go hunting and then they get there and there are a bunch of other hunters in the woods. It doesn't feel too good to be out there duck hunting and hearing high powered rifles going off. I know because I was there. I was hunting a creek for ducks at that Washington County farm that is being developed. I saw a nice spiked buck come out and then I started to hear the rifle fire. I couldn't figure out where they were at at first because they were in front part of the farm, far away from me when I cam into the farm. Now, they had moved to the top of a hill in back of the farm and they were shooting my way. Mind you, I had no blaze orange on because I was waterfowling and they had no blaze orange on because they are morons. Once I figured out where they were shooting from and that they were going to start shooting at the doe that was with the buck, I jumped up and started waving my arms.

Yeah, I have life so easy because I have a couple of spots of "private" land to hunt on. On three different occassions, I have run into other goose hunters on those same farms before sunrise. We were both heading to set up decoys in the dark. I had taken off work, my dad had taken off work, and so had other guys in my party, as I am sure they had in the other party. So, who should leave. NOBODY. We should all hunt together.

If you cannot deal with quail, waterfowl, or dove hunters, etc. because you are deer hunting, I suggest you deer hunt deep in the woods where those animals are not located. Then again, you might run into grouse hunters.

Hunting is a crap shoot. Get out, enjoy the day, and be happy that there is still some land left to hunt on. Trust me, there is more open land around where you live than where I live.

[Andy L]

Your right Fabs, good post.

However, my sons first kill was a deer. But, and its a big ole but, I had him on land that is crawling with deer, I did my homework and I knew, within reason, a deer was going to present a easy shot within minutes. It did, he killed it and hasnt looked back. Deer are fine for youngins, if the adult knows what they are doing and does their homework.

Honestly, I would volunteer to take a kid like that if it was legit. But I got a feeling this is a hoax. Too many holes in the story. Almost like Mr Pinky has been resurected. :eek:

[skeet]

Oh my gosh...I thought evryone had forgotten all about that one.

[Andy L]

How could a man forget THAT? :D

[fabsroman]

Andy,

Most hunting requires some type of scouting before hunting. Dove hunting is best over cut corn or cut wheat, but it can be pretty good around pine trees come roosting time. If you can find a flyway, it can be really good. A little scouting needs to be done for pheasants too.

Now, the big difference is that it doesn't usually take as much time to scout birds as it does to scout game. With birds, you can see them flying around in the sky. With deer, you have to spend hours and hours looking for them. If I had my own farm, I would probably know where the deer hang around and could assure a youngster a really good chance at a deer. That is what happened with the first deer I killed. I was hunting in the backyard of my dad's friend and he knew that two deer came that way almost every morning. I was 18, and I was hooked on deer hunting after that.

Yeah, I would gladly take a kid out deer hunting, but that post just erks me. Don't be mad at other hunters hunting public land legally, just deal with it. Heck, if those guys were hunting doves and they weren't getting anything out of the corn, they were probably blaming the lousy deer hunters for walking through the corn before sunrise. Everybody makes excuses.

Just hunt and have a good time, even if you have a bad day or an entirely bad season.

[fishdoggydog]

I didn't know when I pasted this in that it would generate such a response. Like I said, you would see some problems with it, and discussion opens some eyes. Best things I heard coming out were hunt some game that provides shooting easier than deer hunting public land, and a hog hunt in OK. I was forunate to live at the edge of town growing up and could hunt from the house from 12 years old. I didn't kill a deer till I was 19, and still hunt the same spot down the road, I own it now, and live across the road from where I grew up. My dad took me hunting once, and for him it meant a walk in the woods with a gun, but it was the only time we did that together, and I remember it 40 years later, that he bought a license, borrowed a shotgun for me, and took me out for an opening day. I think the bonds formed are always more important than game killed, and that is the thing needed for the mom to know.

[fabsroman]

See, isn't discussion great. LOL

[TreeDoc]

Hey Andy! If it IS Gizmo, we already have some pictures floatin' around! LMAO!! :D

Sorry guys, I'm heartless too. It wreaks of BS. She capped on duck hunters.

She can pound sand.

I'm gonna go stomp some corn now.