Re: My 2 cents on the Junior Hunt.....
Part of hunting getting skunked or making a decision no how to get to the animals... not oh look... the deer is looking at me... lets see if we can win either shoot the easiest deer or have dad help..
Blackford, while I do agree as a parent that there is a definite need to build character in our children....I don't see a young hunters early years as the time or place for it. We are in such desperate need of new young hunters coming up behind us. If we don't "recruit" them, our hunting nheritage will wither and die within the next generation or two. Children build positive associations through success, the key is to get em involved and having success in the formative years so they grow to love hunting. There is nothing that will imprint on a kid stronger than the love, respect, praise of a parent when the child has success with something. As the years go on and they get older and more mature, there is plenty of time for them to learn about "tougher" hunting scenarios. I believe in advertising, this is what they call the "ole bait and switch"!! Let the kids think its "just that easy", once they are hooked theres plenty of time to learn its not quite as easy as it seems!
The only thing that will sway policy, funding etc, is the number of vocal voters bitchin about it. I would even support initiatives that help adult first time hunters have success and get them hooked too. I would gladly give up my tags to youth or first time hunters in an effort to improve recruitment. Hell, i basically did that for the last 8 years... my son got his core at 10 and we couldn't use all the meat that would have come if we'd both been filling tags, so for 6 years or so he was "on the stick" for everything we hunted....he got to take moose, bear, WT, mulie, elk. as a result of those years, I can garauntee he will be a hunter for life and will pass this lifestyle down to his kids. Despite your concerns about the shit-heel parents out there using their kids for a way to get an easy deer.....I would bet every penny i have, that my kids experience is much more the norm.
JMHO
Chris
"Do not go where the path may lead,
go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
Emerson