Youth Hunt

[deacon]

Great so a young girl would get 3 extra weekends? I think I will adopt!

My youth shot 4 ducks during the youth opener, and did not get a shot during the regular opener. Which one do you think he enjoyed more?

Yes, it is the experience of all aspects of the hunt, but if we wanted to go bird watching we could do that at anytime. Getting to bag a bird is part of the excitement! Otherwise, why would anyone bring a gun and not just a camera.

[jlm]

That was a very good post Blackjack! I don't think there is anything wrong with being a little selfish when it comes to hunting. Many of us look forward to it all year and this really is our only hobby. Wanting the best opportunities and the most enjoyment we can get is the reason we do it. I think we can still take our kids on the opener and they would have the same experience and we would be happy to. Now don't get me wrong, kids deserve every opportunity to have a great hunt. I just don't think we need to create a special season to do it. Now if we keep creating these special seasons, I would advocate for an early hunt for Norwegians!!!

[Mark Christianson]

If the youth day is available.
Use it. It is a treat.
Don't keep your kid out for the simple reason that you don't like it.

If it goes away, fine. Not a big deal at all. The kids will still hunt regardless of what seasons are available.

jlm
What did I ever do to you???? (PS my last name is Christianson)

[FISH AWAY]

We are talking about kids not adults.How many times do you catch yourself telling your kids, shut off the lights,close the fridge,shut the door,pick up your cloths and so on.Same holds true with hunting,is the safty on,where is the gun pointed,those duck are to far and so on.In the reg book it states, Adult hunters are encouraged to introduce youth who are NEW to hunting and might not otherwise get a chance to participate. Consider inviting your child's NON-HUNTING friend.This is an oppertunite to introduce kids to somthing fun and exciting.I as an adult would feel better knowing that these kids are hunting on a YWD when they can be coached.I already worry about hunting public land on opener with all the people out there, now add in New and NON-HUNTING KIDS in there and we should all feel safe.

[jlm]

Did I miss something Biglake or should I look a little closer into the wink?

[Mark Christianson]

jlm
I am Norwegian......

[snowgoose]

It really makes me sad that the adults on this forum are this greedy. Get the kids out there!
I do not have any children. I wish my wife and I were able to. I would be out there with them every chance I had.
This discussion has made up my mind to take the neighbor kid out. He has his hunters safty. His father travels alot and can't take him out. They do go deer hunting togher. It gives me a chance to give a little of my knowledge to a kid that other wise wouldn't get to experiance it.
I know I could take them during regular season but I won't be here. I'll be in Canada.
I only wish I had a son or a daughter to enjoy the waterfowl season with.
Get some kid out of the neighborhod for a day. Take them hunting. I'll bet they will never forget you took the time to do that.
Good Luck and Shoot them in the Lips

------------------
Hunt Snow Geese, Save the tundra

[Eric Wettschreck]

Tom and Snowgoose, I couldn't agree with yous guys more. GET THE KIDS AWAY FROM THE TV AND OUT INTO THE DUCK BLIND!!!!!!!!!!

Every day hunting with a child, yours or someones elses is a special day. My father didn't like hunting. Fortunately for me my best friends dad did, and I went with every chance I got. I very much remember as a kid being just twichy knowing I was going duck hunting tomorrow, next week, next month. I lived for it. I got my chores done so I could go. I saved my pennies so I could get a shotgun of my very own.

Today, I take my kids with me. It doesn't matter if we don't see a duck all day. It's all about quality time spent with the kids, and the things they learn from us. (Hopefully good things) Unfortunately, between work, the house, blah, blah, blah we don't have as much time to spend with kids as we'd like.

Should there be a special day just to take kids with???? I'd think no. Take em out there every time you go.

Hunt and fish with your kids and, hopefully, you won't have to hunt and fish for your kids when they get older.

My $.02

S

[BLACKJACK]

Good points Tom!

One more thought, if we really wanted to increase youth participation in duck hunting, then the 4 PM closing could be put back to sunset, give the kids more opportunity to get out after school. I remember having my shotgun and hip boots in my trunk and jumping ponds for ducks on the way home. Can you imagine the ruckus nowadays if kids had a shotgun in the trunk in the high school parking lot??!

[Eric Wettschreck]

Blackjack, I used to do the same thing. Funny how times have changed.

[bigbucks]

jlm & biglake,

Since you Norwegians get a special day can us Swedes have one? or any of the other 5-6 nationalities I am? (that just don't happen to include Norwegian) I'm as much Dane & German as I am Swede, but my name isn't. I can't remember, but I think my kids might have some Norskie, would that count?

Say kind of a little off subject, but dealing with kids. We were in the new Scheels in St. Cloud maybe a month ago & saw some of Lohman's hunting videos really cheap, maybe $5-6. There were 3 choices & I already happened to have the deer hunting one. I was short on cash, but wanted to get one. I said to my 6 year-old, "Should we get the turkey hunting one or the duck hunting one?" I didn't really care, I do both. He said the duck hunting one, but he wanted it to be his. Fine, what do I care if it's "his", like I can't watch it anyway?

It was funny, he's never had much interest in watching my hunting videos, but since it was his he watched it like 2-3 times that weekend. So this week he's playing with my calls that were in the truck because of early goose & he says, "Dad how do you take these apart?" I told him I'd show him when we got home. So I help him take the first one apart & he grabs a piece of paper & runs it through the reed. I said "What are you doing?" He said "I'm cleaning it, like in my hunting video." It just cracked me up, of all the things I would have never expected my 6 year-old son to do, that was right up there. He's 6 & cleaning my duck calls, I might of cleaned them once in the last 5 years. I don't call much, I stink at it.

[Guest]

Exactly.

We have too many "special" days that someone in a position of powere decided to tell us that they were "special".

Is'nt EVERY DAY OF THE SEASON special? For that matter isnt EVERY SINGLE DAY special?

That's what got me hooked on waterfowling. The stories, the quality time spent with hunters who, to them, waterfowling WAS LIFE, not just some sport that you did in the fall.

ANY time in the outdoors is special to me. My wife gets mad because I do not go to church that much, but in all reality, I feel closer to God when I'm in the blind, on the stand, walking a trail or in the fishing boat than I do sitting in some building. As long as you believe, that's the most important thing right?

We don't have kids either, but I'm making it a point to take my nephue out every chance I get. When he was 3 I showed him a few ducks I shot and told him how cool it was, he thought it was the neatest thing. Last year I took him out for the first time. He was 5. The look on his face when ducks came in and the entire expierience was priceless. All winter and all this summer there is not a day that goes by that he does not ask me about when we're going hunting again. I'm not taking him on youth day (too young to shoot anyways) but he's for sure going with on opener.

[Guest]

LOL guys,
Yea, I used to have one on my gun rack in the window of my truck...geeze, I was such a red-neck...LOL

Would be in jail now if we tried to do that.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Tom, Yup....we're rednecks. I kinda like it that way.

Tom and Snowgoose, if ya ever want to hunt with kids, or someone new for that matter. Come on down. But, I gotta warn ya, my 13 year old boy is a dead eye. My 11 year old boy is close, and I admit (somewhat proudly)probably better shots than I am. However, they still have a few years to go to learn how to properly make smart alleck comments, and how to "lure" ducks in just by peeing, or pouring coffee.

[snowgoose]

Boilerguy
We might have to hook up for a late seaon hunt. Do you have birds in your area for late season?
I would like to try a new area now but I don't have a open weekend until the end of November.
I could bring 3 Final App Blinds, 40 Big Foots and some other gear. Maybe the neighbor kid too.

[This message has been edited by snowgoose (edited 09-10-2004).]

[This message has been edited by snowgoose (edited 09-16-2004).]

[Guest]

We usually have huntable water until the 3rd weekend of November.....usually, but might have to take you up on the invite as well.

Going back to the "back in the day" discussion, Hunting was something you did right after school. The bell rang, you got in your truck and you tried to get an hour or two in. No biggie having a gun in your vehicle, heck, we even brought them to our wildlife ag class to demonstrate how to clean em!!

But that was in the day when if you were mad at someone you punched em in the nose, or they punched you first...lol, you diddnt go nutso and pull out a gun...oh how times have changed.

[bigbucks]

You guys sound like you think kind of like I do. At least to some extent, if someone thinks I'm a redneck, it's like, good, must be doing something right. I'm not talking redneck to the point of being illegal, just in giving outdoor pursuits they're just deserts.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Open invite to all the rednecks out there.... Come on down to SW Minnesota and we can shoot at some ducks, phesants, doves, geese....anything else that's good in a crock pot with cream of mushroom soup.

We can make it pot luck. Nothing more Minnesotan than a pot luck with most everything cooked in cream of mushroom soup.

I remember cleaning guns in shop class. Our cold metals teacher actually brought in a bunch of em. What a scam he had, free gun cleaning labor. Ah, the good ole days.

[Guest]

I'm not for or against, but here is my personal feelings on the subject.

1) Why must there be a "special day"? Can't every day in the blind with a kid be special?

2) We're tying to teach the youth how to be ethical hunters right? I can't think of a better teaching tool than to have the kids out in a real, during the season setting to show them the do's and don'ts. Some guy across the lake skybusts....explain to the kid what this guy did wrong and the reasons not to do it. Someone is calling too loud and it spooks the birds away from their spread....explain to the youth the right way to do it. Some slob sails a bird and does not go to look for it.....ingrain this in the kid's brain that that was the wrong thing to do. And on and on and on.....

My fondest memories of waterfowling were sitting in the boat with dad and grandpa waiting for the clock to hit Noon on opening weekend, of waiting all year for it, of not being able to sleep for a week because I knew I was going to go hunting with the adults. It's all about tradition, in fact, that's what the bulk of duck hunting is. We loose that, and we might as well quit.