Hunting is been a part of the American history since settlers first arrived and by the native Americans long before that. Today, hunting is not necessary for sustenance as farming and agriculture produces food on a massive scale and our grocery stores are overflowing with food. But there is no denying that we would never have made it without our forefathers being proficient hunters and gatherers and passing the tradition and techniques down from generation to generation.
I have hunted for most of my life and was exposed to the outdoors by my father and other relatives that were regular hunters. Without their knowledge and experience from their fathers and uncles they would not have been able to pass it on to me. We all had mentors, someone who was an experienced and trusted advisor who was able to teach the tricks and tactics necessary to outwit the hunted, enjoy nature, relish a game dinner, and most importantly, respect wildlife and the environment and be true conservationists.
I have tried to mentor my kids into hunting. Little by little I have taken each of them into a duck blind or deer stand and walked them through pheasant fields at Blue Ash Farm. I’ve never pushed them to hunt as I always wanted them to want to go and have fun while doing it. Being cold, wet and tired is never fun. I made it fun, taught them some hunting tactics but also was ready to call it quits when I could see they had had enough but the quality time together was as fun as the hunting.
I’ll never forget the pure joy and thrill my son Billy experience when he shot his first pheasant! He was 10, had taken Hunter’s Safety Education, was of legal hunting age and had a youth hunting license. We were walking our pheasant fields and Kali our lab was on a bird. The bird burst into the air, Billy took aim, pulled the trigger on his youth 410 and dropped the bird with the one and only shot he had!
I have never seen my son so happy with such a sense of accomplishment, pride, and success. My mentorship had paid off! He was hooked for life! Now as a teenager there are “more important” activities in life then hunting, but I know I have instilled into him the fun of hunting and something he will always love and will one day come back to it with the vigor he felt on that first hunt.
My other kids have spent time with me out in the fields and blinds also. They have each worn the same camo hunting outfit and the progression of how it fits them as they have grown has been as much fun as teaching them to hunt.
None of them have had any success yet other than quality time with me, learning and seeing things they don’t get in everyday life, just as I did a number of times with my father, times long gone but that I treasure in my memory. 
My two youngest still need to take the Hunter’s Safety Education class as my two oldest did. I sat through the class with them and I will sit through the class with the others and their success will come soon enough! It is a work in progress but they are learning and experiencing the true outdoors, spending quality time with me and learning an activity that hopefully they will pass on to their kids. I will have come full circle one day when I sit with one of my grandkids in a duck blind!
