Teaching Your Children

What is "The Heritage of Hunting"? What does it mean to pass on to the next generation? Why should, and do we take it so seriously? All very good questions to consider as our world becomes more and more disturbing, forcing us to work harder than ever before to protect what has long been our way of life. And also making it all the more important to instill our traditions and beliefs in those who are to come after us.

When we talk about "The Heritage of Hunting", we're talking about everything that we have been blessed with from our parents and mentors. All that they have given us and taught us about God's creation, and our place in it, our calling as men and women, as hunters, as providers. It is what my dad passed down to me, it is what I've grown up in, and it is what I will one day pass on to my children.

It is important for us to pass this on, and raise our children up as hunters and stewards of God's creation. If we don't, who will? Seriously, who will? So much has already been lost, and so many have already grown with a misunderstanding of us as hunters and what we do. If we do not assume the responsibility given to us, and take the initiative to have an impact on the lives of the young (and even the older) people around us, what's to keep them from developing the same understanding as the rest of the world? Where is our future?

Our future is with those young individuals. If we don't teach them, then no one will. Like it or not, we are the mentors, and if we do not act like it, then everything that we have learned and worked for will one day wither away.

It is not always easy, but it is worth it in the end. Trust me, I know! While I do not yet have kids of my own, I have had the privilege over the past few years to take a couple sons of a close family friend to the woods with me. The first year was rough. They had never been hunting before, and while they just tagged along and sat in the stand with me, we had our struggles and definitely some distractions. But then the second year was better. I let them start doing a little hunting under my supervision, they were getting better at staying quiet and paying attention, and both ended up taking their first deer that year!

There is no feeling more exciting than the one you get as a mentor, watching your student succeed! The days those boys both killed their first deer, were some of the most exciting days ever for me! And like the difference between the first and second year, the third year was even better! Their passion for hunting and the outdoors was becoming very clear, and their willingness to work for success was unstoppable! Today, they are perfectly capable of heading to the woods on their own!

So take a kid hunting! Do not be afraid to instill in them the same that was once instilled in you, and that which has become a big part of who and what you are today! Because if you don't, then no one will! It is part of our job as hunters to teach and nurture the next generation.

-Sam Thrash, Fall Obsession Pro Staff