| PASS IT ON
August means back to school.
Across America, kids are heading back into classrooms. New teachers. New books. New subjects. New lessons.
Football teams are back on the practice field. Friday night lights are about to come on again. College football is right around the corner.
And if you’re a hunter, you can feel something else coming too.
Fall.
The mornings will soon get cooler. The leaves will begin to change. And before we know it, hunting season will be here.
I love this time of year.
And with so many kids heading back to school, I’ve been thinking about something:
Some of the best lessons I ever learned weren’t learned in a classroom.
My Dad taught me to love the outdoors.
He taught me that hunting was more than shooting something.
He taught me how to handle a gun safely and responsibly. And he taught me that when you picked up a firearm, you had better understand the responsibility that came with it.
He taught me how to shoot.
Both of my Grandpas were hunters and fishermen and they taught me plenty of lessons too.
They stressed discipline and patience.
They made sure that everyday in the field was enjoyable.
Like, if I wasn’t shooting very well, one of my Grandpas had the solution:
Change your hat.
I don’t know that changing my hat ever made me a better shot, but I did it.
And then there was my Uncle.
He was an incredible outdoorsman and he was an incredible hunter and fisherman.
He taught me a few things about shooting too.
One important lesson I remember is some of the very special words he used to say when he wasn’t shooting very well!
Those are the kinds of lessons you won’t find in a textbook.
But all these years later, I remember them.
I remember the people.
I remember the places.
I remember the laughter.
I remember the love!
And I remember being a kid fortunate enough to have a Dad, Grandpas, Uncles, and others who took the time to take me along and teach me.
That’s what our hunting tradition has always been about.
Someone passed it on.
For generations, Americans learned to hunt because somebody took them hunting.
A Dad took a son or daughter.
A Grandpa took a grandchild.
An Uncle took a nephew or niece.
A neighbor took the kid down the road.
A friend invited a friend.
There wasn’t necessarily a program or a classroom.
There was simply someone willing to say:
Come with me. I’ll show you.
Today, we need that attitude more than ever.
The number of hunters in America has declined from where it once stood, and fewer Americans are growing up with an automatic connection to hunting.
There are so many kids growing up in single parent homes, and way too often, with no parents at all.
We can spend a lot of time talking about why.
But ultimately, if we want to preserve our hunting traditions in America, the responsibility belongs to us.
Every one of us.
If we want more hunters, we need to make more hunters.
One new hunter at a time.
And we shouldn’t make the mistake of thinking this is only about kids.
Maybe there’s a 12-year-old in your life who has never had the opportunity to hunt.
Take them.
Maybe it’s a 25-year-old coworker who has always been curious about hunting but doesn’t know where to start.
Take them.
Maybe it’s a 40-year-old friend who has never fired a rifle, drawn a bow or watched the sun come up from a deer stand.
Take them.
Maybe it’s someone who’s 60 and has spent a lifetime wondering what hunting is all about.
Take them.
Young or old doesn’t matter.
Man or woman, it doesn’t matter.
What matters is that somebody opens the door.
Because when you introduce someone to hunting, you’re passing along much more than how to shoot a gun or draw a bow.
You’re teaching patience.
Responsibility.
Discipline.
Respect for wildlife.
Conservation.
Self-reliance.
You’re teaching someone where food really comes from.
You’re teaching them to appreciate a sunrise, recognize the sound of the woods waking up and understand that success isn’t always measured by whether you pull the trigger.
When you do this you’re giving someone experiences and memories that can last for the rest of their life.
And, more times than not, the outdoor experience is going to deepen or reawaken someone’s Faith.
Make no mistake about it, the outdoors holds incredible power to heal our body and soul.
Someday, that new hunter may take somebody else.
And that person may take someone.
That’s how traditions survive.
That’s how we rebuild the ranks of America’s hunters.
One new hunter at a time.
So while America’s kids head back to the classroom and football players head back onto the field this August, remember that there’s another classroom waiting for all of us.
It’s outdoors.
It’s at the shooting range.
It’s walking through the woods.
It’s sitting against a tree.
It’s watching the sun rise from a deer stand on a cold November morning.
Some of the greatest teachers I ever had were my Dad, my Grandpa’s and my Uncle’s.
And some of the best lessons they ever taught me didn’t come from a book.
They simply took me along.
This fall, do the same for somebody else.
Take someone along and pass it on.
God Bless! |
