Growing the Sport

By Monte Burch

Have you looked at your deer camp lately? How many grey hairs and how many youngsters participate? Decades ago the typical deer camp consisted of grandfathers, fathers, grandsons, uncles and cousins along with an occasional female or two. Sadly, many deer camps these days consist of only the gray-hairs.

Deer hunting, like many outdoor pursuits, can easily cross the borders of age and gender. Unfortunately, kids these days find it easier to couch-kill with TV or computer games than to experience the outdoor hunting scene. Luckily, more and more women are discovering the joys of hunting, and deer hunting is one of their favorites. Even with the desire to hunt, however, there are often too many obstacles. Yet, at the same time, we have an ever-growing deer population.

If you want to get down to it, it’s really very personal. Do you want to enjoy more quality time with your family – your spouse, kids or grandkids or even a newcomer to the sport of hunting? Any outdoor experience with personal involvement among family members or even the old-fashioned deer camp with several family and/or friend groups can not only teach values but a love of the outdoors and memories to live through the generations.

Good hunting experiences don’t just happen, yet one bad hunting experience can do a lifetime of harm. Follow these three basic steps to assure good hunting experiences for your first timers: create the opportunity, teach the basics of proper hunting and make the entire experience not only pleasant, but memorable.

Step number one probably takes the most work. You can’t just drive your truck to the nearest public hunting land, drop off a newcomer to deer hunting at the nearest forest edge and expect a good experience. It may happen but most likely it won’t. You may, in fact, have to give your favorite hunting stand to someone else.

My tactic is simple but has taken a lot of hard work. Over the past 10 or so years, I’ve created numerous Whitetail Institute food plots with matching mineral licks on a downwind corner to create deer-attractant areas. Each area has a stand that is approachable without spooking the deer population. I have dual tree stands for those who wish to take a spouse or youngster along for either a bow or gun hunt. My son Michael’s fiancé, Abby, isn’t interested in pulling the trigger, but she really likes to go along with Michael and experience the outdoors. I also have semi-permanent house stands that will seat two. These can be moved each season to take advantage of different areas.

I use ATV’s almost every day in our cow/calf ranch operation and also for food plot work, timber management, and sometimes just for cruising with my wife, Joan, or our grandkids watching the deer and turkeys. We often put as many as a dozen hunters out on the property during gun season, and we drive them to their stands on the utility vehicle and drop them off. Last year two deer were taken in the afternoon within 15 minutes of the ATV leaving the area. When we place someone in the stand or blind, they’re going to see deer. Can’t guarantee what, but there will be deer – that’s opportunity. Last fall we had a very pregnant lady take her first buck from one of the dual stands.

The next step is education. For years, a neighbor ran a small gun shop a quarter mile from our house. Invariably, mid day of the opening day he would be overflowed with folks with guns that didn’t work. This translated into the fact they didn’t know where it shot, hadn’t shot it for a year or two, or hadn’t even shot it after they bought it at the local store. And guess what? They missed on the biggest buck in the county. Here’s where you can make a big difference with education and practice with the gun or bow involved. My daughter, Jodi, has been deer hunting since she was 10 years old. She’s now 28 and she’s only missed one deer, a big 12-pointer, due to a bit of buck fever in her earlier years. She shoots a bolt-action, Winchester .270 I gave her several years ago, and she practices with it on the range. She can regularly drill one-inch groups at 100 yards. She knows that gun. Last year she shot two does within a time frame of four seconds, and they were lying 10 yards apart. She loves to deer hunt, and I know that enjoyment will be passed on. Jodi has also been taught the basics of “respectful hunting.” She only takes good shots. Her 10-point buck dropped in his tracks with a neck shot. She knows to take her time and pick her shots.

The next step is actually the easiest but most often the most ignored. Make the hunt enjoyable. Steve Scott of the Whitetail Institute related to me his experience with his son, Gates, on the youngster’s first “for-real” deer hunt last season. Gates, 11, had been going with his dad for four years or so, but this was the first time he was going to be able to shoot. They went on the opening of the youth season in Alabama, but got skunked because Gates wanted his first deer to be a buck like his dad’s first deer. Actually, they got skunked on three more hunts. On the fifth trip, a buck stepped out of the woods. He knew something was wrong and stayed facing the stand. Steve and Gates waited almost 25 minutes before the buck finally turned and offered a broadside shot, but Gates still didn’t shoot.

“Come on son, he’s not going to wait forever,” Steve said.

“The crosshair won’t stay on him,” replied Gates with a shaky breath. The deer left the field, but he came back and Steve began reassuring Gates.

“Take your time, take a deep breath. But before I got the last part of ‘breath’ out, KA-BOOM,” Steve said with a chuckle. “The minute I saw the white belly lying out there, I began to shake even more,” said Steve, a long-time deer hunter. “It’s the most fun I’ve ever had, watching him get excited. Actually, I’m not sure who got more excited.”

In fact, Gates was so enthusiastic he convinced his mom to try deer hunting. “She had never shot anything more than a BB gun,” Steve said, “but she went on her first deer hunt last year as well, and my youngest son, Jackson, 8, shot his first game, a big fat fox squirrel, last year. We mounted his squirrel and Gates’ deer. Now we’re a full-fledged hunting family.”

Shooting high-powered guns can be intimidating, even to experienced adults. “I don’t like to sight-in or practice with my 7mm,” Steve said, “and I certainly wouldn’t let my youngster shoot it.” Whitetail News Managing Editor Bart Landsverk related the same experience with shooting heavy-load slugs. The other side of the coin is many folks give a youngster a .243 for their first gun. Quite often, as first-timers become more experienced or youngsters grow up, it’s necessary to “trade up” to a larger caliber. Steve happened to be at a sporting goods show, and in a discussion with the Remington folks, discovered the new managed-recoil loads. He bought Gates a Youth Model .270 Remington, which he considers one of the sweetest shooting guns available for youngsters. “You can start youngsters off with the managed-recoil ammunition and they can move up to standard ammunition if they decide they want to go after bigger game or just want more power for longer ranges.”

The next step in providing fun is to make sure kids and first-timers are comfortable. This is where shooting houses are great, as they can move around without disturbing deer. My wife insists on chocolate chip cookies and a cup of “latte” while waiting for her deer. Warm, comfortable clothing that fits properly is also important, especially warm boots because kids tend to get colder faster than adults, and a hand warmer or two and warm gloves are a must. A hunting friend of mine takes along a field guide to birds while hunting with his grandkids, and they have fun identifying different species.   

  Kids, and spouses, although some will disagree, need to be involved in each aspect, including field dressing, butchering and cooking. This may shock you, but kids are usually more intrigued by “guts” and only are grossed out when they get older. “What’s that, the liver? Boy, there’s a lot of stuff in there.” After witnessing many field dressings with youngsters around, I’m no longer surprised at their biological curiosity.  

If you really enjoy the sport of deer hunting, consider introducing someone new to the sport. This could be a spouse, a child or grandchild, a friend or even a youngster who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity. You’ll probably enjoy the experience more than the one you give it to. Just ask Steve Scott.                                       

Reduced-Recoil Ammunition

One of the best tactics for introducing youngsters and first-timers to high-powered gun shooting is the use of reduced-recoil ammunition. Remington’s Managed-Recoil line has less than half the recoil of standard offerings. For instance, a .30-06 feels more like shooting a standard .243 Win. These new offerings not only make shooting from the bench easier and more pleasant, but they are deadly performers on game. The Remington loads feature a Core-Lokt bullet that has been optimized for reliable 2X expansion, 85 percent weight retention and at least 1100 foot-pounds of energy out to 200 yards. Federal also offers low-recoil loads in .308 and .30-06.