Do you want to be the last bird hunter?
I love pulling up to a promising covert and finding nobody else parked there. So do you. To know with confidence that you’ll be the first – possibly only – one to hunt a field that week, immeasurable.
We all long for untrammeled ground … “first tracks” to use a ski analogy, when we open the tailgate and let the dogs out. Who doesn’t want to believe the birds are plentiful and naïve, will hold for our dogs, fly high and slow when we walk them up?
But what if that was always the case? What if you never saw another soul in the woods or on the prairie, because you were the last bird hunter?
Someone is fervently hoping it will come true, that they’ll be the last to inhabit this “ideal” world and be the only ones, getting all the shots, finding no footprints.
I wouldn’t want to hunt with him.
But we may all see a situation almost this dire in our lifetime, if you believe the pessimists in our midst. If you read the magazines or are a member of an upland conservation group, you know our fraternity is at risk of extinction. There are fewer new hunters coming on and more going out, usually by dying. We are an aging population, we bird hunters. And too many of us are a tad too selfish – relishing the situation described above – to bring on the next generation of uplanders.
Okay, maybe not selfish, but defeated, discouraged, disillusioned. I can’t blame them.
The almighty dollar usually trumps CRP payments and conservation easements. Ethanol is a wicked competitor, fueling the plowing of marginal ground for a few more bushels of corn. Deer hunters waving dollar bills will keep grouse hunters off a lease; the price of ammo will stop a 16-year-old from picking up a shotgun, as will a PETA lecture in kindergarten. The pressure of peers who don’t hunt, lack of a father figure, onerous regulation of gun ownership and even ammo restrictions have thinned our ranks. Bird populations are devastated by blizzard or drought, or nesting habitat is mowed early for another cutting of alfalfa.
The “barriers to entry” as statisticians call them, are numerous. But none are insurmountable. Unless you’re selfish. Or a quitter. Or brain-dead.
Why bother taking a friend, kid, spouse hunting? What do you get in return? Here’s my list … you can probably come up with more reasons:
New hunters’ license dollars fund management of habitat and game populations. Your neighbors, PETA members, and the Defenders of Wildlife might talk a good game, but only hunters put their money where their mouths are. When license money evaporates, don’t look to taxpayers to pick up the slack. So unless you plan to quit hunting the very day your state outlaws it, every new recruit ensures access and a modicum of managed game to chase.
New hunters are fresh and energetic, ready to pick up the banner and fight for conservation. We all burn out, and without new troops joining the battle against habitat destruction, the front lines will collapse. Oil companies and wind energy syndicates will claim victory.
New shotgunners who understand scientific game management can advocate for it among their non-hunting, anti-gun peers. Sensational claims by the anti-hunting cabal are best countered with cold, hard facts related by knowledgeable outdoors enthusiasts.
Those who ignore history are destined to repeat it. That includes gun control. The anti-gun crowd pooh-poohs the fundamental reason for a Second Amendment, but you shouldn’t laugh. You don’t have to pick up a textbook to learn that many tyrants modern and ancient started their reign of terror by disarming their citizenry. The death of gun rights starts with excessive government meddling in your personal life, an “imperial presidency” ruling by fiat not representation, marginalizing those with unpopular views. It is fueled by a sheep-like tolerance of more and more unreasonable encroachment on our rights. Whether it’s Big Gulps or Obamacare, a slippery slope might be around the next bend in the road.
We should fear any president’s desire to take away the last resort we have available for opposing a corrupt regime. Ask the Syrians fighting for freedom right now, or the Jews of 1930’s Germany, if you think that notion is silly and antiquated. Unarmed citizens become subjects. New hunters become Second Amendment advocates.
A kid who knows and understands guns is a safer kid. He handles one with respect in the field and knows what to do when a gun is found where it shouldn’t be. That kid is less likely to be a danger to himself or others. When the bad guy does break down his front door, that kid – or adult – might just stop a rape or murder. If some nut job is drawing a bead on your daughter at the mall, a fellow shopper (and hunter) shooting back might save her life.
Hunters are part of the circle of life. They have a realistic view of where food comes from and what is involved in making meat. Shotgunners take personal responsibility for some of their sustenance, and in this cynical world that makes for a more authentic life.
Shooting straight, find your way back to camp, starting a fire, cleaning a bird, training a dog are all skills that teach important character traits: overcoming hardship, accomplishing something tangible, self reliance, accountability. You won’t find those on the agenda at a public school. “Manliness” is scorned these days, but when the dam breaks or the woods catch fire, I hope there are hunters (and Boy Scouts) around to help.
Hunting is a direct link to our shared history. It has a body of literature that is beautiful. It is our connection to grandparents and our distant ancestors. Hunting is part of our DNA, and ignoring that suppresses a visceral element of our personhood. A new hunter becomes part of the chain, a standard-bearer for all things worth remembering including our hunting heritage.
Finally, a new hunter might take you hunting when you’re too old to venture out alone. Recruits will listen to our stories around the campfire, and pass them on. They will be our legacy, just as are pristine streams, wild places and thriving game populations
Now, go make a new hunter.
I love the line about hunters and Boy Scouts, I am seeing to it that my boy is both.
I feel upland hunting, especially over pointing dogs, is a great way to introduce new hunters. It is exciting, hunting preserves offer guaranteed success, and gun safety can be easily managed. I started my son hunting birds with an empty gun. When it was his turn to shoot he would load up before passing the dog for the flush. He started at nine years old, and at 11 I feel safer hunting with him than some adults I have observed.
CHAZ
Keep up the good work!
I’m far more concerned with the last bird than I am with the last bird hunter. Too often, hunters themselves, even though they belong to the right game organizations and say the right words, do not think clearly regarding their actions afield with game birds experiencing cycles on a downward trending line.
Nice to bring kids into or adults who may be challenged to get out back into the field.
But, the focus needs to be first upon the habitat……the Habitat, the Hunted and the Hunter is the proper order…the first two, with access, will naturally draw the third.
Preserves…..are the death of hunting or, rather, the death of hunting as many of us understand and appreciate it.
However, if Preserves help make your living or they are one’s own reality then they will likely be trumpeted much as the first sliced piece of bread.
Preserves do have a place…but what a shadow of what used to be, they are….and, what a shadow the birds all too often are as well.
Sure sounds like a great idea to put the habitat and wild game first, but the cruel truth is that without the hunter there is no habitat.
Sure there is…just depends.
A healthy national forest, for example, needs more non-hunters than hunters to demand that the forest reach the maximum health possible through a diversity in timber age class. The forest…to repeat….needs the non-hunter.
Much could be said of other habitats.
Hunters can often be seen as simply wanting more game to kill…that turns off the people we need…hunters are much too small a group to act alone.
Hunters can be a very selfish group in where hey first place importance….look to the habitat and the hunted or continue having some species decline….the Hunter, being but one.
Enjoyed this piece. Good thoughts and nicely articulated. I love bird hunting (fly fishing as well). Just wish I had the time and land access to enjoy it more. My local gun store has a great selection of guns. While shotguns and hunting rifles are plentiful, the number of pistols, self-defense, and semi-auto (maybe even auto) assault type guns are amazing. I am told that this is what sells. I know from experience that a pistol is fun to shoot. I can understand owning one, maybe two. From conversations over heard in the shop I don’t think these folks are owners of just “one or two” pistols. Same for the assault type guns. I watch/listen and I detect at times an almost unhealthy fascination.
In comparison to me and 2 O/U’s, these folks are certainly a “superior armed citizenry”. Believing we are somewhat of kindred thought, I’m curious as to your take on these types of guns which arguable are not inherent/traditional hunting weapons.
Hey Bill, don’t fret the emergence of “black rifles” and self defense guns in gun stores. Its good for all of us, hunters included.
Video games and prepper shows have sparked an interest in these guns. It has brought a lot of new shooters into gun shops. I myself, a lifetime bird hunter, have recently enjoyed owning and competing with so called assault style rifles, and guess what? I’ve made range acquaintances who once after getting into guns and shooting evolved into eventual hunters, deer and upland.
Also keep in mind that semi autos have been around gun shops since the 1890’s. It just the recent change to plastic stocks and military looking features that makes them seem so “non-sporting”.. Operationally, they are no different than the semi auto rifle, shotgun or pistols with wood stocks and fine bluing we grew up around.
X2, GrifHunter … and railing against a “modern sporting rifle” today is not much different than arguing that your Ford F-150 is okay, but someone else’s Prius is not.
“Assault” rifle, muzzleloader, atlatl … they are all methods of taking game, which is only legal because it is a conservation tool. To me, the (legal) method is less important than the act. I remember being in a meeting long ago where the archery guys dissed the hound people, fly fishers looked down their nose at bait-flingers, and O/U people sneered at pump folk. Can’t we all just get along? We have more in common than we do differences.
Excellent article! We are lucky that we have state lands to hunt grouse and woodcock (and some pheasant). We do see other bird hunters from time to time. We also have plentiful waterfowl hunting areas. The popularity of waterfowl hunting in my state only seems to grow.
But a disturbing trend here is the lack of waterfowl hunters using dogs. Especially young hunters. Our state used to set aside sections of the managed area for hunters with dogs, but it was discontinued due to non-use. We are faced with loosing our training ground to crops. I fear that will mean less trained dogs.
What good is a bird hunter without a good bird dog?
I am going to share your article on my Facebook. I think my followers will enjoy it.
I started hunting because I got a dog, and can not imagine going without one (or more). They are the best way to minimize lost game … a true conservation tool. Plus, they don’t gripe much when I miss a shot. The problem with any hunters NOT using dogs is the same problem as any other skill set: it requires practice, self-discipline, and eventually, some level of expertise (shooting straight, a dog that actually obeys commands). Most video-game “players” won’t devote the time or effort when they can conquer the world/shoot all the ho’s/get the animal-skin-clad bikini babe inhabiting their cyberworld.
Reblogged this on Twin Buttes Spinone and commented:
Food for thought – how do you keep the interest alive?
Sadly all sports are diminishing and it’s up to us to find ways to spark new interest, either individually or through our NAVHDA, AKC and VHDF clubs. Each year I participate in the Fish and Game’s youth hunt clinic and this year, they had to turn some kids away because there weren’t enough dogs and handlers. I think that the interest is still there if we can find a way to tap it.
Sad, yes. Beyond hope, I doubt it. One kid (or adult) at a time).
Scott, great article. I fully subscribe to catering to the younger generation. My father brought me up hunting and instilled appreciation for great dogs, guns, gun safety and safe hunting. Now it’s my turn and fortunately I have three boys all interested one through hunter safety and the other two on their way. My oldest has already made a group of school friends to hunt waterfowl with and took his first dove, chukar and pheasant this year. Fantastic companion for me.
Again, great message..and thanks for your show, insight on dogs and the overall experience.
Keep up the good work. Like a lot of kids today, when I was young and had nobody at home to take me outdoors, I was lucky enough to be invited by friends.
Terrific essay, one that cuts close to my heart.
I have three sons who I’ve exposed to hunting and firearms as best I can. Outdoor parents today have a challenge getting their offspring away from the cell phone, computer and Xbox. Unfortunately none of my boys are as enthusiastic about bird hunting as I am, but there is still time.
The good news is that my city girl wife has taken to accompanying me on my hunts and has become a competent handler of my Griffon.
A suggestion: the internet forums on guns and hunting have allowed me to meet several non hunters who are looking to get into dog training and bird hunting. Future hunters are out there just waiting to find a mentor and a place to hunt and the web is a way to meet them.
Love your idea, Griffhunter. I started as an adult, and I’m sure there are many others out there who could use a high-tech way to connect with potential mentors.
Thank you Scott. I grew up in a gun-less house with a non-hunter dad.
When I hit college, I worked as a trap boy to earn ‘beer money’. I was always enamored with clay shooting sports but for some reason, it took me until I hit 36 to go trap and skeet shooting and quickly became hooked.
My “hunter” friend invited me to go bird hunting with him at a preserve. I completed my hunter safety course and went. Similar story … I quickly became hooked.
I passed along your story and thanked my friend. I also am committed to introducing my young sons to this awesome tradition when they’re ready.
Signed,
42 year old “hunter” living in anti-gun / anti-hunter New Jersey
And now, you don’t even have to have your hunter ed card to try hunting in many states! That is a massive barrier to entry and by eliminating it, we are well on our way to better hunter recruitment. Be loud & proud of your hunting in the People’s Republic of New Jersey!
Part of the issue I see is that “finding” the spots to hunt is a secret. Very much like fishing. Nobody really shares this information, it’s kept close to the vest. Going out and trying to find “wild birds” is my goal. I’ve only been at this for a few years. I got into hunting indirectly after getting a Brittany. He Loves it.
I’ve trained with lots of planted birds, so yes a reserve can be fun, but not the same as wild birds. I think the dogs learn a lot more if given the chance to hunt wild birds.
Kevin, I consider finding the spots part of the fun. We all want untouched wild birds, just like we all want Syria to quit killing citizens and North Korea to dismantle their nuclear program. Everything in life is a compromise. If you and your dog find wild birds and score, you’re lucky. Take lots of pictures. If your dog finds preserve birds, he’s still lucky and you still get some shots. If the place you found them is beautiful, to boot, you’re 90% of the way to your goal.
Scott,
Enjoyed reading your article, and have passed it on to hunters and non-hunters alike. I introduced my 13 year old son last year, and he loves everything about hunting, even the hikes with a shotgun. He has taken game such as Dove, Pheasant, Duck, and even Rabbit. He truely enjoys the hunt, and then the process of having a family meal with what he has harvested. Hopefully, like you say, he will be the one taking me hunting in the future, I have a stong feeling that he will. Hunting has brought us even closer than we were before.
Keep up the great work,
C.
Yesssss! That’s what I’m talkin’ about.
Great article. I enjoyed reading it very much. Its very true.
I really enjoyed reading this piece. I am relatively young in our fraternity of upland hunters, at the age of 26, but I have been stomping behind my dad ever since I’ve been able to walk. I hesitate to take recruits hunting with me solely based on the fact that I’m afraid they will not enjoy their first bird hunting experience. I live in central Illinois. Wild coveys of “Bob White” are few and far between and the coveys you do find are too small to feel comfortable (for me at least) taking birds. And you might as well not even tell them that there use to be wild pheasants in the area.
My point is that far too often a hunt with a first timer turns into a hike with a shotgun. Don’t get me wrong, that is plenty for me. I get to watch my awesome dogs work in habitat that they may very well outlive, and the memory of the last full covey flush is more than enough to keep me going. The key is to get them into that first flush.
If I wanted to feel really comfortable about taking a new comer hunting I’d have to take him or her to a preserve and the fact is that not many individuals new to upland hunting are going to pay a couple hundred dollars to “watch my dog play fetch with a bird” as one of my buddies put it. If you have any suggestions, I’m all ears. The whole situation is very frustrating to me. I have a BA in Biology with a minor in Chemistry and I see the potential for Illinois wildlife habitat as virtually endless. The problem is that even though we have seen the rapid decline of upland bird numbers we continue to bulldoze what little CRP acres, ditches, fence rows and pockets of timber that are left.
I hope we can get our heads out of the clouds and work towards being part of the solution instead of the problems, but I have not seen anything in Central IL to give me much hope….. Yet.
I know what you mean! The less experience, the more important is “immediate gratification.” But there’s a balance between that and the other values of our sport, which you recognize – a walk in the woods with a shotgun isn’t so bad, if you love watching dogs. I strongly recommend a preserve experience as an introduction – everyone gets to watch dogs live their lives to the fullest, birds fly and shots are taken. What’s not to like?
I agree that a preserve is just about the perfect introduction. It would be nice if the preserves would offer deals for “newbies” or even incentives for members to bring in people new to the sport. I have looked into a bunch of different preserves and have not seen anything along those lines. I know there are discounts for kids out there, but there’s a huge market for young adults who have never been introduced to a good bird dog!
In Jan of 2013, I lost my friend and hunting mentor, my husband, to cancer. I am trying to keep up the work with our Brittany by taking her to the nearby preserve for bird hunting. The limited practice area for me might be my hunting demise, but I am going to keep trying, even as I approach 64. I do so love being in the field, using my shotgun, and most of all, watching the glee with which my dog works the field. She is my greatest joy now that he is gone.
I am touched by your story, Judy. Working with your Britt is a wonderful way to remember your husband. Find a club, some friends, and create more hunting memories for you and for your dog.
Very impressed with your essay. It captures my feelings well. I took three kids out this year and it was very rewarding to see their joy and appreciation for the wild. I understand Sandra’s reluctance to take life, but then that is the way of all life. I spent a career mitigating the impacts of growing crops on wildlife. What vegetarians often miss is that each acre of prairie or forest converted to soybeans, wheat or the many other important food sources, means that many animals died when their house (habitat) was lost…they just do not move next door.
Thanks Randy. Your point is well taken, unfortunately, most anti-hunters never think about the amount of blood in their granola when animals are displaced, become roadkill under the wheels of the grain truck, etc.
Read this twice. Am a “woman” and NOT a hunter. Never owned or held a gun. Live in very rural Massachusetts with my 3-yr old Vizsla and a small family of ducks and geese. The birds are “pets” who come when called, follow me wherever I go, “speak” to me and have distinct personalities and temperaments. They are allowed inside the house (for a limited time, for obvious reasons) and nest quietly beside me as I read.
I subscribe to your newsletter because I feel your deep love of your dog(s), thoroughly enjoy your writing style and envy the luxury of a “shared experience” with friends and comrades in the great and beautiful country where you live. I’m always interested in what you have to say about it, and the way you say it.
I have very mixed emotions though, regarding your shared experience….killing birds….as I can appreciate the concept but angst over the act. Each time I read your writings your total dedication to your dogs and the environment come through loud and clear. Your heartfelt concern about keeping that unmatched experience that is so dear to you alive, I can truly see and feel. But, it’s the killing birds, in the end, that somehow won’t allow me to committ to your cause. I see pictures of the limp dead birds,… your trophies…and I wish that the end result of such a beautiful, shared experience could be different somehow.
I don’t know the answer. But, perhaps the diminishing number of hunters that make your heart ache, and I can understand that ache, is the answer.
Sandra, luckily we live in a country where your opinion and mine are both allowed. I eat meat. I kill some of it. I feel a direct connection to the act, and therefore more involved and responsible for the lives I take.
Your Vizsla likely eats meat; your ducks and geese eat meat (insects and fish) and very likely so do you. It is a natural act as old as time itself. The real angst is among people who refuse to make the connection between hermetically-sealed protein on a styrofoam tray and the animal that give its life to nourish them.
Well said Scott!! I am doing my part. My 13 year old cherishes every moment he gets to spend in the woods and on the prairie. Thanks for being our voice.
Keep up the good work!
Reblogged this on Payfer Pack.
good points all!