Creating an Outdoorswoman

Chapter 1

Photo from 2016
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In the years of my youth, the biggest rite of passage for a young man in Michigan was when he was finally able to don the blaze orange hunting vest, put on a back tag, load up a rifle, and legally hunt deer. Up until the age of 14, many of us spent years tagging along with fathers, mothers, grandparents, uncles, and family friends. We were involved with sitting, deer drives, setting up blinds, selecting stands, and slowly learning what it took to be a good hunter. Those years prior to the legal age of hunting were critical in our development as woodsman, hunters, and ethical sportsman. Along the way we not only learned the right things to do, but were also shown countless examples of the wrong things to do as well.

Archery was not yet on the cusp of being a mainstream sport. Many of us that love the sport of archery hunting were introduced at a very young age. We gradually built up our strength and skills long before we were ever aloud to step foot in the woods with a stick and string in hand. During those times, Michigan allowed 12 year olds the opportunity to hunt with a bow. Many took up the sport simply because it allowed them to get in to the woods faster. We grew up in the woods. Tagging along from the time we were old enough to walk. We spent years wishing and waiting until we were old enough to participate ourselves.

Several years ago, Michigan decided to change the hunting ages in the hopes to get more young men and women involved in the sport of hunting. At first, they lowered the rifle and bow hunting ages before finally ending those ages all together. When this happened, I had a very sick feeling that hunting for many people would turn in to something completely different. Michigan had slowly gone towards the way of “instant gratification”.

It was now up to the parents to decide when they felt their child was ready to step in to the woods. The question always remained for me however was “ready for what”? Sure, only the parents are going to know if a child is able to shoot a bow that has enough power to effectively kill an animal or a weapon of sufficient caliber to do the same, but, what about the rest of it? There is a certain maturity that comes with harvesting an animal. Anyone can go out and pull the trigger but, do they understand what they are doing? Do they understand the ramifications of pulling the trigger? They are in fact taking a life. Do they understand what that means?
Today’s youth are completely engrossed in “instant gratification”. They have virtually everything at their fingertips. Instead of having to wait for something, we are making it easier than ever to get what you want right this second. In the instance of hunting, I think we are hurting more than we are helping. Kids today get an early season all to themselves. Yes, it does provide them with a better opportunity than having to wait but, at what cost?

I personally think that the plan put in place to allow younger hunters in order to get more people involved is not working. Sure, you see an uptick every year of youth hunters going out and being successful but, do they stick around? From what I am seeing, the answer is an astounding “NO”! The reason is simple. “Instant Gratification”. The kids these days do not have to wait until they hit a certain age. They don’t get the opportunity to tag along with mentors and learn valuable skills and lessons before they carry a weapon afield. When mom or dad decides that the child can shoot a crossbow or a larger caliber weapon, they feel they are ready to step in to the woods in late September and harvest a deer.

Along the way, Michigan changed the laws regarding hunter’s safety certificates. They now allow a “try before you buy” arrangement where a youth is allowed to hunt for two years as an apprentice without ever having attended a hunters safety class. Another instance of “instant gratification”.

Parents take their kids into the woods, set them up, and basically allow them to harvest the first deer that walks in. No waiting until you hit a certain age. No waiting until you get a hunter’s safety certificate, no waiting. Instant gratification! The problem however is that, because of the way they are learning, they feel that this is an accomplishment. They went out, they harvested an animal, and now what? Are they sticking around for the next year, or the year after that? Studies are showing that many of these kids lose interest. Why? The answer is really quite simple. They did not have earn anything. They didn’t have to work for it. They didn’t have to wait for it. And they didn’t have to dream about it for years on end. Once they harvest the animal, they put a check mark in the box and go about their way. Many of them don’t make it past the second apprentice year to even go to hunter’s safety.

I’ve read countless articles about parents taking their 5 year old child in to the woods with a crossbow (because that is the only thing they can shoot), and they are PROUD of them for harvesting their first deer. Why are they proud? Does the child understand what they just did? Do they understand the gravity of it? Is the smile on their face because of what they did, or the hard work and everything it took to get to that point? These are the questions that a parent should answer long before they ever take their child hunting. Most of them are taking them out for selfish reasons. Because of what THEY want their child to accomplish. Pride shouldn’t be in the fact that they were able to hold crosshairs steady on a target and pull the trigger. Pride should come from how they acted, what they felt, and how they handled the situation.

I don’t have all the right answers. As a parent, our children do not come with a book. Oftentimes we learn as we go. Along the way we pickup nuggets of information. More often than not, those nuggets are what NOT to do!

The story coming tomorrow will show OUR process. The process of a family and how we chose to ready our daughter to become an outdoorswomen. Understand that the above information is my opinion. As I stated, it is up to the parents to decide. I understand that many of them have never considered some of the things I discuss here. Remember this information as it WILL be important in the story to come!

I bet that people always wonder when the best time to get started is. Heck, I’ve often wondered that myself. Although I could point to the first time I took her in the woods or on the water with me, looking back, I believe that I started much earlier.

From the time she was old enough to open her eyes, I was constantly introducing her to the outdoors and I didn’t even know it. When every other child was making noises of what a dog or cat sounded like, Abby could tell you what noise a deer made, what noise a turkey made, and the noises of many other animals in the woods. At the time, I didn’t know that I was in the early stages of creating an outdoorswoman. I was simply being myself. In the evenings, she would sit on my lap as I thumbed through a hunting or fishing magazine. She would point out a buck, or a doe, a crappie, a jig, and all sorts of other stuff that was answered when we played 1 million questions! Taking it a step further, I would always ask her to point where you shoot that deer, or this turkey, or that bear. Again, at the time I really didn’t comprehend what I was doing.

When we moved out of the city and to our current farm, it became the perfect opportunity to ensure she was in the outdoors. Oftentimes, due to my work schedule, it was me that picked her up from daycare. We would spend a few hours each night, just the two of us. Many of those evenings were spent in the woods looking at tracks, cutting firewood, and playing 2 million questions. Eventually, there comes a time when you have to take things a step further. Bow hunting has been my life since I was three years old. It was only fitting that I started her out around the same age. This bow is actually the exact same bow I started with over three decades ago!
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Around this same time, you start taking them out in the woods for their first hunting adventures. You go when they want to go, and you leave when they want to leave. The purpose isn’t about killing an animal. In fact, that really is the last thing you want to do. The purpose is for them to see why you like it. The excitement and the happiness you derive from it. It is infectious after all! When you are successful, include them in the recovery aspects. Teach them about tracking, recognizing signs, using a compass, and tons of other information you don’t think they will retain! Explain the importance of WHY you selected this deer to harvest. Allow them to understand what you will be doing with it and where it will be going. Include them in the prayer process (if you do that) in order to inform the lord that this animal did not die for nothing and that you will use everything. Pray with them that the animal did not suffer, it was quick and human, and the animal is in its final resting spot. Explain what that is! This is a VERY important process.
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When they start getting older, make sure they have the right equipment. They are lucky today as there are many options for youth. In my time, things were difficult. Make sure the equipment is right for them. In these photos, Abby is shooting right handed, as you will see later, she is actually left eye dominant so we switched her over.
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At some point in time you have to move forward. Shooting a bow helped her understand the fundamentals of marksmanship. When you make the transition over to a firearm, the aiming aspects become a whole lot easier. Make sure to select a weapon they can handle. Explain ALL safety aspects but keep them brief. Repeat these things each time you shoot. Never tell them NO when they ask to shoot. Quiz them periodically about what you have taught.
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Continue to include them in all aspects of what you are doing. On our farm, we manage it for quality animals. Explain the reasons why we are doing this. What it means, and the methods we use. Include them in the selection of crops, the planting, weeding, and all other property management aspects. Have them tag along when you set scouting cameras and pull photographs. They will gain a sense of accomplishment of capturing the animal on film just as you do.
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There will come a time when you need to move forward with their training. Selecting a weapon they can handle can be the difference between good habits and forward progress, or creating bad habits due to them being afraid of recoil. Although several youth models are available, in my experience, the majority of these weapons (although they fit the youth) actually have more felt recoil due to their size and weight to caliber ratio. In my opinion, the best youth option is a modular platform such as an AR style rifle with a collapsible stock, gas operated bolt, and a buffer spring. The spring is designed to chamber another round but also reduces felt recoil. I know several young ladies that will shoot an AR platform chambered in .450 bushmaster with a heavy buffer and spring with zero issues! It is equally important to have good quality hunting and bench rests. Younger people simply cannot hold the weapons up and accurately make shots. Having quality rests helps remove the frustrations of not being able to hold steady and allows the marksman the opportunity to focus on fundamentals. I utilize the Caldwell field pod (photo below) as well as a Caldwell lead sled. The field pod accompanies us in the field.
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You really need to gauge their interest levels. Do not push them too hard. The above photograph taken in 2016 was in preparation for her first youth hunt. At this point in time, she is 10 years old. She has been with me on multiple trips and has helped me recover a number of animals. I feel as though she understands the gravity of taking an animals life. Although I can take her in to the woods, and teach her everything I know, it will ultimately be her decision on whether she wants to pull the trigger. Unfortunately, due to sports conflicts, we were unable to hunt in the mornings. Although she saw deer on both of her evening hunts, the mornings were when the bucks moved. She did have the opportunity to harvest a doe but chose not to do so.

I continued to include her as much as she saw fit and she was able to help me recover this verified 7 ½ year old 8 point I killed with a bow.
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As she grew in size and maturity, so too did her interests. She had started tournament archery in 2016 and she was starting to get pretty good at it. I guess finishing in the top 6 in your age group within the state will do that for you. Having been a marksmen in the Marine Corps and an instructor, I spent a large portion of my career teaching and shooting weapons. After I left service, I really had zero desire to spend time shooting tons of ammo. I began to realize however that shooting contains several great lessons for youth so I had my dad construct a rifle and pistol range on my property. Abby took up shooting with Papa’s competition 22 and also started the training aspect of long range shooting. Her grouping at 200 yards should tell you that she either has a knack for it or a good teacher!
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Make things FUN. After all, that is what things are all about. From fun pistol and rifle targets that ooze colors, make noises when you hit them, spin around, or explode, to interesting bow targets. Shooting at paper all day long to see how well you can do isn’t any fun. Make things interactive. The below photo is a picture of “Reggie” the piñata! It “was” full of candy at the time of his demise.
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2017 was a pivotal year. We saw many animals during the youth hunt but nothing that Abby wanted to shoot. There was a selection of large doe and a few of them had fawns. I sensed that she was having some issues but was also proud that she understood the consequence of the situation. Simply put, she knew that she held an animal’s life in her hands and SHE didn’t feel SHE was ready to take that life. She would later tell me that she didn’t feel like she was ready to do that but that she wanted to continue to go out with me! I had not lost her yet. During this time it was important for me to remember that killing a deer should NOT be the most important aspect of what we are doing. In my eyes, the most important thing was being able to spend time with my daughter while doing something that I loved to do. Heck, just having her want to be with me was enough. Some people could never take a life and I was willing to accept that. Had she made her decision? At the time I didn’t think so. I think she was stuck and contemplating life to be honest.

Up to this point she has been with me when I recovered animals but had not been with me when I harvested an animal. Sometimes, teaching moments happen without you knowing about it. The 2017 firearms season was very slow. I was actually only hunting for Doe as I had tagged two big bucks during bow season. I spent a lot of time simply watching deer. Every time she went out with me however, we were not seeing any deer. This gave me a ton of time to be able to talk about deer management, disease, being ethical, only taking quality shots, waiting for the right opportunity, and tons of other information that would later be extremely important.

On one particular evening in late December, I made note of an impending storm. It was supposed to hit just after dark and the temperatures were dropping fast. The deer had not moved during daylight hours in several days. I figured we could go out to the cabin, turn on the fire, and watch the snow storm come in. I was able to explain what I knew about the weather and the reason I thought that evening might be good. She was able to sit with me when I harvested this dandy doe. She got to see the whole process. The waiting for the deer to come closer, the need to wait for the right shot, and all the steps I took along the way. By the time we left the cabin that evening to recover this deer we had received 8 inches of snow. The below photo was recovered 11 minutes after the shot. You can already see how much snow we had received.
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I feel it is important to provide all of this information leading up to 2018. You can see that we engrossed Abby in to the field at a very young age but we did not push her. We allowed her to make her own decisions and backed off when we felt like we could be pushing too hard. Up to this point we did not know if she would grow out of her apprehensions or if she would continue to bare a heavy weight on her shoulders. Time, age, and maturity would tell the tale.

Through 2018, my wife and I continued to explain the aspects of what we do. The reason behind all of it. We talked about planting crops to help nourish doe before and after they give birth, creating and providing protective cover from predators, making good water sources, and giving deer everything they need to survive on our property for 12 months out of the year. We are not trying to kill every deer that we see. We are trying to ensure they have the best life possible, reduce disease, and allow for an acceptable number of animals per acre. She knows that 65% or more of our red meat diet comes from venison. However, if we felt that we were taking too many animals or taking animals that were too young, we would adjust accordingly. In other words, we don’t need the meat to survive. Yes, we enjoy it, it is healthy, and provides a better alternative (for us) but, if there is a price to pay in the form of depleting our resources, we would gladly change.

Abby continued to shoot competitive archery, set and check cameras, help plant food plots, and learn as much as we could teach her. Knowing that she had already used her apprentice license twice, she had a choice to make. She could take hunter’s safety, or she didn’t have to. Michigan now offers an online version for people. After speaking with Abby, she agreed with me. Who wants to sit online and do something for several hours when I could go, sit in a class with experienced instructors, learn valuable life skills, and get it all taken care of. I took the liberty of including her close friend so that both of them could do it together. After it was over, I asked Abby if she wanted to hunt this year. YES was the answer I was given!
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Stay tuned for Chapter 3!

Hmm, darn good read and lots of good information and advice. Thinking I should apply some of this to my daughters. Great job and looking forward to Chapter 3!

All I can say is she's one lucky young lady

I appreciate you taking the time to document this for us.
Good food for thought, that I can apply to some small ones.
Abby and you, are both blessed in my humble opinion.

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Awesome read. You have a great young lady and she has a great father.


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I went through the same thing with my 3. We went on LOTS of nature walks, all 4 seasons of the year, looking at plants, leaves, tracks, anything we came across in the woods. Lots of wading in the river catching crayfish and minnows, throwing rocks, anything to get them interested in the outdoors. They are now 34, 32 and 27 and still bring up things that we did when they were young.

Chapter 3 Photos saved until the END!

Friday September 21st- Tomorrow is the opening day of the 2018 Michigan Youth hunt. I have tons of plans. I need to ready the cabin for our overnight stay. I have to pull camera cards to find out the deer movement. I have to change the barrel on my dad’s Thompson Center (mine is right handed).

Abby’s bus arrives at 4:00 pm and with her is a friend from school. Wait, what? It appears as though she has a project they have been working on and it is due on Monday. As much as I am angry that we will not be hunting in the morning, I appreciate and understand that she finds it necessary to get her school work accomplished before she does other things.

My worry however is that, like the last two years, the deer movement will be in the morning and we will miss an opportunity.

Saturday morning September 22nd- I wait until 10am to pull photographs. As luck would have it, Mr. Crabs (a buck I have been watching for 3 years) made an appearance in front of the cabin that morning. As did another buck we call “Andre the Giant”. Go figure! These cards did however provide me some much needed intel. Mr. Crabs was crossing the drainage around 7:30 pm, making his way down the edge of the corn, and arriving in front of the cabin by 7:45 PM. This would provide a shot less than 50 yards. He stays in the field for a while before moving out of the alfalfa and over to a clover patch where he meets up with Andre and they proceed to fight for an hour or so. Then, G2 (a giant of a deer) shows up and runs all of them off. Understand that Andre pushes close to 150 inches Boone and Crocket and G2 (because of his 12 inch G2’s) is pushing more than 180 inches. G2 has lost some size this year. I sure wish I would have gotten him at his peak last year. He was close to 200 inches.

Saturday evening we head to the cabin around 4:30. Papa, Abby, and I will sit until dark. At around 6:15, “The Devil” makes his appearance. Over the years I have had several spike horns that have received this nickname. This year, this little guy has the honor. At this time, I have Abby sit in the gunner’s seat. It is the perfect time for her to utilize the scope, watch the animal, practice where she would shoot it if she thought to do so. She watched him for 30 minutes.

During this time I told her: “Abby, if you want to, you can shoot that deer”. What she tells me next is the reason to which I believe she fully knows and understands everything.

Abby: “Daddy, I don’t want to kill him.”
Me: “Not that I mind your decision, but can you tell me why”?
Abby: “Because, if I let him go, he will get bigger next year or the year after. Besides, I don’t want to kill a spike just to kill a deer”.

I sink back on my haunches and take in the gravity of what she just said. She has zero desire to simply kill a deer. For her, it has to be the right deer for the right reasons. It seems as though my daughter has taken everything I have taught her and understands what we are doing. We see no further deer tonight.

10pm: We head back out to the cabin to stay the night. I figure, if we are already there when the sun comes up, we won’t spoke any bucks.

Sunday September 23rd, 3am- My age has me up to go to the bathroom. It is the perfect opportunity to look and see if any deer are in the field. I quick scan with nothing to see and I was back to bed.

6am- I’m awake. I figure the best bet is to let Abby sleep. I’ll keep a watch until the time is right. By the end of the morning I have seen 4 deer. None of which had any horns. I know that she has zero desire to harvest a doe. We head in, find some wild mushrooms, and prepare for the evening hunt.

5pm- We are back in the cabin. A quick check of my watch reveals that it is getting close to the time that Mr. Crabs likes to come out.

7:20- I catch movement on the edge of the corn and recognize that rack almost instantly. Mr. Crab’s. I tell Abby to get ready on the rifle and she quickly finds the deer. At this point I am kneeling next to her. Over the years I have found that I don’t get excited for a whole lot. I guess when you are trained to make long range shots in between heart beats while controlling your breathing, it takes an awful lot to get the heart pumping. I take note of the fact that my heart is racing! I have not felt this in a long time while hunting. I tell myself to calm down. I need to sound calm so that she remains calm.

The deer is standing at the edge of the corn facing our way. There is no possibility of a shot. That is probably a good thing as it gives her the opportunity to control herself and stay calm. During this time I am calmly talking to her. Telling her that we have plenty of time. That we need to wait for the right opportunity. I listen to her calmly talk to me. She tells me that she is on the deer. She comments about how big it is. She asks how many points it has. I tell her I don’t know but he is a shooter. I lied, I really do know but the last thing she needs at the moment is buck fever!

After what seems like an eternity, the deer presents an opportunity. I advise Abby that, if she would like, she can take the shot. She asks if it is loud (darnit, I don’t have her earphones on). I lie again and say NO. She readies and then backs off. She is scared of the noise it might make. I’m an idiot I say to myself. Don’t be in a hurry. The headphones are sitting 12 inches from you.

I pull down the headphones and switch both muffs on. I have game ears so that I can still whisper to her but they cut out during the shot to avoid damage to her ears. As I switch them on, they start to squeal. Of course they do. I get them on her head, check to see that she can hear me, and we get ready again. Of course, the deer is now facing us again.

During this time I continue to hear “common big boy, move just a little bit”, “common big boy”. I can tell she is excited. This is the deer that she wants to harvest. She has no reservation about pulling the trigger. She understands the gravity of the situation.

Light is fading and I am worried that Mr. Crabs will decide to walk away. The last thing I want is to stop the deer and rush a shot or have her take a moving shot. I do not want to put her in that position. He starts to turn offering a quartering shot. I know how well she shoots and I know that she can pull this shot off. I instruct her where to aim. Normally, on a broadside animal, I would have her shoot about 2 inches behind the front shoulder. With this angle, I want her to shoot dead center of the shoulder to break it and have the bullet exit behind the other shoulder providing a double lung shot.

I instruct her where to aim, she breaths in, just like a sniper listening to their spotter, she doesn’t hesitate. When the spotter says shoot, you pull the trigger. If you wait, you lose the wind call. In this case, if you wait, you lose the angle. Before I know it, the shot goes off.

The deer does not react like it is hit. Instead of wheeling away from the shot, it turns toward the shot and runs directly under the cabin. I have a birdseye view and take note of every move he makes. The last I see him, he is heading down a trail towards another stand. The direction he is heading indicates that he wants to get back to where he came.

She asks if she hit it. Honestly, I couldn’t answer that question. I had a perfect view of the right side of the animal as it went by at 5 yards. I didn’t see an exit hole. My only hope was that the bullet impacted the front shoulder and fragmented which would result in zero exit. We quickly grabbed our gear and headed to where he stood last.

We only searched for a brief time before I started following the path that leads back towards the cabin. I know that with these calibers, it often takes a little bit for signs of blood to start showing. As we make it past the cabin, and I can feel her start to deflate, I find two dots of blood located on the stem of a turnip. You could sense the excitement in her voice as I felt relief come over me.

I called my dad for some help and headed back to the house. Within 15 minutes, papa and grandma were there to enjoy the experience.

The track was easy to follow and soon we turned the corner which lead towards another stand. Abby says: “I think he is laying right there”. A shine of the light doesn’t show much of an indication so we press on. After about 15 feet, I shine the light again and confirm that what she saw was actually her deer! She made a perfect shot and he traveled less than 50 yards.

Before you look at the photos it is important to mention this: After all the cleanup work was done, the meat was being cooled, and I was getting ready to eat dinner (around 11pm) I hear mommy ask if Abby could stay home from school. I ask why. Her reply was for being good! I sense something else so I press. Mary tells me that Abby is sad. I realize that the gravity of the situation has now sunk in. After the excitement of the shot, the tracking, and finally the recovery, the reality of what transpired has finally taken hold.

I go in to her room to talk to her. I ask her if she was sad. With tears in her eyes she tells me “yes”. Understand that everything up until this point, the recovery of numerous animals, the scouting trips, and the explanations of what we do and why we do it become very important. I am not bringing up something for the first time. Instead, I am refreshing those values that I have already instilled.

It is hard to take the life of something. It shouldn’t be taken lightly. We owe the respect to the animal to do everything we can to harvest it in the most human way possible. We need to show our respect after the fact.

This morning I told her I was proud of her. NOT for killing a deer. I don’t think you should be proud of something like that. I was proud of her for the way she handled the spike horn and her reasons why. I was proud of her waiting for the right shot and for telling me why she was waiting. I was proud of her for speaking up about her hearing protection. And, most importantly, I was proud of her for having a heart and being sad for what she had done.

To aid with the situation, my plan for this evening is to go home and show her Mr. Crabs father. Also a 10 point that is hanging on my wall. I will show her all the photos dating back to 2016 of Mr. Crabs. Tell her about his time, and, as luck would have it, show her the photograph of Mr. Crab’s son. A 7 point that I got photos of 2 days ago. With the very same crab claw that his dad and grandpa have. She understands that we keep these deer healthy, we keep them safe, and we ensure that we are harvesting them at their peak. THIS is what needs to be conveyed to our kids. The importance of what we do and why we do it. Pride isn’t in the killing, but what we do before and after.

Enjoy the photos!
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One word.....Awsum !

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This was great!

Very very very good read. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and I’m glad you shared. Thank you :HandsClapping

Quote:

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Originally Posted by "G"

One word.....Awsum ! X2!!

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Very cool. Keep her on that bow. One of my former 4H archery girls just got a $17,000 college scholarship to be on their bow team.

Fur,

Chris and Emily Bee have been big inspirations to both my daughter and her friend. Both were Michigan State University archers, JOED, olympian team members, and now pro's. Chis has a YouTube channel called "Bee Real" and his sister ran the range at MSU.

Nice to have good quality role models for them to look up to.

Rich
Excellent story!
I’m happy for Abby, but even more proud of you teaching her, sitting back and listening to her concerns and then coaching her up to the shot.
Hats off to you for being a dad, a mentor and most of all someone who took the time to be a excellent parent.....both you and the Mrs.


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