saw a humorous bumper sticker "take you child hunting and you will never hunt your child" and it made me think " what does hunting teach the next generation?" there are many lessons and thought you could help me with the list. there are plenty of values involved and thought this would be a good thread.

one from me, "no such thing as a free lunch" there was a time if you did not kill you did not eat. a good lesson to teach the next generation. sometimes at the range i will say to myself if i dont make this shot i wont eat dinner tonight. put a new light on things. did the same thing with my dad and he wasnt supposed to eat for the next four days...he didnt keep that promise

My Dad took me hunting because I wanted to go. I think because he did, I have more respect for nature, a greater knowledge of the outdoors and a greater appreciation for the world in general. It also taught me that I have to earn my food. Although in reality that wasn't the case, I always had good food and a warm bed, I think it helped with my work ethic, this whole idea of working as hard as I can so that I can provide for my own family one day. And the most important thing was love and respect for my Dad, he taught me so much about the outdoors and gave me so many opportunities that other parents wouldn't or couldn't give to their children. I can't wait to go afield with him soon for some deer and moose, we always have a great time, but now that I'm older I'm the one who drives and he gets to sleep!

Responsibility, self-reliance, patience, respect, courage, discipline and compassion. It also teaches children they are an important part of game management, provides an appreciation for nature and lets them experience life at the basic level of predator and prey. It was amazing to see the realization on the faces of my daughters when they understood they had just harvested dinner and had a trophy they could remember that day by for the rest of their lives. My oldest feels she knows how a lioness feels now when the cat is about to make a kill. They were changed people and you could see the growth and confidence they gained from the experience.

Perry

quote:

Originally posted by PWN375:
Responsibility, self-reliance, patience, respect, courage, discipline and compassion. It also teaches children they are an important part of game management, provides an appreciation for nature and lets them experience life at the basic level of predator and prey.

Perry

pretty well said, that´s what ethical hunting is about ...

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we always have a great time, but now that I'm older I'm the one who drives and he gets to sleep!

Sounds like me and my dad deer hunting. I go look for the deer and he takes a nap so I don't get quite so tired.

I have a lot of fun hunting with my father. He always said make your shots count and don't buy junk just because it is cheaper you allways pay more for it in the end.

This may be a bit off the wall but besides all of the things previously mentioned, I learned at a young age exactly what a firearm would do to something you pointed it at and pulled the trigger. I grew up in Seattle and guns are a different part of the culture in a major city and it seemed like besides the obvious "bad parenting" kids who I knew that never went hunting seemed to "play" with their parents guns or were much more "loose" with them, when I would see someone "playing" with a gun I would absolutely shudder because I had seen first hand exactly the damage they could cause and how final it really was. Today I think a lot of kids see TV and how the hero takes 5 bullets and goes home with the girl in the end and they have know idea exactly the damage a bullet can cause in the real world, when and if they get into a situation where a gun may be present they don't take it seriously until its too late.

So, I guess to sum it up and answer the question-- I think hunting teaches the next generation respect for firearms. JMO

IV

Many good points made here...lets add this one...it helps strengthen our country. The more kids learn to hunt and shoot and have respect for firearms and to use them properly the more we strengthen our second ammendment. That single piece of language in the Bill of Rights is among the keys to our freedom. It must never be lost.