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  • tallen702

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 3, 2012
    5,102
    In the boonies of MoCo
    I had a proud uncle moment today and I needed to go brag about it somewhere, so I figured this was the place.

    My nephew is 16 and goes to boarding school in VA. He's a boy scout and has always taken an interest in my firearm collection and my stories of going hunting for deer, ducks, geese, and upland birds. When I was his age, I didn't have anyone to take me hunting or even show me the first thing about it. Nobody in my family hunted. No close friends offered to take me under their wing, nothing. That being the case, I didn't start hunting until I was nearly 35 years old. In the relatively short time since then, I've taken quite a shine to the practice and have tried my hand at a bunch of different things. When he started expressing interest in pheasant hunting, and moved up to the DC area for school, well, I saw my chance to make sure he knew he had someone that would help him learn the ropes if he so desired.

    I poked around a bit this year to gauge his interest and when I was sure he was up for it, I packed up his Christmas present and excitedly watched him open it on Christmas morning when my whole family was together. In the box, he got a blaze orange Remington hat, an upland vest, and an empty box of #6 shot with a note from me that let him know it was good for 1 pheasant hunt with me. If he didn't want to hunt and just wanted to shoot, it said I'd take him to PG Trap and Skeet and we'd do a full day of sporting clays. He chose the hunt.

    He had today off, it being the winter long weekend at the school, so I picked him up Saturday morning, and took him out to Tuscarora to practice with the shotgun I'd be letting him use. Sunday was a trip to DC to see Monster Jam with his little cousin (my son), and today was the big day. We woke up at 5 AM, packed up the car, and headed on up to Pheasant Valley Farm in Robesonia, PA for the hunt. I had them put out 12 pheasants total for us, and we hunted over flushing retrievers with a guide. My nephew missed his first couple of shots, and I knocked down a couple that popped up near me. When we got back to the cars, grabbed some water, and headed back out for more, we came across the motherload of birds. Some of ours that had been stocked joined up with several birds from this past Saturday's "European Shoot" that they put on (20 people 250 birds, all day hunt with pass-shooting in the morning and guided hunts in the afternoon). We had a double pop up on us almost right off the bat, the rooster shot my way and the hen he was hollerin' at flew in my nephew's direction. We hit both birds nearly at the same time. He got his first bird. He nailed another shortly after as well. All said and done, we bagged 10 of the 12 that were stocked for us. Not a bad day at all.

    I was VERY proud of the way he conducted himself. He never pointed his muzzle in an unsafe direction, never took a shot unless he knew it was clean, was aware of where the dogs and other people were the entire time and handled himself extremely well. You would never know that it was literally his first hunt ever. Our guide was very complimentary of him as well.

    Anyway, I was just glad to be able to help my nephew experience something that he really enjoyed. I think he'll keep coming out year after year now that he has a taste of what it's like. I'm glad to see someone from a much younger generation getting out there and hunting even though it's not a part of his family's traditions. It makes me hopeful for the future.
     

    teratos

    My hair is amazing
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Jan 22, 2009
    59,775
    Bel Air
    Sounds like an awesome day. He’s going to remember it for the rest of his life.
     

    wreckdiver

    Ultimate Member
    Nov 13, 2008
    2,925
    That’s awesome. My grandfather and uncles were hunters. I begged them to take me hunting when I was a kid. Sadly, they never did. I never really went “hunting”. When I was 16 I got my hunting license and walked around the woods with a shotgun, but it wouldn’t call it hunting. I wish I could have passed that tradition to my kids but they weren’t really interested.
     

    John from MD

    American Patriot
    MDS Supporter
    May 12, 2005
    22,733
    Socialist State of Maryland
    I had a proud uncle moment today and I needed to go brag about it somewhere, so I figured this was the place.

    My nephew is 16 and goes to boarding school in VA. He's a boy scout and has always taken an interest in my firearm collection and my stories of going hunting for deer, ducks, geese, and upland birds. When I was his age, I didn't have anyone to take me hunting or even show me the first thing about it. Nobody in my family hunted. No close friends offered to take me under their wing, nothing. That being the case, I didn't start hunting until I was nearly 35 years old. In the relatively short time since then, I've taken quite a shine to the practice and have tried my hand at a bunch of different things. When he started expressing interest in pheasant hunting, and moved up to the DC area for school, well, I saw my chance to make sure he knew he had someone that would help him learn the ropes if he so desired.

    I poked around a bit this year to gauge his interest and when I was sure he was up for it, I packed up his Christmas present and excitedly watched him open it on Christmas morning when my whole family was together. In the box, he got a blaze orange Remington hat, an upland vest, and an empty box of #6 shot with a note from me that let him know it was good for 1 pheasant hunt with me. If he didn't want to hunt and just wanted to shoot, it said I'd take him to PG Trap and Skeet and we'd do a full day of sporting clays. He chose the hunt.

    He had today off, it being the winter long weekend at the school, so I picked him up Saturday morning, and took him out to Tuscarora to practice with the shotgun I'd be letting him use. Sunday was a trip to DC to see Monster Jam with his little cousin (my son), and today was the big day. We woke up at 5 AM, packed up the car, and headed on up to Pheasant Valley Farm in Robesonia, PA for the hunt. I had them put out 12 pheasants total for us, and we hunted over flushing retrievers with a guide. My nephew missed his first couple of shots, and I knocked down a couple that popped up near me. When we got back to the cars, grabbed some water, and headed back out for more, we came across the motherload of birds. Some of ours that had been stocked joined up with several birds from this past Saturday's "European Shoot" that they put on (20 people 250 birds, all day hunt with pass-shooting in the morning and guided hunts in the afternoon). We had a double pop up on us almost right off the bat, the rooster shot my way and the hen he was hollerin' at flew in my nephew's direction. We hit both birds nearly at the same time. He got his first bird. He nailed another shortly after as well. All said and done, we bagged 10 of the 12 that were stocked for us. Not a bad day at all.

    I was VERY proud of the way he conducted himself. He never pointed his muzzle in an unsafe direction, never took a shot unless he knew it was clean, was aware of where the dogs and other people were the entire time and handled himself extremely well. You would never know that it was literally his first hunt ever. Our guide was very complimentary of him as well.

    Anyway, I was just glad to be able to help my nephew experience something that he really enjoyed. I think he'll keep coming out year after year now that he has a taste of what it's like. I'm glad to see someone from a much younger generation getting out there and hunting even though it's not a part of his family's traditions. It makes me hopeful for the future.
    Fantastic! You are one damned fine Uncle and I hope your nephew knows how special this trip was for him and you. :clap:
     

    Sticky

    Beware of Dog
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 16, 2013
    4,501
    AA Co
    Nothing better than a good bird hunt with dogs, flushers or pointers. It is hard to beat and congrats for passing it on!
     

    gtodave

    Member
    MDS Supporter
    Aug 14, 2007
    14,169
    Mt Airy
    Congrats, that's awesome.

    Question for you: Did your nephew take a hunter's safety course before the hunt?

    My SIL's step son expressed an interest in learning to hunt with me (which was a surprise for a number of reasons), and I said he'd have to know the 4 rules of gun safety down pat, and would need a safety course first.
     

    Sticky

    Beware of Dog
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 16, 2013
    4,501
    AA Co
    I think, if they have no experience whatsoever with firearms, that this is a prerequisite, or at the very least, take them to a range and teach them one on one. I was taught by my father at an early age, though I really didn't have an interest, my brother did tho. Fast forward a dozen years and things changed, but those early lessons will always be ingrained in my head, like the 4 commandments... and there are more.

    Encourage the younger ones, they are few and far between. The future of the shooting sports depends on them!
     

    tallen702

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 3, 2012
    5,102
    In the boonies of MoCo
    Congrats, that's awesome.

    Question for you: Did your nephew take a hunter's safety course before the hunt?

    My SIL's step son expressed an interest in learning to hunt with me (which was a surprise for a number of reasons), and I said he'd have to know the 4 rules of gun safety down pat, and would need a safety course first.

    Yes, though the outfitters in PA don't require a license, I had him do the online portion of the MD hunter safety course and pass the online exam. He has his rifle merit badge from scouts as well.

    I could tell from his conduct at Tuscarora on Saturday that he was more than ready from a safety aspect.

    For me, the safety course showed two things, that he was serious about hunting, and that he would be safe while we were in the field.
     

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