Does this bother anyone else

Did everyone see the story about the young girl who shot a bear? What was she- 8, 10 years old?

I find this disturbing. Maybe you have to understand the way of thinking in that family.

I used to know a family where the dad would shoot deer, then let his young daughters watch him gut it and skin it.

Ugh!

 

No, I don't find it at all disturbing. My Rachael got her hunting license when she was 9. She has been out with her dad prior to that. She hasn't shot anything yet, nor is it being pushed on her. She had been out with her dad hunting deer, though he didn't get anything, before she had a license. (No, she didn't have a gun at the time and wasn't shooting!) When it came time for her to actually hunt, she informed her dad that she "wasn't sure" she wanted to hunt deer. It was no big deal; he informed her that having a license didn't mean that she HAD to go; it was up to her. She has gone hunting for both squirrel and turkey; she says the only turkey she saw was the one driving the car!!! She has done her oral presentation for our homeschool group on gun safety. She (AND HER DAD!!!) brought in her shotgun and explained all the parts, how to clean it, and different safety rules. Phillip, who is five, is already talking about going hunting with Daddy. Carl took them both out just last week hunting squirrel (no, Phillip did NOT have a gun!!! He was just watching.) He got bored very quickly, so they didn't stay long.

It's just a different mind set. The beef, chicken, and pork you eat come from animals. SOMEONE has to kill that animal. Just because we don't see it happening doesn't mean it's not being done. Eating Bambi helps my food budget (on those rare ocasion my "big game hunter" actually GETS something!!!)

And, contrary to what the media likes to tell you, being around guns actually help teach responsibility.

 

Becky... I wasn't sure what to think of it but as I processed what you wrote, here's what I came up with...

It may sound repulsive to think about a young child shooting to kill an animal, BUT as I pondered what you had to say my mind wandered into another direction...

If one of my children encountered a bear in our neighbour hood (which is a possibility) I would want to know that my child would know what to do (calling authorities isn't always an option).

By hunting (with Mom or Dad), that child is being equipped with how to (properly and safely) handle a gun - and they may never ever use it, but if they ever had to they would know how. Around here, in order to get a license the child has to have gone through a hunter safety course before they even qualify to purchase one, and they're not allowed to go unsupervised under the age of 14.

There are so many ways to look at it. There are many cultures where hunting is a way of life - a means of survival (look at the actual survivor show - they have to be creative and do what they need to in order to eat). In some cases, it's a sport.

I personally do not enjoy hunting but this is something that my husband and the boys all enjoyed doing when he was able to do it. I did go with them a couple times (but he never got anything) and I really don't know what I would have done if he did...

For me, it's not personally my cup of tea, but for some, it's the time they have to spend with their Dad, it does teach valuable lessons and it could mean life or death if ever they were put into a situation where they had to defend themselves.

 

There are so many ways to look at it. When I was little my Dad hunted a little. I wanted to be just like him so hunting sounded cool. I wanted to go with him but my mom wouldn't let me. Now, I see why she wouldn't but my dd is like me. Anything that her Dad does seems so neat to her. She has gone fishing tons with him since a baby and has also watched him clean fish. Now, I don't think she would want to watch him clean a deer though. I don't see anything wrong with letting older kids learn about hunting if you teach them how to be responsible with guns. I am not sure why the girl shot the bear you are referring to other than they were hunting bears. I DON'T think hunting an animal for sport is okay. I think if you are going to kill an innocent animal you should eat it and not hang it's head or body on the wall. That is my opinion and my dh would not agree. As a matter of fact, he had Avery's first catch (a big crappie fish) mounted and hung in our basement. She is very proud of that catch!

I forgot to add that I also think teaching kids skills like fishing and hunting is great survival skills. The way the world is now I don't think it would hurt a bit to teach our kids how to take care of themselves if they had to. That includes self defense of animals and people. I think teaching them how to use those skills appropriately is the key here.

 

Missy, I would agree with you about hunting (or fishing) just to hunt and kill. When my DH hunts, we eat whatever he kills. I'm not to keen on cooking squirrel, but I guess I'd have to try it at least once :? .

I was concerned about Rachael taking the required hunting class at such a young age. Carl said that MOST of those there were children (albeit boys!). He asked the teacher about an age requirement. The teacher said that he PERSONALLY has trouble with giving the test to children that were too young to read it for themselves. In other words, he HAS given it to children as young as 5!

 

One of my boys,8, went bear hunting this week with dad. They saw a mom and her cub. They watched and he learned alot from the experience of it.
All 3 of mine have watched a deer get skinned. No biggie here. They go fishing. Ansley has been turkey hunting with dad too.

 

Ug-ug...grunt. (did that sound barbaric enough??? ).....We are all hunters in my family. Dh hunted squirrel and rabbit before we got married and my dad taught him how to hunt deer and turkey. My kids have accompanied daddy since they were little and were taught safety at a very young age. Part of our life was field dressing (nice words for skinning and gutting) deer....and growing up we butchered our own cattle and I much prefer to gut a deer--they don't smell nearly as bad!

Ohio must have some lax laws on hunting licenses, Jackie. Here in IA you have to be 12 to get your hunting license and then it is only after completing the hunters' safety course. My 9yo ds is not-so-patiently waiting to get to the age of 12 just for that reason. However, any child can go hunting with a licensed adult.

Ds had a gun related injury a couple years ago. He was practicing with my dad (ultra safety minded--if we made ONE mistake when we went out with him he would send us back to the house). Well, my dad was steadying the gun with ds and ds pulled the trigger the hammer caught him just under the eye. It required stitches and my dad was SICK about it. Ds still enjoys hunting. Dd is 6 and she has been going out hunting with daddy for a few years, too. Nobody gets to carry their bb gun until they have satisfied dad's safety requirements (daddy has OCD safety issues so he is pretty strict ).

Jackie....the key to cooking squirrel is pressure cooking and then deboning it to add to casseroles or something like that. It's kinda oily for my liking.

 

Oh yuck! That even sounds grouse (where the vomiting smilie when you want him) :lol: :lol:

 

In Ohio, they are not permitted to hunt ALONE until they are twelve. Younger than that, they can go out with an adult. Keep in mind what it USE to be like. My great-great-great-great grandma had her two sons walk up to central Ohio from West Virginia back in the 1790's to settle the land. Both of them were under 16 at the time. She came with the rest of her children a year or two later (her DH had died in the mean time). These "boys" were literally on their own at the time!

 

When I was little and when we were on vacation in Kentucky, He would say hey 'Aim Do ya want to go bear hunting?, I kinda always knew he was kidding, he just wanted to go up on this hill in my aunt and uncle's property where no one lived, he wanted to teach me how to shoot a gun. I always said no, I really didn't want to learn how to shoot a gun. But thinking back, it would have been an experience with my dad, that I passed up. I am glad that my husband doesn't like to go hunting, its not something I could get into. I do see that sometimes there is a neccesity to hunt deer, when I lived in Washington there was a year that they were giving permission to the hunters to get more than one deer, but I think that the bear population would be more conservitive.

 

We always "gut" the deer together. Everyone has a job of some sort(see mom using a 12 in cleaver!). My 9yo dd went with dad last year(we always go on opening day beginning of Nov) when he got his deer. She got HER picture taken with the deer for the local store and can't wait to go back. We have always educated our kids about gun safety and let them know they will eat whatever they kill. I have cooked turtle(we have big alligator turtles down here), squirrel, deer, wild boar, duck, and emu. Not all of my kinds enjoy hunting. I do and go with my husband during deer season. The one time I saw a pig coming I got to breathing so hard I think I scared her away! Hunting is our way of life because we want our children to be as self-sufficient as possible. That is why we moved to the country in the first place. We wanted to raise as much of our own food as possible. My name on other boards is creatureranch. You never know what animal you might find us taking care of! My neighbors still ask "are you gonna eat that?". Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I don't believe in shooting for just sport though - like zebra is sad to me! We do enjoy watching the animals and learning about their habits and family. We collected the chicken snakes one year and had 12 by the end of summer. The kids and me were surprised to learn how snakes *mmm*. I never knew that!

Sabrina

 

I feel if Vicki wants to hunt with her Dad let her go. I had rather be with doing something like that than something she shouldn't be doing. If she was kill a bear she would love it.

 

We all hunt too. My husband is all ready for deer season this year. He shot two last year and it fed us for the whole entire year. That is one year of not having to purchase steaks, burger nothing. The amount of money that we saved was amazing.

We have taught our kids that it is wrong to shoot something just to kill it. We shoot deer because they are over populated in our state and cause thousands of accidents. So the state has asked that hunters take some of them out so that not as many accidents occur. It would be wrong to shoot this creature and just let it lie there. So we bring it home and gut it and we then eat it for the next year.

In there minds they have saved a cow. lol

 

You know what they say it all taste like chicken. I hate the smell of deer meat. Smells like a dirty wet dog to me. I like to watch squirrels not eat them. I have never had opossum but hear it is good.

Forgot to add that squirrels are cousins to the rat. :mrgreen:

 

I do love to go fishing. I like to fish for catfish, then deep fry them and eat and eat and eat. I love the taste of catfish. My dh loves to bass fish.
When I have to hit them in the head with a hammer, that is about the only part I don't like. The skinning part doesn't bother me.

 

My ds and dd love to deer hunt with their Granddaddy. My dd will be going to a hunting class this fall, so she will be able to get her hunting licences. Last year when my ds killed his first deer they took the blood and rubbed his face in it. This is part of their hazing when someone has killed his/her first deer. He also got to help skin it I have pictures of him standing all smiles in front of his deer with blood all over him. So cute. I remember my first kill they took my head and put into the deers belly. We also have taken the bladder and played water ball with it. Yes I come from a long line of woods people:lol: :lol: . I don't eat deer meat, but I love to hunt.
God put them here for us to eat. That is what they were created for.

 

Vicky, you're pushing it, Girl!!! I can take them killing and gutting it, and I'll do the cooking, but please don't show me any pictures of the kids covered in its blood! I DO draw the line there!!! :???:

 

Sabrina, how do you cook the squirrel? I don't have a pressure cooker!!!

 

My hubby's parents live on 100 plus acres and they go hunting every year for deer, turkey, pheasant, you name it. I don't particularily like to see it. Actually, when I am eating meat I can't think of what the animal may have looked like or I get sick to my stomach. They aren't kind to animals when they are being butchered at the meat market either. Lambs are hung upside down and slaughtered while they are still awake. It's disturbing to think of it. BUT, I don't mind if other people hunt. If hubby's family didn't we would have been spending a lot more money on meat at the grocery store.

I don't know what the legal hunting limit is, but I do know my two neices who are 12 started hunting this year.

 

We just got back from Pigeon Forge, TN and I bought a Native American Cooking book. It had recipes for everything from squirrels to raccoons. Let me know if any of you are serious about cooking something different. I bet I have a recipe. Oh, there was a soup made with yellow jackets too!

My dh wants to teach my kids to hunt (like I said before). He wants to kill a squirrel. He already goes deer hunting, quail hunting, fishing, etc. I am not going to eat a squirrel though....sorry!