I had an interesting conversation this past weekend at the World Deer Expo in Birmingham, AL. We were visiting with some friends in their booth and a young man walked up to look at their product. I had been paying attention to people who were approaching, so I saw him coming and also noticed that no one was engaging with him about their products (that’s a whole other topic that I hope to address later).
As he neared, I said, “Do you duck hunt?” No. “Okay, do you deer hunt?” Again no. “Turkey hunt? Hunt anything?” The response was, “No, but I WANT to. I really want to go hunting,I just don’t know where to go. I don’t have anyone to take me and I don’t know what I’m doing.” I was floored. This guy wanted to hunt badly enough to walk around a hunting show, looking at products and hoping someone would talk with him. Amazing!
So often, we (myself included) talk about how much we need to engage youth in the sport, and it’s true that we do. What about the adults who are interested in the sport, but don’t know where to find out more? Do you know of any mentorship programs? Is this an opportunity that we as hunters have been missing? I’m genuinely asking because I don’t have the answer. It had really never occurred to me. If there’s something hunting-related that I want to try, I simply ask around and then do it. I’m extremely lucky that I have someone who is always up for my crazy adventures so doing it alone has honestly never been a concern.
We have hunting and fishing programs for military, youth, disabled…..let’s make sure we don’t forget those who are interested and want to learn, but don’t fit into one of those groups. Strength in numbers….
Be safe out there!