Make it a Family Affair

by A Sayward Lamb

Fall has finally arrived and with these beautiful crisp days, thoughts of hunting fill our minds. Here in Maine, hunting has already started, with bear hunting over bait in progress, and we also have an early season for Canadian geese that started on September 7th. Come the first of October, the whole spectrum is opened to hunters ranging from migratory birds, to ruffed grouse, rabbits, grey squirrels, etc. To make it more fun, I hope that you will make plans to include your family in some of these hunting excursions.

I realize that not all of the family members may be receptive to shooting a gun, to say nothing of killing game. Just the same, introduction to hunting should start at a young age in order that you to show them how much fun it is to get out into the woods and fields and enjoy the abundant beauty that exists during the fall. If you are lucky enough to have a wife or mate whom enjoys going hunting, all the better. When the whole family is involved, nothing but good can come of these outdoor experiences.

I introduced my two sons to hunting at a relatively young age. Because they knew I loved to hunt, they got caught up with my enthusiasm. They asked if they could accompany me as I went hunting locally and often we went hunting immediately behind my home. At their young ages, I had no need to do anything more than have them walk along with me as we hunted through the woods. My intensity of hunting was somewhat decreased as I watched for signs of game and pointed out several important things that I felt would be helpful to my sons. I generally planned to only take one of the boys at a time. Both for safety’s sake and it was easier to watch only one, as he stayed close by my side.

One of the first things I taught was for them to “pick their route” as they still-hunted through the woods. This was done by advising them to keep looking ahead a short distance and determine the easiest way to traverse the terrain. Sometimes we would find blow-downs, ditches, water holes and rocks, that might cause us to detour and change our course of travel. Another thing I tried to impress on them was for them to step as quietly as possible, trying to avoid branches on the ground as well as adjacent to where we walked. I showed them how to sneak along without making much noise by placing your toes on the ground first and stepping slowly and lightly. This was especially helpful when we encountered game and wanted to sneak up closer to get a better view. Another thing was to teach them to use hand signals, whenever possible, rather than talking to each other. Most of the time, I believe being quiet is very advantageous, although we all have had experiences when game would stand and watch us as we sauntered along without regard to noise levels.

During the interim of my sons learning by accompanying me, I also started teaching them how to shoot a rifle. At first we used light caliber guns, as I didn’t want them to “flinch” when they were shooting. I do remember on one October afternoon, I took both sons up to South Woodstock to go partridge hunting. The fall foliage was at its height that day, with the sky as blue as could be. The day before we had an early snowstorm that deposited about four inches of heavy wet snow on the ground. It clung to the trees, which made for one of nature’s finest shows. By afternoon, when we went hunting, most of the snow had fallen off the trees, but still the white snow on the ground and the gorgeous colors of the foliage made you want to record that beauty in your mind forever.

The action, as far as bird hunting was concerned, was very slow. Consequently, the boys lost interest in looking for partridges and asked if I would let them shoot my shotgun. At that time the only shotgun I owned was a twelve- gauge, single barrel model that “kicked on both ends” when it was fired. My oldest son was four years older than his brother, and was somewhat larger. So, he got to shoot the shotgun first. We sat up a target by clearing off the snow from a nearby banking and used that as the target. Jim, my oldest son, followed my instructions of holding the gun firmly when he fired it. He did a fine job and although I knew he had to have felt the recoil, he did not complain. I praised him for hitting the nearby target. Next it was Ron’s turn, and as it happened he had never fired a shotgun before. I warned him that the gun kicked hard, but he still felt he wanted to shoot it. I suppose he felt he did not want to be “outdone” by his big brother. If I remember correctly, he was only about ten years old when this happened. To make it easier for him to hold the shotgun, I advised him to get down on one knee, and by resting his elbow on his other knee, he was able to support the shotgun. (Even though it was only a single barrel model, it was still plenty heavy for the youngster.) Then I advised him to sight down the gun barrel, and before he pulled the trigger, to hold the butt of the stock real tight to his shoulder. Soon he fired the shotgun and when he did he was toppled over backward by the force of the recoil. Although we realized it was an unexpected event, both Jim and I had to laugh at Ron. He took it all in stride and as he had been forewarned, seemed resigned to his abrupt and sudden upset. Of course I was concerned that he might have been hurt, but this was not the case. I was relieved for that and also pleased that this incident made no bad impressions on his mind. Although he didn’t ask to shoot the shotgun again that fall, he never showed any signs of being afraid to shoot a gun the following year.

My wife Cynthia and daughter Natalie never showed any interest in hunting, so I chose not to pursue any action with regards to hunting, upon either of them. I had my two sons to accompany me and teach and that was enough to make me a happy hunter. As they got older, they both had newspaper delivery routes and one of their goals was to save enough money to buy themselves a gun. Ron was the first one to get his and his choice was a “Topper” youth model. This particular gun had two barrels. One was a twenty-gauge shotgun barrel, and the other was a rifle barrel in the .22 Jet caliber. Now, many years later, Ron still has his first gun. Jim was older when he got his rifle because he had the use of one of my rifles and the shotgun, so he didn’t see the need to purchase a gun until he got older.

Over the years we have had lots of fun hunting together and you can imagine how proud I was when they began to be proficient hunters and began to get partridges, rabbits, etc. Both of them were young when they harvested their first deer. I believe they were both only eleven or twelve years old when this happened and of course Dad was as proud of their accomplishments as they were. We not only hunted partridges and woodcock, but we also took floating trips down the Androscoggin River most every fall. We would go up river for seven or eight miles above Bethel and put our boats in near the Maine-New Hampshire border, then spend the day drifting down-river, stopping to hunt on the islands and shooting at ducks as they flew up and down the river. For several years, we raised Brittany Spaniels and I also trained them. Having a good bird dog to hunt with only added to the fun for all of us and occasionally some of our friends, who might come along. Back during those years, geese were not very plentiful and the only birds we saw along the river were flights of migrating birds. This is much different than today, when we often see geese around the local ponds all summer long. One of the stranger phenomenons that I learned while deer hunting with my sons, was the fact that I could often tell which one was shooting at the deer. This was easily distinguishable by their respectful methods of shooting. When Jim was shooting, there were generally several shots in rapid succession. With Ron, it was altogether different, with only one or two shots fired several seconds apart. I always said Jim was simply shooting as fast as he could while Ron was first, taking aim and then shooting. Which ever the case, both respective methods worked, and they often hit their intended targets.

Once my sons grew up and got married, they moved away from home. Like most of us, they had other interest such as raising their families and tending their respective jobs. Still we manage to get together occasionally during the fall to go hunting together. Now our interest in hunting includes turkey hunting, which personally, is my favorite type of hunting.

I spend my winter in Florida so we don’t have the opportunity to go rabbit hunting together, but fond memories are locked in our minds and no one can ever take those away from us.

I hope that all of you who have been blessed with families, take the opportunity to enjoy hunting with them. I have given a few examples of how it affected my immediate family. Simply put, it was a big part of our lives during the fall hunting season. Now that I am older the urge to get out into the woods is still as strong as ever. The one thing that has diminished is the feeling that I have to get the game I am hunting for. It seems like I had just as soon stand and look at a beautiful deer, moose, or some other form of wildlife. The important thing is the fact that I am thankful to be able to “get out-and about” during these beautiful fall days. One thing for sure, these excursions with my family have given me a lot to think about during my winters in Florida.

It is my fondest wish that you “Make It a Family Affair” and are able to get out with your family members to enjoy this hunting season. Happy hunting to all.