My Son's First Birds

[lenny7]

What a great day yesterday! I took my son, my dog, and met my buddy at Pheasant View Hunt Farms. I wanted to give my dog a tune up and my son a chance to bag his first bird. As it turns out, he got 3! He's 11 years old and has only put 50 round through the gun prior to yesterday. His second bird involved a heck of a long shot and he dusted it. His third bird got up in front of him and flew to his left and behind him. He stayed with it and pulled feathers. I thought the bird was coyote food but my dog was not about to disappoint his boy. He tore off after it and I saw it fly strong up and over the hill. My buddy had a good mark on it so he walked to where saw it land and kept trying to call the dog over. My dog would go over, check in, and leave right away, frustrating my buddy...turns out he was on the scent. Finally we humans gave up but Kody would not give so easily. He cut back and forth and back and forth as he went farther and farther away until we no longer knew where he was. After a minute or two with no dog in sight I blew the whistle for him to come back and soon after that, here he comes with the rooster in his mouth, still very much alive. My son, who was bummed when we gave up, perked up like it was Christmas!

Damn, what a great day, even if it was tame birds. I don't care if I ever shoot another bird again, as long as I can watch my son (and later my younger son) shoot 'em and my dog retrieve 'em.

[Holland&Holland]

Job well done.

[macphisto]

That is just awesome! I wish I would have grown up hunting.

[plblark]

Thanks for sharing the joy man!

[Srigs]

Looks like it was a perfect day with a father, son and loyal lab. One to remember.

[Pat]

Your son will always remember this day

[1911fan]

Take it from one who's been there. These days fly by like blinks of an eye. Cherish each and everyone of them.

[Stradawhovious]

Your son will always remember this day

+1. I remember my first birds. You have given your son a great memory, that will last a lifetime.

[lenny7]

I cooked up the three birds tonight. I deboned, diced, and fried them in some oil, then sprayed them with lemon juice and added liberal amounts of greek seasoning. Damn that was good! The boy was rather proud of himself for being the provider for tonight's meal, but not in an arrogant way. He, his little brother and I ate most of it. His mom had some and while she admitted it was rather tasty, she hard time eating wild game. My daughter ate one small piece under huge protest. She would have won an Oscar for the all the drama that came out of her tonight.

[elmerfuddem]

"My daughter ate one small piece under huge protest. She would have won an Oscar for the all the drama that came out of her tonight."
Daughters creating drama? Say it ain't so. Mine is 25 and still creates drama at the dinner table.

Take your son out hunting again. Time flies to fast. Nice day, nice dog, nice birds, a happy boy, proud father, what could be better?

[Belgiboy]

Great job Lenny7 Jr! Putting down 3 birds after only 50 shots with your shotgun is excellent shooting by all standards and probably better than what I would have done. I'm curious as to which shotgun he used. My little girl is 9, still a bit too young to be lugging a shotgun for an extended period of time, but I'm already looking out for something she could use eventually...

[lenny7]

Great job Lenny7 Jr! Putting down 3 birds after only 50 shots with your shotgun is excellent shooting by all standards and probably better than what I would have done. I'm curious as to which shotgun he used. My little girl is 9, still a bit too young to be lugging a shotgun for an extended period of time, but I'm already looking out for something she could use eventually...

I bought him a 20ga. Mossberg Super Bantam for his birthday last November. It was on sale at Gander Mountain. I forgot what I paid for it but I think it was just under $300 and included a slug barrel. I haven't used it myself but seems like a good value. Initially the safety was too hard for him to slide on and off but I oiled it and worked it back and forth for an hour while watching TV one time and now he can operate it fine.

The first time I took him out trap shooting with it, after a couple of shots, I see him inhaling deeply and he says, "Dad, I LOVE that smell!".

[EJSG19]

Great job Lenny7 Jr! Putting down 3 birds after only 50 shots with your shotgun is excellent shooting by all standards and probably better than what I would have done. I'm curious as to which shotgun he used. My little girl is 9, still a bit too young to be lugging a shotgun for an extended period of time, but I'm already looking out for something she could use eventually...

I bought him a 20ga. Mossberg Super Bantam for his birthday last November. It was on sale at Gander Mountain. I forgot what I paid for it but I think it was just under $300 and included a slug barrel. I haven't used it myself but seems like a good value. Initially the safety was too hard for him to slide on and off but I oiled it and worked it back and forth for an hour while watching TV one time and now he can operate it fine.

The first time I took him out trap shooting with it, after a couple of shots, I see him inhaling deeply and he says, "Dad, I LOVE that smell!".

Uh oh. Keep him away from the Hoppes #9! That was the first smell I remember when I started shooting, fiance absolutely hates the stuff but I'd use it for cologne/deodorant if I could get away with it. Cool story Lenny7. Nice to hear there are still young kids that are getting excited about hunting for real instead of with a video game.

[lenny7]

Nice to hear there are still young kids that are getting excited about hunting for real instead of with a video game.

Oh, he loves his video games too, but I think hunting is higher on his list.

As soon as we got back on the road last Friday, he says, "When are we going hunting again, Dad?" I think I'll take him out of school one day next month and he and I will go hunt for scratch birds.

The first time I took him hunting last fall at a WMA, he didn't take any shots at all and we were out walking all day long. On the way home he says, "You know, Dad, even though I didn't shoot anything, I still had a great time". Gotta love that attitude.

[EJSG19]

You bet. Definitely a positive thing to help raise a kid the right way. In my opinion hunting can be one of the first big steps in teaching responsibility and having fun at the same time. Something to be proud of for sure.